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Florida Roadkill

Florida Roadkill

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than Flipper!
Review: Anyone who fails to find Florida Roadkill less than one of the most brilliant Florida novels ever has the attention span of the moron sitting in the White House.Dorsey's first book and all others are gems.Serge Storms has to be the first psycopant I am rooting for as compared to the ones in D.C. nowadays.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not Up to Par of Hiaissen, Hall, Shames, etc.
Review: Despite his comparisons to other South Florida authors like Carl Hiaasen, Laurence Shames, and James W. Hall, I was so disappointed in Tim Dorsey's "Florida Road Kill" that I stopped reading it 1/3 of the way through - even after trying to resume reading twice!

Dorsey's attempts to shock and amuse are so over-the-top that "Florida Road Kill" reads like a comic book. As expressed in earlier reviews, the reader doesn't care what happens to any of the characters, from the "bad guys" who are so sick as to evoke only disgust, to the "good guys" who are painted TOO good and are thus just as unbelievable.

I gave the book 2 stars because the author's humor does work on occasion. Unfortunately, he makes the plot so busy, it reads like "Short Attention Span Theater." I'm very fond of South Florida crime capers, as well as the subtle nuttiness of Pete Hautman's Minnesota - which DOES deserve to be compared to Carl Hiaasen. Tim Dorsey's hyperbole-stren world, unfortunately, does not. At least, not yet.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Trouble in Florida again
Review: Dorsey takes us on a wild ride again, so strap your seatbelt and hang on. Characters from other books continue their life of crime and drugs, notably Serge and Coleman, as they speed along (pun intended), pursuing an elusive suitcase loaded with cash.

Along the way, a few folks suffer unusual forms of death while Serge and Coleman narrowly escape detection. Their journey takes them from Tampa to Miami, and then to the Keys and the Dry Tortugas. The space center and the world series play into the plot, too. It's life lived on the edge, maniacal and fatal for most characters. At the end, we do get a dose of romance as foxy Keys' policewoman follows the trail of crime and finds David, one of two friends on their annual fishing trip who get mixed up in the mess.

Another reviewer has noted a few points I have to echo. The cast of characters grows ungainly, the grisly murders seem excessive, and plausibility is stretched beyond the breaking point, well beyond what Hiaasen offers in a plot. It's loads of fun, taken for what it is, a raucous high-spirited romp, but it's too far over-the-top for me (write it off to thinning hair and waning years). Its excesses become cloying: too much death, too much contrivance, and too many characters.

That Dorsey should have a loyal following of readers is understandable. His books are wacky entertainments. If you would like more restraint, as I do, try a similar book by Michael McClelland, OYSTER BLUES. It's just as irreverent and hilarious, but, for me, it's more convincing and better written.



Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Five star preformance by Dorsey
Review: Florida Road Kill is a very entertaining and comedic book, by the wonderful Tim Dorsey. This book is set in various locations in Florida, including Tampa Bay. The main character in this book is Sarge a highly skilled psychopath off his medications. Sarge knows everything there is to know about the state of Florida and the thing that angers him the most is one who does not care to know the history of Florida. Other main characters in this book are characters that are in other books by this author such as Sharon, the slut slash drug addict, and Coleman, the comedic fat man that also likes to dabble in drugs with Sharon. This book has many small plots all leading to climatic final plot where they all clash, in a wonderfully written comedic finale. I recommend this book to all of those whom have strong stomachs and love to laugh.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Terrific read
Review: FLORIDA ROAD KILL only could have been written by someone with a bone deep knowledge of the State of Florida. According to the jacket blurb, author Tim Dorsey was a reporter in Tampa for many years, which explains his authority over the subject matter.

The story is kind of a caper, with the bad guy being almost--okay, more--interesting than the hero. There is a vast cast of characters, in the mode of both Charles Dickens and Tom Wolfe, all heading off in various directions until, as is inevitable, their paths collide.

Since the story is set in Florida, from Tampa to tony Palm Beach and down to South Beach, ending up in the Keys, there is plenty of money involved, and sex, and kinky sex, and drugs...and murder.

The local color is terrific; as someone who has logged a respectable share of hours myself in most of these locations, I can say that Dorsey is spot on.

Dorsey's style may be an attempt to pay homage to Hemingway. While he's not Papa, his writing has great energy and he tells a riveting tale.

I was sorry when the book concluded, and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: hilarious
Review: Florida roadkill is my first "Florida book" if you don't count seeing the movie Big trouble (based on the book by Dave Barry), and I don't.
The hero/villain, Serge, who appears in more of Dorsey's books, is probably the first villain ever that I have loved to love (instead of hate). I find myself agreeing with his reasoning and motives and his love of animals and all things Florida will endear him to many readers.
Not for those who dislike gore/violence/profanity, but those things are not the center theme of the book. Visit Dorsey's website (www.timdorsey.com) and link to a guided "Serge tour of Florida".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Left me laughing for hours...
Review: I could NOT put "Florida Roadkill" down. If you like sardonic humor with a Florida kind of twist, this book is the one to read. Pretty gruesome ways to die in the book, too, but you know, if you don't like that sort of thing, you can forgive Tim Dorsey for that when the characters themselves have you laughing. This is the kind of book that requires a weird sense of humor to enjoy it... and for people like me that actually LIVE in Tampa, we can just SEE all of this stuff happening. lol Worth the money, and one of the few books I'd call off work for in order to kick back and have a great laugh.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Surprisingly good
Review: I had never heard of Tim Dorsey before reading this book, so I wasn't expecting too much. But I was pleasantly surprised, this was a fun book to read. The story is great, as long as you can keep up with the author's frenetic pace. The characters are well-developed and hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud at several points in this book. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a laugh, and especially if you live in Florida.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Awful
Review: If you love Carl Hiassens book. Put on a seat belt and pick up Tim Dorsey. This novel is energetic and very funny, you will not want to put it down. It tells the story of various lives of people who life seems to place (or they do) in strange predictamnets. These carzies exploits take them throughout Florida from my home county with Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, on down south on both coast, and doesn't stop till we hit the Dry Tortugas.

I look at it as a very zany, violent, bizzarro tour of Florida. That is extremely acurate as far as historical and geographical facts. And some other things, which you would never believe unless you lived in South Florida. And if you do you know his books are close to home. Who ever thought I would be looking forward to see what Serge, the anti-hero would do next. And I guess I really enjoy the fact that I have been to almost every placed described, and was even at the same world series game as the main characters.....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Tastiest Roadkill Ever
Review: Tastiest Roadkill Ever -- no extra salt required. I was stalking the stacks and stumbled across this book and decided it would make for some great summer reading. And how. Other reviewers have done a fine job outlining the plot...my only comments are that I kept looking at Dorsey's picture on the jacket flap thinking, "Who IS this guy and how does he think this stuff up??" As an ex-Florida resident, he captures the Florid-essence of Weirdness beautifully. Strange, hilarious, drug-induced. Food for your alter ego's brain.


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