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emilybryk's review
2.0
I just love the name Mike Hammer. Hilarity already!
Know who else loves Mike Hammer? Um, every woman in the book. Really. I think we see all of them but two naked, and we hear about all of their (but one's) breasts (and Mr. H. is just being gracious to the fiancee of his dead buddy. But trust me, if we had another 25 pages or so her breasts would also be alive and struggling against the binding fabric of her blouse too, really.)
I think I was expecting Raymond Chandler and I got a mix of Arthur Kade and Jesse James. (I was thinking at first that I meant the outlaw Jesse James, as killed by Robert Ford, but motorcycle mechanic/womanizer/racist J.J. may be the better fit.)
Know who else loves Mike Hammer? Um, every woman in the book. Really. I think we see all of them but two naked, and we hear about all of their (but one's) breasts (and Mr. H. is just being gracious to the fiancee of his dead buddy. But trust me, if we had another 25 pages or so her breasts would also be alive and struggling against the binding fabric of her blouse too, really.)
I think I was expecting Raymond Chandler and I got a mix of Arthur Kade and Jesse James. (I was thinking at first that I meant the outlaw Jesse James, as killed by Robert Ford, but motorcycle mechanic/womanizer/racist J.J. may be the better fit.)
mike_word's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
m_audrey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
plaguevacant's review
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
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 against another edition
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