Visiting a marketplace with his aunt, Lecter assaults butcher Paul Momund when he insults Murasaki. Removed from the orphanage by his uncle Robert Lecter, Hannibal goes to live with him in France with his aunt, Lady Murasaki. Returned to Lecter Castle, now a Soviet orphanage, Hannibal is found to be irreparably traumatized by the ordeal. Hannibal is later spotted by a Soviet tank crew, wearing shackles and rendered mute. Running low on supplies, the soldiers soon take Mischa realizing they intend to cannibalize her, Hannibal tries to stop them, only to have his arm broken before he blacks out. Storming and looting the lodge, they lock the Lecters in the barn. Surviving in the lodge, Hannibal and Mischa are captured when six deserters appear: Vladis Grutas, Zigmas Milko, Bronys Grentz, Enrikas Dortlich, Petras Kolnas and Kazys Porvik. Three years later, an advancing Soviet tank stops at the Lecter family's lodge looking for water, only to be bombed by a German Stuka, the explosion killing all but the children. With the castle abandoned, it is soon raided by Germans and civilians aiding them, their hidden art collection being among the stolen loot. With the castle located near the eastern front of World War II, the Lecter family escapes to their lodge to elude the advancing German troops. Opening in Lithuania during 1941, Hannibal Lecter is eight years old and living in a castle with his parents and sister, Mischa. Producer Dino De Laurentiis implied around the time of the novel's release that he had coerced Harris into writing it under threat of losing control over the Hannibal Lecter character, accounting for the perceived diminished quality from Harris' previous books. The novel was adapted (by Harris himself) into a film of the same name in 2007, directed by Peter Webber. Audiobook versions have also been released, with Harris reading the text.

The novel was released with an initial printing of at least 1.5 million copies and met with a mixed critical response. It is a prequel to his three previous books featuring his most famous character, the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Rising is a psychological horror novel by American author Thomas Harris, published in 2006.

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