From The Succubus Music Video.

From the “Succubus” music video.

Assorted Thoughts on Skink – No Surrender (2014)

Hey guys, I figured I’d post a few text reviews before I started going to college. I have a book that I’ve read and an anime that I’ve watched, and I’m sure that you would love to hear my thoughts about each, so let’s start with the book.

Ever since I was a kid, I was a fan of Carl Hiaasen. Who is Carl Hiaasen, you may ask? When I was a kid, I knew him as the writer of the novel Hoot. (Not the movie; it’s weaksauce in comparison.) He also continued writing children’s novels, such as Flush, Scat, and Chomp, all of which have an underlying environmentalist theme. When I grew up, I found out that he is also known for a number of adult novels, including Double Whammy, Skinny Dip, Sick Puppy, and Strip Tease. (Again, not the movie.) And recently, I got my first exposure of more mature writing from Hiaasen in his first novel for young adults, Skink – No Surrender.

Now, granted, if you have read some of his children’s novels, then you would know that they’re hardly for children by the end. The danger in them became greater and greater for each. In Hoot and Flush, the danger is relatively small. In Scat, we have to deal with a deranged panther, and by the end, one of the main characters’ arms is severed. In Chomp, the antagonistic force is a trigger-happy drunk father. So, by the end, they really were just young adult novels. What makes Skink – No Surrender any different?

A subtle part of what signifies Skink – No Surrender as not being just another kids’ novel is its title. While his novels for children all have one-word titles, his novels for adults usually have two-word titles, so it’s only fitting that Skink – No Surrender has a one-word title and a two-word subtitle. But that’s obviously not all. We haven’t even started talking about the plot yet.

Our main character is Richard, whose cousin and best friend Malley tends to get into a lot of trouble. When her parents decide to send her to an all-girls boarding school to teach her some discipline, she runs off with a boyfriend that she met in an online chatroom, a supposed DJ named Talbo Chock. Now Richard has to team up with hermit and former governor Clinton “Skink” Tyree to save his cousin.

Let’s start this off by talking about the characters. Richard, the main character and narrator, seems to be just your typical teenage boy of the 2010s. He develops more character later on, but in the first few chapters, he does simply come off as the level-headed kid who doesn’t want to get in any trouble, often snarky toward his stepfather Trent, and has a crush on one of Malley’s friends. As I said, though, he gets more developed when we find out about how the death of his father has affected his life and his mother’s. We’re also thrown hints about a deep, dark secret he has that Malley is hanging over his head and threatening to tell everyone about.

Speaking of which, Malley is a character that I instantly wanted to like and root for from the beginning. Even though she doesn’t show up during much of the first half of the story, the way she has been described and the little dialogue that she has makes her a likable character. When we do finally meet her in person, we care for her and we don’t want anything bad to happen to her, and that’s helped by her personality, carefree and acting before thinking, but also innocent of the danger that she has gotten herself into by running away with someone she met online and doesn’t know anything about.

And now we get to the titular character, Skink, or former Governor Clinton Tyree. From what I have read and from what my parents, who are longtime Hiaasen fans, have told me, Skink is something of a recurring character in Hiaasen’s novels, first appearing in Double Whammy and showing up in a total of seven of his novels. This wouldn’t be the only time fans of Hiaasen’s work for young readers have encountered one of his recurring characters, either; Scat featured eco-terrorist Twilly Spree, who appears in three of Hiaasen’s novels. Honestly, though this is my first introduction to Skink, I’m wondering if it might also be my last. The character is described as being 70 years old or so and not being in the best of health, but is stronger than he looks and very passionate about the environment. I’m definitely going to check out some of Carl’s other books with Skink. He makes for a great character; while he sometimes has the typical old man think of not understanding today’s youth with all their cellphones and tweeters and spacebooks and everything, he is always competent, often wise, and most of the time remains calm and collected.

The side characters are pretty good, too. Richard’s mother comes off as the protective type, which is understandable due to the exposition about her husband’s death. Trent, Richard’s stepfather, is depicted as sort of an idiot, believing what he sees on TV shows about Sasquatch, but you can’t help but like him, either. Even the characters with short roles are pretty good, like Nickel the gar man, Malley’s friend Beth, and retired policeman Jim Tile, the latter of whom is also a recurring character in Hiaasen’s novels.

Now let’s talk about the villain, “Talbo Chock.” I hate this guy. He’s a thoroughly despicable character: a thief, a pervert, someone willing to commit murder. I won’t go into too many details, but if Hiaasen’s job was to make us want this guy to die, then he’s definitely succeeded.

But what I found most intriguing about Skink – No Surrender is the plot. While it’s clear from the beginning that Malley’s online “boyfriend” is of obvious moral ambiguity, what’s great is how the characters go to save her, and what they go afterwards. There are a lot of times when this novel left me hanging on my seat, and others that I felt just satisfied enough hearing Richard and the Governor talking while either driving, riding on a boat, or resting in between searching for Malley. The mystery of where she was and what had happened to her was something worth praising, too. One thing I also notice is that, while all of Hiaasen’s novels have an underlying environmentalist message, this one has that be just the backdrop as opposed to making it the focus of the story. With Hoot, Flush, and even Scat to a certain extent, the entire plot focused on the environmental aspect, which, while true enough, can get a little anvilicious at times. This one and its predecessor Chomp seem to have that just be the backdrop instead of the focus of the story, which I feel is all the better for it, and, from what I’ve heard, his other novels are more akin to that.

Really, I can only think of two major criticisms of this novel. The first is that the last chapter, while it wraps up all the loose ends, tends to drag on for a little long, and sometimes, less is more when it comes to ending a novel. The second is that, while the ending was too long, the villain’s punishment at the end was too abrupt and short, especially coming from a writer who is known for giving the bad guys in his novels the comeuppance they deserve.

But all in all, Skink – No Surrender is a good novel and is worth checking out. If you’re a fan of Hiaasen’s children’s books, this is definitely a good transitional piece to his more adult stuff. I’d definitely give it a read.

Stay tuned in a few days, when I talk about my latest attempt at watching an anime!

~TheHappySpaceman

Yes.

And now I can officially say, without exaggeration, that Noodle is my waifu.

Apologies if someone else uploaded this before me. I just wanted to share this with the world.