Roy Eberhardt has recently and unhappily arrived in Florida. Roy's family moves a lot so he's used to the new-kid drill - and to bullies like Dana Matherson. Anyway it's because of... more
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Hoot - Carl Hiaasen
Hoot, Carl Hiaasen's debut novel for younger readers is a very special treat indeed. The
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writing is exceptionally good, and the characters extremely quirky and well realised. It's incredibly readable despite a story premise that is not sparklingly orig...
writing is exceptionally good, and the characters extremely quirky and well realised. It's incredibly readable despite a story premise that is not sparklingly original. But no matter, there's an engaging "feel-good" vibe running through the whole book.The setting, as with Hiaasen's crime thrillers for adults such asBasket CaseandSick Puppy, is sunny Florida and the heat, swamps, dust and pancakes all contribute to the authentic atmosphere of the book. His favourite environmental theme is here too, as is the thoroughly watertight plotting. There's an engaging mystery set up on the very first page and it builds nicely with more twists and turns as the story unfolds--all of them reassuringly tied up come the final pages.Roy Eberhardt's story begins when he is being mashed up against the window of the school bus by bully Dana Matherson. He spots an athletic bare-footed boy running away from the bus and wonders where he is going. Further investigations, after he has unwisely smashed Dana's nose in to get away from him, leads Roy into the middle of a battle between a green-minded local runaway and the proposed opening of a pancake restaurant. The development threatens the habitat of a burrowing-owl colony and it's an issue that several people in the community have differing views upon--not all of them legal.Roy carries the story very well indeed. He's likable and persistent in the face of unexpected and challenging adventure, despite his modest size. The cause he chooses to support is eminently worthy--he weighs up the strength of his beliefs with the necessity to slightly bend the law. This is a good story with some great writing--a winning combination. (For readers aged 10 and over.) --John McLay
writing is exceptionally good, and the characters extremely quirky and well realised. It's incredibly readable despite a story premise that is not sparklingly original. But no matter, there's an engaging "feel-good" vibe running through the whole book.The setting, as with Hiaasen's crime thrillers for adults such asBasket CaseandSick Puppy, is sunny Florida and the heat, swamps, dust and pancakes all contribute to the authentic atmosphere of the book. His favourite environmental theme is here too, as is the thoroughly watertight plotting. There's an engaging mystery set up on the very first page and it builds nicely with more twists and turns as the story unfolds--all of them reassuringly tied up come the final pages.Roy Eberhardt's story begins when he is being mashed up against the window of the school bus by bully Dana Matherson. He spots an athletic bare-footed boy running away from the bus and wonders where he is going. Further investigations, after he has unwisely smashed Dana's nose in to get away from him, leads Roy into the middle of a battle between a green-minded local runaway and the proposed opening of a pancake restaurant. The development threatens the habitat of a burrowing-owl colony and it's an issue that several people in the community have differing views upon--not all of them legal.Roy carries the story very well indeed. He's likable and persistent in the face of unexpected and challenging adventure, despite his modest size. The cause he chooses to support is eminently worthy--he weighs up the strength of his beliefs with the necessity to slightly bend the law. This is a good story with some great writing--a winning combination. (For readers aged 10 and over.) --John McLay
Roy Eberhardt has recently and unhappily arrived in Florida. Roy's family moves a lot so he's used to the new-kid drill - and to bullies like Dana Matherson. Anyway it's because of Dana that Roy gets to see the mysterious running boy. Suddenly life in Florida is looking up.
Advantages: funny and bizarre Disadvantages: occasionally too much so
...Think: FLORIDA! What comes to your mind? Palm trees, sandy beaches, turquoise water? That wouldn´t be wrong but according to CarlHiaasen (pronounced: hiya-sun) only one side of the medal and certainly not the side he´s interested in.
Hiaasen, born (in 1953) and raised in Southern Florida, a (good-looking!) journalist of the Miami Herald, is more interested in exposing schemes to destroy Florida´s ecosystem and natural beauty by bulldozing hitherto untouched land to build theme parks, holiday resorts and/or golf courses. He fights (from the net) ´greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, dumb blondes, apathetic retirees, intellectually challenged tourists and militant ecoteurs.´ He does this not only in his by-weekly newspaper columns but also in his environmental thrillers which are - despite the serious subjects - bizarre...
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...CarlHiaasen is more than just an excellent crime writer he is also a comic genius. Hiaasen is a native of Florida which is where he bases the majority of his black humoured crime thrillers. His books are sharp, witty and very engaging. The omnibus brings together three of Hiaasen’s greatest books; Tourist season, (the infamous) Double Whammy and Skin Tight. My favourite of the three books in the omnibus is Double Whammy. Double Whammy is a savagely funny crime adventure exposing the dark underbelly of Florida’s tournament fishing circuit. Once you’ve started reading the omnibus you won’t be able to put it down until you’ve read all three books....
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Advantages: Crazy, black humour, but with a deeper agenda Disadvantages: Could be a little too crazy for some
...Introduction
This is CarlHiaasen's first novel and is classed as crime fiction, but it really should be in a category all of its own. Yes, it involves serial killers, psychopaths, cops and a private eye; but it also has totally irreverent and very very funny sense of humour throughout the book, which made me laugh out loud on the tube as I was reading it. I really cannot think of another author that writes like this; Janet Evanovitch's books are hilarious, but still don't have the acerbic wit that Hiaasen's have.
The author
CarlHiaasen was born in Florida and has worked as a reporter at the Miami Herald for many years. His books apparently have been translated into 20 languages; I would love to know how they translated over! He has also written books with Bill Montalbano. His books feature different heros, although...
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helpful 17.02.2006
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