# Has anyone ever read Tim Dorsey? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-read-tim-dorsey/262618 "2004-09-01T19:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-read-tim-dorsey/262618/1 "2004-09-01T19:14:47Z")
A few weeks ago I picked up _The Stingray Shuffle_ in paperback and couldn’t put it down. Since then, I’ve gone on a Dorsey kick and I’ve now read _Florida Roadkill_, _The Hammerhead Ranch Motel_ and \* _Orange Crush_. Now I’m just beginning _Triggerfish Twist_. I love these books. They’re edgy, funny, smart and very well crafted. Dorsey’s anti-hero, Serge A Storms, is a terrific creation- a spree killer with a conscience (and an encyclopedic knowledge of Florida history) who only kills assholes. I think my favorite so far is _Orange Crush_, which centers around a Florida gubenatorial election and features a character who is transparently patterned after GWB but who goes through a personal transformation during the election (this is an election story where the good guy is a Republican and the Democrat is an idiot). I’m consistently surprised by the way that Dorsey manages to juggle completely amoral characters with characters who are surprisingly sympathetic, as well as mixing scenes of Tarantino style comic mayhem with scenes that are unexpectedly moving and humane. Dorsey is like a combination of Quentin Tarantino, Hunter Thompson and Carl Hiaasen with a touch of John Kennedy Toole (in the way that multiple story lines and characters are tied together at the end). I’ve found all his books extremely entertaining and Serge is one of the most engaging protagonists I’ve discovered in ages. Has anyone else ever read these books. What do you think? I’m dying to talk about them. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-read-tim-dorsey/262618/2 "2004-09-01T21:46:53Z")
[Nope … not me.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=177327&highlight=dorsey) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-read-tim-dorsey/262618/3 "2004-09-01T23:54:14Z")
I love Tim Dorsey! He makes me laugh and cringe both at the same time. As you noted, sorta like when Vincent shoots Marvin in the face in **Pulp Fiction**. You laugh, realize that you are laughing at someone being killed in a particularly gruesome manner, then laugh some more! **Cadillac Beach** explores more of Serge’s backstory. My favorite death is still the Satan-worshipper who gets run over by the PromiseKeeper bus. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-read-tim-dorsey/262618/4 "2004-09-02T03:30:17Z")
Another fan here. Fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mahoney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-read-tim-dorsey/262618/5 "2020-12-17T17:22:03Z")
I love Dorsey so much I created an account here- Currently reading the Maltese Falcon to better understand Mahoney’s slang. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-read-tim-dorsey/262618/6 "2020-12-18T18:48:34Z")
I’m another fan. My favorite is Atomic Lobster. If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend reading Triggerfish Twist first, since there are some spoilers for it in Atomic Lobster. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-read-tim-dorsey/262618/7 "2020-12-18T19:11:03Z")
Just an alert for fans: His new book _Tropic of Stupid_ will be released next month. This will be Book #24 in the Serge Storms saga. I can’t wait! So far I think my favorites are _Stingray Shuffle_ and _Shark Skin Suite._