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Dan Schwent's Reviews > The Continental Op
The Continental Op
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The Continental Op is a collection of short stories starring Dashiell Hammett's detective character, The Continental Op. Here are just some of the tales contained within.
The Tenth Clew: Millionaire Leopold Gantvoort is found dead and signs point to the mysterious Emil Bonfils. But what of the more obvious suspect, Gantvoort's 23 year old wife to be?
Not a bad way to start the collection. I've never read a story where someone had their head bashed in with a typewriter before. The mystery was pretty good, though I had some idea what was going on about halfway through.
The Golden Horseshoe: The Op goes to Mexico to bring back a rich woman's husband and gets more than he bargained for...
This story nicely illustrates The Continental Op's place in Matthew Scudder's ancestry as the Op bends the law to get a man put away.
The Girl with the Silver Eyes: A poet hires the Continental Pop to find his missing lover. Too bad she isn't who she pretends to be...
This one was a lot more complex than it first seemed and the Op demonstrated his ability quite well, both in detection and in violence. My favorit part, however, was how the poet was exasperating the Op at the beginning of the case.
The Whosis Kid: The Op crosses paths with a two-gun stickup man while on the trial of stolen jewels.
The op thinks his way out of a nasty situation when he gets caught between some double-crossing criminals. I love that the Op isn't afraid to fight dirty and knows he's no knight in shining armor.
In conclusion, The Continental Op is a collection of detective stories that are still influential even today. For it's historical value, it should be a must read for pulp detective fans.
The Tenth Clew: Millionaire Leopold Gantvoort is found dead and signs point to the mysterious Emil Bonfils. But what of the more obvious suspect, Gantvoort's 23 year old wife to be?
Not a bad way to start the collection. I've never read a story where someone had their head bashed in with a typewriter before. The mystery was pretty good, though I had some idea what was going on about halfway through.
The Golden Horseshoe: The Op goes to Mexico to bring back a rich woman's husband and gets more than he bargained for...
This story nicely illustrates The Continental Op's place in Matthew Scudder's ancestry as the Op bends the law to get a man put away.
The Girl with the Silver Eyes: A poet hires the Continental Pop to find his missing lover. Too bad she isn't who she pretends to be...
This one was a lot more complex than it first seemed and the Op demonstrated his ability quite well, both in detection and in violence. My favorit part, however, was how the poet was exasperating the Op at the beginning of the case.
The Whosis Kid: The Op crosses paths with a two-gun stickup man while on the trial of stolen jewels.
The op thinks his way out of a nasty situation when he gets caught between some double-crossing criminals. I love that the Op isn't afraid to fight dirty and knows he's no knight in shining armor.
In conclusion, The Continental Op is a collection of detective stories that are still influential even today. For it's historical value, it should be a must read for pulp detective fans.
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Reading Progress
September 30, 2011
– Shelved
October 11, 2011
–
Started Reading
November 15, 2011
– Shelved as:
2011
November 15, 2011
– Shelved as:
crime-and-mystery
November 15, 2011
–
Finished Reading
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Mohammed
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rated it 5 stars
Oct 17, 2011 08:55AM
Wait is this your first Hammett short stories ?
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Yeah. I've read Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest but never any of Hammett's shorts.
Hehe you are so lucky to experience the OP in his best format for the first time.I have read more Hammett collections than novels so maybe im a bit biased when it comes to his short stories. Im gonna write 25 page literary paper about Hammett and Red Harvest but im gonna compare it to this collection.
Dan, you said 'I've never read a story where someone had their head bashed in with a typewriter before'all i can say is having read some rubbish over the years, what a shame truth doesn't follow fiction more often...some authors having their heads caved in by the instrument by which they tortured the rest of huanity could have been a bit of rough poetic justice
Mark wrote: "all i can say is having read some rubbish over the years, what a shame truth doesn't follow fiction more often...some authors having their heads caved in by the instrument by which they tortured the rest of humanity could have been a bit of rough poetic justice"I agree. Today's computers are too light to really bash a head in with. You need a 1930's era typewriter to really get the job done.
I love this collection. The "Whosis" story is fantastic. How about that fist-fight? A first-person description of a fight is tough to nail, and Hammett does it but good.
Daniel wrote: "I love this collection. The "Whosis" story is fantastic. How about that fist-fight? A first-person description of a fight is tough to nail, and Hammett does it but good."That fist fight was great. Hammett has some skills, that's for sure.
Dan wrote: "Daniel wrote: "I love this collection. The "Whosis" story is fantastic. How about that fist-fight? A first-person description of a fight is tough to nail, and Hammett does it but good."That fist ..."
Hammett makes for some perfect cold-weather reading. I've got to pick it up before year's end.
There is this boxing match in Red Harvest that made me wish he wrote more fist fights in his stories.The OP tells about the boxing match like he is seasoned boxing commentator.
Mohammed wrote: "There is this boxing match in Red Harvest that made me wish he wrote more fist fights in his stories.The OP tells about the boxing match like he is seasoned boxing commentator."
I'm planning on re-reading Red Harvest in 2012 so I'll keep an eye out for it.
Elijah wrote: "It probably helps that Hammett got into his own share of fist-fights. Also got stabbed once, and clubbed too. Man, he's the best."Yeah as Hammett fanboy i have read about his personal life,work that sound more exciting than most PI novels. I have even seen picture of him and other agents who had huge sticks to beat people with and break strike. No wonder his stories feel realistic.
Elijah wrote: "Oh for real. I read somewhere (back in my original Hammett phase which was, oh my God, almost a decade ago) that the only character he invented, rather than basing on a real person, was Sam spade...."
Hehe i qouted in a literary science paper i wrote few days ago. Hammett saying Spade was the dream, the detective all of his colleagues wanted to be tough,shifty,fearless but could never be. Big part of my paper is comparing The OP realness,anonymous, fat to Spade. How Hammett was The OP first person and Spade third person blond satan.
The OP is nr.1 for Hammett fans and Spade is for the casual Hammett readers and Bogart film fans ;)
