Customer Reviews

Sick Puppy

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(85)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I , as a Floridian, am a huge Hiaasen fan. I was quite disappointed by LUCKY YOU, it had none of that Hiassen flair I am used to. I bought SICK PUPPY the day it came out, and ended up staying up all night reading it for 6 hours straight. It is his best yet (even better than TOURIST SEASON and STORMY WEATHER, his best two if you ask me). It is great to have Skink and Jim Tile back, and I love ther charater of Twilly. This is a must have book for all Hiaasen fans. Allyou have to do now is buy his book on Disney and your collection is complete.........

This is a great book. I read it all in one sitting and it really made me think, and laugh, all at the same time. The characters were great, the plot flowed well, and I loved the rhinoceros hunt. All in all a funny and meaningful book. Sound like the author is mad, but laughing. I am too.

Carl Hiaasen's "Sick Puppy" brings back his usual madcap hijinks, something that I felt was missing in his last novel, "Lucky You". The crooked politicians are there as is an environmental terrorist and the ever popular ex-Governor of Florida, Skink.

The story has some extremely hilarious moments. I particularly liked the 911 calls listened to by Mr. Gash, they were hilarious! The bad guys get their (unusual) due at the end, always a fun thing about a Hiaasen book and Skink rides off in the sunset waiting to appear again (probably in Hiaasen's book after the next one - he has a pattern of showing up).

My only criticism is that Hiaasen's books are starting to sound the same. Twilly Spree, the environmental terrorist, is like Skip Wiley from Tourist Season. Palmer Stoat is like Francis X. Kingsbury from Native Tongue and Desiee Stoat is like the lead female character in every Hiaasen book. The only thing he didn't do this time was have a reporter or former reporter (Hiaasen's regular gig) as a character in this book.

I think Carl Hiaasen needs to look at a whole new type of plot for his next novel, one that doesn't involve trying to save the ever-shrinking Florida landscape. I think he could really write the ultimate comedy novel if he broaded his horizons. And with all of the crookedness in Florida, it shouldn't be a problem.

Though it's hardly a laugh a page as the dust jacket might have you believe, Sick Puppy is still an entertaining read. John Grisham take note: this is how you can wrap a message in an entertaining story unlike the purely preachy Street Lawyer. There are at least a couple dozen major laughs in the book, with a general air of lightness throughout the rest of the text. The book won't tax your brain, or even be very memorable, but it's great for an in between book.

As soon as I saw this book out, I had to buy it! Having read almost everything this author has written, getting the latest was indeed high priority. Now I've rated this book "only" four stars, so let me explain.

Yes the book is hilarious. And from the very first page. But in comparison to "Double Whammy", my favorite Hiassen book of all, I've come to "expect" serious whackiness in his characters now. Perhaps that's why "Double Whammy", for me, was the funniest book I've ever read. I wasn't expecting it, and furthermore, the book started out disguised as a rather serious mystery, and it was somewhere into the book as the characters developed, that I realized how crazy, and how dumb, some of them were. "Sick Puppy" makes no effort to disguise this. It is evident from the beginning that all the characters are nuts and no telling what foolishness they will get into. Furthermore, while the book certainly entertains, the end result doesn't have quite the ingeniousness built into the climax, as say the fishing tournament at the end of "Double Whammy".

And I only rate this book four stars, simply because I don't think it's quite as good as "Stormy Weather", "Tourist Season", "Native Tongue", "Double Whammy", "Skin Tight", which I would all rate five stars. But like any Indiana Jones and Star Wars movie is entertaining to watch over and over, so are Hiassen's books, and "Sick Puppy" is no exception.

And I'm quite sure we have been primed to see more of Boodles and Twily in the future. Bring them on! I'll buy the next Hiassen book as soon as it comes out to.

As others here have written, all of Carl Hiaasen's books have certain similarities. To some this is formulaic; to others, he is continuing to give his faithful readers what they expect when they buy his books. Anyone who has read more than one CH book will know what I mean. Unfortunately, this book will not be read by those who OUGHT to be reading it: litterbugs, real estate developers, big game hunters, cigar smokers, members of the NRA - everyone whom CH, and his characters, want to teach a lesson. Those who are his fans, however, will not be disappointed. While this book is not quite up to the level of Double Whammy, it is true to the CH tradition, which puts it in my highest category - worth pre-ordering in hardcover. Which is what I will do with his next release. I only wish I could meet Skink in real life; we could use him up here in New York.

There is nothing like a Carl Hiaasen book! I tried my best to take my time reading. I kept closing it, putting it aside, but he's like chips, no way can you eat just one! If you haven't read it what are you waiting on? If you have read this wonderful new book don't you think it deserves 10 stars! And, aren't you happy Mr. Hiaasen gave Skink a Son! I figure Twilly is as close as Skink will get. I loved McGuinn, I could just see his face racing down the hill after the rhino. And Mr. Gash. I know you're suppose to not like him, but I knew when he came on the scene something wicked was sure to happen, and it always did. Oh, but did he get what Gash deserved! The entire novel was one magnificent ride. My only complaint is now that I'm finished I need more, MORE from Mr. Hiaasen, and I need it now! Please don't make us wait too long for the next one.

Since Tourist Season, Hiaasen's books have reminded me of aerobatic flying in the most satisfying way...you expect a wild ride, but like any force of nature, he manages to throw new stomach-twitching high-lows that you didn't think were waiting for you. What's rewarding in a more aching way is rediscovering that you can still share his subtext of outrage at social and political drifts that we've come to take for granted...from ravaged lands we've stolen from our children to please greedy developers to the hearts of Russian women who will not only sell their bodies for sex, but deliver them to an operating table for hilarious yet cruelly-disfiguring cosmetic surgery. It's good to read a master at the top of his game, but it's even better to heed his alerts to a culture almost lost to the creeping evil of individual self-absorption.

I have to qualify my comments, as this is the first book that I have read by Mr. Hiaasen. His more frequent readers seem to cover the spectrum of loving the book, or feeling it is not up to the usual level this Author produces.

There were parts in this book that left me in pain from laughter. Some was just great humour, some is dark, but is wickedly funny, hence the title of my review.

The characters in this book together with the plot line would provide Quentin Tarantino with all the material he would need for a movie. Some of this story is sordid, but you still laugh, the players reach new levels of bizzare behavior, but they were believable, scary and strange, maybe psychotic, but it was a very readable book.

I am intrigued enough by this book that I will either buy the next, or read some of his earlier work. I really don't know what I would compare this to, maybe a satire by Christopher Buckley written with homicidal rage.

Interesting literary ride.

Carl Hiaason has set the standard for wacky, crazy, side-splitting hilarious mysteries with a serious message, and after several near misses, Hiaason is back in the game with Sick Puppy. Taking place in Florida, a young eco-terrorist millionaire, Twilly Spree, is on a rampage over a chronic litterbug. But unfortunately for the litterbug, Twilly's vigilance uncovers a much more serious problem than just litter. In fact, Palmer Stoat is a sleaze-ball, lobbyist who is trying to trash the entire state of Florida by turning pristine barrier islands into large golfing communities.

As with most Hiaason books, the characters are a scream. In addition to Twilly and Palmer, we have a sexual pervert, a crazy hit man, a spineless governor, two porno stars, a ruthless developer, a kidnapped wife, a sick dog, and a host of crooked politicians. We also see the return of Skink, ex-governor turned eco-vigilante. But Skink has a more minor role than in previous books, and the story really belongs to Twilly (kind of a Skink in training). The plot has some amazing twists and turns, and the ending will blow you away. But for all the hilarity, Hiaason has an important message about the rape of Florida by tourists, politicians and especially developers. And while the good guys usually end up winning in Hiaason's books, that usually doesn't happen in real life where money and greed are involved.

The only thing that kept me from giving Sick Puppy 5 stars was the fact that there are a large number of characters and it was difficult at first to keep them all straight. In fact, I purchased the abridged book-on-tape for a trip, and several of the more minor characters and sub-plots were eliminated. It made the story much easier to follow. Still, I loved this book and would rate it not just my favorite Hiaason, but also one of my favorite mysteries.