Meh

I don’t see what all the fuss is about but it’s ok. Maybe it has not aged well?

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An excellent interpretation of a classic.

Can't beat the source material. This telling of the story makes use of excellent narration. Kudos to Mr. Dufris. If you've seen the movie, it'll play in your head while you listen to this, and that's a good thing.

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Great Delivery. Ludicrous characters.

The lead protagonist is one of the least enjoyable characters I have encountered in a long time. cam here to get a feel for some books that were popular in the 30s and... well. I guess this was one. The mystery had me hooked for a little bit, but where I assumed would be a great twist and pay-off, was the dumbest scene yet.

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2 people found this helpful

great story! a must listen

well written fast paced action packed story, narrator does a variety of voices, most of which add to the experience. would recommend

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1 person found this helpful

Great book great performance

One of the greats. Well done. It was an awesome performance as well. doesn't get any better.

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Sublime

The Maltese Falcon is a classic detective story, probably the entry point for how to get interested in the genre. It's a tightly paced, well constructed story with engaging characters.

At its heart is its charismatic and yet morally ambiguous protagonist Sam Spade. Hammett writes Spade as a perfect foil to the various sinister characters he comes across. The Maltese Falcon is written from a third person perspective and we're never given a frame of the characters inner thoughts. This works very well as we're never completely given a picture of Spade's inner thought process or how he deduces his conclusions, we just see his actions. This creates a sense of suspense to the story that overshadows how it is ultimately a plot featuring a Macguffin that everyone is looking for. The Maltese Falcon was widely viewed as the prototypical Macguffin story and for good reason. It views the plot device as simply a mechanic to hang its hat on, and allow its characters to flourish.

The Maltese Falcon to me is Dashiell Hammett's opus and it's disappointing to me this was Sam Spade's only novel due to the quality of the book's worldbuilding and the various rogues the main character encounters. But at the same time it is quaint in a way. We live in a world where stories are never simply finished, we just see them continue on in sequels ad nauseum. But in the Maltese Falcon we're given a single snapshot, and we're left to ponder. It's little wonder the book heavily influenced later authors such as Raymond Chandler as a result.

This audio book is a solid rendition of the story, the narrator takes great effort at trying to sound like the various characters for better or for worse. The book has also been told through audio dramas. Whichever way you want to experience the Maltese Falcon, you'll find it to be one of the best in its genre.

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Old-school Private Dick Story

I confess that I quite enjoyed Humphrey Bogart's portrayal of San Francisco P.I. Sam Spade - an archetype for the "hard-boiled" detective that enlivened the 1930s epoch of the Mystery genre. Dashiell Hammett's jaded IDGAF protagonist is quiet, perpetually angry, and intentionally shallow. The dialogue is similarly two-dimensional in this mystery.. but that's okay.
Do not download this book looking for amazing characterization, psychological suspense, or even clever plot twists. What you will get is a nostalgic noir story that puts black & white images of cartoonish chain-smoking/hard-drinking atmospheric "characters" into your mind's eye.

William Dufris is guilty of overacting in this recording. He reads professionally enough - with admirable diction, timbre, cadence, and tone - but goes overboard on the project: reading characters like Hollywood central casting populated the story (including a fairly clichéd Peter Lorre impersonation, for example).
To be fair, however, the dialogue is pretty melodramatic. His hands were likely tied.

Taken in toto, I give this recording of 'The Maltese Falcon' 6.5 stars out of 10. I haven't listened to the Robertson Dean performance (similarly offered as part of the 'Plus' initiative from Audible), but I can't see Dean doing much more with this story than Dufris manages. This version is imperfect, but certainly worth a listen.

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would recommend !

fantastic story, great narration and classic novel. the writing style of the critically acclaimed author was a little dry when it's gets too detailed in the explanation of the rooms or people. you can get lost in the descriptions and forget what's happening in the story at times.

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Outdated but still good stuff

…this book is considered “the definitive masterpiece of the hard-boiled detective genre,” and you can tell how it definitely inspired the genre over the past near-century.

As with many “classics” it does drag in spots (authors got paid by the word, back in the day), but narrator William Dufris unleashes an entire bus-load of voices to bring to life a colourful cast of characters that drive detective Sam Spade mental, while trying to find a priceless falcon statuette.

Spade is definitely something else; and while the ending is sappy, it’s still a very good book.

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