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74th out of 308 books
—
203 voters
Kiss Me, Deadly (Mike Hammer #6)
Paperback
Published
September 1st 1967
by Signet
(first published 1952)
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Mike Hammer is one tough dude! No wonder many of today's mystery writers refer to him and Mickey Spillane's books.
Hammer has his license and with that, his gun pulled early on so he does all his work by hand, fighting his way through a maze of corruption, the Mafia. Published in 1953 and not knowing much history of the Mafia, not sure when it 'took hold' in America. With that said, if it was established when Spillane wrote this book, was wondering if he felt threatened in any way?
Kiss Me, Dead...more
Hammer has his license and with that, his gun pulled early on so he does all his work by hand, fighting his way through a maze of corruption, the Mafia. Published in 1953 and not knowing much history of the Mafia, not sure when it 'took hold' in America. With that said, if it was established when Spillane wrote this book, was wondering if he felt threatened in any way?
Kiss Me, Dead...more
Ugh. Honestly, I only read on this for a couple hours before deciding it wasn't worth the inevitable eyestrain. I kept looking into this book, hooping for something as exciting or at least as well-written as The Maltese Falcon. I suppose those are pretty high expectations, but with all the hype Mickey Spillane's novels got, I would have expected them to be at least worth the effort of finishing them.
Also, knowing before I started the book that Spillane called himself one of Jehovah's Witnesses,...more
Also, knowing before I started the book that Spillane called himself one of Jehovah's Witnesses,...more
The more I read Mike Hammer the more of a parody of itself it seems to be. The books are so relentlessly tough and hard boiled, with a brutally humourless hero who relishes his role as the angel of vengeance, that it becomes hard to take them seriously. Except I don’t know if Spillane is really in on the joke.
This time it’s Mike against the Mafia, an organisation with tentacles everywhere but which can still be broken by one man. He makes his traditional threat, kills a great many scumbags and e...more
This time it’s Mike against the Mafia, an organisation with tentacles everywhere but which can still be broken by one man. He makes his traditional threat, kills a great many scumbags and e...more
Kiss Me Deadly finds Mike Hammer confronting the Mafia over stolen narcotics. But this isn't the Mafia of the Godfather or the Sopranos. Spillane pictures them as a secret shadowy organization like the Illuminati or the Elders of Zion.
Compared to other Mike Hammer novels I have read (which all seemed like a rehash of I, The Jury), this one started better, however the ending is completely incoherent. The fate of one character that had gone missing is never dealt with. One main characters' identit...more
Compared to other Mike Hammer novels I have read (which all seemed like a rehash of I, The Jury), this one started better, however the ending is completely incoherent. The fate of one character that had gone missing is never dealt with. One main characters' identit...more
I read this in German, in which it was called Rhapsodie in Blei, which is a pun in German, as "Blei" means "lead". Having seen the movie, I was a bit confused--the novel never mentions anything about nuclear material in the box, and the ending has no glowing house on the beach. I was rather tired at the end, though, having suffered through a lot of violence. Some of it required a big suspension of disbelief: tied down to a bed and under watch by several armed goons, it was surely curtains for Mi...more
The pathetic "noirs" of Stieg Larsson make me recall
Mickey Spillane. As Capote once said, "There are writers and
there are typists." Larsson is strictly a typist. His
mishmasshery of s & m make Spillane read like Proust.
For off-the-wall thrills, you can't beat the film
version of this novel (Robt Aldrich, 1955), which has been
called "the most perfectly realized film noir ever made."
LA is a city in which every road leads to No Exit. What's
coming? A nuclear apocalypse. Sophistication and worldi...more
Mickey Spillane. As Capote once said, "There are writers and
there are typists." Larsson is strictly a typist. His
mishmasshery of s & m make Spillane read like Proust.
For off-the-wall thrills, you can't beat the film
version of this novel (Robt Aldrich, 1955), which has been
called "the most perfectly realized film noir ever made."
LA is a city in which every road leads to No Exit. What's
coming? A nuclear apocalypse. Sophistication and worldi...more
I believe this is my first Mike Hammer book. I loved it! Mickey Spillane wrote great noir, pulp.
While driving down a mountain road, Mike Hammer almost runs over a beautiful blond standing in the road. He gives her a ride only to find she is a woman pursued. After she is killed, Mike sets out to solver her murder.
There were many twists and turns as Mike Hammer pursues the killers.
Here are some great quotes from the book that I particularly loved:
p113 “I sat down, started to light a cigarette a...more
While driving down a mountain road, Mike Hammer almost runs over a beautiful blond standing in the road. He gives her a ride only to find she is a woman pursued. After she is killed, Mike sets out to solver her murder.
There were many twists and turns as Mike Hammer pursues the killers.
Here are some great quotes from the book that I particularly loved:
p113 “I sat down, started to light a cigarette a...more
I liked the 1955 movie better. Cloris Leachman's first big break. Too bad she dies so soon. The movie became a cult classic and film noir. Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer. A.I. Bezzerides, in writing the screenplay, took liberties with the plot which made it better in my opinion.
Stacy Keach is my favorite Hammer.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048261/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086760/
Stacy Keach is my favorite Hammer.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048261/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086760/
Il detective duro per eccellenza, buono quanto basta ma soprattutto giusto oltre ogni limite. Ce ne vorrebbero... Tacciato di torpiloquismo negli anni '50, oggi quel linguaggio conserva la sua brutalità quasi senza offendere, tanto si è abbassato il livello di decenza soprattutto di molte trasmissioni televisive. Se la contendono lui e Callaghan, e temo che il buon vecchio Clint debba cedere ai ragazzi grandi...
These are CASSETTES which i would K.I.L.L. for so that i could drive around in my 1988 Volvo and listen to this. i did read the book- there were some surprises that's for sure. It probably helped galvanize me as a feminist.
It was quite good but some descriptions were kind of boring and even not needed in some parts. The book is full of twists. Sometimes its hard to keep up with the plot and all the ladies that the detective is with :)
My first Mickey Spillane novel. I bought the movie and watched it first; very different from the book. Instead of the Mafia, it was a 50's motif of stolen plutonium.
Classic old school noir, with dames, stiffs, and a hell of a gimmick.
Mike Hammer is the main character.
I've re-read most of Spillane's novels. They're hoaky, dated & fun. I don't care for the Tiger Mann books much. He gets really hoaky with them - tough guy who screws around on his virginal fiancee but loves her so much he aches. The later Mike Hammer books go that way too. Mike Hammer ranks a little higher with me, but not a lot.
I enjoy Spillane's stand alone stories more. Those characters tend not to be as hoaky, just as tough & the plots are fair with...more
I've re-read most of Spillane's novels. They're hoaky, dated & fun. I don't care for the Tiger Mann books much. He gets really hoaky with them - tough guy who screws around on his virginal fiancee but loves her so much he aches. The later Mike Hammer books go that way too. Mike Hammer ranks a little higher with me, but not a lot.
I enjoy Spillane's stand alone stories more. Those characters tend not to be as hoaky, just as tough & the plots are fair with...more
Great hard-boiled detective stuff.
awful. Unequal to the worse I've read from Ross MacDonald.
Boring and predictable.
It was ok :)
Having been a long time fan of the film and never having read any Spillane before, I was curious... and although I enjoyed the book and will probably read some more of his work at some time, quite frankly I got a little bored with the plot. The more surreal quality of the film was more appealing to me. It's obviously a piece of its time which is interesting in itself - quite sexy in a charming restrained way, even though it deals with brutal people.
The rockin' wrecking ball of Mike Hammer must be called back via movies like Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp fiction... I want to see this movie done in the Kill Bill style by Tarantino. Totally misogynist and sickly violent, but such an interesting look back on the 1950s postwar USA. It's a roller coaster of broken teeth, bleeding bellies and limbs ripped away from the evil powers that be... Intense.
I was expecting to like this but I actually kind of hated it. The writing is clever sometimes but Hammer is just so brutally angry for like, no reason I can discern. Then every single dame is more gorgeous than the last & totally wants to get down his pants. And then the story doesn't even tie up at the end. I did really like Michael Friday though. She should get her own story.
One of the few instances where the film version is actually better than the book - the film is 5 stars all the way...the book, a solid 4. Track 'em both down...
A beautiful woman's cold-blooded murder has the mark of the Mafia. Although warned to stay away, Hammer won't stop until he gets revenge.
Mar 30, 2009
Douglas
marked it as to-read
A Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide Must-Read Crime Novel
May 14, 2013
Ornela O*
marked it as to-read
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Mickey Spillane, was one of the world's most popular mystery writers. His specialty was tight-fisted, sadistic revenge stories, often featuring his alcoholic gumshoe Mike Hammer and a cast of evildoers who launder money or spout the Communist Party line.
His writing style was characterized by short words, lightning transitions, gruff sex and violent endings. It was once tallied that he offed 58 peo...more
More about Mickey Spillane...
His writing style was characterized by short words, lightning transitions, gruff sex and violent endings. It was once tallied that he offed 58 peo...more
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Dec 25, 2012 02:13am