Rating: 
Summary: Strange cast of characters, fast paced tale.......
Review: Hiaasen creates a clear view of hurricane devastated South Florida. The physical damage is daunting, but the moral devastation is inescapable. The characters he draws together in this novel are, as always, an amazing collection of the strange and extreme with a few "normal" types thrown in. This group includes insurance rip off artists,"drive-by" building inspectors, trailer salesmen, a honeymoon couple (the husband abandons his wife to take video of devastated people), Skink, the former governor of Florida who lives in the swamps, State Police officers doing their job, disappearing roof contractors, and some people who sacrifice animals. The story centers on people taking advantage of people in crisis and those who are attempting to right the balance of good and evil. As always Hiaasen creates a fast paced book with an amazing array of characters and his unique humor winds it's way through out this tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Another hit by Hiaasen!
Review: Hiaasen has done it again with Stormy Weather. This is the second book of his that I've read this week, and both have been a complete joy.The books revolves around a couple going through their first marital problems, and on their honeymoon of all times! A hurricane has ravaged south Florida and it brings out the worst in everyone. Hiaasen once again brings Skink into his story. Skink is a fun and colorful character that gave up on politics to live the life of a recluse in the everglades. He is appalled by what is happening to Florida and every once in a while goes off the deep end. The story is fast passed, and kept me interested from cover to cover. The characters are well developed and I found myself truly feeling for the good guys, and repulsed by the bad guys. Over all I found this to be a very easy read, and very entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Another hit by Hiaasen!
Review: Hiaasen has done it again with Stormy Weather. This is the second book of his that I've read this week, and both have been a complete joy. The books revolves around a couple going through their first marital problems, and on their honeymoon of all times! A hurricane has ravaged south Florida and it brings out the worst in everyone. Hiaasen once again brings Skink into his story. Skink is a fun and colorful character that gave up on politics to live the life of a recluse in the everglades. He is appalled by what is happening to Florida and every once in a while goes off the deep end. The story is fast passed, and kept me interested from cover to cover. The characters are well developed and I found myself truly feeling for the good guys, and repulsed by the bad guys. Over all I found this to be a very easy read, and very entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Absurd, fun, on target
Review: I guess Hiaasen's works do seem to sound alike; this one even appears to be a sort of sequel to "Strip Tease" as it includes the eccentric ex-governor Skink and his devoted State trouper pal Jim Tile, who are featured in that novel. Knowing this, however, I was looking for something with some bite to make me laugh and once again Hiaasen didn't disappoint me. The plot of "Stormy Weather" thoroughly lambasts developers, real estate and mobile home salesmen, and the governmental agencies that exist to "regulate" them. Hiassen is entirely cynical and savage in his depiction, which spares no group in its scathing satire. Ex-governor "Skink" again serves as the noble savage committed to a Quixotic effort to avenge trepidations against nature and basic human decency. Once you have read a few of Hiaasen's works, the initial shock value is diminished. Nonetheless this made me repeatedly laugh out loud, at one point in uncontrollable giggles. This isn't great literature, but if you have a sardonic sense of humor and want to be entertained, this is ideal. A perfect plane, beach, single dining in a restaurant book.
Rating:
Summary: Absurd, fun, on target
Review: I guess Hiaasen's works do seem to sound alike; this one even appears to be a sort of sequel to "Strip Tease" as it includes the eccentric ex-governor Skink and his devoted State trouper pal Jim Tile, who are featured in that novel. Knowing this, however, I was looking for something with some bite to make me laugh and once again Hiaasen didn't disappoint me. The plot of "Stormy Weather" thoroughly lambasts developers, real estate and mobile home salesmen, and the governmental agencies that exist to "regulate" them. Hiassen is entirely cynical and savage in his depiction, which spares no group in its scathing satire. Ex-governor "Skink" again serves as the noble savage committed to a Quixotic effort to avenge trepidations against nature and basic human decency. Once you have read a few of Hiaasen's works, the initial shock value is diminished. Nonetheless this made me repeatedly laugh out loud, at one point in uncontrollable giggles. This isn't great literature, but if you have a sardonic sense of humor and want to be entertained, this is ideal. A perfect plane, beach, single dining in a restaurant book.
Rating:
Summary: Quirky fun in the aftermath of a hurricane
Review: I lived through several hurricanes when I was a child living on the coast, and this book by Carl Hiaasen makes me feel just like I'm living through them again. That's not a criticism of the book, but a statement to show how accurate this story is to the type of events he describes. And the hurricane is really only the beginning of this story, providing a very surreal and interesting setting for the adventures that follow. The story is a mixture of organized crime, insurance fraud, escaped wildlife (rampaging monkeys, primarily), and a young couple on their honeymoon in Disneyworld drawn into the seedy underbelly of South Florida. Some of Mr. Hiaasen's most memorable characters are in this book, not this least of which is his recurring character who goes by the name of Skink. A true anti-hero, Skink is an ex-governor of Florida who decided to throw it all away for a life of homeless bliss deep within the Everglades. He emerges in this story because of his abiding belief that a hurricane might someday wipe Florida clean of the greed and corruption infesting it. He hangs around to kidnap an advertising executive and teach him the error of his ways. And he ends up as one of the most beloved characters Carl Hiaasen has ever invented. This book really has it all (romance, danger, natural disaster, deadly criminals, bumbling criminals, and even skull juggling) and is the perfect book to read when starting a tropical vacation somewhere. It's definitely beach reading, and if you can't get to a beach, it's the perfect book to make you feel like heading for a beach.
Rating:
Summary: Forgive me, but I just can't resist anything by Carl Hiaasen
Review: I mean, I can't really give one of his books 5 stars, because somehow I think that accolade ought to be reserved for serious literary achievements, like Kavalier and Clay or Atonement. But, really, I love Hiaasen and just can't resist reading everything he writes. He's wacky, loony, impious, a total lunatic. I went to a book signing when Basket Case was released, and he's just as funny in person as he is on the printed page.
Hiaasen is a full-speed ahead man when it comes to the use of similies; being a fellow author and a simile-lover myself, I treasure his gems and wish I could come up with even half as many that were as good as all of his, things like: 'She looked about as Latin as Goldie Hawn,' 'he blinked like a sleepy porch lizard,' ' he scratched at his Old Testament tattoos,' and 'he had about as much charisma as a bowl of cold oatmeal.'
You gotta love it!
Rating:
Summary: Laugh out loud book
Review: I took this book on vacation with me to the Virgin Islands. I read it on the plane on the way back. It had me laughing so loudly that people were turning to look at me and my husband had to kick me in my chair. I love the way Hiaasen puts these weird characters together in highly unusual situations. They're great stories!
Rating: 
Summary: Fun but not on par with Sick Puppy.
Review: I was just introduced to Hiaasen's books this year when I finally bought Sick Puppy after much prodding from several people. I absolutely adored Sick Puppy and purchased Stormy Weather because I heard that the character of Skink also appeared in that book. While I enjoyed the Stormy Weather, it didn't impress me on the same level as Sick Puppy and it took me much longer to finish this book--it just didn't grab me. Skink is still one of the wackiest and coolest characters around and I hope to read more of his exploits some day. But the other characters in Stormy Weather just weren't people I cared to read about. Plus one of the things I loved about Sick Puppy is that it made me laugh out loud and I don't know that I laughed once during Stormy Weather (and perhaps it wasn't intended to be humorous). I would still take a chance on other Hiassen books, but I probably won't do so without strong recommendations from people I know.
Rating:
Summary: Dark Satire of Thieves, Scam Artists and Ghouls
Review: If a hurricane doesn't do enough damage, the human scum that grows on the surface of the resulting troubles will make it infinitely worse. Carl Hiaasen covers his disgust for such low lifes with this offbeat comic novel about what happens after the hurricane of the century roars through Florida just south of Miami.
Storms bring out the best and the worst in people. If that intrigues you, this is your novel. If it disgusts you to think about how low people can stoop to take advantage of one another, skip this book.
I normally love Carl Hiaasen's books, but this one was too dark for me.
The book opens as a young couple is spending their honeymoon at Disney World. Already bored, the husband is excited about seeing the aftermath of the storm and talks his wife into heading to Miami. Once there, he pokes his video camera into everyone's misery and looks forward to sharing what he saw with his friends back in Manhattan. His new wife isn't so sure she's thrilled by what's going on.
Then all of a sudden, it goes wrong. A small creature grabs the camera, the husband follows . . . and the comic tale begins.
The book looks deeply into false sales practices for homes and mobile homes, fraud among building inspectors, crooked roof repairmen, political payoffs, crooked insurance adjusters, scam artists who prey on those who are suffering, robbers and looters. I felt overwhelmed by all of that corruption.
There's a lot of violence in this book, of the most macabre sort. That also darkens the mood.
Fortunately, Mr. Hiaasen leaves a little room for redemption. The new wife begins to see how she could improve her life and takes steps to do so. An environmentalist loves to see the storm's beauty and hopes that it will encourage people to leave Florida (that's a vain hope!). A lonely man finds love in a most unexpected way.
Through satirical slaps at human nature, a few more of the guilty escape their just rewards . . . but do bear a few scars in the process.
If you like to see criminals receive harsh treatment, this book has one of the most unusual punishments you can imagine in it.
After you have finished enjoying the book (if that's how you experience it), I hope you will think about how you can protect your family and yourself from the corrupt practices that may be going on around you.
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