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tmawhir's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
sindri_inn_arsaeli's review
3.0
Enjoyable. I don't know if any of the characters themselves were from any of the authors' other works as I'm not familiar with many of them. But for so many different writers most of the chapters still flowed smoothly enough together. There was one section where the narrative focused on the manatee's inner thoughts and seemed wildly out of character, but the next author corrected well enough. There were a Lot of moving parts, (literally, as well as narratively,) which meant if I paused more than a day or two between chapters I needed to flip back sometimes to see what I'd missed, but it did all come together in the end. For the right reader, I would certainly suggest it.
branch_c's review
3.0
A fairly enjoyable book, clever in parts, absurd in others, and with a strong South Florida atmosphere that invokes nostalgia for hanging out in Coconut Grove, even if the events here are a bit sillier than the reality.
I remember reading some of the chapters as they were serialized in The Miami Herald's Tropic magazine in the early 90's, starting with the first one by Dave Barry, each writer picking up the story where the previous one left off. I didn't recall actually reaching the ending, though, so when I saw the book available at a used book sale thought I'd pick it up.
The result of this unconventional collaboration is a convoluted mix of eccentric characters, bizarre situations, and loose threads. Worth picking up as a quick read, although it may even have been more fun to write than it was to read.
I remember reading some of the chapters as they were serialized in The Miami Herald's Tropic magazine in the early 90's, starting with the first one by Dave Barry, each writer picking up the story where the previous one left off. I didn't recall actually reaching the ending, though, so when I saw the book available at a used book sale thought I'd pick it up.
The result of this unconventional collaboration is a convoluted mix of eccentric characters, bizarre situations, and loose threads. Worth picking up as a quick read, although it may even have been more fun to write than it was to read.
beautifulandfullofmonsters's review
Retroactive review:
Read this with my mom without understanding it was a collaboration. Weird AF.
Read this with my mom without understanding it was a collaboration. Weird AF.
sharonfalduto's review
3.0
Remember that thing where a bunch of people would write a chapter of a book? Do they still do that? This is one of those. The authors include Dave Barry, Carl Hiassen, Elmore Leonard, somebody named Carolina Hospital (is that a name, or a place?), and several others that I'd never heard of. A neat concept, but the problem is that every author felt the need to introduce a new character, practically, and in some cases flat out contradicted what other authors had written. What's the first rule of improv, guys? Don't say "no." Also, if you get Dave Barry to write your first chapter, you end up with a manatee named "Booger."
The story is set in Miami and involves intrigue, Fidel Castro, a mysterious box, explosions, and the aforementioned manatee. A fun little read, as long as you really don't care anything about solving mysteries, since of course the first author had no idea what would happen next.
The story is set in Miami and involves intrigue, Fidel Castro, a mysterious box, explosions, and the aforementioned manatee. A fun little read, as long as you really don't care anything about solving mysteries, since of course the first author had no idea what would happen next.
bethdee's review
2.0
Several Miami authors each wrote a chapter for this book, with the starting line of "Naked came the manatee". I picked it up at the library because Dave Barry did a chapter. It's not the greatest book, and not as fun as I thought it would be, but it did introduce me to both Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, whose novels I really love.
bev_reads_mysteries's review
1.0
Thirteen Florida writers passed around a round-robin crime thriller--each contributing a chapter to this story of two inept, small-time thieves hired to transport mysterious cargo across Biscayne Bay. What follows is a madcap tale that involves a manatee named Booger, a 102 year-old woman who likes to skinny dip at midnight with the manatee, three head of Fidel Castro (and only one is still attached...), Jimmy Carter, and various series characters belonging to the aforementioned writers. We have gangsters and Castro rivals, reporters and lawyers all trying to hold onto the precious canisters containing Castro's heads. We have bodies showing up everywhere from the Bay to a bridge to a low-profile hotel. And with thirteen writers adding more complications in every chapter, it's anybody's guess what the plot is and how it will all turn out.
Sometimes these round-robin writing adventures work out. The Floating Admiral by members of the Detection Club (Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, et. al) was highly entertaining and the writers involved made every effort to produce a mystery that not only entertained but made sense and tied up all the threads satisfactorily. Sometimes these things don't work out. This would be a case in point. Every time it seemed like one of the writers was trying to give us a mystery that had some sort of continuity to it, then the next writer would have to throw in something to throw the rhythm off. It seemed to me that most of the writers were playing a game of one-upmanship. "Oh, you introduced that character and that complication? Well...hold my beer and watch this!"
At best, this is a light bit of fluffy entertainment. But it's not at its best very often. The most likeable characters are the manatee and Marion McAlister Williams (our elderly skinny dipper)--and one of the writers in their wisdom (insert heavy sarcasm) decided to kill off one of them. So far, the collaborative novels written post-2000 haven't fared well with me. I gave Natural Suspect (written in 2001) a one-star review and guess what? This one gets the same.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Sometimes these round-robin writing adventures work out. The Floating Admiral by members of the Detection Club (Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, et. al) was highly entertaining and the writers involved made every effort to produce a mystery that not only entertained but made sense and tied up all the threads satisfactorily. Sometimes these things don't work out. This would be a case in point. Every time it seemed like one of the writers was trying to give us a mystery that had some sort of continuity to it, then the next writer would have to throw in something to throw the rhythm off. It seemed to me that most of the writers were playing a game of one-upmanship. "Oh, you introduced that character and that complication? Well...hold my beer and watch this!"
At best, this is a light bit of fluffy entertainment. But it's not at its best very often. The most likeable characters are the manatee and Marion McAlister Williams (our elderly skinny dipper)--and one of the writers in their wisdom (insert heavy sarcasm) decided to kill off one of them. So far, the collaborative novels written post-2000 haven't fared well with me. I gave Natural Suspect (written in 2001) a one-star review and guess what? This one gets the same.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.