Book Review - Atomic Lobster by Tim Dorsey
Category Book Review Tim Dorsey Atomic Lobster
With all the other books I've been reading of late, I missed that Tim Dorsey had come out with another Serge Storms novel... Atomic Lobster. So long as you know what you're getting into with a Dorsey novel, this is a lot of fun much as the others were.
It's nearly impossible to write a plot summary of a Dorsey novel. There are a number of things going on that seemingly have nothing to do with anything, only to have them intersect a hundred pages later. The main driving plot in this novel is Serge's "promise" to watch out for Jim Davenport, an extremely non-confrontational guy who doesn't want to do anything to rock the boat. Serge gets involved when he shows up at a support group for people who can't confront others. He hears Davenport's story about being ripped off by some movers, and he takes it upon himself to protect this guy. From there, it all gets crazy. The mover is disposed of in a rather creative fashion. His disappearance triggers some smugglers to go into overdrive to find a statue that he was supposed to deliver. They find Davenport's name and think Davenport has it. The smugglers have to hold off their bosses, so they attempt another job using grandmas on a cruise ship to unknowingly smuggle in ancient artifacts. The grandmas just think it's a piece of junk and dispose of it before they clear customs. A notorious killer is also after Davenport in order to take revenge for his jail time. All these plots (and a few others for fun) converge in a wild party in a house that Serge's supposed to be house-setting. Even then, things aren't done. All of this action takes place at a frenetic pace, with Serge hitting all the "historical" parts of Florida and reliving history long since past.
This really is a wild ride of a novel, in a bizarre way. Serge's means of dishing out justice is gruesome, yet oddly funny in its own way. For a character who is certifiably crazy, Serge has more logic than many other stereotyped Floridians. Fans of Dorsey will understand and enjoy. New readers of Dorsey will probably wonder what they got themselves in for. Just sit back, prepare for lunacy, and go with the flow...
With all the other books I've been reading of late, I missed that Tim Dorsey had come out with another Serge Storms novel... Atomic Lobster. So long as you know what you're getting into with a Dorsey novel, this is a lot of fun much as the others were.
It's nearly impossible to write a plot summary of a Dorsey novel. There are a number of things going on that seemingly have nothing to do with anything, only to have them intersect a hundred pages later. The main driving plot in this novel is Serge's "promise" to watch out for Jim Davenport, an extremely non-confrontational guy who doesn't want to do anything to rock the boat. Serge gets involved when he shows up at a support group for people who can't confront others. He hears Davenport's story about being ripped off by some movers, and he takes it upon himself to protect this guy. From there, it all gets crazy. The mover is disposed of in a rather creative fashion. His disappearance triggers some smugglers to go into overdrive to find a statue that he was supposed to deliver. They find Davenport's name and think Davenport has it. The smugglers have to hold off their bosses, so they attempt another job using grandmas on a cruise ship to unknowingly smuggle in ancient artifacts. The grandmas just think it's a piece of junk and dispose of it before they clear customs. A notorious killer is also after Davenport in order to take revenge for his jail time. All these plots (and a few others for fun) converge in a wild party in a house that Serge's supposed to be house-setting. Even then, things aren't done. All of this action takes place at a frenetic pace, with Serge hitting all the "historical" parts of Florida and reliving history long since past.
This really is a wild ride of a novel, in a bizarre way. Serge's means of dishing out justice is gruesome, yet oddly funny in its own way. For a character who is certifiably crazy, Serge has more logic than many other stereotyped Floridians. Fans of Dorsey will understand and enjoy. New readers of Dorsey will probably wonder what they got themselves in for. Just sit back, prepare for lunacy, and go with the flow...
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Comments
Nice write up!
Posted by Gregg Eldred At 19:16:41 On 17/08/2008 | - Website - |