Sam Spade Sam Spade Sam Spade is a fictional private detective and the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel, "The Maltese Falcon". Spade also appeared in four lesser-known short stories by Hammett. "The Maltese Falcon", first published as a serial in the pulp magazine "Black Mask", is the only full-length novel in which Spade appears. The character, however, is widely cited as a crystallizing figure in the development of hard-boiled private detective fiction—Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, for instance, was strongly influenced by Spade. Spade was a departure from Hammett's nameless and less-than-glamorous detective, The Continental Op. Spade combined several features of previous
The Maltese Bestiary The Maltese Bestiary The Maltese Bestiary: An illustrated guide to the mythical flora and fauna of the Maltese Islands is a 2014 compendium of legendary beasts from Maltese folklore. It showcases "supernatural entities, frightening creatures, magical plants, ancient gods and a host of other legendary beings" all from the islands of Malta and Gozo. Stephan D. Mifsud is both the author and the illustrator of the book. Mifsud is a biologist with a long-time interest in fantasy creatures. In 2011, he began work on "The Maltese Bestiary" because he felt that Malta was lacking of a concise folklore encyclopedia. He