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karinlib's review
3.0
I've just started reading Dashiell Hammett, some short things, and I really like his blunt style.
vorpalblad's review against another edition
5.0
The different perspectives and voices he uses show what a versatile writer he was. Includes an interesting foreword.
bob_muller's review against another edition
5.0
It is tremendously fun to be a fan of an author like Dashiell Hammett and then discover a "new" collection of stories. Not that re-reading the Continental Op collection and the novels is boring, but a whole set of stories (Continental Op included, and Sam Spade) that one hasn't read? Nice. I think the editors have done a great job, and the biographical sketch told me a lot about Hammett that I didn't know. Highly recommended. Anyone out there doing the real, complete Dashiell Hammett collection? Please? Why should Twain get all the glory? Sam Spade would have had Huck Finn in jail faster than the squeeze of a trigger.
bearofsand's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
I've always been a big fan of Hammett's novels. The Maltese Falcon is probably in my top five books of all time. So needless to say, I was quite excited when I started this compilation of short stories. And we start off with a bang! Nightmare Town is a great little novella. I'd argue it's the best story in this whole collection.
It doesn't exactly go downhill from there, there are some other gems in here (A Man Called Spade, Too Many Have Lived, etc.). But we definitely have dessert before dinner in this instance.
I do think Nightmare Town's length lends to its excellence. I've discovered Hammett tends to do better when he has some room to write. The worst short stories in this collection tend to be the shortest of the bunch. It's the stories that have room to grow, room to introduce new characters, room to develop a noir-style plot that end up having the best effect.
Some of these 8 pagers start building up to something, only for there to be a half page left to sum it all up! Hammett then relies too heavily on exposition from one of the characters to reveal the big mystery, a common tactic of the genre but other parlor scenes do this more adroitly.
If you're a noir fan though, this book is highly recommended. There are a few duds in here but there's enough greatness to balance the scales.
It doesn't exactly go downhill from there, there are some other gems in here (A Man Called Spade, Too Many Have Lived, etc.). But we definitely have dessert before dinner in this instance.
I do think Nightmare Town's length lends to its excellence. I've discovered Hammett tends to do better when he has some room to write. The worst short stories in this collection tend to be the shortest of the bunch. It's the stories that have room to grow, room to introduce new characters, room to develop a noir-style plot that end up having the best effect.
Some of these 8 pagers start building up to something, only for there to be a half page left to sum it all up! Hammett then relies too heavily on exposition from one of the characters to reveal the big mystery, a common tactic of the genre but other parlor scenes do this more adroitly.
If you're a noir fan though, this book is highly recommended. There are a few duds in here but there's enough greatness to balance the scales.
francomega's review
3.0
Sam Spade only appeared 4 times on the page: The Maltese Falcon and the three stories included here. While the stories are all essentially hard-boiled versions of Agatha Christie drawing room mysteries, they're fun and Spade has a better showing than he did in Falcon.
I didn't read all the stories here, but I did read the ones featuring Hammett's other famous detective, the Continental Op. Maybe it's me, but it feels like Hammett put more into the Op stories--more attitude, more substance. All enjoyable, short reads.
I didn't read all the stories here, but I did read the ones featuring Hammett's other famous detective, the Continental Op. Maybe it's me, but it feels like Hammett put more into the Op stories--more attitude, more substance. All enjoyable, short reads.
lnatal's review
3.0
Steve Threefall arrives in a small desert town and encounters a dark mystery. Read by Stuart Milligan.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ss2gz
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ss2gz
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