Rating: 
Summary: the best of the genre
Review: It's difficult for me to think of another detective novel which can stand up to 'The Maltese Falcon' in the way of story and overall quality. Hammett's prose is perhaps the cleanest i've ever seen short of Fitzgerald and Joyce, and his novels are fast paced and intellectually stimulating.While others like Chandler (who is also an excellent writer) do a fine job of emulating Hammett's writing, there is simply no substitute. I would put 'The Maltese Falcon' very near the top of my reading list with 'Red Harvest' close behind.
Rating: 
Summary: The movie was better than the book
Review: I was dissappointed but its not Hammett's fault. The characters are too familliar since film makers for decades have borrowed from these characters. My problem is I had a hard time distinguishing Spade from Bogie and Cairo from Peter Lorre. As I read the dialogue Bogie's voice was delivering the lines. I can fully appreciate why the American Film Institute rates the movie so highly. But I'm not rating the movie but the book and I did not enjoy it as much as I would have anticipated. It reads more like a screenplay than a novel. No wonder Hammett made his fame and fortune in Hollywood..
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST DETECTIVE NOVEL EVER WRITTEN!!!!!!
Review: I THOUGHT THAT THE MALTESE FALCON WAS THE GREATEST DETECTIVE NOVEL EVER WRITTEN. I HAD TO READ IT FOR A SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT, AND I AM GLAD I CHOSE THIS BOOK. I THOUGHT THAT THE TEXT WAS A LITTLE HARD TO FOLLOW, BUT OTHER THAN THAT I THOURALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. SAM SPADE IS LIKE EVEYONES IDOL, HE IS NOT AFRAID OF ANYONE. IF ANYONE OF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A GREAT DETECTIVE NOVEL THAT TAKES PLACE AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. I CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH THE MOVIE TO SEE IF I FELT THE SAME AS I DID READING THE BOOK. THIS BOOK HAS GOT ME HOOKED ON HAMMETS WRITING. I LOVE IT. I COULD PICTURE THE WHOLE BOOK WHILE I WAS READING IT. I HAD TO READ THE BOOK TWICE TO UNDERSTAND IT ALL, BUT THIS IS PERHAPS THE GREATEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books by the best crime writer
Review: Hammett is a favorite of mine. I have read this twice and loved it both times. I will read it again. The Bogart movie is very faithful.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest detective story ever written
Review: I'm 12 and I just finished reading The Maltese Falcon for a school assignment. I loved Hammett's writing. It's a complicated plot but very easy to follow and comprehend. I especially enjoyed the characters of the novel, as each one proved to be multifaceted, complex, and detailed. It's a short, fast read. I love how everything in the book is vivid and easy to picture, like I'm watching a movie. The Maltese Falcon is a very well written, exciting novel and I encourage any mystery fan to read it.
Rating:
Summary: A great hard-boiled detective story.
Review: You can't find detective stories like this anymore. Great for anyone who likes 1930's atmosphere and a no nonsense detective
Rating:
Summary: They don't write 'em like this anymore
Review: This was my first vintage selection and I'm now hooked! I've never read such a rich and descriptive story that has held my interest with every page. Truly an amazing book. You must read it!
Rating:
Summary: The best Hammett
Review: Simply the best Hammett book I have read. If you've seen the Bogart film version, you will see from reading the book that John Huston basically appropriated virtually all the dialogue ; the film runs like a line-by-line recreation of the book. Unlike the more fragmented novels such as "The Dain Curse", this book is a brilliantly set out and executed noir classic. Read it !!!!
Rating:
Summary: The catalyst but by no means master
Review: Sorry, folks, but while Hammett may have started it all his prose simply can't touch Chandler's or Macdonald's and the fact is, theirs makes his look like Timothy Dalton alongside Sean Connery.
Rating:
Summary: A classic - in all senses of the word
Review: This book represents to me all the wonderful possibilities of fiction: engrossing story, vivid characters, romantic tension, etc... Sam Spade is just "the man." Hammett created him to give the reader a sense that Spade always has a card up his sleeve no matter what the situation. The main reason I love this novel so much is that it enabled me to "see" the characters so clearly. I felt that I was silently following Spade around throughout the story. That in itself is a tremendous accomplishment for an author. The part where Spade, Gutman, Cairo, Miss O' Shaughnessy, and Wilmer were sitting in Spade's room waiting for the delivery of the Falcon is, without a doubt, a classic scene. I could feel the tension lingering in the air. It rivals Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" in the mystery category. READ IT - you won't be disappointed.
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