The Mike Hammer Omnibus:Vol 1 by
Micky Spillane
pbk out October 06
(Allison Busby)
at £9.99
I must confess that until now I have never been tempted to sample the works of
Mickey Spillane, who died a few months ago. Scathing critical assessments by
commentators such as the late great Julian Symons prompted me, along no doubt with
many others, to give the American best-seller a wide berth. But perhaps it is time to
reconsider. Certainly, Max Allan Collins, in introducing this collection of the first
three novels featuring Spillane's tough hero Mike Hammer, does an excellent job of
salesmanship. Collins admires Spillane as 'always an innovative storyteller and
stylist' and as 'a social historian, painting an America whose postwar world did not
live up to expectations'. He has a point when he talks about Spillane's lean prose, and
also when he highlights the unexpected connection with the intricately plotted work of
such distinctly non-tough writers like Agatha Christie. Spillane's attitudes towards
sex and violence will continue to trouble some readers, but he is not a writer to be
ignored.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
; width=){kind=small}
The Mike Hammer Omnibus:Vol 1 by
Micky Spillane
