Rating: 
Summary: Poor Follow-up to White's First Three Doc Ford Adventures
Review: I have to agree with another reviewer that Captiva is also my least favorite Doc Ford novel in the series so far. The plot is interesting and the mood is still compelling, but switching to the "first person voice" just ruins it for me. I suppose the reason for doing so might have been to soften Doc Ford's character, but this method comes off clumsy at times and makes Doc seem phony. Doc didn't need any fluffing up anyway. This is a complete and terrible switch from the masterful "third-person" storytelling in the previous book, "The Man Who Invented Florida". I hope Randy returns to his earlier writing style in the next Doc Ford novel.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Follow-up to White's First Three Doc Ford Adventures
Review: I have to agree with another reviewer that Captiva is also my least favorite Doc Ford novel in the series so far. The plot is interesting and the mood is still compelling, but switching to the "first person voice" just ruins it for me. I suppose the reason for doing so might have been to soften Doc Ford's character, but this method comes off clumsy at times and makes Doc seem phony. Doc didn't need any fluffing up anyway. This is a complete and terrible switch from the masterful "third-person" storytelling in the previous book, "The Man Who Invented Florida". I hope Randy returns to his earlier writing style in the next Doc Ford novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: I loved Sanibel Flats, but found Heat Islands and Man who Invented Florida, so-so. I had purchased Captiva with the other three or probably wouldn't have read it. What a come back for Doc Ford. I think this is the best of the first four books. Great characters, familiar places, wild action and inventive ending. Now I've ordered the next three in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I loved Sanibel Flats, but found Heat Islands and Man who Invented Florida, so-so. I had purchased Captiva with the other three or probably wouldn't have read it. What a come back for Doc Ford. I think this is the best of the first four books. Great characters, familiar places, wild action and inventive ending. Now I've ordered the next three in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly Good, But a LIttle Too Much
Review: If you read a lot and are looking for another book, this isn't bad at all. It's not top-notch, but very few are.Characters, plot are good but somewhat unbelievable. Enjoyable, though, but nobody will ever mistake it for literature. (But, hey, how many of us can find literature every day of the week?)! Main character is unbelievable, as usual, but still a pretty good read, all in all, and if you can't find a new Hiaasen, Waumbaugh, etc.
Rating:
Summary: So Long Columnist, Hello Novelist!!
Review: Longtime readers of Outside Magazine were familiar with Randy Wayne White's eccentric travels and more eccentric character. And although Sanibel Flats read as though it had been written on long airport layovers as a time killer,with Captiva, White moved into the big leagues of compelling storytellers.This is a great yarn of trouble encountered simply by being involved in a community, where the bad guy gets a very just comeupance, the hero struggles with his humanity, and the rest of the characters ring so true to life that you believe you may have met them. Although Mr. White no longer writes his column, and is missed by me every month, he has truly become an author of compelling novels. I eagerly await the next.
Rating:
Summary: The Fury of Revenge
Review: Mr. Whites characters are identifiable and are easily imaginable. With the easy bond the reader establishes and shares with the characters, it is a shock to the system when the heros and heroines suffer mightily at the hand of evil. In this book's instance, evil triumphs. Or does it? The last part of the book details a revenge so dark, you will understand it would not be wise to have Mr. White mad at yourself. You will be thoroughly satisfied at the end of this adventure.
Rating:
Summary: The Fury of Revenge
Review: Mr. Whites characters are identifiable and are easily imaginable. With the easy bond the reader establishes and shares with the characters, it is a shock to the system when the heros and heroines suffer mightily at the hand of evil. In this book's instance, evil triumphs. Or does it? The last part of the book details a revenge so dark, you will understand it would not be wise to have Mr. White mad at yourself. You will be thoroughly satisfied at the end of this adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Great escapist fiction - lots of cool scenery
Review: Quirky characters - not unlike the ones in a Hiassen novel. Great settings - describes the scenery in the manner of great travel writers. One blemish - descriptions of Indonesia are a little off the mark. Unexpectedly funny passages (from a factual standpoint) spice up the ending for anyone who knows the region. For instance, the novel notes in passing that - The eating of dogs is common in Indonesia. Wrong. Indonesians would not touch, let alone eat, a dog; Islamic doctrine preaches that dogs are "haram" or unclean, due to their historical role as mobile garbage disposal units. - Chinese characters appear on a disreputable-looking marine vessel. Wrong. The Chinese language is banned in Indonesia - recent riots in Indonesia indicate this ban may soon extend to the Chinese race. - The death penalty in Indonesia is carried out by firing squad. Wrong. Except for politically-motivated death squad killings of local opposition figures, executions are carried out by hanging. Hence the "Gantung (Hang) Suharto" chants in recent demonstrations. - Foreigners are routinely detained and killed by local law enforcement officials. Wrong. The last time foreigners were killed by local powers-that-be was during Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975. In the official version of events, several Australian and British journalists were "caught in a cross-fire". This was, however, in the middle of a war zone. The officials in charge were demoted. There have been no recurrences. - Child prostitution of both sexes (!) is common in Indonesia. Wrong. The author is probably generalizing from Thailand's reputation, where this is, in fact, common. Indonesians, being Muslims, are extremely intolerant of practices like gambling and prostitution. Recent riots in Indonesia started because of resentment about the existence of brothels staffed by (legal age) prostitutes. - Islamic law prevails in Indonesia - i.e. a convicted burglar would have his hand amputated. Wrong. Although majority Muslim, Indonesia is a secular state, and a legal system based in large part on Dutch law is enforced. Convicted burglars do not become amputees; they cool off their heels in prison like people in other countries.
Rating:
Summary: worthy successor to Travis McGee
Review: Randy Wayne White played in the Senior Baseball League, writes a column for Outside magazine & some terrific fishing stories (Batfishing in the Rain Forest: Strange Tales of Travel & Fishing) and is the author of the outstanding Doc Ford novels. Not bad... Doc Ford is a marine biologist who formerly held a somewhat shadowy position in US Intelligence. This installment of the series finds Doc & his burn-out hippie friend Tomlinson investigating the death of explosion victim Jimmy Darroux. This leads them to Jimmy's delectable widow Hannah and a feud between sport fisherman and net fishermen over a pending netting ban. As the violence escalates, noone is safe & Doc's moral compunctions are challenged and then shattered. If you haven't discovered this great writer & wonderful series yet, I urge you to give them a read. The cover blurbs comparing him to John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiassen & Elmore Leonard are well deserved. GRADE: A
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