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Summary: Vintage Hiaasen
Review: Wacky characters with bizarre plots and twists of fate...and all with a moral. All the craziness that Hiaasen loyalists have come to love and expect.
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Summary: Laugh out loud book
Review: I took this book on vacation with me to the Virgin Islands. I read it on the plane on the way back. It had me laughing so loudly that people were turning to look at me and my husband had to kick me in my chair. I love the way Hiaasen puts these weird characters together in highly unusual situations. They're great stories!
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Summary: What a hoot
Review: First of Mr. Hiaasen's I have read. I laughed reading it,after I read it, driving the car, and now. This may seem unbelevable to some but coming from the Detroit area I have met some of his fictional cast. The Governor Skink,reminded me of a few friends after the war,they may still be out there somewhere. In all fiction there is a deep current of fact. Just look out you bad guys Skink could get you.
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Summary: Pure enjoyable pulp!
Review: Pure enjoyable pulp. Vibrant characters, grifters & erudite madmen - loved it! Quite a find.
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Summary: Rivoting Plot
Review: Stormy Weather was my introduction to Carl Hiaasen's work. I wasn't disappointed. I found myself rooting for Skink, eagerly turning pages to find out what happened next, pushing myself to skim but holding back, savoring every single word. Carl Hiassen brings Florida wildlife, both four-footed and two-footed, to vibrant life.
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Summary: Absurd, fun, on target
Review: I guess Hiaasen's works do seem to sound alike; this one even appears to be a sort of sequel to "Strip Tease" as it includes the eccentric ex-governor Skink and his devoted State trouper pal Jim Tile, who are featured in that novel. Knowing this, however, I was looking for something with some bite to make me laugh and once again Hiaasen didn't disappoint me. The plot of "Stormy Weather" thoroughly lambasts developers, real estate and mobile home salesmen, and the governmental agencies that exist to "regulate" them. Hiassen is entirely cynical and savage in his depiction, which spares no group in its scathing satire. Ex-governor "Skink" again serves as the noble savage committed to a Quixotic effort to avenge trepidations against nature and basic human decency. Once you have read a few of Hiaasen's works, the initial shock value is diminished. Nonetheless this made me repeatedly laugh out loud, at one point in uncontrollable giggles. This isn't great literature, but if you have a sardonic sense of humor and want to be entertained, this is ideal. A perfect plane, beach, single dining in a restaurant book.
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Summary: Hurricane aftermath...
Review: ...adds up to a laugh riot. This book is quirkily hilarious, and very sharp. Even the most minor of characters in this wacky story is brought out in funny detail. The major players are both bizarre and believable, and their interactions are a storm in themselves. Yet it all makes a kind of wonderful sense. I liked this book so much I tell all my friends to read it, too. Don't shortchange yourself with an abridged audio version; you need every wry detail.
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Summary: Hurricane Weather
Review: Stormy Weather is right on par with the rest of Hiaasen’s works of Southwest Florida. As very-realistic fiction it can sometimes be difficult to determine whether the events taking place could actually have occurred or not. But, then sadly, the reader is returned is returned to the ever-present fact that these stories are completely fictional and could never occurred as the characters do something absolutely irrational. This is true of many Hiaasen novels and Stormy Weather is none the different, however it is not as prevalent in this novel as in say, Native Tongue, or Tourist Season, making this book slightly more readable than its predecessors. The redeeming factors of this book are of course the subject material. Set in the after-math of a nameless hurricane (though an astute reader will not the date of publication as following Andrew, as well as the author thanking Hugo, Donna and Andrew, among others), the book centers around a few con-artists trying to make a quick buck scamming insurance agencies and what-used-to-be-home owners in their frantic disheveled states of mind. Also thrown into the mix are a newlywed couple, the husband of which drives down to Miami to videotape the carnage for profit and is kidnapped by Skink (a returning character from previous books), a former governor who now chooses to live among the mangroves and . When his better half becomes disgusted with his behavior she is not so frightened by the situation as she falls in love with a local man who juggles human skulls for entertainment. Also returning from previous Hiaasen works is the character of FHP trooper, Jim Tile. Mix all these elements together with the massive corruption running rampant in South Florida’s government structures, a couple of prostitutes, the melee of African lions, Rhesus monkeys and other wild animals being set loose in post-Hurricane Miami, Santería deities along with a crucifixion and you have a formula for a fast-paced novel that will keep you flipping the pages. Why 4 stars?: I would have rated this book only a 3, but its redeeming factors include the return of Skink and the constant jumping between several different plot lines knowing that at one point they will meet up. However, the sex scenes and the comic violence begin to get a little wearing on me. This book is just as funny as any other Hiaasen book and fans will appreciate it, but it is definitely not for everybody.
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Summary: Fun but not on par with Sick Puppy.
Review: I was just introduced to Hiaasen's books this year when I finally bought Sick Puppy after much prodding from several people. I absolutely adored Sick Puppy and purchased Stormy Weather because I heard that the character of Skink also appeared in that book. While I enjoyed the Stormy Weather, it didn't impress me on the same level as Sick Puppy and it took me much longer to finish this book--it just didn't grab me. Skink is still one of the wackiest and coolest characters around and I hope to read more of his exploits some day. But the other characters in Stormy Weather just weren't people I cared to read about. Plus one of the things I loved about Sick Puppy is that it made me laugh out loud and I don't know that I laughed once during Stormy Weather (and perhaps it wasn't intended to be humorous). I would still take a chance on other Hiassen books, but I probably won't do so without strong recommendations from people I know.
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Summary: Great fun
Review: Carl Hiaasen writes books that could take place only in Southern Florida or South Louisiana. If you've ever been to either, you know what I mean. Hiaasen manages to populate his books with a collection of low-lifes and weirdos that should be repulsive but wind up hilarious. The plots are like episodes of Seinfeld, twisting and turning in all directions before coming full circle. Stormy Weather is one of his best, in my opinion. The targets are classic Hiaasen--tourists, snowbirds, and developers. No one skewers them all like Carl Hiaasen.
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