MADreads

Serge suppression

April 7th, 2009 Dennis - Central

Tim Dorsey is one of those authors I look forward to reading.  For no good reason, really–just accept it.

Nuclear Jellyfish is his latest work, once again featuring the manic Serge Storms.  Serge is a fanatic for all things Floridian, in addition to being a deeply disturbed individual with a moral code all his own and a tendency to dispense his own form of justice in the most disturbingly inventive ways.  Also along for the ride again is Coleman, a drug and alcohol addled buffoon who serves the dual role of comic relief and exposition enabler (Serge has to have someone to reveal his plans to, right?)

The story this time involves traveling salesmen of collectibles as they make their rounds to various Florida venues, a gang of organized criminals headed by a man with an unfortunate tattoo that he’s extremely “sensitive” about, and a diamond courier ring that keeps getting hijacked.  Plus the usual motley assortment of Floridian ne’er-do-wells and random hapless tourists.  Not to mention the latest beauty to hook up with Serge who’s also more than she seems.  And a cliche-spouting hard-boiled detective who’s hot on Serge’s trail, but this time, to protect him?

However, there’s nothing really new in this latest outing.  It’s a pretty formulaic pattern that Dorsey is following here, just like most of the previous ten novels.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty entertaining stuff (mostly “guy” humor if I’m being honest) with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments while Serge adds to his travelogue.  The murders Serge commits are amusingly twisted (and the victims all had it coming to them– for the most part).  But if you’ve read one of these books before, well, you’re reading something very much like it again.

And as much as I enjoyed the book (and I always do enjoy these books) that realization was a bit of a letdown for me.

So much so, that I revisited the original crime scene, Florida Roadkill, the first appearance of Serge and Coleman, and a far more balanced read (compared to the “unbalanced” Serge-centric novels that Dorsey cranks out these days).  Florida Roadkill gives some deep background on Serge and Coleman that definitely gains them some sympathy.  There are also some moments with characters other than Serge and Coleman that show some real depth that the later stories are mostly lacking.  There’s also a pretty significant continuity lapse between the events in this volume and subsequent ones.

So even though Nuclear Jellyfish didn’t break any new ground, it did give me the excuse to go back and read the original with fresh eyes.  And it was a pretty enjoyable re-read.  But I kind of wish that Dorsey would bring some of those other characters back.  That hope may be part of the reason why I keep reading him.

Nuclear jellyfish is also available as an audiobook.

Entry Filed under: Recreational Fiction