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Joe's Odyssey
In the greatest mid-life crisis ever, Joe Kerson steals a boat from a mob boss and sails around the world with a group of college party boys. As he navigates one bonkers situation after another, will he manage to outwit the revenge seeking mob?
208 pages, Paperback
Published October 24, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 6, 2020
Is kinda like a mid-life crisis book. Where it's weird and kinda funny how this guys goes through life. Messing up one thing and the next. Then he gets a strange idea while on a monster's yacht. Only it's just not him he dragging into the mess. Can he keep ahead of the mobsters who are seeking revenge?
January 23, 2020
When it comes to a road trip brimming with outrageous escapades and misconduct, Joe’s Odyssey by author Nick LaTorre definitely makes an impression. Fueled by testosterone, the overall narrative refreshes the college road trip genre by taking readers along on an action-filled tale with a quartet of hedonistic, pleasure-seeking friends, which includes adventure on the open seas, world travel, mobsters, hitmen, and college prankster antics.
Frustrated and angst-riddled for middle-aged Joe Kerson, life in general, has him in a bad place, perspectively. He finds himself stuck working for a company at a job with no room for advancement and a boss he deeply resents. Also feeling deeply unhappy with his marriage, he no longer desires intimacy with his wife, as well as being frustrated with the stressful financial necessities of caring for teenaged children. As an escape he finds solace in alcohol and his lamentations at the bar he frequents.
However, one pivotal fateful day, Joe’s boss comes to him with a special assignment to meet with a new potential client, Luciano Galdonchino, (a known mobster) on his yacht. Initially, unenthused, Joe meets Luciano and while witnessing some the aspects of his wealth, power, and success decides to seize the opportunity of a lifetime. Joe pushes Luciano overboard, steals his yacht and money, and thusly embarks on the adventure of his life in the stolen yacht on the open sea. However, Joe does not opt to do this excursion alone; he finds himself a crew of three college friends also acquaintances of his kids, known as the Schmorde, Ron, Pirate, and Brute. Together with this mixed bag of oddball, immature characters, he launches a journey to chaos, danger, sex, drugs, and all-encompassing juvenilistic behavior, making stops in Vegas, San Francisco, and Jamaica. Having no remorse Joe easily keeps the adventure going for months leaving his family and old life behind while occasionally sending a nasty letter to his wife.
Meanwhile, their travels and travails are being followed up on by mob boss Luciano and the League of International Gangsters as he and his fellow gangsters look to stop the madness, retrieve the yacht and kill Joe the perpetrator. Ultimately, It’s an all-out raucous adventure that ensues chock full of laughable, chaotic and dangerous moments.
All in all, this is completely a story that may entertain many males either in the midst of a middle-aged crisis or just aged party boys. Ultimately, Joe’s Odyssey turns out to be a fantastical read that very much brought to mind National Lampoons Animal House with its high level of immaturity, antics and implied stereotypes throughout the narrative. Also within the story are frequent musings made by the story’s narrator, often leaving subjects open for later discussion. Wholly, this is the book to read If you are into superficial characters on a chaotic jaunt.
Frustrated and angst-riddled for middle-aged Joe Kerson, life in general, has him in a bad place, perspectively. He finds himself stuck working for a company at a job with no room for advancement and a boss he deeply resents. Also feeling deeply unhappy with his marriage, he no longer desires intimacy with his wife, as well as being frustrated with the stressful financial necessities of caring for teenaged children. As an escape he finds solace in alcohol and his lamentations at the bar he frequents.
However, one pivotal fateful day, Joe’s boss comes to him with a special assignment to meet with a new potential client, Luciano Galdonchino, (a known mobster) on his yacht. Initially, unenthused, Joe meets Luciano and while witnessing some the aspects of his wealth, power, and success decides to seize the opportunity of a lifetime. Joe pushes Luciano overboard, steals his yacht and money, and thusly embarks on the adventure of his life in the stolen yacht on the open sea. However, Joe does not opt to do this excursion alone; he finds himself a crew of three college friends also acquaintances of his kids, known as the Schmorde, Ron, Pirate, and Brute. Together with this mixed bag of oddball, immature characters, he launches a journey to chaos, danger, sex, drugs, and all-encompassing juvenilistic behavior, making stops in Vegas, San Francisco, and Jamaica. Having no remorse Joe easily keeps the adventure going for months leaving his family and old life behind while occasionally sending a nasty letter to his wife.
Meanwhile, their travels and travails are being followed up on by mob boss Luciano and the League of International Gangsters as he and his fellow gangsters look to stop the madness, retrieve the yacht and kill Joe the perpetrator. Ultimately, It’s an all-out raucous adventure that ensues chock full of laughable, chaotic and dangerous moments.
All in all, this is completely a story that may entertain many males either in the midst of a middle-aged crisis or just aged party boys. Ultimately, Joe’s Odyssey turns out to be a fantastical read that very much brought to mind National Lampoons Animal House with its high level of immaturity, antics and implied stereotypes throughout the narrative. Also within the story are frequent musings made by the story’s narrator, often leaving subjects open for later discussion. Wholly, this is the book to read If you are into superficial characters on a chaotic jaunt.
January 8, 2020
(Full disclosure, the author asked me to read this and sent me a free copy)
A little over half way through the book, instead of writing something wild, the narrator says, "use your imagination" which is exactly what I wished the author did while writing this. The simple story of a man going on a debauched trip around the world on a stolen yacht is a premise ripe for wild adventures, but the author seemed too timid to ever go into any detail or write everything memorable. Instead, Joe and company visit a place, have stereotypical encounters then move on. A non zero amount of fantasy crops up here and there but none of it is original. In fact the wildest stuff that happens off page is way more outrageous. Joe sails from New York to Las Vegas (geographic note: Vegas has no ports as it is situated in an actual desert), somehow holds onto a bottle of stolen wine after spending a night in jail (where was he hiding it? I'd rather not think about it), and as a recurring painfully unfunny theme, the most powerful collection of criminals keep assigning low level incompetents to handle the petty task they are for whatever reason so keen on accomplishing, leading to Joe escaping their less than nefarious grasp. In fact, a leading baddie has a completely groundless change of heart leading to a flat ex machina ending.
The characters may be the biggest problem. The supporting cast consists of three college kids who despite being given an introduction chapter, nicknames, and attributes, all end up sharing one voice and contribute nothing. The wife Joe leaves is a one dimensional sad sack, the kids share one voice and have no defining features which left me wondering why include any of these gray smudges in the story at all?
Even the fourth wall breaks could of instead have been turned into humorous bits of dialogue between characters but instead they provide obtrusive breaks in the flow of the story actively contributing nothing.
If the satire here is that the modern Boomer has so little imagination that even on an incredible journey with limitless resources they can't do anything interesting, then lean on that and milk it for all its worth. Even the slurry of criticisms levelled at the American justice system, politics, or ignorant American model never cut deep. This book fell flat for me in almost every regard and needed just a bit more focus and development to stand out, but instead takes the easy way out, much like Joe himself.
A little over half way through the book, instead of writing something wild, the narrator says, "use your imagination" which is exactly what I wished the author did while writing this. The simple story of a man going on a debauched trip around the world on a stolen yacht is a premise ripe for wild adventures, but the author seemed too timid to ever go into any detail or write everything memorable. Instead, Joe and company visit a place, have stereotypical encounters then move on. A non zero amount of fantasy crops up here and there but none of it is original. In fact the wildest stuff that happens off page is way more outrageous. Joe sails from New York to Las Vegas (geographic note: Vegas has no ports as it is situated in an actual desert), somehow holds onto a bottle of stolen wine after spending a night in jail (where was he hiding it? I'd rather not think about it), and as a recurring painfully unfunny theme, the most powerful collection of criminals keep assigning low level incompetents to handle the petty task they are for whatever reason so keen on accomplishing, leading to Joe escaping their less than nefarious grasp. In fact, a leading baddie has a completely groundless change of heart leading to a flat ex machina ending.
The characters may be the biggest problem. The supporting cast consists of three college kids who despite being given an introduction chapter, nicknames, and attributes, all end up sharing one voice and contribute nothing. The wife Joe leaves is a one dimensional sad sack, the kids share one voice and have no defining features which left me wondering why include any of these gray smudges in the story at all?
Even the fourth wall breaks could of instead have been turned into humorous bits of dialogue between characters but instead they provide obtrusive breaks in the flow of the story actively contributing nothing.
If the satire here is that the modern Boomer has so little imagination that even on an incredible journey with limitless resources they can't do anything interesting, then lean on that and milk it for all its worth. Even the slurry of criticisms levelled at the American justice system, politics, or ignorant American model never cut deep. This book fell flat for me in almost every regard and needed just a bit more focus and development to stand out, but instead takes the easy way out, much like Joe himself.
December 30, 2019
‘I’d like to know about where things stand with me working here’ – ex post facto
Nick LaTorre shares no biographical information to give the reader a hint of his back-story. What we have to go on is his infectious performance as a new author in a series of books concerning the Rauschmonstrum. To offer a sip of his humor, his dedication for those books reads ‘Dedicated to Charlie Rose and Dick Cavett, my favorite television interviewers. The following is a work of satire. No interactions with public figures are meant to be portrayed as having actually occurred. Then again, if you think these interviews with a shapeshifting cloud of smoke actually occurred, you need some professional help’. Now he provides another diversion with JOE’S ODYSSEY. Nick is a man with a finely tuned sense of humor – an aspect of his writing that makes him ‘nonpareil!’
Nick’s ability to create fascinating characters is well-established as we meet Joe as the story opens – ‘Joe Kerson sat behind his desk at work hating everything around him. His mind drifted towards his marriage. ‘She doesn’t put out anymore, and even if she did, I wouldn’t want any,” he would say to anyone who sat close enough to listen. Along with this, Joe hadn’t anticipated just how much of a drain on his income his two teenage children would be…Little did he know as he sat behind his desk that day that in a couple of hours, his screws would loosen, the stars would align the right way, and the laws of physics would make a couple of exemptions specifically for him. Soon he would embark on a crazy adventure…’ And with that curtain raiser the ‘odyssey’ is off and running.
The plot – ‘In the greatest mid-life crisis ever, Joe Kerson steals a boat from a mob boss and sails around the world with a group of college party boys. As he navigates one bonkers situation after another, will he manage to outwit revenge seeking gangsters?’
Nick simply has the corner on rasty comedy as molded by contemporary times and issues. His time is – right now! Recommended for a major dose of comic relief.
Nick LaTorre shares no biographical information to give the reader a hint of his back-story. What we have to go on is his infectious performance as a new author in a series of books concerning the Rauschmonstrum. To offer a sip of his humor, his dedication for those books reads ‘Dedicated to Charlie Rose and Dick Cavett, my favorite television interviewers. The following is a work of satire. No interactions with public figures are meant to be portrayed as having actually occurred. Then again, if you think these interviews with a shapeshifting cloud of smoke actually occurred, you need some professional help’. Now he provides another diversion with JOE’S ODYSSEY. Nick is a man with a finely tuned sense of humor – an aspect of his writing that makes him ‘nonpareil!’
Nick’s ability to create fascinating characters is well-established as we meet Joe as the story opens – ‘Joe Kerson sat behind his desk at work hating everything around him. His mind drifted towards his marriage. ‘She doesn’t put out anymore, and even if she did, I wouldn’t want any,” he would say to anyone who sat close enough to listen. Along with this, Joe hadn’t anticipated just how much of a drain on his income his two teenage children would be…Little did he know as he sat behind his desk that day that in a couple of hours, his screws would loosen, the stars would align the right way, and the laws of physics would make a couple of exemptions specifically for him. Soon he would embark on a crazy adventure…’ And with that curtain raiser the ‘odyssey’ is off and running.
The plot – ‘In the greatest mid-life crisis ever, Joe Kerson steals a boat from a mob boss and sails around the world with a group of college party boys. As he navigates one bonkers situation after another, will he manage to outwit revenge seeking gangsters?’
Nick simply has the corner on rasty comedy as molded by contemporary times and issues. His time is – right now! Recommended for a major dose of comic relief.
Read
February 21, 2020Man, this is some wild ride of a book! It involves one unhappy corporate middle man who, acting on an impulse born of a sudden midlife crisis, suddenly steals a mobster's yacht packed full with suitcases of cash and, with a crew load of rowdy college frat boys, embarks on a worldwide adventure from Vegas (But just how does one sail to Vegas, a gambling town out in the middle of the desert? Well, let's just say that this is a book where the usual thorny problems of logic and navigation need not apply) to San Francisco (encountering a city patrolled by mechanical men before trashing a rich man's fancy lounge and then getting bailed out of jail by a jury full of drunken louts), winding around to Jamaica (where they have an orgy on the beach and punch out a would be kidnapper) before setting forth all the way to Japan (narrowing avoiding a giant lizard on Hawaii) and a place off the sea routes called Phantasmic Island where none other than President Nixon grants their every wish (If your wishes included flying a pterodactyl and scaring ghosts and leprechauns with spooky tales then this is the place for you) and heading back by way of Israel (being sure to leave desires for fresh whores at the Wailing Wall) and then heading back home by way of the Horn of Africa and an encounter with pirates - all while being pursued by angry gangsters - and a trip to hell, no less, to make the voyage complete - just in time to make peace with the boss, the wife and kids and not to leave out any other possible adventures to come. If you have a sudden case of the blues and need to escape from it all, well then this just might be the read for you. Wild, tripping madness all the way.
August 26, 2020
This book was oddly weird and had a bunch that was unbelievable to me. I thought it was odd. I thought I would give this book a try because it sounded like it could be interesting. I found certain parts very interesting and other parts very boring or stupid. I just didn't believe the characters or the plot really....like when they just happened on an unknown island where all their fantasies come true (but not sexual just weird and odd ones);or when he got home and told his wife he had been kidnapped and asked her why she didn't pay the ransom and the wife didn't believe him until thugs came in and then she did even though facts didn't line up (totally unbelievable unless she was just stupid). This book did make me laugh few times but overall it was not my cuppa. I would not read another book in this series if it is one (the ending said this was just the beginning and there were more stories). I am not sure I would read another book by this author either. I would not recommend it to anyone unless they are into bizarre off the wall stories.
March 6, 2020
A fun, modern-day, version of the Odyssey, with an absurdist twist. The protagonist, Joe, travels the seas with a group of frat-boys, living out in an existential freedom-state.
The author does a fun job of referencing the exploits of Homer’s Odyssey, and recreating blurred, debauched versions of the famous adventure. The cast of characters were humorous and came off as almost cartoon-ish in an enjoyable way; I only wish we had a bit more description for the characters and settings. Overall a fun read!
Full disclosure: I was given the book for review.
The author does a fun job of referencing the exploits of Homer’s Odyssey, and recreating blurred, debauched versions of the famous adventure. The cast of characters were humorous and came off as almost cartoon-ish in an enjoyable way; I only wish we had a bit more description for the characters and settings. Overall a fun read!
Full disclosure: I was given the book for review.
December 28, 2019
Surprisingly good for something that seems to be self-published; would make a lot of sense as a late-night animated series.
January 14, 2020
this story made me laugh.. it was odd.. it was strange and it def wouldnt have been one i would have chosen for myself but it was really good. haha im glad i read it
February 16, 2020
More like 3.5
I Stop correcting "received" a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review
I was super excited to read this book. Stealing from a mob boss can never be good and of course makes for a great story.
Joe lives a boring life with a boring job and he is tired of it. When asked to go met a new client at a marina he tells his boss no. Of course he bows down and goes. Joe is shocked to find out that this new client is a mob boss on a huge boat with suit cases full of cash...
So what does one do in this situation. Push the boss off the boat and steal his money and boat right?!
This is where I thought the book was going to get really good. Sadly Joe goes to different places on the boat with a group of delinquent kids where they do a bunch of drugs and have sex with women. this is repeated over and over through out the book. I almost Did not finish but was to invested and wanted to know what was going to happen. I was looking for more excitement, or something really thrilling..... you stole a mobsters boat and cash....like something really exciting was bound to happen right?!
Even though the book was boring, it was VERY funny and had enough twist that i wanted to know how the book ended and just couldn't give up on it.
Solid 3.5 for pure entertainment value!
I Stop correcting "received" a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review
I was super excited to read this book. Stealing from a mob boss can never be good and of course makes for a great story.
Joe lives a boring life with a boring job and he is tired of it. When asked to go met a new client at a marina he tells his boss no. Of course he bows down and goes. Joe is shocked to find out that this new client is a mob boss on a huge boat with suit cases full of cash...
So what does one do in this situation. Push the boss off the boat and steal his money and boat right?!
This is where I thought the book was going to get really good. Sadly Joe goes to different places on the boat with a group of delinquent kids where they do a bunch of drugs and have sex with women. this is repeated over and over through out the book. I almost Did not finish but was to invested and wanted to know what was going to happen. I was looking for more excitement, or something really thrilling..... you stole a mobsters boat and cash....like something really exciting was bound to happen right?!
Even though the book was boring, it was VERY funny and had enough twist that i wanted to know how the book ended and just couldn't give up on it.
Solid 3.5 for pure entertainment value!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews