Customer Reviews

Ten Thousand Islands

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mr. White has the ability to capture the atmosphere of Southwest Florida as well, if not better than Jimmy Buffet does through his many songs.He is a master story teller that takes the reader along for a ride, with you being next to Doc Ford from Page to page. This book, was impossible to put down. Mr. White's ability to make the reader understand the effect of uncontrolled civilization on the barrier islands; to the fury of an approaching hurricane, leaves one, with a great admiration for the man, his imagination and intellect. I encourage all to read Ten Thousand Islands, and then continue the adventure with the entire Doc Ford series. I can hardly wait for his next work, fiction or non-fiction. Randy Wayne White truly loves Southwest Florida and his work shows it.

This last installment in the Doc Ford series is the best. Slightly edges out "Sanibel Flats". By the way, I think it is imperative to have read "Sanibel Flats" prior to reading this one. This book is tightly plotted and has you going from the first chapter. Probably the most Travis McGee-like of all the Doc Ford novels. The characters are richly drawn and the Florida coast is written by White better than anyone.

I started TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS on a Thursday afternoon andfinished it at 5 a.m. on Friday -- my first novel all-nighter sinceSILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Marine Biologist Doc Ford, Florida's most compelling, unromantic, anti-hero is at the top of his form. Nearly two decades ago, on Marco Island,FL, a brilliant 14-year old girl dug up an Indian grave and found a golden medallion once worn by the king of pre-Colombian Florida. A few months later, she's found dead, hanging from a tree. Now, 15-years later, someone's dug-up the grave and it's up to Ford and buddy Tomlinson to find out why. Based on a true story, the tale that follows is brilliant, compelling, terrifying and sometimes hilarious. I laughed and actually wept. Tomlinson steals the show as usual, but Ford is also elevated: He does psychedelic mushrooms and briefly re-meets his true soul mate -- two solitary islands among ten thousand in this touching, metaphorical tale. The real star, as usual, however, is the strange place called Florida and no one is better than White when it comes to capturing it on paper.

Randy Wayne White again skillfully weaves fact and fiction with his typically witty prose. Ten Thousand Islands is loosly based on the real-life discovery of an ancient indian artifact that White extrapolates into a tale of greed, deceit and the drug-induced ramblings of Ford's psychedelic side-kick, Tomlinson. I have read all of White's Doc Ford novels, and this is his best work since the Heat Islands. The story is imaginative, the book moves at a good pace, and of course White's musings on Florida are right on the money. ("Like a bus station, Florida attracts con men and predators. It always has. Florida always will.")

I recommend this book without reservation to Doc Ford fans, lovers of a good mystery, or those in the mood for an off-beat and unlikey hero in a wonderfully told story.

This new Doc Ford novel is one of the best entries yet in the series, and is unmissable if you are already a fan; if you're new to White's novels, then this is a great way to start out. It combines the historical lore of "The Man Who Invented Florida" with the crisp style of "Captiva"; this novel is perhaps more "unputdownable" then some of the others. The action takes place in Southwest Florida and the Keys, and concerns an unscrupulous politican, a Calusa artifact, and a dangerous hurricane. White's characters are some of his sharpest yet, and the suspense kicks in from the first page. Mystery novels, and in particular Florida mystery novels, don't get much better than this one. If you are partial to that sort of thing, then don't miss "Ten Thousand Islands."

Doc Ford is a Marine biologist living in Dinkin's Bay Marina on Sanibel Island down in the Florida wilderness. Before he'd stepped into that life, however, Ford had lived another life as a government agent--and maybe, according to his good friend Tomlinson, who experiments with recreational drugs and New Age philosophies, he'd had a life before that. Fifteen years ago, Dorothy Copeland was a child prodigy, a finder of lost things with an uncanny knack for discovering treasures from the Calusa Indians that had once lived in the Ten Thousand Islands. Several of the findings the young girl made ended up in museums, and they attracted the unwanted attentions of treasure hunters looking for gold. Then, mysteriously, Dorothy was found dead, hanging in a tree branch. No one knew if she was murdered or she accidentally took her own life while trying to get away from the voices she'd always heard in her head. A mutual friend of the girl's mother asks Doc to look into the situation after a break-in at the mother's house that is tied to the dead girl. Ford's investigation into the matter involves deadly lies, power, corruption, and the darkest evil in men's hearts amid the spectacular backdrop of the Florida Keys.

Randy Wayne White is the author of several Doc Ford novels, including TWELVE-MILE LIMIT, SHARK RIVER, SANIBEL FLATS, and NORTH OF HAVANA. He's also authored books on travel and fishing in Florida, BATFISHING IN THE RAIN FOREST, THE SHARKS OF NICARAGUA, and LAST FLIGHT OUT. He's also regularly contributed articles to OUTSIDE magazine and MEN'S HEALTH magazine.

Doc Ford is a deep and moving character. White's first-person narrative draws the reader in and makes him or her feel as though he or she is peering over Ford's shoulder during his adventures. Besides the driving narrative, the descriptions of the places in the book, the people met there, and the tidbits of information on the flora and fauna make for an enjoyable and enlightening read. White's description of the horrific cenote kept by the book's villains will not soon leave the mind's eye or fail to send a chill up the spine. This is a hero with a history, but not all of that history is laid out for casual inspection. Although Doc has been around his regular cadre of friends, the reader still makes discovers about Doc's past as well as his connection to present-day friends. White paints Doc on the page like a real person, complete with flaws and weaknesses.

The book starts off a little slow, necessitating an out of place prologue showing the coming threat and violence coming. Still, White is so readable that the pages fly by, and those action junkies needing a quick fix of violence will be amply rewarded by sticking with the book. For those that love deep characterization and a peek at the real world a hero lives and works in, as well as the tangled mess they make of their emotional lives, the opening chapters are an excellent way to get to know Doc.

Readers of any of the Florida crime writers will enjoy White's skill and verve, and his tough-guy characterization, philosophy, and internal questioning are on a par with Robert B. Parker's Spenser, James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux, and Robert Crais' Elvis Cole novels. As with those three writers, White makes his character's environment as big and expansive as his hero.

Simply put - terrific read - lessons to be learned - good characters - interesting plot - buy it - enjoy it, Randy is an accomlished writer and I thank Amazon.com for introducing me to him. Please join the club and read him. It is worth the price!

In TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS Doc Ford and Tomlinson investigate the bizarre case of a dead girl's grave being dug up and her mother's home being burglarized by thieves who are in search of a gold medallion found by the girl shortly before her death several years ago. The story takes place around Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, Marco Island and Key Largo. The reader learns a lot about the ancient Indian culture of the people who lived in the area before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores. Most of this information is given by Nora Chung, a young graduate student who becomes a useful ally of Doc and Tomlinson early in their investigation.

TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS is an entertaining book - especially because of its rich descriptions of lower Florida geography as well as its abundance of engaging characters. I consider this novel to be one of White's best efforts.

This is the latest book in the Doc Ford series that I've read and it's the best so far. All the usual elements are in place: action, suspense, mystery, Florida, humor, science, sex, fishing, boating, and more. And as always we learn more interesting facts about the past of Doc and his buddy Tomlinson. Some of the revelations about these characters were fascinating and surprising. Now I'm ready to tear into Shark River.

I love Randy Wayne White books. They are all set in Florida and his love of the people, geography and habitat shines through. This latest book is his best. I had the privilege of meeting the author at a writers conference and he is as charming in person as his character Doc Ford is on paper. I am anxiously awaiting the movie version of any Doc Ford book. I have visions of Harrison Ford in the role of Doc Ford. Today's moving going public would love a protagonist who is intelligent and does not have to rely soley on high speed chases to solve the mystery.