Customer Reviews

Everglades Assault

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I picked up my first Randy Wayne Wright book, Everglades, at a flea market in Pennsylvania. The title caught my eye since I spent several years living in Florida. Since I have been an avid reader of John D. McDonald's books, and Carl Hiaasen's books, I was skeptical of the reviews comparing the writer to my two favorites.

I was hooked! The book exceeded my expectations.

I decided to go back to the author's earlier books and read through them in chronological order. Although not Mr. Wright's first book, Everglades Assault was the first one I found. I still have to purchase 2 earlier books, but I couldn't wait to start reading.

At the beginning of the book, the author describes the background of the Randy Striker series. Keeping in mind his notes, I read the book. It was interesting, as an earlier reviewer noted, to see the groundwork being laid for future Doc Ford books.

I was a bit grossed out by Dusky MacMorgan's lust for the barely legal daughter of his friend.
The book's characters, acute descriptions of Florida's natural beauty, and occasional humor make this a worthwhile read.

Watch out, this series, while not White's normal developed story, is addictive. Read at own risk. Best on beach with beer in hand.

Always good to read Randy Wayne White, but the "Striker" series are never up to the sofistication of the DOC FORD series; as he grows as a writer and developes his skills, we see the formation of DOC FORD coming into view. As all of his books give a history and geography lesson of Florida, this was a pleasurable and exciting read.

In childhood days, many of the books we read were short and simple, easily read in a single sitting. In adulthood, however, books can take days or weeks to read. They're longer, more complex and we just don't have the time. Fortunately, there's Randy Wayne White's Dusky MacMorgan novels: the quick, fun reads that seem to be increasingly hard to find.

For fans of White's Doc Ford books, the MacMorgan books are a good illustration of his early work. These adventures were written in the early `80s and were designed to be formulaic. Fortunately, White was gifted enough to make these books shine more than the typical potboilers.

In Everglades Assault, the sixth of the seven MacMorgan novels, Dusky is recruited by an old friend to go to the family home deep in the Everglades. Someone has been grave robbing and also trying to scare the locals by appearing as the legendary Swamp Ape. MacMorgan knows that the Ape must just be a man in a costume, but there's something sinister going on, and he intends to use his lethal skills to stop it.

Most of the MacMorgan books are fun, and even this one is to a limited extent, but it is also the weakest of the books so far. Part of it is a matter of plot (compared to the usual international intrigues, this is a minor escapade), and part is a matter of pacing: it takes around half the book for the story to really kick in. If you're a White fan, this may be worth reading, but for thriller fans in general, this is probably worth skipping.

It gives you a Randy Wayne White fix until the next Doc Ford book comes out. This one was truly awful, where some of the others were entertaining in the same way as some of those Hollywood special forces movies are.