Red Dragon vs Up the Line: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Fiction
Red Dragon
“WILL GRAHAM SAT Crawford down at a picnic table between the house and the ocean and gave him a glass of iced tea.”
More
Red Dragon is a novel by American author Thomas Harris, first published in 1981. The plot follows former FBI profiler Will Graham, who comes out of retirement to find and apprehend an enigmatic serial-killer nicknamed…
Up the Line
More
Being a Time Courier was one of the best jobs Judson Daniel Elliott III ever had. It was tricky, though, taking group after group of tourists back to the same historic event, without meeting yourself coming or going.…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Red Dragon highest: Red Dragon 4.1 · Up the Line 3.7.
- Up the Line is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 7 for Red Dragon.
- Red Dragon has the widest readership — 383128 ratings behind its score.
Affiliate links: we may earn a commission on purchases.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Red Dragon | Up the Line | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (383128) | 3.7 (2147) |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (578) | 3.0 (10) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (2) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (1077) | 3.5 (25) |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Reception
| Red Dragon | Up the Line | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 383128 | 2147 |
| Editions | 60 | 18 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 244087 | — |
| Reading it now | 8787 | — |
| Written reviews | 10760 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 28249 | 300 |
| Pages | 415 | 250 |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Red Dragon or Up the Line?
Red Dragon has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Red Dragon 4.1/5, Up the Line 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Red Dragon or Up the Line?
Up the Line is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Up the Line (250 pages, ≈ 4 h 38 m); Red Dragon (415 pages, ≈ 7 h 41 m).
Which is harder to read: Red Dragon or Up the Line?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Red Dragon: Moderate; Up the Line: Light.
Have both books been made into films?
Red Dragon: 5 film adaptations; Up the Line: no film adaptation on record.