Francis Dolarhyde becomes convinced that he is the dragon incarnate. This leads Mr. Harris to take a few Blakean swings at the nature of evil and the mysterious providence that unleashes mass murderers on the innocent. The philosophy is about as pertinent as Joseph Wambaugh's attempts at constructing a Weltanschauung from the cop on the beat, but it does not do any significant damage to Mr. Harris's engine. Whatever the meaning of Francis Dolarhyde and Will Graham, Mr. Harris has created them with chilling particularity. Only one thing troubled me after I finished my ride.
Real life is more various, less predictable.
But ''Red Dragon'' generates enough rpm's to flatten this objection for most readers - particularly those who like to feel their flesh crawl.