Customer Reviews

The Stingray Shuffle

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having just finished Shuffle (after reading Triggerfish Twist),
and now rereading Florida Roadkill, I can say that Dorsey is
better than Hiaasen's weaker novels, but still is a ways from
Hiaasen's best work (Tourist Season, Skin Tight). With Hiaasen's
best work, the characters and events from each novel stick in
mind for years. With Hiaasen's second-tier work, the characters
and events tend to blur together, so at this point I remember
very little about what went on in, say, Sick Puppy. Tim Dorsey's
work comes closer to this latter situation: I can remember some
good bits and pieces, but there's a lot of blurring, even with
Stingray Shuffle, which I just finished last night. That doesn't
bode well.

Like Hiaasen's work, Tim Dorsey's novels are entertaining. filled
with a dark humor and scathing views of some of the less pleasant
aspects of Florida. Dorsey is primarily the Tampa area, in
contrast to Hiaasen's Miami. Both writers have very sharp
and witty episodes with politicians, tourists, businesses that
cater to tourists, the drug-trade side of the state, etc.
Hiaasen's hero-types tend to be reluctant about killing:
Dorsey's Serge Storms (featured in all the novels so far) is an
enthusiast, usually killing in bizarre ways--entertaining in
small quantities, but not quite as appetizing when done several
times in each book. Dorsey is also fond (to the point of
getting a bit tiresome at times) of having Serge Storms digress
at length on historical and cultural details and minutae.
In Stingray Shuffle, he also has some other detail freaks
expounding in the same fashion as Storms--which doesn't help the
novel.

Still and all, it's an entertaining novel, worth reading.

This whole series of books by Tim Dorsey can be described as a twisted and funny study on the dark side in all of human beings. Tim Dorsey manages to take everyday situations and make them incredibly funny. Based in Florida, the series follows the twisted life of Serge Storms (one of the best characters ever created) and all his sick, violent and disturbed adventures. Of course, along the way you will get to meet every kind of character you can imagine.

The interesting thing about this series is that behind all the funny stories, there are tons of social and political criticisms. I have read all the books in the series, and each one keeps getting better. If you are a fan of Quentin Tarantino movies, or South Park cartoons, you will love these books. A must buy.

'The Stingray Shuffle' by Tim Dorsey is really more of a series of comedy skits than a novel. The so-called plot involves a madcap chase of briefcase containing $5 million in cash. While there are a few gratuitous murders this is hardly be called a crime story. Yet like Carl Hiaasen novels 'The Stingray Shuffle' contains plenty of Florida-isms; locals like me will love the historical references to Henry Flagler, the pioneering railroads of a century ago, etc. Too bad Tim Dorsey doesn't seem to have the satiric wit of Hiaasen. His humour is very childish in comparison.

Bottom line: a very silly yet often funny book. Passable.

To anyone who thinks the description of laughter as "side-splitting" is an exageration, I have only one response: Read chapter 3 of The Stingray Shuffle. (Actually, read the entire book.) I was literally in tears, laughing uncontrollably, trying not to wake up my sleeping family as I read late into the night of the antics on the minature golf course/driving range, including the true goal of hitting a bucket of balls and the misadventures of Johnny Vegas, the Accidental Virgin. Tim Dorsey has written a series of zany adventures set in the ripe-for-satire Florida scene, further honing his literary skills with each ensuing book. I thought it would be hard to top the comic absurdity of his last effort, Triggerfish Twist, but this entry delivers the early promise so evident from the beginning. Read it and meet (or meet again, if you are already a fan) Serge A. Storms, the bad guy you just have to love. Find out what happens to the briefcase with $5 millon, careen all over Florida from the Keys to Tampa, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and points beyond all the way to NY City. Enjoy the forgotten pleasure of true belly laughs....but be prepared for the aching side effects of laughing until it hurts.

Picking up plotlines from each of Dorsey's previous books, the Stingray Shuffle follows the continuing adventures of Serge A. Storms and his pursuit of five million dollars he originally conned from a crooked insurance company in the first book of the series several years ago, Florida Roadkill. Tim Dorsey writes Serge A. Storms as a likeable pyschopathic serial killer. Charming one minute, insane killer the next. His main obession in the new book are trains, and the reader will learn a lot of archaic information about the topic while Storms pontificates every once in a while about the topic.

The Stingray Shuffle brings back several of the whacky characters from earlier books, such as Johnny Vegas, provides an explanation for Serge's amnesia in the third novel Orange Crush, while continuing the plotline from the ending of the Hammerhead Ranch Motel book. The new book features many new characters who drop in and out of the plot, including more than a few who die a tragic, but funny, death. Dorsey folds the book into itself by including a subplot about a book called "The Stingray Shuffle" with a similar plot as the real book itself. It becomes hard to know when you are reading about something in the "real" book as opposed to the "ficticious" book, both with the same name. As the plot moves from Florida to New York City, and back to Florida, most of the living characters collide on an Amtrak train ride where several of the loosely connected plotlines reach their climax.

Anyone interested in spending a few hours reading and laughing out loud should grab this book.

Tim Dorsey continues to attempt the most difficult of all literary endeavors...300 pages of sustained slapstick comedy. He's managed, (so far), to keep pie fights out of the gag mix but I'm betting that he'll someday succumb to the temptation in an original, Florida fashion, (jelly-fish fights anyone?)

I enjoy his novels and believe that this one is his best. Still, I find myself reading with a nitrous-oxide type of smile. Fixed..amusing...but no real belly laughs.

Mr. Dorsey's contemporary, Carl Hiaassen seems more crafty in mixing zany antics with plot points that are easier to absorb and enjoy. The silly moments become more enjoyable with Mr. Hiaassen, (try Skin Tight on for size.)

Small potatoes. Buy this wonderful novel by Tim Dorsey...and pass around the nitrous oxide.

Stephen King is the undeniable master of character development. Tim Dorsey has got to be a close second. I am reading his catalogue out of order. Based on Serge's character in Stingray Shuffle, Dorsey has brought Serge a long way in his development.

In Atomic Lobster, Serge is in full dimension, a real life character no matter how unrealistic his character is. The addition of Coleman did a lot for Serge's character as well. I suspect that Serge will materialize as a flesh-and-blood human is he gets any more real.

Stingray Shuffle has a plot that is as twisted as a Motel 6 bedsheet at ten in the morning. It truly does richochet in all directions and is a little hard to follow at times, but I think that is by design. The ending is hilarious and unexpected. The whole story is well planned and actully researched very well. There are some genuine history lessons contained within the pages of this story.

As I continue to read the rest of Dorsey's catalogue, I anticipate further depth and more outlandish stories and characters.

Rock on, Tim!

Tim Dorsey's books are not for everyone -- the fact that the main character would qualify as a (lovable!) serial murderer should be a good litmus test to tell you if you are one of those who would "get" this. That said, if you like off-beat (and extremely dark) humor, then Dorsey delivers.

Multiple plot threads interweave in this, as Serge and friends chase after a briefcase filled with $5 million, along the way crossing paths with inept Russian mobsters, a vindictive woman's book club, a hypnotist who's too good for his own good, and a hack novelist who has been rediscovered for all the wrong reasons. Along the way, we get the usual taste of obscure Floridian history, this time focusing on trains when Serge becomes OCD about them. There's a hilarious parody of a "murder mystery" train, too.

Expect chuckles aplenty and quite a few laugh-out-loud moments -- assuming you like sardonic storytelling. This book might even be 5-star material... highly recommended.

After "Hammerhead Ranch Motel" Dorsey threw us a curve ball, and went fast forward on "Orange Crush" and then way back on "Triggerfish Twist". In "Orange Crush", we found out that Serge A. Storms, one of the best main characters I have encountered in a long time, had lost his memory, but we had no idea how this happened. Also, there was no further mention of the suitcase with the five million dollars which had captured the attention of all of the characters in the first two books in the series. In this book, we finally get the answers we were looking for, and what a fun path to discovery it is.

At the beginning of the story we find Paul and Jethro once more. They have the suitcase with the money and they are trying to leave the country without being detected. You remember Paul, right? I find it hard to believe you could forget about the Passive-Aggressive Private Eye! Paul and Jethro feel pretty good about their situation, but that is because they do not know that Serge and Lenny are following them, using the signal from a tracking device included in the suitcase. Once the chase starts all hell breaks lose.

The array of characters in this book is perfect, since it allows the author to show his skill for creating hilarious and unbelievable situations. Of course, first of all, we have Serge, the psychopath killer who believes he is moral in his ways and usually makes a pretty good case to that effect. He possess an encyclopedic knowledge of Florida's history and I find his lectures and guided tours extremely interesting. Especially because I lived in Miami for a couple of years and now I live in Tampa, so I can picture in my mind a lot of the places Serge visits. There is also Johnny Vegas; the playboy who is never able to go all the way with women due to a whole myriad of outrageous interruptions. City and Country, the two young females from Alabama that are Thelma and Louise wannabes also contribute their fair share to the story. Finally, the author has the ability to introduce a "special" group of people in each book. For example, in the last installment, it was a group of old ladies that were wizards at finance. In this case we find a group of five women who created a book club and who hold a secret that haunts their existence.

In my opinion, Dorsey has mastered what can be done in this niche. He consistently delivers well-balanced novels, that have the appropriate amount of humor, a story that keeps us interested and maintains a good pace, and a whole bunch of esoteric and lovable characters. This one is another winner.

You can't really compare Dorsey, Hiaalen, Leonard, or any of the other 'wacky' Floridia crime authors. They are similar, but different enough to be enjoyed distinctly.

That being said, I try to judge Dorsey on his own, and enjoy his work. This particular offering was not as good imo to Triggerfish..., but I enjoyed it for wahat it was -- a light summer read.

I plan on reading more of his work.