Finally a discussion I can really sink my teeth into....
Hammer actually grew as a character as Spillane grew as a
writer (as did the hero's of the non-Hammer books). Go
through the first six books again. It becomes harder and
harder for Hammer to seek the "easy" solution he did with the
killer in
"I, The Jury". Spillane's religious views in the later novels
had Hammer killing only in self-defense, no more "executions"
(though a case could be made for "The Body Lovers" that he
executed the baddies). His dialogue got better, but the
stories lost their impact. I can think of several of his
later books (especially the short stories) where you know who
the killer is on page five and by the end, he's re-used
whatever "surprise" ending worked in an older book. He twice
used the trick of the bad guy committing suicide instead of
killing Hammer or another story's hero; I lost track of how
many times the hero's "girlfriend" was the killer. His two
"newsest" novels, "The Killing Man" and "Black Alley" are
downright laughable. "Killing" was great until the end, which
just doesn't work; "Black" wasn't even a Hammer book at all,
it seemed.
"I, the Jury" was a good book with (some) silly dialogue; I
think if Spillane had been able to use more curse words he
would have instead of the
"lousy no good louse" kind of lines; "Kiss Me, Deadly" just
plain didn't go anywhere (when Hammer props two bad guys up
against a signpost that says
"Dead End" you got the idea Spillane was at the same spot),
but the first and last chapters are real exciting .
That being said, Spillane is one of my favorites. You can't
beat his descriptive narration of the city, women, or
violence. The opening pages of
"One Lonely Night" are not to be missed. Nobody will ever
have a better ending than what Spillane did in "Vengeance is
Mine." Check out "The Delta Factor" for a non-Hammer book
that's just a fun adventure. "The Long Wait" is another
non-Hammer that will keep you guessing.
Chandler and Hammett may be the greater artists (I,
personally, can't stand Chandler, he just doesn't do it for
me; nor Ross MacDonald), but Spillane deserves credit for
creating some entertaining murder mysteries that, obviously,
keep people talking. --Brian
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