A Novel (2001-07-18) [Hardcover] - By Tim Dorsey

We Florida residents don't know whether to laugh or cry when we read Tim Dorsey's spoof of our politicians. We can laugh at his hilarious descriptions, and we can cry at how close they are to the truth. Remember the election of 2000, and how we came back and messed up again in the primary election of 2002? Typical. In the story, Marlon Conrad is your usual sleazy politician and a shoo-in for election as Governor until he serves with his army reserve unit in the Balkans and learns about people. He starts talking about issues and helping Florida's citizens. That does it. The whole political machine goes after him, with at least five killers trying to assassinate him. The characters are loopy. The situations are bizarre, and the book is downright funny. It's well worth reading.

I'd forgotten how wacky and entertaining Dorsey can be. This is a timely novel of crazy politics but Serge Storm comes through in the end. Thanks to Netgalley for the DRC of a reissue of this novel, which I read when it originally came out but which I appreciate a bit more now.

I'm reading Dorsey's works based on library availability, so this fairly early novel of his comes fairly late in my delving through his catalog. Although it has chuckles a-plenty and some laugh-out-loud moments, it's still not up to the standard he set with stronger works like Cadillac Beach or Stingray Shuffle. In other words, if you're new to the wacky world of Tim Dorsey, this isn't a very good primer to begin with. Then again, since it's not as dark or over-the-top as some of his other works, it may very well be a good intro to lure "mainstream" types in.

Dorsey sets his sights on the warped world of Floridian politics, and having grown up in the Sunshine State I found his take to be pretty spot-on. Several intertwined subplots skewer both sides of the political system (plus 3rd-party PACS and lobbyists). Dorsey often gets compared to Hunter S. Thompson, so "Orange Crush" is effectively his "Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail." Good stuff, if that's your cup of tea.

That said... I still feel this is not up to the standards of his other works. Probably the best indicator of this is the notable absence of our favorite serial-killing historian, Serge A. Storms. (Serge IS in this, though in a notably altered (amnesiac) form that is just not up to snuff.) Also, the tying together of the various plot threads didn't quite work (for me)... granted there's intended to be a surreal feel to all Dorsey's works, but this one comes close to being overly contrived and unsatisfying.

To again invoke HST, "buy the ticket, take the ride"... just keep your expectations in check.

Tim Dorsey is just great. His series of books about Serge and Florida are very entertaining and great for a laugh. If you take your life too seriously then Tim is not for you. Although there is much more drama in this novel than in his previous books (which I loved) the silliness is still there. Serge has no idea who he is and works for Governor Marlon as Pimento, his Press Secretary. People are popping up dead everywhere while Mahoney tries to track down the killer. Meanwhile Pimento, Escrow and Marlon are traveling around Florida trying to win the upcoming elections. As funny and wacky as ever this is a book you must read.

Orange Crush is a hoot. A rollercoaster ride through Florida with the incumbent gubernatorial canidate is more satire than novel. The continual flashback's and seemingly spasmodic introduction of the various characters for the first 100 or so pages is disconcerting; but experience in reading Dorsey's books told me he would bring the story and characters together eventually. I have to admit, some of those character names are way over the top, ie Escrow and Pimento...... Serge A. Storms is the most likeable murderous psycotic ever. How long do I have to wait for another book? I am totally addicted!!

If you're looking for the nearly insane psychopath/Florida history buff Serge A. Storms, he's nearly nowhere to be found. What's left is another side of Dorsey we've yet to see. Softer, a bit mellower, and a little bit of heart make this often hysterical political farce a worthwhile read. Throw aside your political thoughts.
Relax.
Enjoy.
Lazy and relatively clueless, Marlon A. Conrad; an unlikely incumbent is forced into the office of Governor.

>Marlon hated reading...and he ordered his staff to read the newspapers for him and write summaries which he also refused to read. Press Secretary Pimento was finally forced to read the summaries aloud...
"Too long," Marlon snapped.
The next day Pimento pruned it down to a red robin of headlines and choice lead paragraphs.
"Still too long."
Pimento decided to switch Newspapers and condense the already condensed USA Today.
"Still too long," Marlon said upon hearing the summary which had been distilled to only one noun and one verb per story!
Today Pimento pulled out his latest summary.
"Stock market is up. People are bad."
"Perfect!"

Marlon has a change of heart after being forced into military service in the Balkan Islands, where he becomes a reluctant hero during a fierce firefight. The life altering experience has caused him to become a champion for "the people" upon his return home. Dorsey keeps the laughs coming albeit at a somewhat slower pace, and introduces another group of character's who apparently could only be found residing in his insane take on the "Sunshine state". Some of these include Helmut von Zeppelin, the owner of Florida's worst football team; the Florida Felons. There's detective Mahoney of the old school ilk, whose obsession is capturing the elusive Serge A. Storms, who unbeknownst to him is afflicted with a case of amnesia and is none other than the Governor's press secretary, the aforementioned Muntjack "Jack" Pimento.

>>Mahoney went for a long walk in the city. It was where he did hid best thinking...He turned into a doorway with a pink neon martini glass above it. The place was extra dark with red light, the way he liked it. He put his hat on the bar.
"Give me a bourbon,Louie."
"The name's Sam."

There's Gottfried Escrow, Marlon's Chief of Staff, who will stop at nothing to see him get re-elected, Gomer Tatum, the hapless challenger, for the seat of Governor, and recurring character - News Reporter, Blaine Crease who upon reporting the crash of Helmut von Zeppelin's zeppelin is found weeping on live TV; "The humanity, the humanity."

I'm reading these books in publication order as opposed to Dorsey's vague idea of some type of chronology, so there's no explanation yet as to how Serge has lost his memory. It's intriguing, and validates the reason that I will continue through this series of Florida style mayhem. I rather liked the idea of a break from the earlier "Florida Roadkill" and "Hammerhead Ranch" storylines as this provides a much needed breather. It's a nice reprieve that ultimately sets the reader up to want to continue moving forward.
Or is it backward?

I enjoyed Tim Dorsey's first two novels, especially Florida Roadkill (which is what Orange Crush should be classified as). Dorsey seems to have thrown this together without any real direction to the story. His attempts at humor mostly fall flat. The characters are so absurd that it becomes tiring reading in a very short time. Marlon Conrad, the governor who has "seen the error of his ways" sounds an awful lot like he was stolen from numerous Hiaasen novels. Serge Storms, the key character in the first two novels is totally wasted in Orange Crush as Dorsey tries to make him respectable. The rest of the characters are quickly forgetable and not very funny.This was the third book in the series that I had autographed by the author, if they don't get any better than this it will be my last. Save your money on this one.

Being a Florida native I had always searched for books that capture the true essence of Florida: the residents, the visitors, the violence, the history. When I read Tim Dorsey's Florida Roadkill I thought: Finally, someone is writing about the Florida that I grew up in and know. The Florida where we invented the Home Invasion Robbery and were proud of it. The Florida where even my paperboy carries a pager, a cell phone and a Glock.
I went on to read Hammerhead Ranch Motel and loved it. Once again Tim Dorsey was able to capture Florida with all of its colorful characters and the you-have-to-read-it-to-believe-it crime combined with his amazing sense of humor. Add to the mix Serge Storms; sociopath and Florida history buff. To quote Serge "We're a twenty-four hour, dead-bolted, hair on the back of your neck, free continental breakfast deathwish vacation of a lifetime, not from concentrate..." I dont want to give away too much about his first two books except to say that if you are reading them for the first time you are in for an amazing experience. Serge rocks!
Orange Crush delivers the same humor, mayhem, and true to life image of Florida. Tim Dorsey gives his book a notable and wonderful backdrop: a Florida gubernatorial race. Being a politcal junkie I had always thought enough was not written about Florida politics. With Orange Crush Tim Dorsey takes us behind the scenes of a Florida guberntorial race with all of its intricacies, corruption, humor, and of course Serge Storms who pops up in the least likely place.
As I read Orange Crush I laughed out loud so many times that my roommate kept coming into my room to find out what was so funny. I would read the passage to him out loud and think to myself Orange Crush is truly Tim Dorsey's funniest and coolest book to date.

Over-the-top? Yes, deliciously so, precisely what is hoped for and expected whenever Dorsey unleashes his blow-torch-humor within the confines of the Sunshine State. In his third book, Dorsey looks at Florida's gubernatorial race, not through glasses colored rose, but jet-black, and the result is political wackiness and sun-splashed mayhem found only in a Dorsey tome. To reveal any of the characters _ needless to say, everyone's favorite homicidal hero, Serge A. Storms, returns to spice up the dysfunctional stew _ and resulting dialogue would be to deprive the reader of Dorsey's myriad gifts _ his keen observatory sense, his mastery of Florida history, and a writing style that is all at once economical, stylish and uproariously funny. There is no fat on the bones of Dorsey's books, merely the lean, enriching meat of a writer familiar with his audience, and one who rarely fails to entertain. Dorsey's first two books, Florida Roadkill and Hammerhead Ranch Motel, gave us a taste. Orange Crush satisfies completely the palate of readers looking for a not-so-outlandish peek at Florida's political process. (Remember the recent Presidential election while you read it!!!) And to all those who think Crush is too far over the top, too nutty, with little reason to care about its characters and content, you can always cuddle up with the phone book.

It is amazing, and exhuasting, to watch Tim Dorsey leapfrog ahead of the competition. And the competition is the rest of the Florida mystery writers, or the Miami Mafia, such as Carl Hiaasen and Laurence Shames. To borrow from his book title, Tim is crushing the competition. Orange Crush is an amazing book, and takes Dorsey's already formidable talent and raises it to a whole new level. Dorsey's previous entry, Hammerhead Ranch Motel, was as close to a perfect novel as any "Florida mystery" to date. By adding an unexpected amount of drama to his third novel, Dorsey has actually improved the formula of his first two entries, and raised the bar considerably for other authors. Without giving anything else away, suffice it to say that Orange Crush involves a typically dysfunctional Florida election, a couple of competing serial killers, and a considerable bit of Florida trivia. Any mystery lover (with a sense of humor) would do well to pick up Orange Crush, as well as Dorsey's previous titles, and watch an already good writer becoming a great writer.

A lot more American political satire than Dorsey's other novels made this a little bit less enjoyable for me than his other novels. Serge Storms the reoccurring character in this series plays a really minor word count in Orange Crush. I would recommend reading Florida Roadkill instead or better yet the book written after this which was a prequel to that first book called Triggerfish Twist.

Another wacky Dorsey novel centered around Florida politics. The main character is a do-nothing assistant governor in Florida until he gets sent over to Bosnia and mistakenly sees action. His entire unit is killed, and he changes into someone who cares. When he comes back, he ends up as governor when the main guy dies in a plane crash. He then starts into his reelection bid, but is ignoring his handlers and doing things his way.

Tim Dorsey does it again!!! If you like FLORDIA ROADKILL and HAMMERHEAD RANCH MOTEL, you'll love Dorsey's new book, ORANGE CRUSH! This novel is filled with more craziness and mayhem, than both his previous books combined. Also MR. Serge A. Storms makes another appearance. This book was a real page turner, I couldn't put it down. I read the entire thing in one day! And after my gut hurt so bad from laughing at the outrageous hi-jinks going on throughout the book. It's a MUST read!

tim dorsey's photo looks exactly like a sloppy florida beach bum. in this 3rd book, he portrayed the republicans as bunch of pirahnas and hayenas, while made the democratics looked like a bunch pigs. this is exactly what the images that i have put on these two great parties. this novel is so outrageous and crazy but somehow when he wrote the transformation of the governor, i was deeply moved. tim dorsey can write, that's for sure. but his books are all so overwhelmingly crazy and messy, and the wild rides might make your head spin out of control. he's making the whole florida like a cesspool and nut house.

Kind of boring, too much political and unrelated filler. Cast of characters took a long time to develop and figure out where they fit in the story. Serge had a rather minor role.
Skip this one and move on.

The characters are not easily forgotten. Very funny, as usual in Dorsey's books. Excellent political 'enlightenments'. Much Better than Dorsey's Florida Road Kill. All Dorsey's books are very funny and hard to put down.

I really enjoyed this book, but probably not as much as the other two. I will definitely read the next one. I think the plot in this one was a bit thin, and some of the characters were not very well developed, but overall, it was a good book, interesting to read, and very funny. I am a little curious about where the $5 Million Dollars is, though, as that was not mentioned in this book. Also, what happened to Serge to cause his amnesia? I would have liked a little more information on that. Maybe some of that will come in the next books. Either way, this book was funny and worth reading, but I think Serge comes across much better when he knows who he is. In this book, he almost seems like a different character.