New Adventures of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Vol 1

New Adventures of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer #1

by Max Allan Collins, Mickey Spillane, Stacy Keach (Narrator)

"I don't want to arrest anyone. I just want to shoot somebody."--Mike Hammer Everybody loves a mystery, and nobody solves them like Mike Hammer. While other detectives bend and manipulate the law, Hammer holds it in total contempt, seeing it as nothing more than an impediment to justice, the one virtue he holds in absolute esteem. Now, the no-holds-barred private eye returns, along with his gorgeous secretary, Velda, and a collection of New York City characters, in two fully dramatized "theater-of-the-mind" audio adventures. "Dangerous Days" and "Oil and Water." "Dangerous Days" - When Hammer rescues a crazed young woman clad only in a medical gown, he's flung into the shadowy world of secret ops and international terrorism. New York is the target, and Mike Hammer is the only man who can prevent a massive catastrophe. But will he find out who the real enemy is before it's too late? "Oil and Water" - The one woman Mike Hammer might have married is back in town. But when she's murdered after making an appointment with her ex-lover, Mike winds up investigating a massive conspiracy involving a powerful oil company. Hammer thinks he's close to the truth, but has he been played for a sucker all along? Narrated by Stacy Keach, the acclaimed actor who starred in the original Mike Hammer TV series, these new mysteries are written by the writers of that show and enhanced with a full supporting cast, sound effects, and music. Even the show's jazzy theme song is back to set the gritty tone for each episode.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Noir, Audiobook

3 pages, Audio CD

First published October 16, 2008

About the author

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.

He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.

Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black

Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ

Reviews

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4★
“Stella and I were two of a kind. We were so much alike, we had all the same faults. I loved trouble, and so did she. Both of us walked on the wild side and flirted with disaster. Both of us loved to pick fights with bad guys and then land them behind bars or bury them six feet under. We were so much alike, we were like oil and water.”

OIL AND WATER
There are two stories in Volume One, and this is the first. They are narrated by the excellent, gruff-voiced Stacy Keach and feature a full cast production with music, sound effects, and a great immersive experience. Stella is a former lover, one he has been missing, and she has come to find him to tell him something. He is to meet her at the hotel.

The quips fly fast, with puns and dark humour, in spite of the tragic turn of events. Mike’s a tough guy and likes to let you know it, but he has a soft side and loves the ladies.

DANGEROUS DAYS
The second story involves possible international terrorism, which is a little out of Mike’s usual territory. But bad guys are bad guys, and he’s not going to let the government get in the way of his hunt. A G-man insists Hammer go with him to the boss.

Mike gets frisked for weapons when he arrives at the Agency, and refuses to part with Betsy, his gun. He has thrown the frisker to the ground when the main agent enters.

“ ‘But he has a gun, Ma’am!’

‘The only thing that bothers me about him having a gun is that he gave it a name. Hi, I’m Agent Lindsay Dekker, with two Ks.’

‘I’m Mike Hammer, with two Ms.’

‘Actually, three.’

‘Hey, you’re right.’

‘That’s why I’m the boss. Come with me.’”

These are entertaining stories, told in the classic manner that old-timers like me will remember from childhood radio plays. The production quality is excellent. Each story is about an hour, which is perfect to accompany an activity or just to enjoy between heavier literary endeavours.

It’s an Audible audiobook that’s free for members to listen to, or available to buy.

I recommend listening to the 5-minute preview to hear what it's like.

Amazon US link

Amazon Australia link

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulpier than Tropicana's very best, and consistently horny and cringeworthy in the very best ways as Mike Hammer navigates the post 9/11, internet age reality of skulduggery and conspiracy in NYC. I will definitely listen to more of these.


Keach IS Mike Hammer, says so right here.

[AndrewP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than a true audio book this is two 90 min stories presented in the full production 'radio show' style. There's a full cast, lead by Stacy Keach, plus sound effects and background music. The production value is very high and I read elsewhere that this was nominated for an Audie award the year it was released. The two stories are not bad although I found the second one a little unbelievable. But then again, this is an attempt to set pure escapist noir into a modern setting. A certain amount of disbelief has to be taken into account to make it work.

If your a fan of Spillane's Mike Hammer then I am sure you will l enjoy this. Even more so if you are also a fan of the TV series staring Stacy Keach. His performance is spot on, great voice acting with all the typical nuances you expect from the character.

One interesting thing in the credits is that the background music was written and performed by Stacy Keach. I never realized he was a musician as well as an actor.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's weird hearing Mike Hammer talk about Eminem and Tupac.

[Gregory Mele · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, this is a nostalgia review for sure...

I'm a GenXer and grew up with the TV show 'Mike Hammer', a far-sensitized version of Spillane's gritty, violent, and so-decidedly-unPC-as-to-be-ridiculous-PI, played pitch-perfectly by Stacey Keach. Despite the necessities of sanitized for network television, the show managed to nail the cynical voiceover narrative style (Spillane wrote like Chandler after an all-night-bender), had a signature jazz theme song that fit the 50s world in which Hammer was immersed, and Keach managed to embody the humor, cynicism and always just-barely-controlled violence of the character. Hammer didn't belong in the 80s, yet somehow it worked.

Now, flash-forward to 2008 and it turns out that an entire series of radio plays brought this iteration of the character back. Written by an established novelist and screenwriter, voiced again by Keach, even the theme song is back. Although still not as raw as Spillane's 'I the Jury', the two mysteries contained herein are not constrained by the limitations of TV censors, and have more the edgy, bloody violence of the original.

Now Hammer in the world of the Millennial is even more 'problematic' to modern sensibilities, but the writer just swerves into the character being who he is. Much like it is somehow always 1949 in a Nero Wolfe story, Hammer is always a product of the 50s, despite it being 2008 (and I'm listening in 2023) -- and it's ridiculous, but refreshingly unapologetic and decidedly fun.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars for the audio book The New Adventures of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer featuring the voice of Stacy Keach. As a fan of Mike Hammer, I enjoyed this “new adventure”. The key here is that “new” means in the modern world of cell phones and internet; not the 1940’s. Keach is spot-on with his speaking style for Hammer. This book is fully acted with unique voices for all characters (rather than a single reader performing). This book contains two new stories that are true to the style of Spillane’s original work (“I’ll make a note”). The plots of the two stories were sufficiently complex to keep the reader interested with nice use of subtle clues. I do recommend this book and will be listening to other books in this new series.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED!!!! I grew up watching Stacy Keach as Mike Hammer--both series--and was thrilled to find these 3 new volumes of stories--as well qs the original novels--read by Keach and a full cast for all the characters. The audiobook format leant so well to the cool, wry inner monologue that make this PI series so perfect--sounded like a 1940's radio broadcast only with current affairs and better audio quality. I can't wait to listen to all the rest!

[Marybeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually listened to an Audible recording of this book. It's probably the same as what Goodreads has to choose from, but they don't include Audible in the options. I'll state right up front that I didn't finish it.

I totally missed that these are "new adventures" e.g. not original stories written by Mickey Spillane, so when I hit the first modern reference, it was a major shock. Thankfully there weren't tons of them because each one was a jolt to my mental picture of the original time period. I've never read or listened to any of the original stories so I really have nothing for comparison, but the narration seemed to be on par with what I would have expected to read. I mainly picked this up out of the Audible Plus catalog because it was free, I'm familiar with Stacey Keach, and I knew I'd like his voice. The first story was interesting, complex, and fairly satisfying, even without knowing who the recurring characters are. The second story I didn't even make it more than a couple chapters in. The minute the murder victim's father expressed the idea that her boyfriend was a terrorist and therefore must have killed her *solely based on his middle-eastern name,* that was it for me. There's a good chance that his preconception will be disproven, but I just couldn't stick around to find out. It was too close to the turmoil going on right now and the mindset of too many people in this country to be comfortable for me to read. Other people might not find it as upsetting, so I will leave this review unredacted in order for other readers/listeners to have a chance to go in with their eyes open. I don't consider what I've said to be a spoiler since this happens so close to the start of the story. What happens later is still there to discover. I didn't stay with it to find out. I won't actually recommend it but I will say that my discomfort doesn't mean that it's not a good story. It just wasn't the story for me.

[Jim C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audiobook has two stories which contain the character Mike Hammer. It is set in modern times as they bring the character forward but he still has his old time charm. The actor, Stacy Keach, who played the character in the 80's returns to provide the voice of the main character along with a full cast of other actors.

I listen to audiobooks in work which I do not review because I feel that they do not get my full undivided attention. I had to leave a review for this because this was amazing. I am probably writing this review thru nostalgic eyes. As a kid I loved the television series. As soon as I heard the iconic tune from the show or the voice of Stacy Keach I knew I was going to love this. Keach falls back into the role effortlessly and he made me laugh out loud at work many times. His portrayal of the character that is out of his time but dealing with modern issues was spot on. I think every time he called a woman "kitten" or said "I will make a note" I smiled and I was transported back in time. As for the two stories they easily fit into Mickey Spillane's idea of the character and him being involved in a mystery. Yes they might be a little outlandish but fans of Spillane will eat them up as the author tries to channel the original author. Honestly, I think he did a wonderful job with the character and the stories.

Everything worked for this production. I absolutely loved this as it worked on all fronts. From the performance of Stacy Keach, the sound effects, the mystery, and to the iconic song. It was all terrific. I don't binge a series because I feel they run into each other. I am throwing that rule out for this production as I am immediately jumping into the second offering. I have a feeling that it is going to produce a huge smile on my face just like this one did for me.

[Prescott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories, there are two are short and not that complex. I don't remember the TV show that much, I remember the theme music and a scene with him eating a slice of pizza and getting bumped and the pizza falling to the ground.

This seems to be trying to copy the tv episodes instead of a book. Copy is the wrong word. Instead of making new tv episodes, they created these audio plays.

There is a full cast and that's good.

I thought it was going to be one story, not two. They are fine for what they are. I just was expected something with a little more meat on the bones. There are 2 more DL / 4 more stories. I'm not going to get them right away, but I might get them after a particularly odd audiobook. Some filler. I know what I'm going to get, but there are other things that are more my thing and probably better storywise.

[Abdul Alhazred · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a couple of old timey radio plays, not an audiobook; that means full cast and sound effects and Mike narrating the parts that aren't dialogue. It's a great production. The stories themselves are set in near-modern times, Mike is transformed into a Vietnam veteran (rather than the big one), but it's still written as 1950s noir, which becomes anachronistic and dissonant as hell when Mike is beating up FBI agents without consequence and complaining about the internet, while talking about 'dames'.
If it wasn't for Stacy Keach's performance selling this with complete sincerity it really wouldn't work.

[James Uscroft · Rating 2 out of 5]

This honestly feels like it was supposed to be a parody, but no one bothered to tell the actors. Because especially now that it's been brought into the 21st century with references to Eminem and Starbucks, etc, the 194o's, pulp-fiction cliches and misogyny are so ridiculously cringeworthy that no one can possibly take it seriously!

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

audio with Stacey Keach heading the large cast
Keach is a favorite for me
this is the detective noir full of innuendo and smart humor without overt vulgarity

I think that I will go back to older versions starting with I, THE JURY

[Stephanie Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

to much sex, ridiculous. Do like the 'live' presentation.

[Tom Weissmuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun very fast short story.

[Judith the Book Gobbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an old time read... Fun , adventure, excitement,. Love very satisfying!!

[Roberta Lynne Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series of detective stories.

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

8 Did I even like the old adventures? Based on this - no I didn’t.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

The key here is that "new" means this world is full of modern day convinces, unlike the original novels which were set in the 1940's.
Rather than a true audiobook, this is instead two 90 minute stories presented in the "radio style" show. There's a full cast, lead by Stacy Keach. Including sound effects and background noises. Pure escapist noir set in modern day.
If you're a fan of the Micky Spillane's Mike Hammer series, I'm sure you will enjoy this. Even more so if you enjoyed the tv series. Keach's acting is perfect for the setting and the series, great voice acting with all the proper nuances for the characters, and setting.
Another reviewer noted that the background music was composed and performed by Stacy Keach as well. I didn't know he was a musician, either!

[Gaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book on CD! It's radio drama at its best!

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought back listening to stories dramamtised on the radio. Lots of fun.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stacey Keach recreates his version of Mike Hammer for this audio adventure. If you liked him on television, you will like this audio adventure.