Tim Dorsey is the funniest writer now writing in America (of whom I am aware, anyway). Laurence Shames is not around any more (too bad, as he may have been the best of the Floridaa mystery/crime writers that popped up between 1980 and 2000). Carl Hiaasen has descended into unfunny rants--mainly leftist. Ditto for James Hall (who, of course, never meant to be that funny). There are others, as Florida seemed to have spawned more than its share of offbeat mystery/crime/suspense writes featureing pretty weird characters. Dorsey is left standing as the funniest of them all--especially still writing (as Shames is gone).
Only in "orange Crush" has Dorsey descended to tendentious, mainly leftist, rants. I would suspect Dorsey of left of center politics, but it is not obvious in most of his books.
Dorsey's best book (at least so far) is "Triggerfish Twist". The book is so good because it represented a "culture clash" between the wackiness that seems to infect Florida and a "normal" American, middle class family with normal American values (including a rather aggressive wife and a mild mannered husband who comes through in the end). This "grounding in reality", as Dorsey's wackiness came up against middle class suburbia (Floirda style), made for a GREAT book--hysterically funny and with even a validation of the "middle class vallues" set out in the incomparable suspense novels of Charlotte Armsrong (as I have said before: damning with extravagant praise to refer to Charlotte Armstrong this way--she was a great writer who deserves to be seen as much more than a promoter of "middle class values").
Warming: Dorsey's comedy is of the blackest kind. His anti-hero, Searge A. Storms, is a schizophrnic serial killer who kills people (albeit they generally deserve it) when he is off of his meds (almosts all of the time). He is also a Florida history nut, who tends to give a running, wacky history of places in Florida in Dorsey's books. Storms is generally travelling in the company of a dimwit sidekick (lately Coleman, although the old dimwit sidekick makes a return in "The Atomic Lobster"). This dimwit sidekick is constantly zonked out on drugs, and there is massive drug use detailed in the Dorsey books. There are also usually a series of bizarre murders, as Serge knocks off deserving victims in creative ways (in "The Atomi Lobster", he DROWNS people by making them drink water and other fluids, while totally on dry land). There also tend to be at least some raluchy sex scenes. So you can't be easily offended, or outraged, or you are not likely to like a Dorsey book. I thihk they are screamingly funny, and STRONGLY recommend them (except "Orage Cursh"), so long as you are not totally put off by character drug use (not EXPLICITLY condemned), some raunchy sex, and a serial killer as the nominal protagonist. In short, if you are not easily offended, Dorsey is FUNNY. As stated, "Triggerifsh Twist", with the middle class Davenports as co-protagonists, is his best, because of the classic clash between Dorsey's view of Florida insanity and a "normal" American family happening to live in Florida (unfortunately for them).
This is relevant, because "The Atomic Lobster" represents the return of the Davenports (who have moved to a "safer" area of Florida). That is the problem.
Maggie and Jim Davenport were perfect foils for Dorsey's insanity in "Triggerfish Twist". They ware a normal, middle class family. In "The Atomic Lobster", Dorsey falls vicim to the "kitchen sink syndrome" (hard to do when your anti-hero is a serial killer, but Dorsey manages it). The Davenports become a CARTOON, instead of a recognizably "normal" American family. Jim joins (at Maggie's insistence, when he fails to stand up to the movers, and on the condition that Maggie go into "anger management") a group called "non-controntationalists anonymous". Serge, of course, breaks in and takes this group over--REALLY curing them of their fear of confrontation. The group has things like field trips to the zoo to stare down wild animals (is this taunting?), until Serge organizes some REAL "controntations".
The plot hardly matters in any Dorsey book, but it is especially disorganized in this one. The main plot thread is a group of smugglers apparently smuggling stolen antiquities from South America, but there are bad buy terrorists behind it all (the antiquities being a cover for drug smuggling which is itself a cover for a terrorist plot). In the course of this, there are TWO groups of bad guys (one worse thatn the other), and it turns out that the Davenports are not entirely what they seem.
That is the problem. The Davenports are no longer a "normal middle class family". They have totally entered Dorsey's cartoon world, which takes away the charm, and even depth, that made "Triggerfish Twist" such an outstanding book.
Still, the book is screamingly funny, IN PARTS. I recommend it, but with qualms. The drug use seems more intrusive than ever. Serge's murders also seem to be more intrusive and distracting. The sex is more raunchy (including a "mile high" session with the Davenports). All of this may be partly because I heard this book on audio, instead of reading it. The bizarre, raunchy stuff just jumped out at you on audio. Still, I have read ALL of Dorsey's books. I think this one went over the top, and left reality too far behind. Still, it was at least good to see Dorsey back in Florida, after excursions to the equally wacky world of California and Hollywood. Dorsey just can't say anything new or original about California ("The Big Bamboo"). He can bring much more autenticity, and uniqueness to descriptions of Florida.
There are the usual Dorsey touches. There are the seniors who use senior discounts to LIVE on cruise ships (without that being the intention of the cruise line). There are some asides on wacky Florida history. Etc.
Funny stuff. Justs not Dorsey's best. I truly wish that Dorsey had realized that "Triggerfish Twist" was so good because of the CONFLICT, or CONAACT, between the bizarre Florida and "normal" Floridians (the Davenports no longer qualify as really "normal" after "The Atomic Lobster").
There is danger of Dorsey lurching down the sterile path of Hiaasen, where WEIRD is just presented for its own sake, and as an excuse for rants that aren't funny. "The Atomic Lobster" has not gone down the path of "Sick Puppy", and is till funny (worth reading, in my opinion, so long as you can stand the raunch). It is just not in a class with "Triggerfish Twist", and further makes the mistake of "Hannibal" (which undermined by memories of one of my favorite suspense novels of all time: "Silence of the Labbs"--"Hannibal" being one of thw WORST books by a major talent I have ever read). "The Atomic Lobster" is not that bad, but it does taint slightly my fond memories of "Triggerfish Twist".
My advice: READ "Triggerfish Twist" (if you have not). Only then read "The Atomic Lobstaer", with the knowledge that it will undermine memories of "Triggerfish Twist" slightly (albeit in a still funny book).
P.S. Donald Westlake is probably the funniest crime/suspense writer of all time, and can still be pretty darn funny (even on the downhill side of his career). Westlake is further not as "edgy" as Dorsey, which means that his humor may be accpetable to many more people (it is not important enough to me to look up current sales figures, which--in any event--would be affected, both positively and negatively, by the fact that Westlake has been around a LONG time).
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