Line #49 YMMV/SergeStorms


1	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
2	** Rachael, Serge and Coleman's abrasive companion throughout ''Atomic Lobster'', has two aspects to her character with multiple interpretations.
3	*** Since Rachael spends most of ''Atomic Lobster'' high on cocaine, it can be hard to tell whether some of her angry or violent actions throughout the book, such as being eager to throw her old dealer off a bridge or [[spoiler:trying to knife Serge and Coleman in the climax shortly after learning about a dark incident in their shared past]] are a result of cocaine highs or are done consciously.
4	*** The climax reveals that [[spoiler:Rachael is the younger sister of Serge's early victim Sharon Rhodes, and both are cocaine-addicted strippers with poor social skills and little empathy for others. Are their unpleasant traits InTheBlood, stemming from a shared FreudianExcuse, or did Rachael turn out like Sharon due to having a case of [[BigSisterWorship big sister worship]] while being too young to understand the negative aspects and impacts of Sharon's lifestyle?]]
5	** In ''Atomic Lobster'', was Serge really intending to let the drug dealer he dangles over a bridge go after a few minutes of "positive reinforcement" before Rachael makes him and Coleman lose their grips? He makes a brief effort to pull the man back up and seemingly abducted him on a whim, without much anger. However, Serge does often lie to his victims about whether they have a chance at survival, rarely bothers to put anyone in danger if he plans to spare them, and has killed people for less than dealing drugs and invading his space.
6	** In ''Nuclear Jellyfish'', Howard's mother has a MyBelovedSmother relationship with him and he talks about how his dad recently died, while [[spoiler:his sister Story recalls being beaten by "her alcoholic mother's boyfriends" before being kicked out of the house, which seems inconsistent with Howard's family life. Are they half-siblings with the same father who grew up in different households? Or is one of Howard's parents a stepparent whom he had a ParentalSubstitute relationship with (and, if his late father was his stepfather, did marrying him reform the abusive mother Story remembers, or was Story just TheUnfavorite).]]
7	** In ''Shark Skin Suite'', Brook's bosses Ken Shapiro and Shug Blatt talk about how they hope that Brook is wrong about the other side murdering one of her fellow lawyers before assigning a bodyguard to "watch her back." [[spoiler:It turns out that their firm is working with the other side and the bodyguard is setting Brook up for a BodyguardBetrayal, but that conversation makes it unclear whether they were both LockedOutOfTheLoop about the murder by their colleagues or if one of them knows about the murder and the corruption and is putting on a show but the other is completely innocent]].
8	** In ''Mermaid Confidential'', after [[spoiler: drug cartel higher-up and TheAtoner Mercado Benzpapa]] is assassinated, he leaves behind detailed instructions about what to do when he dies, some of which are only viable in the short-term. Given his youth, he wouldn't have expected to die of natural causes anytime soon. Was he merely CrazyPrepared? Or did he know about the specific plot that killed him and allow his own assassination due to guilt over his past crimes, his difficult current position in life, or the knowledge that [[ThanatosGambit his murder would backfire on his killers]]?
9	* CrazyIsCool:
10	** Serge is a SerialKiller prone to wild and rambling tangents and obsessions over minor things, but his keen insight, sympathy for the underdog, and fondness for elaborate death traps are played for awesomeness.
11	** Coleman, the stoner who somehow has a complete and expert-level understanding of physics, chemistry, fluid dynamics, aeronautics, and several theoretical and mathematical concepts...which he ''only uses to get stoned''
12	* CrossesTheLineTwice: Both Serge's murder methods and many of his and Coleman/Lenny's other exploits would be horrifying in real-life but are over-the-top in their zaniness.
13	* EnsembleDarkHorse: [[EnsembleDarkHorse/SergeStorms Has its own page.]]
14	* FanonDiscontinuity:
15	** ''Orange Crush'' can feel slightly more enjoyable if you ignore the scenes that confirm that AmnesiacHero (or rather, amnesiac sidekick) Jack is Serge. Serge and his trademark actions aren’t terribly relevant for the otherwise standalone and unusually character-driven story, and Jack being Serge means that the PairTheSpares romance he gets into will experience a HappyEndingOverride once the book ends.
16	** Some fans would prefer to ignore the scenes in ''Florida Roadkill'' and ''Atomic Lobster'' where Serge adds [[spoiler:Sharon and Rachael]] to his list of victims, even though neither of them is a particularly pleasant character and each previously attempted to kill Serge. Nonetheless, their fates can feel disturbing due to the amount of comic relief they provide and Serge's willingness and eagerness to kill them after [[spoiler:months-long sexual relationships]], which makes him feel more like a creepy real-world SerialKiller than his usual likable VigilanteMan self.
17	* FriendlyFandoms: The respective shared universes of Dorsey and Creator/CarlHiaasen share a lot of readers due to both being OnlyInFlorida crime comedies which often have larger-than-life characters and BlackComedy deaths.
18	* GrowingTheBeard: ''Florida Roadkill'' and ''Hammerhead Ranch Motel'' got respectable sales and reviews. Still, the plots aren't as good as those in later books, and the over-abundance of the AnyoneCanDie trope and Serge's EarlyInstallmentWeirdness nastiness can provide a decent amount of TooBleakStoppedCaring sentiment. For many, ''Orange Crush'' and/or ''The Triggerfish Twist'' are where the series begins finding a decent balance of plot twists, CharacterDevelopment, a larger recurring cast, and whacky hijinks.
19	* HarsherInHindsight: Every time Martha Davenport asks her milquetoast husband Jim to assert himself in any form of physical confrontation becomes this with [[spoiler: the reveal at the end of ''Atomic Lobster'' since given her past life as Agent Foxtrot it means she could all but effortlessly clobbered the jerk in question. It's harder to defend her wanting Jim to be the one who has to pick a fight with bullies on their behalf after we've seen her [[RetiredBadass kill three terrorists with her bare hands.]]]] Tellingly the author never has her do this in ''When Elves Attack'' and instead she sticks to wanting Jim to report rule breakers to various authorities.
20	* HesJustHiding: Given how Coleman's explicit death is later retconned, it can occasionally be nice to hope that other characters who seem dead in spite of some readers hoping they would survive are really alive.
21	** While [[spoiler: Juan Diaz (the ButtMonkey cousin of a criminal family)]] is presumed dead in a hurricane in ''Hammerhead Ranch Motel'', he isn't shown being killed, making it possible he just ran off in the middle of the chaos.
22	** In ''Triggerfish Twist'', [[spoiler:Sly "The Gentleman Bandit/The Courteous Crook" [=McGraw=]]] is shot by Jim Davenport and falls to the ground while looking in shock at the blood on his shirt. However, no one is described as checking his pulse and while scenes in later books mention Jim has killed multiple [[spoiler: [=McGraws=]]], no one actually mentions a number. This makes it possible to wonder if [[spoiler:Sly might have just been injured and sent to prison]], especially after his AffablyEvil dialogue during his sole meeting with Serge.
23	** In ''The Stingray Shuffle'':
24	*** [[spoiler:PluckyComicRelief Creator/ErnestHemingway impersonator Jethro]] tries to shoot himself with a shotgun, is interrupted by an assassination attempt and is later seemingly killed when a paramedic accidentally fires the gun while trying to get [[spoiler:Jethro]]'s toe out of the trigger guard. However, since the barrel isn't in [[spoiler:Jethro]]'s mouth like it was during the suicide attempt, he may have only been injured by the shot.
25	*** [[spoiler:Jamaican gangster Zigzag]] is seemingly blown up by a grenade after having time for an OhCrap reaction to a PineappleSurprise, but since the scene only shows other characters reacting to the explosion, it can be nice to hope that he managed to jump clear in time after his FireForgedFriends moments with [[spoiler:Russian gangster Ivan]] and efficiency in their pursuit of Serge.
26	** In ''Cadillac Beach'', [[spoiler:MasterActor Doug]], a particularly impressive villain, is shown falling to the ground after being shot in the chest, but the word ''dead'' is never used.
27	** In ''Torpedo Juice'', [[spoiler:Gaskin Fussels/DEA Agent Wilson]] getting an anticlimactic "fatal wound to the head" can feel disappointing after his ObfuscatingStupidity GoodAllAlong undercover cop antics, and it can be nice to wonder if that line just meant potentially fatal and not actually fatal.
28	** [[spoiler:FemmeFatale Rachael Rhodes]] from ''Atomic Lobster'' is one of the few people whose killing be Serge doesn’t really sit right with many fans due to her not doing much worse than [[spoiler:doing drugs, or attacking Serge and Coleman in justifiable anger at learning they killed her sister in an earlier book]]. Since her NeverFoundTheBody death involves falling off a cruise ship while suffocating on fire extinguisher foam, it can be nice to hope that she somehow survived. Swallowing some water could have even saved her life (assuming she coughed it up) by potentially cleansing out the foam blocking her lungs
29	** [[spoiler:Felicia Carmen]] from ''Pineapple Grenade'' is shot in front of Serge and later reported dead on the news, but that kind of death can be faked with some makeup, and [[spoiler:she]] is a spy with the resources and motivation to drop out of sight.
30	** In ''Coconut Cowboy'', [[spoiler:not all of the Wobbly Town Council and their flunkies get mentioned by name when Serge lures them into a death trap, making it possible that ones like Clem, the twins, Elroy, and Slow were absent.]]
31	** In ''The Pope of Palm Beach'', [[spoiler:EvilGenius Salenca]] is last seen being placed in one of Serge’s {{Death Trap}}s, but, unlike many characters who undergo similar fates, he neither dies onscreen nor has a later scene showing the discovery of his body. This makes it conceivable he could come back injured but alive.
32	* JerkassWoobie: Johnny Vegas "the accidental virgin", with the emphasis on the Woobie part usually being more pronounced but depending on the book. The way that, over the course of thirty plus years, bizarre events keep interrupting his attempts to lose his virginity with women who are happy to spend time with him no matter how close he gets is a source of painful CringeComedy. That being said, he has little respect for many of the women he tries to bed and has occasional ItsAllAboutMe moments (just sighing and turning away when he sees his latest would-be conquest fall to her presumed death, getting rid of a homing beacon to delay rescue when he and a beautiful woman are in a lifeboat together, etc.) that cost him sympathy.
33	* MagnificentBastard: In ''Cadillac Beach,'' [[MasterActor Doug]] is introduced as a hapless, hard-partying salesman who gets dragged into one of Serge's dangerous adventures after killing a mobster in a prank gone wrong, but the ending reveals a devoutly brilliant new side of his personality. Doug is really a mob hitman who deliberately killed the mobster--a potential informer--and [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident made it look like an accident]] so he'd have an excuse to tag along with Serge during Serge's search for a cache of stolen diamonds. As soon as Serge finds the diamonds, Doug drops the act, takes everyone prisoner, and reveals how he's been manipulating Serge for the entire book. When an impressed Serge compliments Doug's acting skills, Doug happily reveals that he's already a part-time actor looking for his big break. Doug then prepares to kill everyone, [[MercyKill promising to do so painlessly]], only to be foiled by blind luck.
34	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
35	** Sly [=McGraw=] from ''Triggerfish Twist''. While the rest of the [=McGraw=] family seem to largely be [[TheBrute more brawn than brains]] Sly is [[AffablyEvil able to have a polite conversation with Serge while holding him hostage]] and even matches Serge beat for beat when Serge starts going on one of his rambling diatribes about what's wrong with modern society, with the two debating if it's unique to Florida or happening all over the country. He promptly gets gunned down by Jim Davenport shortly there after, sadly making it impossible for him to show up again in ''Atomic Lobster'' which saw the return of the [=McGraw=] family.
36	** Doug from ''Cadillac Beach'' spends the book being dragged into dangerous misadventures by Serge and surviving due to a being a decent ActionSurvivor, before the final act has him [[spoiler:reveal himself as an AffablyEvil PunchClockVillain hitman who has been manipulating Serge the whole time]]. His personality and his besting Serge that way could have made him an interesting {{Foil}} or [[spoiler:EvilCounterpart]] to Jim Davenport if he had continued to occasionally show up in future books, but [[spoiler:he is shot within three pages of the reveal about his true nature]].
37	** Ford Oelman from ''The Big Bamboo'' spends the vast majority of the novel being presented as [[NiceGuy a bland well meaning nobody who gets caught up in Serge's hijinks ]][[RecurringElement like many other characters Dorsey has used for the B-plots of his novels.]] In reality [[spoiler: Ford is Serge's half-brother and [[TheChessmaster wrote the 'script' for the con that we saw unfolding throughout the novel]] to take down two corrupt studio heads who had taken advantage of him. Not only do we only get one scene where Ford isn't trying to hide who he really is, but Dorsey never thought to bring him back even after we discover that Detective Mahoney is also Serge's half-brother presenting the possibility of them forming a [[PowerTrio team based around Serge's love of Flordia, Mahoney's of Noir, and Ford's of film.]]]]
38	** AddledAddict Rachael from ''Atomic Lobster'' is a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for Sharon Rhodes besides being more of a HotBlooded hedonist and TheLoad rather than a calculating grifter, killer, and HoneyTrap like Sharon. [[spoiler:She is also Sharon's sister and mourns her death at the hands of Serge. This could have been used to explore how Serge's actions can hurt people, add a layer of tension and complexity to Serge and Rachael's future interactions for a while to come, and give Rachael a reason to reflect on how her own self-destructive lifestyle reflects Sharon's. Instead, she immediately tries to attack Serge and Coleman with a knife after learning the truth and learns the meaning of BullyingADragon]]. She also shows some signs of recognizing the toxicity of her SlapSlapKiss relationship with Serge by suggesting roleplaying to get past their normal anger-filled sex, but this doesn’t lead to any visible CharacterDevelopment in other parts of her life.
39	** Story Long from ''Nuclear Jellyfish'' has better chemistry with Serge than most, if not all, of his other love interests throughout the series, is a dynamic and compelling character in her own right, and ends the book [[spoiler:accepting a job for an old friend of Serge's, which could give them a reason to occasionally come into contact again throughout the series, whether as FriendsWithBenefits like Serge and Country or platonic friends like Serge and Brook eventually become.]] Nonetheless, she never reappears.
40	** Stan from ''Pineapple Grenade'' is a "high-end repo man" and ex-CIA agent friend of Serge and Mahoney who repossesses airplanes, yachts, and race cars from rich people with unpaid debts. His action-filled exploits and willingness to do favors for Serge feel like the makings of a key recurring character, but he is a OneShotCharacter with only a handful of scenes and lines.
41	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In ''Atomic Lobster'' [[FieryRedHead Martha Davenport]] agrees to join an anger management support group. We never actually see any of her meetings though, which is a real shame, especially since in the same book we eventually learn the actual reason for her anger issues, [[spoiler: [[RetiredBadass as a former US special ops soldier]] she can't properly adapt to a relaxed pace of civilian life.]] Not to mention they would have made a good counterpoint to her husband's own support group meetings to try and help him deal with his [[ExtremeDoormat non-confrontational streak]].
42	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The B-Plot ''The Riptide Ultra-Glide'' features a [[NiceGuy nice couple from Wisconsin]] who have recently fallen on hard financial times going on vacation in Florida. Misfortune after misfortune befalls them, and their plotline abruptly [[NoEnding terminates with them finally meeting Serge at the very end of the story]] with no clear idea of exactly what he'd do to make their lives better. While Dorsey's B-Plots often features nice guy characters suffering, it's typically balanced out by [[KarmicJackpot a clear happy ending]] which isn't the case here. By comparison, the two main non-Serge characters in ''Florida Roadkill'' had a clear happy ending!
43	* UnconventionalLearningExperience: Aside from the graphic bloodshed and sex, the series can act as a travelogue of sorts for people who want to learn more about Florida due to Serge and Coleman going on road trips across lesser-known parts of the state and observing the sights, landmarks, and people while Serge endlessly chats about Florida's history.
44	* UnintentionallySympathetic:
45	** Rachael from ''Atomic Lobster'' is portrayed as the second coming of TokenEvilTeammate Sharon Rhodes and has an "obnoxious and morally reprehensible" characterization, but can still feel like a JerkassWoobie at the very least. She is living in dreary circumstances (she is a drug addict and mentions she sometimes does sex work to pay her electric bill) and otherwise minding her own business until she threatens Serge in an argument over an {{Asshole Victim}}'s money and ends up coerced into becoming Serge’s companion without getting much if any say in the matter. Not once in 2-5 months does Serge seriously try to intervene with her pitifully desperate cocaine addiction. He only keeps her around for hate-fueled sex while [[DomesticAbuse giving her no respect and constantly twisting her arm behind her back during arguments (although she is just as vitriolic to him, if not more so and sometimes slaps him as well as the book progresses)]]. She shows [[EveryoneHasStandards some standards]] by slapping groom-to-be Trevor for propositioning her on his wedding night. Finally, [[spoiler:she only snaps and attacks her companions with a knife after she discovers that the people she's been having such a toxic relationship with killed her beloved sister Sharon ten years earlier, with Serge not showing any willingness to go easy on her despite the justifiable trauma of that revelation and how she is clearly "wired out of her head" at the time]].
46	** A few of the {{Asshole Victim}}s Serge kills after a single meeting don't inspire pure CatharsisFactor feelings with their fates due to the truly painful ways Serge tends to kill them. This is especially true of the few who get minor PetTheDog moments before dying, such as seagull-poisoner Clyde from ''Naked Came the Florida Man'', who has a PapaWolf moment when he [[MistakenForPedophile thinks Serge is a pedophile who is harassing Clyde's nephews]].
47	* TheUnTwist: In ''Shark Skin Suite'', [[spoiler:there are constant mentions about how Brook and Shelby's bosses inexplicably assigned inexperienced rookies (albeit talented ones) and a BunnyEarsLawyer to the case and keep failing to secure important information, while the defense attorney keeps making sinister phone calls to an unseen confederate. All of this makes it blatantly obvious that the two law firms are working together and setting up Brook, Shelby, and Ziggy in a SpringtimeForHitler ploy long before this is confirmed.]]
48	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
49	** In ''The Stingray Shuffle'', entertainment troupe members Andy, Frankie, Dave, Jeff, Saul, and Spider are portrayed as downtrodden, amiable underdogs who (minus Saul, who leaves the group due to his poor health) get a happy change in circumstances in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue. This is despite how (unlike one or two of their friends) they are completely indifferent toward their hypnotist Preston's penchant for using his craft to subject women and teenaged girls to a BedTrick ploy (although Spider has the excuse of being under hypnosis himself, causing him to fixate on other stuff throughout most of his page time).
50	** Even some people who love Serge throughout the series as a whole and/or dislike rude and self-centered GirlOfTheWeek Rachael from ''Atomic Lobster'' admit that Serge's treatment of Rachael (and a few other characters in that book) can get very creepy and unpleasant.
51	*** Shortly after meeting Rachael (who he essentially kidnaps in the first place), Serge unilaterally announces that they're going to have sex because she is dancing erotically and he is such a ChickMagnet. He twists Rachael’s arm when she initially ignores him to keep dancing (although a GilliganCut makes it possible that she did consent before the actual sex), and “thrust[s] violently” to deliberately hurt her when she annoys him as they copulate (something which he repeats during a later scene). While [[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization Rachael ultimately turns out to enjoy having sex with Serge]], being [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence hurt in the middle of sex, and hurting Serge back]], many fans still find Serge's actions throughout that subplot to be worse than plenty of things Serge has killed {{Asshole Victim}}s over.
52	*** Serge tells another woman he sleeps with (he and Rachael are seemingly polyamorous) that NoMeansYes when she initially asks him to stop his advances. In the very next book, Serge assumes his new GirlOfTheWeek will have sex with him again because they did the previous night, but drops the issue when she refutes this notion, but whether this mitigates his previous actions or makes their wrongness more pronounced is debatable.
53	*** Serge [[spoiler:is openly happy at finally having an excuse to kill Rachael in the climax after she turns out to be the sister of his old accomplice turned victim Sharon and tries to kill him and Coleman, seemingly seeing it as a perfectly acceptable way to end an unfulfilling relationship]].
54	*** Finally, while Serge is unusually heroic in the book's A-plot, protecting his friends the Davenports from killers, he also gets a KickTheDog moment when he and Rachael roleplay as the Davenports during sex. Serge's Jim impression is noticeably more insulting and crude than Rachael's Martha impression, and he knows that Jim is within earshot.

Context YMMV / SergeStorms