Gator a-go-go: novel

Serge Storms, Dorsey's irrepressible spree killer and scholar-aficionado of all things Floridian, returns determined to make a documentary film about one of the state's most important contributions to American pop culture: spring break. Dorsey stays faithful to his formula (road trip; drug-cartel assassins on the prowl; Serge's inventive offings of various Florida miscreants; beautiful, predatory women; and odd bits of Florida trivia Florida was the first state in the U.S. to ban midget tossing). Of course, it's all washed down with vast quantities of mind-altering substances. Despite the formula's familiarity, Gator a-Go-Go feels fresher than Dorsey's recent books. Serge realizes that Florida's most twisted lowlifes and criminals may be the only solution to the state's overdevelopment; eventually, they will scare off tourists, immigrants, and real-estate developers. Along the way, Coleman, Serge's spectacularly drug-addled pal, is quickly seen by Panama City undergraduate revelers as a guru who generously shares his partying wisdom in impromptu seminars on the beach. It's a side of Coleman we haven't seen. Great characters from previous books make welcome reappearances, too. All of Dorsey's books offer belly laughs, but this one seems a cut above.--Gaughan, Thomas Copyright 2010 Booklist

Spring break, from its innocuous beginnings in 1935 to its drunken orgiastic present, provides the theme for bestseller Dorsey's dizzy 12th adventure to feature vigilante serial killer Serge A. Storms (after Nuclear Jellyfish). When vengeful drug dealers and federal agents go after an innocent college student, Andy McKenna, who's come to enjoy Florida's Panama City Beach, Serge becomes Andy's protector. Along the way, Serge delivers rough justice in inventive and bizarre fashion (death by garage door, by bridge guitar, etc.) to a mugger, a rude driver, and various others guilty of minor infractions. The reality show Girls Gone Haywire offers ample opportunities for scathing satire, as the show's producer becomes another one of Serge's targets. Meanwhile, Coleman, Serge's perennially stoned companion, acts as a guru to the spring breakers. As usual, Dorsey leavens the slapstick humor with intriguing bits of Florida historical lore. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In his 12th time out, Serge A. Storms, the sociopath with a heart of gold, goes where the wild things are: Florida during Spring Break. Whenever he's off his meds, Serge is famously prone to urges. Now that he's hit mid-middle age, it suddenly seems sensible to him to join the running of the boys and girls in their annual fertility rite. This is the year Panama City Beach gets to host Spring Break's hormonal hordes, with Serge and his faithful sidekick Coleman as added headaches. Zonked-out Coleman has the kind of symbiotic relationship with Serge that assures their shared participation in nonstop brainless behavior. But hold everythingapparently there's a social scientist's side to the enterprise. "The history of Spring Breaks in Florida," intones Serge to avid student Coleman, "can be divided into three distinct epochs." And sites. In chronological order, these are: Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach and lucky Panama City, all three of which will serve Serge as research projects. But it's not in the man to languish professorial. Soon enough he's knee-deep in what an observant FBI agent regards as his signature predilection for "weird murders." Bad guys bite the dust bizarrely and, as always, some deserving little guys find an advocate in Serge, the manic populist. As in any Dorsey novel (Nuclear Jellyfish, 2009, etc.), the plot is irrelevant. It's all about laughs, which fans will find in satisfactory supply, though newcomers maybe not so much. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Serge Storms, Dorsey's irrepressible spree killer and scholar-aficionado of all things Floridian, returns determined to make a documentary film about one of the state's most important contributions to American pop culture: spring break. Dorsey stays faithful to his formula (road trip; drug-cartel assassins on the prowl; Serge's inventive offings of various Florida miscreants; beautiful, predatory women; and odd bits of Florida trivia—Florida was the first state in the U.S. to ban midget tossing). Of course, it's all washed down with vast quantities of mind-altering substances. Despite the formula's familiarity, Gator a-Go-Go feels fresher than Dorsey's recent books. Serge realizes that Florida's most twisted lowlifes and criminals may be the only solution to the state's overdevelopment; eventually, they will scare off tourists, immigrants, and real-estate developers. Along the way, Coleman, Serge's spectacularly drug-addled pal, is quickly seen by Panama City undergraduate revelers as a guru who generously shares his partying wisdom in impromptu seminars on the beach. It's a side of Coleman we haven't seen. Great characters from previous books make welcome reappearances, too. All of Dorsey's books offer belly laughs, but this one seems a cut above. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews.

Florida nutcase Serge A. Storms wants a vacation but instead finds himself going after the Miami gang members chasing down the college-age son of someone who ratted on them. With a 75,000-copy first printing. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Spring break, from its innocuous beginnings in 1935 to its drunken orgiastic present, provides the theme for bestseller Dorsey's dizzy 12th adventure to feature vigilante serial killer Serge A. Storms (after Nuclear Jellyfish). When vengeful drug dealers and federal agents go after an innocent college student, Andy McKenna, who's come to enjoy Florida's Panama City Beach, Serge becomes Andy's protector. Along the way, Serge delivers rough justice in inventive and bizarre fashion (death by garage door, by bridge guitar, etc.) to a mugger, a rude driver, and various others guilty of minor infractions. The reality show Girls Gone Haywire offers ample opportunities for scathing satire, as the show's producer becomes another one of Serge's targets. Meanwhile, Coleman, Serge's perennially stoned companion, acts as a guru to the spring breakers. As usual, Dorsey leavens the slapstick humor with intriguing bits of Florida historical lore. (Feb.)