- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: HarperTorch; Reprint edition (April 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0061031542
- ISBN-13: 978-0061031540
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.6 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 66,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Maybe you can't be too outrageous when the subject is Florida politics, but Orange Crush author Tim Dorsey (Florida Roadkill, Hammerhead Ranch Motel) manages to go so far over the top in this satirical page burner that even diehard fans of Carl Hiaasen, Laurence Shames, and Dave Barry may find their patience wearing thin after the first couple of chapters. When Republican Governor Marlon Conrad is inexplicably called up by the reserve unit--joined for a re-election photo-op--and sent to Bosnia, he suffers a midlife crisis that has his campaign staff totally flummoxed. Not that they're playing with a full deck either; Conrad's closest adviser is a crazed serial killer who happens to be an expert in Florida folklore, and the rest of the boys on the bus--the Orange Crush, Marlon's joyride across the Sunshine State--aren't much saner.
While Conrad's the main character, there are enough second-string oddballs to keep this road trip going until the denouement, a bizarre debate between the governor and his opponent, Gomer Tatum, whose idea of intelligent political discourse is a WWF death match. The characters include Helmut Von Zeppelin, a multimillionaire who owns most of the politicians in Florida; Jackie Monroeville, a trailer queen determined to get her man into the governor's mansion; and Gottfried Escrow, Marlon's chief of staff. There's plenty of mayhem but not much mystery in this comic novel that proves there can be too much of a good thing. While Dorsey keeps the belly laughs coming, he doesn't stop long enough for the reader to give much of a hoot about any of his characters, much less root for the good guys to win. --Jane Adams, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘I almost exploded with laughter… It’s manic, hysterical and puts Dorsey well up there with the cream of the comic writers who seem to have made Florida the centre for satirising America in the 21st century. Excellent.’
Mark Timlin, Independent on Sunday
‘Impeccable bad taste… another warped, manic romp through Florida and local politics, evoking the rageful satire of Carl Hiaasen and the malicious vindictiveness of Hunter S Thompson. Set against the background of an election and involving a ventriloquist beauty queen and a serial killer with a taste for magic, this is comic crime at its best.’
Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian
‘An heroic attempt at literary revenge on, among other targets, American politics, gridiron football, billionaires, tennis and the media. It marks a return to the form of Dorsey’s astonishingly imaginative debut, Florida Roadkill.’
The Times
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I tend to agree with the other review here - I enjoyed the authors previous two novels, but found them just a little hyperbolic in terms of characterisation, while at the same time the plots were a little threadbare as if to compensate - while screwball psychos are lovely, they need to be more than set pieces to be admired.
Here though, the backdrop of a typical wholesome american election campaign provides sufficient impetus for a twisting, multi-layered plot, and the appearance of fresh characters with complex reasons to exist other than to provide a cheap, screwy death. At the same time, Mr. Dorsey hasn't lost his ear for a well-turned line of dialogue, nor the ability to squeeze amusement out of even his minor players.
If Hiaasen, Leonard, James Hall etc. are your bag, (and if not, why not?), then I'd suggest this is well worth your time and effort, and hope that Mr. Dorsey continues the great strides forward evident here - if so, it won't be too long before he is up with the major players of the genre. More power to his elbow.
Here though, the backdrop of a typical wholesome american election campaign provides sufficient impetus for a twisting, multi-layered plot, and the appearance of fresh characters with complex reasons to exist other than to provide a cheap, screwy death. At the same time, Mr. Dorsey hasn't lost his ear for a well-turned line of dialogue, nor the ability to squeeze amusement out of even his minor players.
If Hiaasen, Leonard, James Hall etc. are your bag, (and if not, why not?), then I'd suggest this is well worth your time and effort, and hope that Mr. Dorsey continues the great strides forward evident here - if so, it won't be too long before he is up with the major players of the genre. More power to his elbow.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Florida Lieutenant Governor Marlon Conrad, a political nobody, has been picked by the Florida powerbrokers to be the next governor, but he's happier playing computer games than handling the state's business. That doesn't matter, the powerbrokers tell him, because in Florida policy is decided by "Big Oil, Big Sugar and Big Rental Car." All Marlon has to do is wait for the sitting governor to finish his term and let his handlers do the rest. There is, however, one tiny obstacle, Marlon had never registered with the Selective Service. So he joins the National Guard, that way he'd look patriotic and could be inactive. However he gets called up and sent to the Balkans, sees action and all of a sudden becomes a real man of the people.
No longer content to be a tool of the Florida powerbrokers, Marlon takes off on a campaign across the state in an RV dubbed Orange Crush. His political opponent, the gourmandizing Speaker of the House Gomer Tatum, has also found new political life, thanks to his working class girlfriend. So the election becomes a rough and tumble contest.
It is almost impossible for me to tell you just how funny this five star book is. Not only did I laugh through the pages, I'm still laughing.
Reviewed by Katie Osborne
No longer content to be a tool of the Florida powerbrokers, Marlon takes off on a campaign across the state in an RV dubbed Orange Crush. His political opponent, the gourmandizing Speaker of the House Gomer Tatum, has also found new political life, thanks to his working class girlfriend. So the election becomes a rough and tumble contest.
It is almost impossible for me to tell you just how funny this five star book is. Not only did I laugh through the pages, I'm still laughing.
Reviewed by Katie Osborne
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anyone who has ventured into Tim Dorsey's world will know what to expect from this latest offering. There's the usual trail of murder and mayhem, and unsavoury characters you actually hope will end up dead! There's another roadtrip - this time in the Orange Crush of the title. Plus the psychotic but strangely personable anti-hero from Florida Roadkill, Serge A Storms, makes a reappearance. But this time round, it's the greedy and corrupt arena of politics which falls under the microscope in this tale of election bandwagoneering strangely reminiscent of last year's real-life voting debacle - although arguably with more sex and violence and less public apathy!
That's not to say that Dorsey hasn't moved on though - this book is almost realistic compared to the cartoon uber-violence of Roadkill (death by shrink-fit jeans and shuttle take-off anyone?) which at times, had the tendency to seem almost too clever and inventive for it's own good. There are more clearly defined characters who, in the main, don't just appear briefly and disappear again. In my opinion, this makes the story read in a far more connected fashion and there is less need to flick back to re-read certain key passages because you've forgotten where someone fits in - although, I accept that could just be me and my sieve-like memory!
But for fan's of Florida Roadkill, and I do count myself as one, this book retains all the stylistic and quirky features that hooked you in the first place. There's the same black humour and outrageous scenarios and Dorsey's twisted take on life continues to hit you harder than the caffeine rush from several double espressos in quick succession. Ok, so possibly some of the characters are stereotypes and one-dimensional, and some of the plot development is predictable, but when it comes at you with such pace and with such energy, who cares? It still has more imagination and fun on it's pages then most - and with everything from giant margaritas and a multitude of potential hitmen to devious campaign staff and talking vaginas - what more could you possibly want?!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
"Who are you?"
That is the question that Dorsey's character Serge A. Storms asks himself constantly in this book while looking at the mirror. Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2007 by Sebastian Fernandez
Serge the Hero does it again
I love love Serge. The main character in all these books. I cant get enough of him and the hilarious characters he is surrounded with. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2006 by astarte
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