A review by jeffburns
Naked Came the Florida Man by Tim Dorsey

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.