Reviews

Naked Came the Florida Man by Tim Dorsey

casey_tr's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

1.5

jeffburns's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

Tim Dorsey is considered by readers and writers of Florida-based fiction as the master, maybe the creator, of "Florida Man" fiction, writing outrageous, unbelievable stories of Florida's unbelievable characters.  Following Tim Dorsey's death a few months ago, I read his first Serge Storms novel.  While I liked it and recognized some great writing, I wasn't sure about his leading character.  I just read the 23rd Serge novel, published in 2020, Naked Came the Florida Man, and I found it much more enjoyable.

Serge Storms is an incredible character, an anti-hero.  He is an obsessive, misanthropic, schizophrenic, homicidal psychopath, but he has a very strong sense of morality and justice, in his own way, if that makes any sense.  He absolutely loves Florida, its history, its nature, and its people - at least those people who don't violate his moral code.   He constantly shares this love and knowledge with his drugs-and-alcohol-impaired traveling companion, and thus with the readers.  Are you familiar with the animated duo Mr. Peabody and Sherman?  Well, picture Mr. Peabody as a homicidal psychopath and Sherman constantly doing drugs. But it's funny and entertaining, I swear! Serge Storms books are great fiction for history lovers, especially lovers of Florida history.  Dorsey's books are packed full of real history and information; they're like Florida guidebooks.  His most outrageous plot elements and scenes are often based on actual Florida events and people. I've learned lots of tidbits of Florida info and about sites that I've added to my list of places to visit.  It's obvious that the character of has developed over the course of Dorsey's books, and I want to read more.

awgetgey's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Another reason to make Florida a punchline. Lowbrow lit for sure. 

literarylover37's review against another edition

3.0

Didn't hit the same notes as some of his previous ones. Maybe the schtick is getting old.

bookguyinva2022's review against another edition

5.0

Another author who always gets 5*s from me, encouragement to keep writing these fantastic adventures of Serge and Coleman. This one was so full of history and Florida literature I need to take this tour of Lake Okechobee.

kerrygibbons's review against another edition

1.0

Well, I couldn’t bring myself to continue reading this book. I got about a third of the way through it and realized it wouldn’t have a point or get better.

ambernh1984's review against another edition

3.0

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. This was my first experience with Serge and Coleman and it was just odd. Serge is super manic and Coleman is a daft pothead.

I did love all the real Florida history within the story, as I'm a Floridian it was really cool to find out things I didn't already know. I also really liked the side story with Chris, and I think she's why I kept reading.

Didn't hate it, didn't love it. The two main characters are an acquired taste for sure.

mementomaggie's review against another edition

5.0

Well on one hand we have some great models of non-toxic masculinity, albeit there is some overlap with murder. Overall hallucinatory, fun, and exceedingly Floridian

vannychopiny's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

j0e's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

1.0