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68th out of 308 books
—
203 voters
Nightmare Town (The Continental Op Short Stories)
Introduced by Colin Dexter, one of England's greatest writers of detective fiction, here are twenty long-unavailable stories by Dashiell Hammett, the author of The Maltese Falcon and one of the finest writers of the twentieth century.
In the title story, a man on a bender enters a small town and ends up unravelling the dark mystery at its heart. A woman confronts the brutal...more
In the title story, a man on a bender enters a small town and ends up unravelling the dark mystery at its heart. A woman confronts the brutal...more
Paperback, 396 pages
Published
August 9th 2002
by Picador Books
(first published 1948)
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Clearly, Hammett is a legend. The Maltese Falcon and The Glass Key are both great, but I would rate the title piece of this collection, a short novella of 40 pages, just as highly. It's got everything: it's painstakingly and impeccably written, it's fast, it's fun, it's furious. The only reason no-one's made a movie out of it yet is surely that it gets hidden away in these kinds of collections. It's a hoot! It's so ridiculous it verges on post modern, this story - the kind of thing that is both...more
Nightmare Town contains 20 stories by Dashiell Hammett that haven't seen the light of day in decades. It is definitely a nice surprise to have more stories from a writer who left us with too few works.
The stories in Nightmare Town are mostly what you would expect from Hammett. Seven of the stories are about his character, the Continental Op, his qunitessential detective. The Continental Op is everything a hardboiled detective should be- but not quite the Hollywood version. The Op is balding and...more
The stories in Nightmare Town are mostly what you would expect from Hammett. Seven of the stories are about his character, the Continental Op, his qunitessential detective. The Continental Op is everything a hardboiled detective should be- but not quite the Hollywood version. The Op is balding and...more
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This book contains stories written during different phases of Hammett's literary career. They mostly belong to the hardboiled genre, but their distict styles make it the most 'representative' book by Hammett. You will find Continetal Op stories here, as well as those involving amateurs. You will find grim action-packed stories, ands there are a few poignant few. There is an extremely intriguing draft of "The Thin Man", which, I am sure, has been tempting numerous mystery writers to take up for '...more
So... the ending of "Nightmare Town"... please send me a message on how you think it ended. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but I'm curious of your opinion.
Contains the following short stories:
Nightmare Town, House Dick (also known as Bodies Piled Up), Ruffian's Wife, The Man Who Killed Dan Odams, Night Shots, Zigzags of Treachery, The Assistant Murderer, His Brother's Keeper, Two Sharp Knives, Death on Pine Street, The Second Story Angel, Afraid of a Gun, Tom, Dick, or Harry (also known as...more
Contains the following short stories:
Nightmare Town, House Dick (also known as Bodies Piled Up), Ruffian's Wife, The Man Who Killed Dan Odams, Night Shots, Zigzags of Treachery, The Assistant Murderer, His Brother's Keeper, Two Sharp Knives, Death on Pine Street, The Second Story Angel, Afraid of a Gun, Tom, Dick, or Harry (also known as...more
#49 - 2010.
Yep. I couldn't just try Chandler without also sampling the other great master of hard-boiled mystery fiction, Dashiell Hammett. Again, my random library selections yielded a novel and this short story selection. It also has an interesting overview of Hammett's life in the introduction. These stories contain hard boiled detectives but also, surprisingly, twist ending stories from different points of view as well. Hammett is a more varied writer than Chandler and I am always amused whe...more
Yep. I couldn't just try Chandler without also sampling the other great master of hard-boiled mystery fiction, Dashiell Hammett. Again, my random library selections yielded a novel and this short story selection. It also has an interesting overview of Hammett's life in the introduction. These stories contain hard boiled detectives but also, surprisingly, twist ending stories from different points of view as well. Hammett is a more varied writer than Chandler and I am always amused whe...more
I found this book an improvement over the Continental Op, thw riting overall much stronger, and the stories were drawn from more diverse selection. This is a 3 and a half star book for me. Though like the Continental Op, when you read a large batch of stories in such a short period of time, the conventions really get hammered into your head. Consequently, this was a solid bathroom book for moi, but not something I would curl up with in bed and indulge with midnight hours. Overall, I think I much...more
In the title story, a man on a bender enters a small town and ends up unravelling the dark mystery at its heart. A woman confronts the brutal truth about her husnand in the chilling story, The Ruffian's Wife. His Brother's Keeper is a half-wit boxer's eulogy to the brother who betrayed him. The Second Story Angel recounts one of the most novel cons ever devised. In seven stories, the tough and taciturn Continental Op takes on a motley collection of the deceitful, the duped, and the dead, and onc...more
Another collection of short stories, some of which I've read before but some of which I hadn't, showing Hammett's wide range in writing--his slow-witted but good-hearted boxer speaks with a dictinct diction, as does his wonderfully charming highbrow aspiring poet-detective, who's in love with his terrible poetry but dismisses his brilliant detective work as nothing much. Also includes an early draft of the beginning of The Thin Man, which doesn't work very well on its own but definitely reveals...more
Here's another collection of hard-boiled noir from the Dashiell Hammett vault. You might be wondering, with three great collections of his shorter works already out - The Continental Op, The Big Knockover: Selected Stories and Short Novels and Dashiell Hammett: Crime Stories and Other Writings: Crime Stories and Other Writings - what makes this one worth checking out? After all, wouldn't there be a reason why these stories remained unavailable for so long?
Those are reasonable questions. Thankful...more
Those are reasonable questions. Thankful...more
Dashiell Hammett often gets pigeon-holed as the "Noir Guy," but this book shows that he really is a writer. His short stories are fantastic, vivid tales peopled with amazing characters who are so real in their brief complexity. Honestly, the stuff that you think of as pure Hammett - Sam Spade and the Continental Op - are the least interesting of the book (not to say that they aren't also great, but just that the other stories are great and evocative).
A great way to heal from a bike accident.
A great way to heal from a bike accident.
A pretty essential collection of short stories for crime fiction fans, although the essay that opens the book, giving a recap of Hammett's life and career as a real-life Pinkerton that parallels his writing, is just as interesting and adds quite a bit to the experience. The stories are fascinating as much for how they give a modern reader a window on the corruption and desperation of the times as the mysteries themselves.
Many are stand-alones, although both of Hammett's recurring characters - th...more
Many are stand-alones, although both of Hammett's recurring characters - th...more
Hammett is Hammett. It's tough to conceive of him churning out anything less than 100 percent platinum ... except towards the end when his craft fell off by a bit a notch and he was reduced to 24 karat gold. This is a short story collection, and seven of the stories feature the Continental Op, probably his best if not most well known creation. True, the stories are in the hard-boiled private eye vein, but those who really know the genre also know that the originators -- Hammett, Chandler, and th...more
So fun! This collection of short stories is just as crisp, polished, and vivid as any of his more notable novels. Continental Op and Sam Spade stories, along with an early draft of The Thin Man (without Nick and Nora!), fit nicely along the other, less familiar selections, showcasing Hammett's varied talents.
This book is exactly what it purports to be. A bunch of short crime fiction stories that taken individually deliver a satisfying read in minimal time. The Continental Op and Sam Spade are in for many of the stories and there is even one story that cam be taken as a western. Good stuff.
You can't but enjoy the juicy dialogue that the Contionental Op and his opponents fire at each other. The stories aren't always so well crafted, but the hard, instant action without too much of a build-up makes good for that.
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A fun, relaxing read. Very tightly paced stories that build up to a surprise ending. In some cases, the trick conclusions are very satisfying ("The Man Who Killed Don Adams"). Others are more subtle in their characterization ("Ruffian Wife"). Always interesting how the plots turn from action to exposition at the moment the climax gives way to denouement ("Nightmare Town")---a trait of pulp, for better or worse. Of course, what will be most interesting for the class will be the two Thin Man stori...more
The different perspectives and voices he uses show what a versatile writer he was. Includes an interesting foreword.
A lot of the stories I enjoyed and just a few I did not. Overall, it was a pretty decent collection of short stories by Hammett. It became hilarious towards the end of the book with stories of deception.
This is the only book that's been able to draw me in this semester. I couldn't quite remember what I had read of his, and was absolutely delighted to find something new. As always, the stories are great (even when you know what's going to happen) and the writing is superb. By far my favorite mystery writer.
an excellent collection of Dashiell Hammett short stories. some real gems. there's plenty of sleuth and private detective work, plus Sam Spade stories, the Maltese Falcon was the only Spade novel. Also there are gritty, realistic tales with twists reminicent of O. Henry... Some of the stories reveal situations and plot devices that would turn up in later novels. Hammett is the grand daddy of American "hard boiled" Detective fiction and recognized all over the world as the inventor of the tough g...more
As a writer of mysteries there's much to learn from Hammett's shorter fiction from the 1920s pulp periodicals. He's the best. Okay, granted, the simplicity of some of the mysteries wouldn't fly today. And, truly, I get a bit bored with hardboiled detectives. But one has to keep in mind that the cliche hadn't formed yet, that Hammett created the cliche. He's a great writer.
Oct 30, 2007
Jeff
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
action-adventure,
mystery
This collection of short stories by Dashiell Hammett is as diverse as it is exciting. There is no central character or plot, but this package does provide Hammett’s signature fast paced adventure coupled with his illustrations of who we are as human animals. Some are better than others, but all are generally good at least. Some seem to have been written to provide action-packed pulp that would produce more of a paycheck than substance, but overall this collection is solid and is always entertain...more
This collection of fast paced stories is eminently readable and thoroughly enjoyable. Hammett's dialogue is always unique, though often imitated it is never usually duplicated with success. My favorite story was "The Man Who Killed Dan Odoms." My least favorite was the one about the boxer, the title of which escapes me. Although I am certain the sweat and the blood could be tasted and smelled, I could not get into it.
Any Hammett fan, mystery fan, or lover of great tales should read this collecti...more
Any Hammett fan, mystery fan, or lover of great tales should read this collecti...more
If you like Hammett, you'll like this collection of shorts and novelettes.
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Hammett has a brusque, decidedly masculine tone that's different from what I usually read, but it suits the dark subject matter. The author's first-hand experience as a detective means his writing feels authentic and is full of suspenseful and impressive sleuthing. Most of the stories are pretty short, so it's good for picking up when you've got a bit of time.
entertaining; all the stories have the same basic form; i.e., a twist ending with little foreshadowing and very few ways to figure out the puzzle. Unlike, say, Sherlock Holmes, you never feel as if there's an impenetrable puzzle that will be solved by a brilliant wit. Rather, you just wait until the author's revelation.
Hammett is the master of noir fiction: the first, the best and in my opinion uniquely good. I love everything he's written and this was no exception. It's a collection of short stories, somewhat uneven in quality, but the best were so perfect that it still gets a perfect score. Grade: A+.
Vintage Hammet writing in the stories of this collection.
I read it most for The 7 Continental OP stories but there were several other stories of quality that was about people that wasnt detectives.
Hammett could have written any kind of story he wanted and pulled it off.
I read it most for The 7 Continental OP stories but there were several other stories of quality that was about people that wasnt detectives.
Hammett could have written any kind of story he wanted and pulled it off.
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Also wrote as Peter Collinson, Daghull Hammett, Samuel Dashiell, Mary Jane Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse). In addition to the significant influence his nove...more
More about Dashiell Hammett...
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse). In addition to the significant influence his nove...more
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