Atomic Lobster

Abandon ship! That's exactly what I did after the first disc of this horrible audio book. I enjoy satire, I really do. I get it. I don't mind some sex and violence in my books, (or my listens) but this "hero" (and I almost choke as I write that word) Serge A. Storms, is a vicious, stupid, anti-social excuse for a character. This book is nothing but some post-adolescent fantasy about being nasty to people in every way you can think of, and frankly, my real world is nasty enough without inviting Serge and his more than mildly demented friends in. Think of it as The Three Stooges meet Freddy Kroeger. I'm reasonable picky about what food I eat, so I shouldn't expect my mind to digest garbage either.

Normally, I'm a big fan of antic humor. I'm also a mystery fan, so if you promise me a schlubby, non-assertive guy forced to deal with serial killers who hate the rude, a free-basing, paranoid ex-NFL star, incompetant drug smugglers, burnt out government killers, rule-breaking grannies, and a Clowns vs. Mimes version of Fight Club, well, how could I not be amused? Except that I wasn't, really.

It's my own fault. This is the first Dorsey I've read, and it's clearly a sequel, bringing in charcters from many other Dorsey books. I just never connected with the characters, which might not have been a problem had I read the other books.

So Atomic Lobster gets a low rating, but I reserve the right to adjust if reading the earlier books does show more make a difference. show less

I've read a bunch of these "Serge Storms" novels by Dorsey, and they never fail to entertain. I am in awe of a mind that can come up with so many threads of absurd lunacy, keep them all straight, and tie them together at the end. I won't even try to summarize the plot, but this one involves a cruise ship, smuggling, mistaken identity, covert ops and of course, murder and mayhem as Serge and his sidekick invade an upscale Florida community posing as house sitters.

My only quibble is that Serge, a cheerful serial killer, murders someone who he was close to. (His usual MO is to kill deserving low-lifes in creative and gruesome ways.) That shocked me and kind of threw off the generally giddy vibe of the book, and this character, for me.

The hyperactive Floridacentric Serge and substance-addled Coleman return dead center in the vortex of a fast moving interwoven thread of story lines that converge on a cruise ship off the Florida coast. Along the way Dorsey skewers real estate agents, movers, the cruise industry, retirees, people with money, people without money, criminals, cops, terrorists, and strippers. Another book of stylish mass-murder, snappy writing and plain fun with story elements recognizable to anyone who's read a Florida newspaper recently.

Atomic Lobster was one fast ride. It’s a story about Serge A. Storms, a criminal who always ends up helping the underdog, and his motley crew consisting of Coleman, a pothead alcoholic, and Rachael, a coke-sniffing stripper. In this story, Serge is hell-bent on protecting Jim Davenport, who saved Serge’s life ten years prior and is being hunted down by a serial killer. It’s also the story of four old ladies who have learned that it’s cheaper to go on cruises all year than to live in a retirement home. And it’s a story of the Mexican drug trade and terrorist attempts to poison Americans with anthrax. All of these subplots rapidly weave and twist their way through the story, until the end when they all come together in an Old show more West-meets -Florida fashion.

This story is not one of my usual genres, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the book. Excuse my eighth grade vernacular, but there’s something totally cool about seeing familiar streets, shopping centers, bridges, bars and cultural events in a book. The characters drive up the road I take to work every morning. They stop at a shopping center where I used to work. It’s like seeing your neighbor on TV over and over again, and this helped make Atomic Lobster very amusing to me.

Dorsey also chose “only in Florida” new stories and mixed them into the story. I am not sure if a non-local would “get” the humor behind a toll booth operator alerting police that a man’s body was stuck to the front of a car, or a house being sold dirt cheap because the owner, who was a county official, cut corners on code enforcement. But for a local, this is funny stuff. From the state the brought you hanging chads and the president’s brother, Florida does not get enough credit for being a little bit backwards. Read Dorsey and you’ll get a huge dose of the absurdity that can be the Sunshine State.

If you like dark humor and high crime, and don’t mind the sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, then I would recommend Atomic Lobster to you. If it’s not your cup of tea and you don’t live in the Tampa Bay area, I think you can safely skip this book. show less

I did not finish this book. I felt myself getting dumber with every page read. I've seen comparisons between this guy and Carl Hiaasen. OK, maybe if Hiaasen's violence was pointless, if he was a misogynist and if he wasn't funny. Too gross and too convoluted.

What a wild ride! I've read most all of Carl Hiaasen's books but this was something else! Sex, drugs, and violence are commonplace in this funny, weird novel set in Florida. Serge Storms is the main character - he's weird, funny, inventive and a criminal. His partner, Coleman, is a drug addict who's always looking for the next fix. That's not all, we also meet the G-Unit - four women in their nineties who have made "cruising" a way of life - literally. They've discovered that it's cheaper (and more fun) to go on cruises than stay in their apartments. Jim and Martha Davenport were victims of a home invasion a number of years ago (Serge and Coleman were involved somehow). Tex McGraw perpetrated that crime and was recently released from show more prison with a "revenge list" - and the Davenport's are on that list. In the process of "protecting" the Davenport's, Serge and Coleman destroy a house, kill a couple of people, and go on a cruise - and the Davenport's are still alive at the end. Throw in some smuggling, the mob, and espionage and it's one action-packed read! It's not for the faint of heart, however - the graphic violence and sex aren't for everyone. show less