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kraley's review against another edition
3.0
This was my first Serge Storm book and it was weirdly fascinating. There were so many strange, moving parts, that it was fun to see them all come together. This was an enjoyable read although Serge is not a man of high moral fiber and there is a lot of cursing.
author_d_r_oestreicher's review against another edition
4.0
It feels like “crazy Florida comedies” is its own genre. In addition to Tim Dorsey, Carl Hiaasen also writes in this genre. Tim’s home is The Tampa Tribune while Carl hails from The Miami Herald. Key to this genre is the serious issues presented within the hilarity. The current book deals with asset forfeiture, elder fraud, and unscrupulous landlords.
If you would like to laugh at Florida and enjoy broad comedy with a side of muckraking, Clownfish Blues by Tim Dorsey is the book for you.
For some more: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2017/11/clownfish-blues-by-tim-dorsey.html
If you would like to laugh at Florida and enjoy broad comedy with a side of muckraking, Clownfish Blues by Tim Dorsey is the book for you.
For some more: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2017/11/clownfish-blues-by-tim-dorsey.html
penguinwithtie's review against another edition
4.0
If you were expecting something new or different from the latest of Tim Dorsey's Serge A. Storms series you will be sorely disappointed, but if you come in expecting the usual rapid paced Florida man action of Dorsey you won't leave empty.
The other "Florida Man" book I read this year, Carl Hiasian's Razor Girl was decent but this one stuck with me a bit more.
I recieved an uncorrected proof of this title as part of a marketing campaign.
The other "Florida Man" book I read this year, Carl Hiasian's Razor Girl was decent but this one stuck with me a bit more.
I recieved an uncorrected proof of this title as part of a marketing campaign.
bibliobabe94's review against another edition
4.0
Another rollicking adventure through Floriduh. Oh Serge, you so crazy! Learned about work grunting...who knew???
lauraakersauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Tim Dorsey painted a vivid picture of the ongoing Florida insanity and made me laugh out loud.
lunifur's review against another edition
4.0
I honestly don't know how to review a Tim Dorsey book. It was a typical madcap Serge adventure,nalthough some parts were a bit of a letdown. I was expecting a little bit more of Serge's karmic justice.
mirificmoxie's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I received a copy of Clownfish Blues from a Goodreads giveaway. I had no idea that this was book number twenty of a series though. I’d never even heard of this series. If I had known this was a late in the series book, I would never have requested it. There was no way I was going to read the first nineteen books, but I felt bad not reading a book that I got from a giveaway. So I went ahead and read Clownfish Blues. Since I have no idea what happened in the first nineteen books, but I have to say that Clownfish Blues on its own was tedious and unsatisfactory. Take all of this with a grain of salt. Maybe if you’ve read all of the previous installments then there is some amount of nostalgia or something? I have to hope that a series this long started off stronger than this… But having finished this book, I have zero interest in reading any other Serge Storm stories – past or present.
Obviously I lacked the knowledge of all previous events. I don’t know how much that would have helped this story though. I can guess the formula though: Serge A. Storm shows up with his sidekick, causes a bunch of chaos, then a bunch of serendipitous deus ex machina happens that ties everything together. That’s exactly what happened in Clownfish Blues. (By the way, the title has nothing to do with the story; it seems to just be a continuation of the theme from the rest of the series titles.)
The main character is Serge, a psychopath so lame and nonsensical that he makes Saturday morning cartoon villains look competent. He is accompanied by Coleman, a guy who has fried so many brain cells with drugs and alcohol that he doesn’t care what Serge does. The rest of the characters in the book were flat and boring and I’ve already forgotten their names.
Serge and Coleman are taking a road trip through Florida. Serge likes to pretend they are on a TV show that requires them to move to a new town every week, so the story is split into “episodes” that loosely tie together. It was like [b:Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency|365|Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1404697381s/365.jpg|1042123] meets [b:Practical Demonkeeping|33457|Practical Demonkeeping (Pine Cove, #1)|Christopher Moore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429229158s/33457.jpg|2915038] but without any real humor. Serge was the world’s most boring psycho who was really just an annoying, delusional man pretending to be in a tv show accompanied by his druggie sidekick. It was cheesy, ridiculous, and boring. It was not funny or entertaining. There was too much synchronicity used as a lazy plot device.
It jumped around too much, and I didn’t care about the characters or the plot. Also, there was yiffing. If I never read about yiffing again, I’ll be ecstatic beyond words.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 2 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 1 Star
Plot Structure and Development: 1 Star
Level of Captivation: 1 Star
Originality: 2 Stars
Obviously I lacked the knowledge of all previous events. I don’t know how much that would have helped this story though. I can guess the formula though: Serge A. Storm shows up with his sidekick, causes a bunch of chaos, then a bunch of serendipitous deus ex machina happens that ties everything together. That’s exactly what happened in Clownfish Blues. (By the way, the title has nothing to do with the story; it seems to just be a continuation of the theme from the rest of the series titles.)
The main character is Serge, a psychopath so lame and nonsensical that he makes Saturday morning cartoon villains look competent. He is accompanied by Coleman, a guy who has fried so many brain cells with drugs and alcohol that he doesn’t care what Serge does. The rest of the characters in the book were flat and boring and I’ve already forgotten their names.
Serge and Coleman are taking a road trip through Florida. Serge likes to pretend they are on a TV show that requires them to move to a new town every week, so the story is split into “episodes” that loosely tie together. It was like [b:Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency|365|Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1404697381s/365.jpg|1042123] meets [b:Practical Demonkeeping|33457|Practical Demonkeeping (Pine Cove, #1)|Christopher Moore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429229158s/33457.jpg|2915038] but without any real humor. Serge was the world’s most boring psycho who was really just an annoying, delusional man pretending to be in a tv show accompanied by his druggie sidekick. It was cheesy, ridiculous, and boring. It was not funny or entertaining. There was too much synchronicity used as a lazy plot device.
It jumped around too much, and I didn’t care about the characters or the plot. Also, there was yiffing. If I never read about yiffing again, I’ll be ecstatic beyond words.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 2 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 1 Star
Plot Structure and Development: 1 Star
Level of Captivation: 1 Star
Originality: 2 Stars
karmakat's review against another edition
4.0
Like the others I've read of his, it reminds me of Hiaasen, but is not as well done. Yeah, parts of it were funny, but there was so much going on that it just felt like chaos from beginning to end.
skinnypenguin's review
4.0
A fun, crazy romp thru Florida. Serge is up to his to his usual antics, killing those who need it in rather creative ways. Some characters from previous books show up along with his ever present side kick, Coleman. Coleman is super stoned as usual and ends up hooking up with a woman in a gorilla suit. Bad guys are trying to win the Florida lottery in an unscrupulous manner and a reporter is forced to work with some really bad, "reality" show producers.
Some interesting Florida history is thrown in. Quite entertaining.
Some interesting Florida history is thrown in. Quite entertaining.