plaguevacant's review against another edition
1.0
Wow. This was horribly ponderous.
Lacking style, subtlety or any real characterization, the story plods on like the power fantasy of a halfwit teenage sociopath. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as trash can be fun, but in this case the whole thing is so damned DULL it fails at being even a guilty pleasure. The dialogue is just bad, not even laughably so. The reveal at the end is tedious, the killer obvious, the motive silly.
There is much better "hard-boiled" pulp fiction out there, and I'm surprised at the level of respect afforded this tripe.
Lacking style, subtlety or any real characterization, the story plods on like the power fantasy of a halfwit teenage sociopath. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as trash can be fun, but in this case the whole thing is so damned DULL it fails at being even a guilty pleasure. The dialogue is just bad, not even laughably so. The reveal at the end is tedious, the killer obvious, the motive silly.
There is much better "hard-boiled" pulp fiction out there, and I'm surprised at the level of respect afforded this tripe.
pjonsson's review against another edition
3.0
I quite liked the TV-series with Stacy Keach portraying Mike Hammer. At least the first batch. When he came back for a second batch it went downhill. Anyway, I though I should read at least a few of these, now classic, books so I bought myself volume one of The Mike Hammer Collection on kindle.
It is quite a bit a change of pace from my usual reading. No high-tech, no magic, no monsters, no spaceships etc… Well, it was a fun read nonetheless. The book was originally written 1947 so the language, especially the use of slang, is of course somewhat outdated.
Today it is difficult, at least for me, to understand why this book became the first of a whole string of bestsellers. Yes, it is not my top-favorite genre and it is the first book in the Mike Hammer series and the first book in a series can often be a bit of a practice exercise for the author. Still, the book is readworthy but not fantastic. To me it is a fairly standard crime novel and a rather predictable one at that.
One thing that I have to say that I do appreciate though is that the hero, although being quite a bit of a womanizer, does not jump into bed every five minutes with every good-looking chick he meets. Having said that, I suspect that in 1947 when the book was written, the behaviour of Mike Hammer was considered just as promiscuous, as jumping into bed left, right and center might be today.
Anyway, it was a fun book to read. The old-fashioned language and the equally old-fashioned behaviour of the hard-core and hard-hitting (in 1947 at least) Mike Hammer was indeed enjoyable. There are two more books left in the collection volume I got so I will read two more books in the series for sure. After that, well it remains to be seen if I pick up another volume or not.
It is quite a bit a change of pace from my usual reading. No high-tech, no magic, no monsters, no spaceships etc… Well, it was a fun read nonetheless. The book was originally written 1947 so the language, especially the use of slang, is of course somewhat outdated.
Today it is difficult, at least for me, to understand why this book became the first of a whole string of bestsellers. Yes, it is not my top-favorite genre and it is the first book in the Mike Hammer series and the first book in a series can often be a bit of a practice exercise for the author. Still, the book is readworthy but not fantastic. To me it is a fairly standard crime novel and a rather predictable one at that.
One thing that I have to say that I do appreciate though is that the hero, although being quite a bit of a womanizer, does not jump into bed every five minutes with every good-looking chick he meets. Having said that, I suspect that in 1947 when the book was written, the behaviour of Mike Hammer was considered just as promiscuous, as jumping into bed left, right and center might be today.
Anyway, it was a fun book to read. The old-fashioned language and the equally old-fashioned behaviour of the hard-core and hard-hitting (in 1947 at least) Mike Hammer was indeed enjoyable. There are two more books left in the collection volume I got so I will read two more books in the series for sure. After that, well it remains to be seen if I pick up another volume or not.
tansy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
2.0
Terrible, but in an invigorating way. Mike Hammer reads like a child's idea of a tough guy.
bundy23's review against another edition
3.0
The killer was pretty much obvious from about a quarter of the way through, even if the genius, flawless, manliest man that's every lived couldn't see it when it was right under his nose the whole time. Whilst reading I couldn't help but picture Frank Drebin or Sledge Hammer (I don't remember sledgehammers name) but when you remove the slapstick it's just so silly and over the top that it's actually kinda sad that anyone would write a lead character like this and not expect it to be turned into The Naked Gun.
That said, as pure entertainment it does work and I can see why Spillane had such a large audience, I just can't see myself giving him a 2nd reading any time soon. He's certainly no Chandler or Hammett.
That said, as pure entertainment it does work and I can see why Spillane had such a large audience, I just can't see myself giving him a 2nd reading any time soon. He's certainly no Chandler or Hammett.
carli_likes_books's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
baldingape's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't find Mike Hammer to be a likeable character. Still, it was a good enough read.
Though I wasn't surprised at all by who ended up being the killer. I would have been more surprised had it not been the person in question.
Though I wasn't surprised at all by who ended up being the killer. I would have been more surprised had it not been the person in question.
bloodravenlib's review against another edition
5.0
The cover for my copy is different, but it is a Signet book published in 1947 from the looks of it, so close enough to the one depicted here in good reads. I got in the mood for some hard-boiled, so I am rereading it. We'll see how it stacks up.
* * * *
Once I got a chance to sit through it, I zipped through it. I enjoy this type of tale a lot. Mike Hammer pulls no punches. This is a great example of the hard boiled genre. For modern readers, I will warn that this is not a PC book, so if you happen to be "sensitive," go read something else. When Spillane died, one of the obituaries compared Mike Hammer to Dirty Harry. I think that would fit. Sure, the times may change, but a lot of us still like our heroes hard, with a strong sense of justice, and who don't let any bureaucratic nonsense stop them. As for the tale, the action pretty much grabs you from the first page and goes on to the twist at the end, which I will not reveal. If you like hard boiled, then this is for you.
This was written back in the forties, so it reflects its time, which for me is one reason I like reading this kind of fiction. Just to get a bit of a glimpse. But one also reads it just for the pure escapism. For me at least, this is one of my favorites now. I will be looking for other works featuring Mike Hammer. Since I got my copy of this one second hand, I think it may be fun to find others in second hand stores. We'll see how it goes.
* * * *
Once I got a chance to sit through it, I zipped through it. I enjoy this type of tale a lot. Mike Hammer pulls no punches. This is a great example of the hard boiled genre. For modern readers, I will warn that this is not a PC book, so if you happen to be "sensitive," go read something else. When Spillane died, one of the obituaries compared Mike Hammer to Dirty Harry. I think that would fit. Sure, the times may change, but a lot of us still like our heroes hard, with a strong sense of justice, and who don't let any bureaucratic nonsense stop them. As for the tale, the action pretty much grabs you from the first page and goes on to the twist at the end, which I will not reveal. If you like hard boiled, then this is for you.
This was written back in the forties, so it reflects its time, which for me is one reason I like reading this kind of fiction. Just to get a bit of a glimpse. But one also reads it just for the pure escapism. For me at least, this is one of my favorites now. I will be looking for other works featuring Mike Hammer. Since I got my copy of this one second hand, I think it may be fun to find others in second hand stores. We'll see how it goes.
hammo's review against another edition
2.0
Not great. I had to exert energy to finish it. The ending wasn't like "Ohhh, so that's who the killer was and why they did it." so much as "Oh ok. I guess that makes sense."
I think I came across this in the Great Courses lectures on Mystery and Suspense Fiction, in which it was described as a quintessential low-quality pulp fiction detective story. I expected the protagonist to be pure ego fantasy: tough, debonaire, smart, morally superior, always comes out on top in any exchange, beautiful naked women throw themselves at him. James Bond basically. This was all true, except that unlike James Bond, the hero detective is also kinda puritanical. He refuses to have sex before marriage, despite the beautiful naked women throwing themselves at him. There's something weird about this. It still seems basically sexist and boorish but in an uncanny and unfamiliar way.
I think I came across this in the Great Courses lectures on Mystery and Suspense Fiction, in which it was described as a quintessential low-quality pulp fiction detective story. I expected the protagonist to be pure ego fantasy: tough, debonaire, smart, morally superior, always comes out on top in any exchange, beautiful naked women throw themselves at him. James Bond basically. This was all true, except that unlike James Bond, the hero detective is also kinda puritanical. He refuses to have sex before marriage, despite the beautiful naked women throwing themselves at him. There's something weird about this. It still seems basically sexist and boorish but in an uncanny and unfamiliar way.