Just in time to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Mickey Spillane’s birth, Hard Case Crime is publishing The Last Stand, a book with two previously unpublished Spillane novellas. As Max Allan Collins discusses in his informative Introduction, “A Bullet For Satisfaction” was written around the mid-1950s. It has the style of I, the Jury with an ex-cop narrating his fury of vengeance against The Syndicate for the killing of a politician. Rod Dexter, former Captain of Homicide, loses his position on bogus charges. But that only fires up his crusade to get even with the gangsters who are trying to take over his town. Yes, there’s a dash of Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest in “A Bullet for Satisfaction,” too.
“The Last Stand” was the last completed manuscript Mickey Spillane wrote. Max Allan Collins estimates “The Last Stand” was finished shortly before Mickey Spillane’s death in 2006. It’s an adventure story featuring Joe Gillian, a pilot, whose antique plane is forced to make an emergency landing in the desert because of a mechanical problem. Joe meets a Native American who calls himself Sequoia Pete and his beautiful sister, Running Fox. Joe finds himself drawn into a battle with government agents, criminals, and local tribe politics. Lost Aztec treasure and mysterious arrowheads propel the plot to a thunderous conclusion.
Mickey Spillane knew how to tell a story and now Hard Case Crime brings us two of his best! Don’t miss The Last Stand! GRADE: B+
Never liked Spillane. Even when as a teenager reading all the Gold Medal books I felt his writing fell short. Doubt I would try this.
Steve, Mickey Spillane wrote for a specific audience. Initially, it was for service men returning from World War II and dealing with a changing society. Later, Spillane preferred to write adventure novels. He even wrote a couple books for kids!
I have never read Spillane. Should at least try one.
Patti, I, THE JURY is the book that changed the publishing world.
Meh. Too much else on my list.
Jeff, I admire Max Allan Collins for getting all of Spillane’s manuscripts into print. These two stories “bookend” Spillane’s career: an early story and his final one.
Put me on the pro-Spillane list. Those on the anti side should read the first chapter of ONE LONELY NIGHT, as powerful and atmospheric as it gets.
Jerry, you’re right about ONE LONELY NIGHT. My review of this iconic book can be found here: http://georgekelley.org/one-lonely-night-by-mickey-spillane/
I discovered Spillane in the late 50s and read everything up to that point, then continued to read his new books through the early 70s. In his best books his prose had a propulsive quality that I’d never encountered before and didn’t come across again until the early novels of Robert Ludlum. Maybe it’s time for a Spillane reread.
Michael, reading “A Bullet for Satisfaction” brought back that feeling of reading the first Mike Hammers!
My fellow students probably would have called me crazy – but I have to cinfess that I became a big Spillane fan in the 60s and later roamed the London bookstores to get everything written by him, though the last books weren’t what I expected.
“Murder One” was the specialist store – also had SF however, very good offers in second hand books too …
Just read the discussion on “One lonely night” – yes, it’s a masterpiece even though the “communists” are really silly.
My favourite is still “the Deep”!
And of course the movie: The Girl Hunters with the shotgun ending
Wolf, I had the same reaction when I first read those Mike Hammer novels back in the 1960s!
I read I, THE JURY and at least one other, but never got interested enough to keep going. I was reading Hammett and Chandler at the time, and Spillane just didn’t measure up. I probably won’t bother with this one, either.
Rick, Mickey Spillane out-sold Hammett and Chandler by a wide margin. He ignited the market for Private Eye fiction. And, Spillane starred in some entertaining beer commercials.
By the way, as amazing as it seems, I put up a post today. I’m going to try to do either a FFB or a Monday Current Reading each week, starting with some catch-ups on last Fall reading and bringing it up to current.
Rick, sounds good! I’ll check out your posts.