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45th out of 183 books
—
35 voters
Vengeance Is Mine (Mike Hammer #3)
He was a nice guy. Now he's dead. That's all Hammer knows about the stiff in the hotel room. But that isn't enough because Hammer suspects murder while the cops are calling it a suicide. Without a license or a gun, Hammer is pushing his way through a swirl of sex-and-game clubs, high priced models and not just a little blackmail. Someone is working hard to frame Hammer and...more
Paperback, Signet 852, 160 pages
Published
1953
by The New American Library of World Literature, Inc.
(first published 1950)
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Mickey Spillane's novels represent pretty much everything I despise in a person's worldview yet despite his misogynistic, homophobic, far-right, gun-loving heroes his writing by and large has me hooked that I can't help coming back for more.
His Mike Hammer is probably the most masochistic of all hard-boiled heroes. He would of course deny it but he undoubtedly seems to get a lot of pleasure about the beatings he keeps getting in the course of all the novels. And much could be said about his sexu...more
His Mike Hammer is probably the most masochistic of all hard-boiled heroes. He would of course deny it but he undoubtedly seems to get a lot of pleasure about the beatings he keeps getting in the course of all the novels. And much could be said about his sexu...more
Mike Hammer is the most tough guy of tough guy detectives, just as Micky Spillane is the most hard-boiled of hard-boiled writers. A Mike Hammer book does not start with someone bringing him a case, instead a person he knows will die and he'll swear revenge and set about taking it. Noses are broken, teeth are shattered, shots are fired, dames are ogled over and kissed. The entire thing is turned up at 11 and is a rollercoaster ride of lurid sex and violence.
I wrote a few days back about the James...more
I wrote a few days back about the James...more
Reading three of these in a row really drives home the formula they are written to. But this one nearly, oh so nearly, had a twist ending. A proto-twist, as it were, but not a true one since it could be seen coming from about 30 pages away. Still, I think 3 in a row is enough for the moment. I'm all heaving breasts out. Mind you, seeing Mike Hammer try to beat the clock to prevent his secretary suffering a fate worse than death, when he has been suffering the same fate for several books is hilar...more
First Mickey Spillane that I've ever read. It crossed my mind recently that I'd never paid any attention to his stuff. Then I read/heard Patti Smith mention him so I am giving him a chance. It's not the greatest hard boiled writing but there is lots worse. I kept thinking of the character from the movie "Marty" that talks about Spillane and Mike Hammer. I can see the appeal. Dated but so is most things. The ended was a let down but the novel had some moments of energy.
i admit it- i am a big Mickey Spillane fan eventhough he is kind of a fear-mongering brute with a bad homophobe streak. BUT in some of these stories Spillane writes top-notch noir = means you basically can't guess the ending or the trajectory of the story. Which is a cheap thrill, granted, that for a cheap-thrill afternoon in a hammock, i find just about right.
A typical Mike Hammer adventure: sadistic, vicious, morally ambivalent. Bizarre in its handling of gender and sexuality, with one of the most confusing final twists in the hard-boiled canon. (It literally makes me go back and re-evaluate Hammer's perspective throughout the preceding story arc.) Emblematic of the genre's propensity for misogyny and homophobia, even as it muddies those tendencies with its confusing twists and turns.
A little bit darker than the previous Mike Hammer books. The classic cynicism, contempt and smouldering anger seem to infect others too. Even Pat Chambers comes across as gruff. The dames in this one are hotter, the badies are badder, and the good guys are better.
People seem to die regularly around Mike Hammer. Most by his own doing, but some just seem to fall dead at his feet. Spillane was a great writer of the pulp detective, hard boiled book and this one does not dissappoint.
I live the Mike Hammer series. This one did not hold my attention like others, but it was still wonderful reading. I am a little curious why a heterosexual man is sharing a bed with another one?
The end of this book is one of the most spectacular surprises I have encountered! Wow! Tough gritty mike hammer not taking any shit as usual while wooing the pretty ladies.
He was a nice guy. Now he's dead. That's all Hammer knows about the stiff in the hotel room. But that isn't enough because Hammer suspects murder while the cops are calling it a suicide. Without a license or a gun, Hammer is pushing his way through a swirl of sex-and-game clubs, high priced models and not just a little blackmail. Someone is working hard to frame Hammer and he's working hard to find out why. Everywhere he turns, he keeps coming up against a blonde beauty named Juno. She holds the...more
I liked I, The Jury better, but this was still pretty good. A bit slow in setting up initially. However, once the pace picked up, the action did not let go until the very end. Quite a blackmail plot leading to murder was set up, and Mike Hammer is the only one who persists in getting to the truth. The twist at the end was quite a detail, which I will not give away. Overall, a nice little bit of escapist fun. I will certainly look for other Mike Hammer novels.
May 05, 2013
Wejj
added it
terrific book,it took me two days to read it,much suspense!!
Good old fashioned hard boilded fun.
What a superb story teller....(and yes - women falling all over MH does get tiresome but it goes with the territory)
May 09, 2011
Man Solo
marked it as to-read
Should be good
One of the best things I've had to read for my crime noir class. I probably wouldn't like it so damn much if I hadn't just mucked through the awful slop that Raymond Chandler wrote.
I am a big fan of Mickey Spillane and the Mike Hammer series. This is pulp at it's best. Vengeance is Miine is a great example of this. It will keep you turning pages to the surprise ending.
I did say this was better than the others, but the ending made me feel slightly ill, so it doesn't get an extra star. Transphobia, yay! But Velda is really awesome, even if the formula and the -isms don't really vary from the other books.
Quick-moving, with lots of gore and so on, and you'd better not trust anybody. You probably know the drill.
Quick-moving, with lots of gore and so on, and you'd better not trust anybody. You probably know the drill.
This book requires that you have read the two previous Mike Hammer novels. Unlike the previous ones though, you will have a harder time figuring out who-dun-it before the final two chapters.
May 10, 2013
Sophie
marked it as to-read
May 06, 2013
mabesie
marked it as to-read
May 01, 2013
Jeff
marked it as to-read
Apr 28, 2013
Kristin
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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