Atomic Lobster: A Novel (Serge a. Storms) |
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List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $17.72
Your Save: $ 7.23 ( 29% )
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Manufacturer: William Morrow
Average Customer Rating:  
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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780060829698
ISBN: 0060829699
Label: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2008-02-01
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: 2008-01-22
Studio: William Morrow
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Editorial Reviews:
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Why is everyone rushing to flee Tampa on a cruise ship to hell? Serge is back with a bullet, torn between homicide and souvenirs. So is Coleman, torn between getting hammered and getting more hammered. Then there's good ol' Jim Davenport, the E-Team, the Diaz Brothers, and Johnny Vegas, the Accidental Virgin, cranking up the fevered action as the pot boils over on a street called Lobster Lane. It's reunion time in the Sunshine State, and we're not just talking the family jamboree of that blood-soaked criminal clan, the McGraws, whose nastiest, meanest member is finally released from prison and heads south bent on revenge. On top of it all, the government is covering up a growing list of mysterious victims across Florida who may or may not be connected to a nefarious plot being hatched against national security. But wait! There's more on the horizon! Who is the oddly familiar femme fatale named Rachael? Is Serge wrong that guns, drugs, and strippers don't mix? What sets the Non-Confrontationalists off on a rampage? What finally brings Coleman and Lenny together? Will they succeed in building the biggest bong ever? And can Serge surf a rogue wave to victory? So batten the hatches, don the life jackets, and take cover as all these questions and more are answered in the latest adventure from the acclaimed author of Hurricane Punch.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not a book for everyone
Comment: But if you have a slightly twisted sense of humor and like the bizarre, it's for you. I've not read any of the other books (yet) but this one worked well enough as a stand-alone, though having a bit more background on a few of the characters might have been nice.
The biggest downside of the story was that it was told in a very fragmented style. There were several groups of characters, mostly tangentially related, and the story not only hopped between them, but also moved backwards and forwards in time (there were a few 'four months ago...' sections). It was interesting to see how all of the character's stories intersected, but it could be a little difficult to keep straight (especially listening to it as an audiobook).
The upsides definitely outweighed the downside, though. The book was full of great characters, improbable situations, and dark humor. And when I say dark, I do mean it. Serge spends a good part of the book killing people in delightfully convoluted (think Rube Goldberg) ways, and is completely nonchalant about it. He reminded me a lot of Max from the Sam and Max comic/games ("gratuitous acts of senseless violence are my forte!"). Horrible (and yet, kind of funny) things happen to people left and right. There's rampant drug use and violence, though it certainly doesn't seem out of place with this cast of characters. There were scenes and dialog that actually made me burst out laughing - a great book to listen to if you're blue, since it's both entertaining and heartening that your life isn't as bad as some of these peoples...
And, at the end, it managed to surprise me. I thought, perhaps, I'd guessed the improbable Foxtrot, but I fell for a classic trap and got it all wrong. That little twist was the perfect ending to an extremely entertaining book. I can't wait to read more.
AUDIOBOOK NOTE: The narrator did an extremely good job with the voices and characters in this story (Serge actually sounded a lot like Max). The speed and flow made for easy listening, and there weren't any weird or awkward pauses. Definitely a good one to listen to.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: The series isn't as fresh and original as it once was - but Atomic Lobster is still wildly convoluted fun
Comment: Tim Dorsey is something of a guilty pleasure. When he's firing on all cylinders, his novels are outrageously funny, wildly convoluted fun. Inevitably, his novels shift back and forth between high energy fun and jokes or story lines that fall flat. When his novels hit their peaks they feature moments that are laugh-out-loud funny. When they fall flat, they can be tedious. Fortunately Dorsey's rapid fire delivery hits more than it misses.
I wish I could tell you that Dorsey's humour is smart and sophisticated, but as funny as he can be; his humour is a pretty low-brow. In fact, much of it is sexist and juvenile. And yet it works - although admittedly, it's not going to appeal to everyone.
Atomic Lobster is not the best Dorsey novel, but I found it pretty entertaining. While it was entertaining enough, frankly the series is starting to get repetative. There is nothing in this novel that we haven't seen before in the previous nine & not just because the novel feels like a reunion tour. Dorsey brings back almost every character from his previous novels that Serge didn't kill in an earlier adventure, most notably drawing from Triggerfish Twist.
A good part of the fun of this novel is watching Dorsey weave together the storylines of a huge cast characters. There are CIA agents, a terrorist cell, a team of man hungry grannies, a group of men who resemble Wilfred Brimley, a desperate virgin, clowns, mimes, drug smugglers, and a likeable serial killer named Serge. (And that's just scatching the surface of the cast of characters).
If you're a fan of Dorsey: You should enjoy this novel but you won't find much new here. At some point Dorsey is going to have to do something to make the series feel fresh again. If you're new to Dorsey, this isn't necessarily the best place to start. I recommend Triggerfish Twist - my personal favourite or Florida Roadkill the first novel in the series.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Carl Hiassen without the political correctness
Comment: Just finished Atomic Lobster and agree with other positive reviewers. An enjoyable (and unplausible) black satire set in current day Florida. This is my first Dorsey book and as suggested by another reviewer will try to read the series starting at the beginning.
I mention Hiassen in the title of my review because both Dorsey and Hiassen set their satires in contemporary Florida. If, like me, you are somewhat turned off by Hiassen's PC approach you won't find that with Dorsey. He skewers both sides of the culture gap equally.
My favorite satires set in Florida are Elmore Leonard's Florida series. I would suggest a reader start with "Maximum Bob" "Out of sight" and go from there.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Atomic Lobster by Tim Dorsey
Comment: Tim Dorsey's books are always a good read, Serge & Coleman are a hoot! Look forward to many more adventures.
Customer Rating:
Summary: More adventures of Serge Storms, and a whole lot of fun for the reader...
Comment: 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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