Tourist Season

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: George Wilson

Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carl Hiaasen's best-selling novels are funny and sardonic. Hilarious postcards of south Florida, they also decry the lurid commercialism that is draining and paving the tropical landscape.

Tourist season is swinging into high gear in Miami. So are the activities of a bizarre terrorist group determined to keep the hapless "snowbirds" away. Armed with bombs, weed, and jumbled credos, they move toward their grand target, the Orange Bowl Parade, with plans to bring Miami and its tourist trade to a halt.

The cast, which includes a deranged journalist, a visionary ex-jock, and a lovesick detective, is just the kind of company Carl Hiaasen's fans love to keep. Narrator George Wilson's performance lures each quirky character out into the full light of the Florida sun. With over half a million copies in print, this is one of Hiaasen's most popular works.

©1986 Carl Hiaasen (P)1998 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Reading a Hiaasen book is always a high-speed boat ride where laughter can turn to horror and disaster at any moment. Hearing the story aloud adds a dose of realism and sensation....Wilson's narration is perfectly timed, laid-back, and salty." (AudioFile)

Florida Eco-thriller

Although dated in impolitic use of colloquial racist slurs in dialogue, the novel accurately reflects language used & attitudes held by more than a few people during a bygone era. This applies particularly to developers; who even now destroy mangrove & coral reefs for profit. For monetary gain these shortsighted zombies would build continuously, with little thought to the wreckage.

Great book

2023. Probably more accurate now.
Great book
I Love Carl hiassen books
They really capture south Florida

Great Book

Tourist Season was so great. I have loved all of his books but this one was really really good. I could not wait to get back into the car to hear the rest of the CD. I love to laugh and this one had me laughing out loud several times. A 16 hour trip to FL. went by like a snap!

Hillarious.

Did not disappoint. I love this writer's sense of humor. His characters are wonderfully colorful and unhumanly resilient ...sometimes it is slapsticky, always funny. I enjoy laughing.

Good Book

As always with Hiaasen, a funny book with a wide range of diverse characters. Good entertainment.

this book was great

loved this book. characters were great, good story line, and funny. recommend this book. enjoy

Really long but. ..

Good character development; quirky story; very long but good for summer road trips. Interesting take on FL growth.

Poor presenation of a possibly good plot

It seems that the author did not take this book seriously. Each time the plot seems to be getting strong, he threads it with what is supposed to be "humor." It is generally not funny and tends to undermind the novel. This demise is aided by a reader who's tone of voice is somewhat sardonic throughout, so that at every moment I was waiting to find out the whole book was just somebody's bad dream. What makes this so frustrating and sad is the fact that the story could have and would have been a good one if Hiaasen hadn't treated it so irreverently and if the reader had been better. It was like Hiaasen was forced to create this book for some deadline or promise and he offers it up as a childish insult to anyone who dares attempt to take it seriously. Unfortunately the lousy reader makes it hard to take, even as a tongue in cheek tease.

Can't go wrong with Carl Hiaasen!

What made the experience of listening to Tourist Season the most enjoyable?

I love Carl Hiaasen's subtle sense of humor, the intricate weavings of plot, and the absurdity. Despite all of this you really feel connected to the characters - even the bad guys.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Tourist Season?

I love the inept and yet somehow charming Cuban revolutionary.

Sly humor mixed with classic noir style

Written in the 80's, some pop culture references are a bit dated, but the tale is still solid, complete with characters that match every classic stereotype you've ever read. A private detective is hired to find the reporter who stole his girl and is now missing. A fun read.