The Maltese Falcon

Long Live Free Speech - Hammett is a Master

To the students to criticized Maltese Falcon rather harshly, I say 'Bravo! For expressing yourselves' I do, however, disagree with your poor assessment of this book. Maybe it's because I'm a little older (okay a lot older), and I know what a great contribution this book (and subsequent movie) has been to the Mystery genre and to American Literature. I urge you to read it again when you have a few grey hairs on your head (or are trying to hide them, like I do.) Who knows,if I had read it when I was your age, maybe I wouldn't like it either. Happy New Year and God Bless.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Maltese Falcon: Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett's unique writing style and dramatic twists make this detective novel an unforgettable read. Sam Spade is a combination of Ian Fleming's James Bond and Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, a character with guts, skill, and one heck of a brain. All in all, this novel is one for the bookshelf.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Detective fans - pounce!

Pulp fiction at its best. Not a feel good ending, but the only type of ending that mix of characters could product. Both the detective and a female character in the novel provided some inspiration for two of the characters in my novel. R Hemingway

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of my favorites...

A great mystery story full of deceitful characters, witty one-liners, strong men, and beautiful women.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

TIMELESS

The Maltese Falcon is one of those rare timeless wonders. The writing style is perfect and to the point, but is detailed in a way that seems to have been lost throughout the years. Even though it is a very short book you get to know the characters so well. Down to the very subtle habits and mannerisms. The whole time I was reading it I couldn't help but comment how real and vivid the characters are. The story itself will keep you thinking and entranced. And the ending is wonderful! It's such a simple book that will be a classic a hundred years from now. It is that timeless. Also, the violence is minimal and the swearing is almost nonexistent. It also is very discreet with sexual situations, making it perfect fun for any age!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Smokeypaw

...? I am

Nursurey

A cave in the cliff on the ground to prevent kits from falling off the higher oarts of the cliff and wih a sandy floor and a bramble half circle on the outside with a lichen entrance to protect the queens and their kits. Nests are made of moss and wool and feathers.

The Mysterious Falcon

Ever heard of Sam Spade? This is the book where he got his start. I had always wanted to read this mystery and finally got around to it when I saw it at Barnes & Noble. THE MALTESE FALCON is full of intriguing plot twists and slippery characters.
The Maltese Falcon is a rumor, a legendary sculpture worth a world-round trip to find. Sam Spade gets mixed up in the treasure hunt when it crosses his path in the form of Miss Wonderly. She draws him in with her story, and when Spade investigates he finds that he can trust no one, including his client, and that rumors fly as easily as dandelion seeds.
I admit that when I read the truth behind the mystery, I was more surprised than I should have been. It was simply an ending that I had not considered.
Nevertheless, THE MALTESE FALCON is written with considerable skill, and it should be a welcome addition to anyone's library.

"The Maltese Falcon" Still a Thrilling Read

This remains one of the best detective thrillers of the genre. Many have copied the style, but no one comes close to Dashiell Hammett. His story is still fresh and original, in spite of the corniness of the dialog. But the reader should remember, if the dialog seems a bit hackneyed it's because it's been copied by hundreds of lesser writers.

Great!

The characters are so intriguing.

The Mystery of the Falcon

The unique style of Hammett's writing just kept me glued to that book, although there were some parts that were hard for me to understand, I still liked it. "The Maltese Falcon" has many interesting and well worked, each on with his own wants, looks and personality. I recommend this book to the people who like mystery/ action books, because of the thinking and puzzling you have to do as a reader.
The story has many odds and ends because of how everything gets bound together at some point. At the beginning of the book Mr. Spade (the main character) meets a lady that her name is Summer, but later finds her real name after a lot investigating, which is Brigid O'Shanngeness. He also meets a man named Cairo. Brigid and Cairo know each other and it turned out that Cairo is sent by a man, a man named "G" or, Mr. Gutman, to find Brigid and tell her to hurry and find the thing he told her to, while Mr. Spade didn't know anything that they were talking about. Later Mr. Spade finds out by himself that is was a fat man that paid Cairo who paid Brigit to find the falcon, and Spade needs to find the falcon with police on his back from his partner's murder and Mr. Gutman from the falcon.
This book is well spread out with a lot of detail and well thought out. The plot is all but too long and agonizing. The reason I gave this a five star is because of the excitement and how all the characters were all linked together.

You can read this again and again

I read the book after seeing the movie numerous times. The book was good. It held up on it's own. Who need Bogart :-)

It actually is a good story. Easy read. easy to get into and get lost in.

Engaging and fun to read.

This is the grandfather of all dectective novels. Almost ever line that Sam Spade utters has become the basis for cliche. Any true dective mystery fan needs to have read the Maltese Falcon and to have it in their collection.

Yuck! This one rates one bifocal since the man took the effort to write it.

This is the review I wrote for my book club:

How the reviewer sited on the jacket found it to be the best detective story written amazes me.

Clearly a sign of its time in terms of the sexism and escapism. As in the difficult economic times of today folks in the depression era also sought escape in the outlandish.

The story line is ridiculous, impossible and insipid.

0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon is an intriguing book with many twists and turns. I would have never guessed who the person was that killed Miles Archer. I liked the author¿s style of writing very much. It was very descriptive and it kept you hooked. I would highly recommend this book to people who enjoy the board game ¿Clue¿. My only complaint is that the author¿s style was occasionally hard to understand. I could tell that it was written in the 1920s.

The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon is an intricate story of a private detective, a beautiful woman, a perfume grafter, and a person whose name is Gutman. It all revolves around a mysterious solid gold falcon that is worth tons of money. I thought this was a very detailed book with plot twists that just grab the reader¿s attention that just keeps you reading. You want to keep going your brain trying to put together these events. If you love detective stories, or high suspense movies this book is for you.

Spade, So Smooth

1920's, San Fran. Sam Spade is the quintessential Private Eye. He's bold, cool, clever, and irresistible. The title refers to an ancient jeweled statue that everyone wants. There's a mysterious and innocent-seeming knock-out redhead, a greasy, sneaky Greek man, a corpulent, rich man, and a young, wiry hit-man from New York. The murders are piling up. Will Spade be able to unravel the intricate knot before he himself is implicated in the dirty deeds ¿ or murdered, as well? This is a great book! I can't believe I never had the pleasure of meeting Spade before! He's very cool. The story is complicated and it jumps around you never know what to expect next. Now, I can really appreciate Bogart doing his turn as the smoothest detective ever!

The mystery of a lifetime

This is truly a book that i would reccomend that anyone to read. You have to keep up with the clues and the suspects. It makes you wonder why the young boy that is at the newspaper stand is following the suspects. Truly a great book to read. I would reccomend that you should another one of Dashiell Hammett's books. I really liked it.

Good Book

I really enjoyed reading Maltese Falcon. The story had a great plot and was easy to follow. The way Hammett described the characters¿ traits made it easy to visualize what the characters looked like. Hammett made it almost feel as if the characters were real. I had trouble keeping up with the characters at times, but I would defiantly read another book authored by Hammett.

It's a matter of taste...

I happen to love the hard boiled detective genre, many people don't. There is a poetry in the language, an archaic and often crude poetry that places emphasis on exactly what details are described and the phrasing. If you have a taste for the genre I recommend the Maltese Falcon as the finest novel in the entire genre. It is fairly unique in its use of limited third person narration and I consider it the best of Hammet's work.