World Famous Comics: Something's Down There: A Novel
Something's Down There: A Novel
By: Mickey Spillane Publisher: Pocket Star Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 384 Publication Date: October 26, 2004 Studio: Pocket Star
Amazon.com Review: From Mickey Spillane, the hardest-boiled of detective writers, comes ... a sea story? Surprising but true, and a fun yarn it is. Mako Hooker is enjoying retirement from a life of lethal undercover work, fishing the days away on the remote Caribbean island of Peolle. But his idyll is shattered by the "eater"--an unknown presence in the deep water that bites the bottoms out of boats. As the attacks intensify, the outside world converges on Peolle: the media, a Hollywood film company, and some of Hooker's old colleagues from the Company, one of whom once put a bullet in him. As the intrigue thickens and the action gets nasty, Hooker reluctantly reactivates his old "kill or be killed" skills while trying to solve the riddle of the eater and kindling a romance with a beautiful heiress from a neighboring island.
Spillane published his first Mike Hammer novel in 1947, and though his pace has slowed, he has continued to publish into his 80s. Here, his touch here falters at times, with phrasing or pacing that seem off kilter. But the prose is often vigorous, the characters are well-drawn, the settings are vividly evoked, and the plot contains more angles than a geometry test--capped by an ingenious solution to the central mystery. Something's Down There is a pleasing concoction from a storied writer. --Nicholas H. Allison
Product Description: Hoping to put his past as a government operative behind him, fishing-boat captain Mako Hooker finds his retirement preempted by several mysterious mauling deaths among his fellow fishermen and enlists the help of fishing partner Billy Bright and an attractive movie heiress to investigate.
Is this his last book ?? ^ He died in 2006 at 88; this was published in 2004 - maybe this is his last book?
My first exposure to Spillane -- a let down ^ I've never picked up a Mickey Spillane novel before, but long wanted to, and this seemed like a good time to give him a try. After reading "Something's Down There," I have to assume that his earlier works are a lot better, because this book couldn't have built his reputation.
Mako Hooker is a sailor (or is he?) who seems to want a quiet retirement in the islands. When a mysterious creature begins attacking boats in the area, he's forced to contend not only with the beast, but a film crew that wants to capture it and some shadows of his own past. The biggest problem with this book is that Spillane doesn't seem to know what he wants this story to be. Sometimes it's a detective story, sometimes a crime drama, sometimes it's a Hollywood farce and sometimes its a godawful monster movie. Hooker is cut right out of the tough guy handbook, as is his love interest, and his sidekick (who, in nearly 300 pages, never stops calling Hooker "sar" despite repeated protests both from the character and the readers to knock of the bad accent) is just plain annoying.
I want to give Spillane another try. Maybe a Mike Hammer book or something. I can't imagine that his normal style is like this -- overwritten, boring and completely without excitement.
Spillane has to be better than this... ^ Although I've never picked up a Mickey Spillane novel before, I wanted to give him a try. After reading Something's Down There, I have to assume that his earlier works are a lot better, because this book couldn't have built his reputation.
Mako Hooker is a sailor (or is he) who seems to want a quiet retirement in the islands. When a mysterious creature begins attacking boats in the area, he's forced to contend not only with the beast, but a film crew that wants to capture it and some shadows of his own past. The biggest problem with this book is that Spillane doesn't seem to know what he wants this story to be. Sometimes it's a detective story, sometimes a crime drama, sometimes it's a Hollywood farce and sometimes its a godawful monster movie. Hooker is cut right out of the tough guy handbook, as is his love interest, and his sidekick (who, in nearly 300 pages, never stops calling Hooker "sar" despite repeated protests both from the character and the readers to knock of the bad accent) is just plain annoying.
I want to give Spillane another try. Maybe a Mike Hammer book or something. I can't imagine that his normal style is like this -- overwritten, boring and completely without excitement.
Don't waste your money ^ It would have been a better short story, but even then it wouldn't have been very good. The ending is totally ridiculous. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief up to a point, but really....
great book! ^ I had a wonderful time reading this novel! It kept me hooked from start to finish. I really need to find more books by this author. He knows how to tell one helluva of an entertaining story. I liked this one a lot!
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