Rating: 
Summary: More Murder and Mayhem in Florida
Review: Hiaasen's latest novel is filled with the usual cast of strange characters, including another appearance by ex-governor Tyree, the ecological defender of Florida and all-around whacko. Other recurring characters also make an appearance. The plot as usual is merely another excuse for Hiassen to throw zingers at scrupulous businessmen who are destroying the Floridian environment for pure greed. As is the case with most Hiaasen novels, the journey is more important than the destination. Sick Puppy is not as funny a novel as most previous Hiaasen works, but there are plenty of humorous passages to make the reader glad they partook the ride.
Rating:
Summary: Labrador Owners will laugh out loud
Review: But that is not the only reason this book is so enjoyable. Hiaasen has a great ability to underhandedly stick it to his antagonistic characters with the subtlest of condescending jibes. Who else but this author can so succinctly reveal the blockheadedness of corporate slimeballs by using the words "befuddled" and "cranium" in the same sentence. A great weekend book
Rating:
Summary: Ecoterrorist, a dog, politics, what a book!
Review: This is a great book. I read it all in one sitting and it really made me think, and laugh, all at the same time. The characters were great, the plot flowed well, and I loved the rhinoceros hunt. All in all a funny and meaningful book. Sound like the author is mad, but laughing. I am too.
Rating:
Summary: Not uproarious, but a good read
Review: Though it's hardly a laugh a page as the dust jacket might have you believe, Sick Puppy is still an entertaining read. John Grisham take note: this is how you can wrap a message in an entertaining story unlike the purely preachy Street Lawyer. There are at least a couple dozen major laughs in the book, with a general air of lightness throughout the rest of the text. The book won't tax your brain, or even be very memorable, but it's great for an in between book.
Rating:
Summary: Floridian Pulp Fiction
Review: I have to qualify my comments, as this is the first book that I have read by Mr. Hiaasen. His more frequent readers seem to cover the spectrum of loving the book, or feeling it is not up to the usual level this Author produces.There were parts in this book that left me in pain from laughter. Some was just great humour, some is dark, but is wickedly funny, hence the title of my review. The characters in this book together with the plot line would provide Quentin Tarantino with all the material he would need for a movie. Some of this story is sordid, but you still laugh, the players reach new levels of bizzare behavior, but they were believable, scary and strange, maybe psychotic, but it was a very readable book. I am intrigued enough by this book that I will either buy the next, or read some of his earlier work. I really don't know what I would compare this to, maybe a satire by Christopher Buckley written with homicidal rage. Interesting literary ride.
Rating: 
Summary: One Step Below A School Yard Flasher
Review: That's where Carl Hiaasen places lobbyists on the social scale. Lobbyists as well as politicians, those indifferent to the environment and hit men will not find this novel amusing. On the other hand some professional assassins may enjoy it, as CH surprisingly seems to find guns to be a solution to many problems. The author continues to vent his spleen on those who seem determined to convert Florida to one monster mall. The characters are mostly loony, nasty individuals who are focused on greed, and converting a small island to a housing and golf course development. Our hero and heroine are no saints either; he is an active felon, and she an adulteress. But who can blame her for straying when her husband is both a litterbug and a lobbyist. Sick puppy will entertain you with tales of rhinoceros hunting in Florida. You will meet a contractor who wants to turn the whole USA into a paved parking lot. This will eliminate chipmunks from the country, one of which bit him in the groin when he was a child. The evil island developer has a fetish for toy Barbie dolls, while the hit man wears zippered shoes and a snakeskin corset. All typical Carl Hiaasen inventions. What's not to enjoy? Well, for some reason I found myself yawning occasionally while reading this one. These are roads well traveled by Carl, and I felt myself wishing for something a bit fresher. It's fun stuff, but not his best effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Sick Puppy Sick-save your money-don't buy it
Review: This is one of the worst, most self-righteous books I have ever read. Hiaasen isn't funny-you begin to wish his "heros" would get killed as they committ self-righteous crimes far worse than the "bad guys" even thought of doing! I have read all of his past books and enjoyed them. This one is not funny, a vicious self-righteous piece of junk that will be used by criminals everywhere to justify their crimes. Send Hiaason a message-don't buy this piece of junk!
Rating:
Summary: A letdown?
Review: Carl Hiaason is one of the few writers that can make me laugh out loud with their writings. I count down the days until his books are released. The characters and the plots are outrageous. In SICK PUPPY, I cheered everytime Twilly Spree was devising his plots of destruction against the litterbugs of Florida. However, I made the mistake of catching up on Hiaason's Miami Herald columns on the Internet prior to the release of SICK PUPPY. Throughout the book, I thought I was reading drafts for upcoming columns for the newspaper. I realize that Hiaason has very strong views on the environment, commercial development (ex., Disney), and politics, but he may have directly injected a bit too much into his latest book. It's still a very good book, and I have recommended it to several people. But I was a bit disappointed. (Maybe I should quit reading the Herald!)
Rating:
Summary: A Bit of a Letdown
Review: I'd been eagerly waiting for this book, like every other CH fan. The day it came out I was on a cross-country flight. My seatmate had just bought a copy in the airport and was intermittently laughing hysterically during the flight. Needless to say I was envious and the minute I landed at JFK I bought a copy and devoured it that night. Sadly, I agree with many who find the book derivative of many of Carl's earlier novels. The book doesn't stand up to Tourist Season, Double Whammy or Stormy Weather, all of which I'd give five stars. It's understandably very difficult to keep up the genius that got me hooked 15 years ago, but this work was a bit too hokey. Some of the character quirks seemed forced, like Twilley's thing about necks and the grotesque morphing of the Barbies (although the use of Gash's love for 911 calls was brilliant). The plot twists didn't seem as bizarre, the characters less accessible and the climax not as compelling. But I did enjoy this book the way I enjoy Room Service, not the best Marx Brothers movie, but it's still the Marx Brothers. While I was also pleased that Skink came back, it may be time to pass the torch... maybe that's what Carl intends. Although I'd love to see what Carl could do with Skink in a retirement complex... now there's a Florida institution worth skewering! I also agree it may be time for Carl to do something outside Florida, but someplace where his experience and reporter's eye could treat us to more bizarreness than we could imagine. Like maybe Cuba? Imagine the possibilities!
Rating:
Summary: GALLANT GALLSTONE REVISITED
Review: NOT FUN. NOT FUNNY. PREACHY. DISGUSTING. IF YOU WONDER WHY PEOPLE ARE GIVING IT GOOD REVIEWS READ "THE FOUNTAINHEAD" AND FIND OUT WHY PEOPLE GAVE GOOD REVIEWS TO THE GALLANT GALLSTONE. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I DID WITH MY COPY FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GALLANT GALLSTONE AND YOU WILL GET THE IDEA. YOU SEE I DIDN'T WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE POLLUTION OF THE HUMAN MIND.
| 
