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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Not as good as some of Hiaasen's stuff, but better that some other of his stuff.
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
All the characters in this story (with one exception: Fry, the son) are completely insane. They're all a few cards short of a deck; they're nuts. That being said... there is absolutely no way you could ever predict the storyline. I enjoyed this mostly because it was just SO odd. Everything about it was strange, but still very entertaining and funny.
This was a fun surprise. It started off like gangbusters and only the last of it slowed down somewhat or I'd given it four stars. Reminded me some of Elmore Leonard--a good thing--as it tells the story of a collection of oddballs in the Florida backwater. All I knew about Hiaasen is that his books were all set in Florida but this was entertaining enough that I might read another as it was breezy, humorous and full of eccentric, engaging characters. Fun.
Loved every bit of this book. I found it to be a step up from Lucky You, the only other adult Hiaasen title I've read so far. Hiaasen's wonderful and wacky "Florida fiction" is a genre all its own. One might describe it as clever absurdity, or intricate insanity. My only problem, though, is .
Spoiler
the bumbling, good-for-nothing bad guy winds up okay in the end
Fun, funny. Good guys win, loser loses, really bad guy loses hard. I ended up staying up all night to finish this book because I couldn't put it down... so I must have enjoyed reading it.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
This is my first Hiaasen book. Given all the hype about his books, I was terribly disappointed. The "humor" seemed contrived and forced, and for the most part, was humorless. And it drrraaaggggeeddd on and on - oh, I just couldn't WAIT for it to be over. I may try one of his earlier books, but I have to say I wasn't at all impressed.
Took me a little while to get where the author was headed (there are so many characters!) but once I started to laugh I realized that I was actually enjoying myself despite the overuse of coincidence and chance as the driving plot forces. I actually loved most of the characters in the story and appreciated the situational humor. Not a bad read. Highly recommended for travel. Sometimes you just need something easy to hook you in and make you giggle.
Carl Hiaasen is a great fun read. Don't read his books expecting great literature but they are really well-written stories. I love to mix in just good, fun stories into my reading list and he is one of those authors. Plus, if you look past what seems to be shallow storylines and characters you will actually find that he has a deeper point and perspective about our human condition.