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Radar Hoverlander #1
The California Roll
What do the Merlin Game, the Penny Skim, the Doolally Snadoodle, and the Afterparty Snuke have in common? They're all the work of world-class con artist and master bafflegabber Radar Hoverlander. Radar's been "on the snuke" since childhood, but he's still looking for his California Roll, the one big scam that'll set him up in sushi for life. Trouble arrives in the stunning, sassy package of Allie Quinn—either the last true innocent or a con artist so slick she makes Radar look like a Quaker. Radar's hapless sidekick, Vic Mirplo, a lovable loser who couldn't con a kid out of a candy cane, thinks Radar is being played. But if love is blind, it's also deaf, dumb, and stupid, and before Radar knows it, he's sucked into a vortex of double-, triple-, and quadruple-crosses that'll either net him his precious California Roll or put him in a hole in the ground. As timeless as a perpetual motion machine, as timely as a Madoff arraignment, The California Roll brings you deep inside the world of con artistry, where every fact is fiction and the second liar never has a chance.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
John Vorhaus
55 books43 followersJohn Vorhaus is known to one and all as the man who brought Radar Hoverlander – con artist extraordinaire – to life in the “sunshine noir” mystery novel, The California Roll, and its acclaimed sequel, The Albuquerque Turkey.
John is also well known as the author of The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You're Not, and its acclaimed sequel, The Little Book of SITCOM, which continue to be definitive sources of information and inspiration for writers from Santa Monica to Scandinavia.
An international consultant in television and film script development, Vorhaus has worked for television networks, film schools, production companies and film funding bodies in 28 countries on four continents. He recently worked in Bulgaria, recruiting and training writers for that country’s adaptation of Married… with Children, and in Tel Aviv, consulting on the Israeli version of The Golden Girls. He also travels regularly to Nicaragua, where he co-created the social action drama Contracorriente to provide positive role modeling for the poor, young and disenfranchised of that embattled country.
And oh by the way, he has written more than three million words on poker, just in his spare time.
Vorhaus is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Writers Guild of America. He has taught at such institutions as Northwestern University, the American Film Institute and the Writers Program of the UCLA Extension. He is the author of a dozen books, including Creativity Rules! A Writer's Workbook, the novel Under the Gun, the Killer Poker series and, with Annie Duke, the bestselling Decide to Play Great Poker.
He sells everything but his soul through his Amazon author page,
http://tinyurl.com/jvauthorpageamazon, tweets for no apparent reason @TrueFactBarFact, and secretly rules the world from www.johnvorhaus.com.
John is also well known as the author of The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You're Not, and its acclaimed sequel, The Little Book of SITCOM, which continue to be definitive sources of information and inspiration for writers from Santa Monica to Scandinavia.
An international consultant in television and film script development, Vorhaus has worked for television networks, film schools, production companies and film funding bodies in 28 countries on four continents. He recently worked in Bulgaria, recruiting and training writers for that country’s adaptation of Married… with Children, and in Tel Aviv, consulting on the Israeli version of The Golden Girls. He also travels regularly to Nicaragua, where he co-created the social action drama Contracorriente to provide positive role modeling for the poor, young and disenfranchised of that embattled country.
And oh by the way, he has written more than three million words on poker, just in his spare time.
Vorhaus is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Writers Guild of America. He has taught at such institutions as Northwestern University, the American Film Institute and the Writers Program of the UCLA Extension. He is the author of a dozen books, including Creativity Rules! A Writer's Workbook, the novel Under the Gun, the Killer Poker series and, with Annie Duke, the bestselling Decide to Play Great Poker.
He sells everything but his soul through his Amazon author page,
http://tinyurl.com/jvauthorpageamazon, tweets for no apparent reason @TrueFactBarFact, and secretly rules the world from www.johnvorhaus.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
November 5, 2019
I don't know how this happens but this is my third book with the thief as the main character that I read this month. LOL. I do not complain, because they are all good and each is to a certain degree different from the others. I really like this one too.
I have a great weakness for all kinds of villains, and thieves in particular. And this book is a very rare example of a story about a heist. I love such movies and I love such books. And this one adds into the bargain a nicely complicated and multi-layered plotline.
I usually start writing reviews with the characters, because usually whether I like the book depends on whether I like the characters. But this time I will start with the storyline, because it is of great importance for the whole book. Radar, our main character, is entangled in a very complicated game among thieves and corrupt law officials. All the time you don’t known who is on whose side, friends and allies turn out to be enemies, enemies become allies, and alliances and agreements change like a kaleidoscope. I enjoy this game very much. It adds more excitement to the whole story. Just like Radar, you are constantly trying to guess who is the enemy and who is the friend and what are the intentions of all those people. And believe me, everyone here has some hidden intentions and nothing is what it looks like.
All these complicated relations between characters form the background for the brilliant plan of financial fraud that is carried out by Radar and his friends (or more they are forced and blackmailed to carry out). Although I'm not sure what part is actually background here, because relationships between team members are sometimes clearly in the foreground. Anyway, the scam and the whole idea is as interesting as the interactions between the characters.
And finally let's get to Radar. Radar is a very strong personality that not every reader may like. As for me, I like him very much. Of course, Radar is overconfident and sometimes disregards others. It is good, however, that he sees these flaws in himself. He is also extremely intelligent and very clever. As I usually don't like first person narration, in this case I don't really mind. Radar has many pretty interesting thoughts. There is also something in him that makes him charming in some way.
This is a very nice story that provides good entertainment. I like these characters. I add another book in this series to my tbr pile.
I have a great weakness for all kinds of villains, and thieves in particular. And this book is a very rare example of a story about a heist. I love such movies and I love such books. And this one adds into the bargain a nicely complicated and multi-layered plotline.
I usually start writing reviews with the characters, because usually whether I like the book depends on whether I like the characters. But this time I will start with the storyline, because it is of great importance for the whole book. Radar, our main character, is entangled in a very complicated game among thieves and corrupt law officials. All the time you don’t known who is on whose side, friends and allies turn out to be enemies, enemies become allies, and alliances and agreements change like a kaleidoscope. I enjoy this game very much. It adds more excitement to the whole story. Just like Radar, you are constantly trying to guess who is the enemy and who is the friend and what are the intentions of all those people. And believe me, everyone here has some hidden intentions and nothing is what it looks like.
All these complicated relations between characters form the background for the brilliant plan of financial fraud that is carried out by Radar and his friends (or more they are forced and blackmailed to carry out). Although I'm not sure what part is actually background here, because relationships between team members are sometimes clearly in the foreground. Anyway, the scam and the whole idea is as interesting as the interactions between the characters.
And finally let's get to Radar. Radar is a very strong personality that not every reader may like. As for me, I like him very much. Of course, Radar is overconfident and sometimes disregards others. It is good, however, that he sees these flaws in himself. He is also extremely intelligent and very clever. As I usually don't like first person narration, in this case I don't really mind. Radar has many pretty interesting thoughts. There is also something in him that makes him charming in some way.
This is a very nice story that provides good entertainment. I like these characters. I add another book in this series to my tbr pile.
December 12, 2013
Oh, what a joy this was to read -- full of linguistic inventiveness and often outrageously funny.
Radar Hoverlander is a highly successful grifter: he makes a good living by running scams, relying on his wits and his innate talents for bafflegab. When he runs into the lovely Allie Quinn at a party that he's crashed, he soon realizes he's met his match -- which doesn't stop him wanting to get her under the Radar, so to speak. It seems all she wants him to do is educate her grandfather, a retired investment broker, into the new hobby he's eager to try: scamming. But Allie's supposed grandfather isn't who he seems, and neither is the cop who's come all the way from Australia in search of master hacker/scammer Billy Yuan and insists Radar help in that quest. Matters aren't being helped in the slightest by Radar's sidekick Vic Mirplo, the dumbest scammer of them all. With constantly shifting allegiances, new revelations at every turn, and no one -- even Radar -- ever necessarily being who they claim to be, things could hardly get more complicated; even so, they're not as simple as they seem . . .
There are countless good lines. Here, chosen more or less at random, are a couple to give you a flavor of the rest:
If you like Donald Westlake's comedy thrillers and Carl Hiaasen's Florida novels, you should leap at this. The language dances along and there's the constant fascination of the scams themselves, as if a conjurer were explaining the secrets of her most mystifying illusions: I don't know how much of the information here on scams and scamming is actually authentic, but it certainly reads as if it is.
My only real quibble with the book is that, toward the end, the plot gets so convoluted that it began to overburden proceedings: there's a real or faked doublecross or two too many. But that's a relatively small objection.
I noticed on coming to Goodreads this morning that this is apparently vol 1 in a series, and my heart sank. The book's complete in itself. There is absolutely no need (aside from the obvious mercenary one) to inflate it into a series.
Radar Hoverlander is a highly successful grifter: he makes a good living by running scams, relying on his wits and his innate talents for bafflegab. When he runs into the lovely Allie Quinn at a party that he's crashed, he soon realizes he's met his match -- which doesn't stop him wanting to get her under the Radar, so to speak. It seems all she wants him to do is educate her grandfather, a retired investment broker, into the new hobby he's eager to try: scamming. But Allie's supposed grandfather isn't who he seems, and neither is the cop who's come all the way from Australia in search of master hacker/scammer Billy Yuan and insists Radar help in that quest. Matters aren't being helped in the slightest by Radar's sidekick Vic Mirplo, the dumbest scammer of them all. With constantly shifting allegiances, new revelations at every turn, and no one -- even Radar -- ever necessarily being who they claim to be, things could hardly get more complicated; even so, they're not as simple as they seem . . .
There are countless good lines. Here, chosen more or less at random, are a couple to give you a flavor of the rest:
I don't have a lot of experience with tequila, but I know you've had too much when you go to brush something off your shoulder and it's the floor.
I swear to God, before senility sweeps over me, I'm going to put together a lethal dose of sleeping pills and keep them by my bed with a note that reads, "When you forget what these are for, take them."
If you like Donald Westlake's comedy thrillers and Carl Hiaasen's Florida novels, you should leap at this. The language dances along and there's the constant fascination of the scams themselves, as if a conjurer were explaining the secrets of her most mystifying illusions: I don't know how much of the information here on scams and scamming is actually authentic, but it certainly reads as if it is.
My only real quibble with the book is that, toward the end, the plot gets so convoluted that it began to overburden proceedings: there's a real or faked doublecross or two too many. But that's a relatively small objection.
I noticed on coming to Goodreads this morning that this is apparently vol 1 in a series, and my heart sank. The book's complete in itself. There is absolutely no need (aside from the obvious mercenary one) to inflate it into a series.
August 30, 2022
Said Milval, "I want you to teach me to grift."
Sure, that's a good idea. Right up there with teaching the art of medieval trebuchet construction to a blind amputee with Bell's palsy. Grifters are a breed apart. To be good at it, you have to have a taste for danger, a heightened sense of self-preservation, and, at the end of the day, a certain dishonest honesty, the unsentimental knowledge that you fly through life solo. Sometimes, in my dark moments, I feel a little like a remora, clinging to the tiger shark of humanity, feeding on its crumbs or, as the case may be, feces. Other times, I feel like the shark. At no time do I feel like the things I know could be authentically conveyed to someone not born and bred in the grift. It's in the blood, like peanut allergy.
So my first reaction was to reject the proposal out of hand, send these two packing, and go on about my business--top of the to-do list being to track down Vic Mirplo and kick his flat white ass for telling tales out of school. But the grift isn't about first reactions, it's about measured responses. And the fact that Allie had been clever enough to climb into my life and chill enough to talk about arson made me think that my disengagement, however I chose to effect it, should be gracefully staged. No sense in leaving a trail of tears. So I just nodded and said, "Go on."
~~Luckily for Radar Hoverlander (he swears up and down that YES, that's his real name), many people in Southern California haven't studied the above graphic well. He's gotten rich from exploiting other people without them realizing it. He calls it art, and is proud of his skills.
First two sentences: The first person I ever scammed was my grandmother, who had Alzheimer's disease and could never remember from one minute to the next whether she'd just given me ice cream or not. I'd polish off a bowl, drop it in the sink, walk out, walk back in, ask for another, and get it.
Radar has been happily cruising through life, getting rich off of others' gullibility. But then he meets Allie Quinn. She quickly becomes one of the only people Radar can't get a read on. Is she innocent, or is she conning him? And how did she figure out his home address? She asks him to teach her grandfather how to grift as one of the last items in his bucket list before he prepares to shake the mortal coil. Radar isn't quite sure what he's getting into, but he'll play his hand for all it's worth.....and try not to fall in love with Allie in the process.
My two cents: When I read the back book jacket, and one of the reviews said "It's not too late to get a real job!"--Mom, I knew I was in for a humorous, irreverent read. In that respect, I was not disappointed. Vorhaus immerses us into the lifestyle of grifting by using the first person POV of Radar. His writing is enjoyable, and I liked Radar's personality. He's a scoundrel, but seems to understand most of his faults, and rues the consequences of his lifestyle choices--namely that it's almost impossible to have a real relationship as a con artist. I almost believe he can change....almost. But the problem with first person POV is that we never really know what to believe. There's a lot of double, triple, or even more crosses going on. It made my head spin a bit. Overall given a rating of 3 stars or "Good". Recommended as a fun library checkout, but in my opinion, it's not memorable enough to purchase.
Other favorite quotes: Libraries were her salvation. Not only did they provide safe haven--uninterrupted hours off the street--they also let her leave her life behind. Buried in a book, whether Treasure Island or Spanish for Beginners She disappeared from the world and entered a place with no past, no future, only the perfect floating now. Books were her drug, a fortuitously positive addiction that gave her a broad understanding of the real tools of her trade: human psychology, the romantic tug of good fiction, and sufficient general knowledge to lie plausibly in most situations.
~~I made it to LAX without further mishap--apart from getting lost and stopping twice at the same mini-mart to get directions. And throwing up several times, which I should have taken as clear evidence that I was in no shape to drive; however, I was also in no shape to think clearly, and when something impairs your judgment, your judgment of your judgement is the first to go. So I thought I was fine.
~~"Well, at first I was thinking of a twelve-step program: Assholes Anonymous. Teach you to socialize like a decent human being. But then I thought, 'That's Radar Hoverlander. If he can't bluff being a decent human being, no one can.' So no rehab for you, Radar. Unlike a ham, you're incurable."
Further Reading: A good overview of how to spot a con artist from the state of Connecticut. https://portal.ct.gov/DOB/Consumer/Co...
Sure, that's a good idea. Right up there with teaching the art of medieval trebuchet construction to a blind amputee with Bell's palsy. Grifters are a breed apart. To be good at it, you have to have a taste for danger, a heightened sense of self-preservation, and, at the end of the day, a certain dishonest honesty, the unsentimental knowledge that you fly through life solo. Sometimes, in my dark moments, I feel a little like a remora, clinging to the tiger shark of humanity, feeding on its crumbs or, as the case may be, feces. Other times, I feel like the shark. At no time do I feel like the things I know could be authentically conveyed to someone not born and bred in the grift. It's in the blood, like peanut allergy.
So my first reaction was to reject the proposal out of hand, send these two packing, and go on about my business--top of the to-do list being to track down Vic Mirplo and kick his flat white ass for telling tales out of school. But the grift isn't about first reactions, it's about measured responses. And the fact that Allie had been clever enough to climb into my life and chill enough to talk about arson made me think that my disengagement, however I chose to effect it, should be gracefully staged. No sense in leaving a trail of tears. So I just nodded and said, "Go on."
~~Luckily for Radar Hoverlander (he swears up and down that YES, that's his real name), many people in Southern California haven't studied the above graphic well. He's gotten rich from exploiting other people without them realizing it. He calls it art, and is proud of his skills.
First two sentences: The first person I ever scammed was my grandmother, who had Alzheimer's disease and could never remember from one minute to the next whether she'd just given me ice cream or not. I'd polish off a bowl, drop it in the sink, walk out, walk back in, ask for another, and get it.
Radar has been happily cruising through life, getting rich off of others' gullibility. But then he meets Allie Quinn. She quickly becomes one of the only people Radar can't get a read on. Is she innocent, or is she conning him? And how did she figure out his home address? She asks him to teach her grandfather how to grift as one of the last items in his bucket list before he prepares to shake the mortal coil. Radar isn't quite sure what he's getting into, but he'll play his hand for all it's worth.....and try not to fall in love with Allie in the process.
My two cents: When I read the back book jacket, and one of the reviews said "It's not too late to get a real job!"--Mom, I knew I was in for a humorous, irreverent read. In that respect, I was not disappointed. Vorhaus immerses us into the lifestyle of grifting by using the first person POV of Radar. His writing is enjoyable, and I liked Radar's personality. He's a scoundrel, but seems to understand most of his faults, and rues the consequences of his lifestyle choices--namely that it's almost impossible to have a real relationship as a con artist. I almost believe he can change....almost. But the problem with first person POV is that we never really know what to believe. There's a lot of double, triple, or even more crosses going on. It made my head spin a bit. Overall given a rating of 3 stars or "Good". Recommended as a fun library checkout, but in my opinion, it's not memorable enough to purchase.
Other favorite quotes: Libraries were her salvation. Not only did they provide safe haven--uninterrupted hours off the street--they also let her leave her life behind. Buried in a book, whether Treasure Island or Spanish for Beginners She disappeared from the world and entered a place with no past, no future, only the perfect floating now. Books were her drug, a fortuitously positive addiction that gave her a broad understanding of the real tools of her trade: human psychology, the romantic tug of good fiction, and sufficient general knowledge to lie plausibly in most situations.
~~I made it to LAX without further mishap--apart from getting lost and stopping twice at the same mini-mart to get directions. And throwing up several times, which I should have taken as clear evidence that I was in no shape to drive; however, I was also in no shape to think clearly, and when something impairs your judgment, your judgment of your judgement is the first to go. So I thought I was fine.
~~"Well, at first I was thinking of a twelve-step program: Assholes Anonymous. Teach you to socialize like a decent human being. But then I thought, 'That's Radar Hoverlander. If he can't bluff being a decent human being, no one can.' So no rehab for you, Radar. Unlike a ham, you're incurable."
Further Reading: A good overview of how to spot a con artist from the state of Connecticut. https://portal.ct.gov/DOB/Consumer/Co...
Read
March 28, 2018ridiculous book but oh what fun the author has with language and dialog - and plenty entertaining enough to keep me listening -
almost as if he kept a journal entry for each turn of phrase he ever heard that humored, pleased irritated or charmed him and then invented characters to speak the lines and a plot to hang the script off
- whatever the method this writing gave me more than a smile or two !
almost as if he kept a journal entry for each turn of phrase he ever heard that humored, pleased irritated or charmed him and then invented characters to speak the lines and a plot to hang the script off
- whatever the method this writing gave me more than a smile or two !
November 4, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Radar Hoverlander, con artist
RATING: 3.25
Radar Hoverlander has been a con artist since childhood. Even in grade school, he pulled off some elementary snukes (scams or the people who perform them). Now he’s considered one of the experts in the field. Consequently, he is quite surprised when he suspects that someone is pulling a snuke on him. He meets Allie Quinn at a Halloween party, and she effortlessly leads him around by the nose. Radar isn’t sure if she is really that good at the game, or if she is an innocent who just appears to be conning. What he does know is that he can’t get her off his mind, which is something unique in his life. Because of his profession, he has learned not to trust anyone.
Radar’s inept sidekick, Vic Mirplo, believes that Radar is being played. Despite the fact that he thinks Mirplo may be right, Radar agrees to teach Allie’s grandfather the art of the con and puts together a very profitable snuke that the older man will help run. The situation rapidly goes off the rails; before you can say “scam”, everyone is double crossing everyone else. The one good thing is that Radar gets to meet a fellow con artist named William Yuan, and they plan the ultimate snuke, the “California Roll”, which involves manipulation of financial institutions in China.
There’s no doubt that Radar is an expert grifter, but it seems he is a bit off his game. Is it because for the first time in his life he is experiencing love for another person? Or has he reached the point where the schemes and scams just don’t seem all that unique any more? What happens if they are successful at pulling off the California Roll? What is left to accomplish after running one of the biggest snukes ever?
I almost always enjoy books featuring con artists. I love to see them developing ingenious schemes and watching how they play out. Where THE CALIFORNIA ROLL falters is when it moves the focus off the snuke and on to the relationships. Given the cast of characters, we can be pretty sure that everyone is scamming everyone else and that we will be surprised by what is actually happening beneath the surface. Vorhaus engages in a bit too much of swapping allegiances and making us distrust what is going on between the players. The end result is that the snuke becomes secondary.
I would have enjoyed the book more if there had been less focus on the secondary characters and more on the snuke. In particular, I didn’t care for Radar’s partner, Mirplo, who totally betrayed him. When reading a book about a con artist, you expect that the spotlight will be on the con and that you will be beguiled by how it is carried out. The fact that the snuke became almost an afterthought was disappointing.
RATING: 3.25
Radar Hoverlander has been a con artist since childhood. Even in grade school, he pulled off some elementary snukes (scams or the people who perform them). Now he’s considered one of the experts in the field. Consequently, he is quite surprised when he suspects that someone is pulling a snuke on him. He meets Allie Quinn at a Halloween party, and she effortlessly leads him around by the nose. Radar isn’t sure if she is really that good at the game, or if she is an innocent who just appears to be conning. What he does know is that he can’t get her off his mind, which is something unique in his life. Because of his profession, he has learned not to trust anyone.
Radar’s inept sidekick, Vic Mirplo, believes that Radar is being played. Despite the fact that he thinks Mirplo may be right, Radar agrees to teach Allie’s grandfather the art of the con and puts together a very profitable snuke that the older man will help run. The situation rapidly goes off the rails; before you can say “scam”, everyone is double crossing everyone else. The one good thing is that Radar gets to meet a fellow con artist named William Yuan, and they plan the ultimate snuke, the “California Roll”, which involves manipulation of financial institutions in China.
There’s no doubt that Radar is an expert grifter, but it seems he is a bit off his game. Is it because for the first time in his life he is experiencing love for another person? Or has he reached the point where the schemes and scams just don’t seem all that unique any more? What happens if they are successful at pulling off the California Roll? What is left to accomplish after running one of the biggest snukes ever?
I almost always enjoy books featuring con artists. I love to see them developing ingenious schemes and watching how they play out. Where THE CALIFORNIA ROLL falters is when it moves the focus off the snuke and on to the relationships. Given the cast of characters, we can be pretty sure that everyone is scamming everyone else and that we will be surprised by what is actually happening beneath the surface. Vorhaus engages in a bit too much of swapping allegiances and making us distrust what is going on between the players. The end result is that the snuke becomes secondary.
I would have enjoyed the book more if there had been less focus on the secondary characters and more on the snuke. In particular, I didn’t care for Radar’s partner, Mirplo, who totally betrayed him. When reading a book about a con artist, you expect that the spotlight will be on the con and that you will be beguiled by how it is carried out. The fact that the snuke became almost an afterthought was disappointing.
January 19, 2010
Excellent, snappy novel about a L.A. based con artist who gets too wrapped up in his own "snuke." The language is wonderful - lingo and inside puns that sometimes don't catch up with you until the next line. Some passages feel like they should be accompanied by a brushed high hat. Bewilderingly twisted plot, as befits the subject, but not too hard to follow. I'll be looking for more from Vorhaus.
March 21, 2014
Radar Hoverlander makes his living as a con man. But when he meets a beautiful woman who wants him to help her grandfather run a scam, he may be in well over his head. This was a fun caper out of my normal cozy realm. Plenty of twists and some characters I could like even if they weren't normally the bad guys.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
January 3, 2013
Charming for the gift of gab/vocab alone. I liked the first two thirds better than the end but ends are hard. I pulled this off the shelf because I saw the next one in the series: The Albuquerque Turkey. Kinda have to get that one.
Read
September 3, 2016"I don't have much experience with tequila, but I know you've had too much when you go to brush something off your shoulder and it's the floor." That sentence alone is worth the price of the book. John Vorhaus has a way of sucking you in with his twisting story and witty anecdotes.
September 9, 2011
I really loved this book. It was funny and entertaining while also really well written. You can tell the author really loves the English language with all the little-used words he threw around.
November 21, 2022
I actually read the second book in this series several years ago after winning a copy in a Good Reads contest. This inspired me to search for a copy of the first book and I am now starting the series over again.
Grifting is a world unto itself and so is the language used to convey thoughts and intents among other cohorts of the grift.
Very interesting and at the same time twisted, adventurous, and even humorous.
Grifting is a world unto itself and so is the language used to convey thoughts and intents among other cohorts of the grift.
Very interesting and at the same time twisted, adventurous, and even humorous.
November 29, 2018
Grifters!
Want to Read
July 19, 2020elibrary
September 6, 2024
John Vorhaus. Born John Vordello but changed it because people called him John Bordello.
April 27, 2011
that would be a lie, and that is part of the problem with this novel...
Here you have a character based novel about a con man. Now as far as character based novels go, I love them. The focus is really on what is inside the main character's head. The problem is that, the protagonist in this book is a liar. Now, that isn't a bad thing... at first. Afterall, this is a story about a con man, and in the first chapter you are basically told that everything could be a lie, and by the time you are a few chapters in you know that not only that he is a liar, but everyone you meet in this book (potentially) is.
In a lot of regards, this book works from the point of view it is told, and relying heavily on the thoughts of the protagonist, it gets to be fun... for a while. The unfortunate part is that at about halfway through the book the lies start to get old and the twists get to be a bit too much. It almost seems that the author took a little of a good thing and took it a bit too far. It almost feels like the author was trying to see just how confusing he could make the story just to prove he could. That isn't to say that the book is really that confusing. It is mostly an easy read, and the plot isn't too difficult to follow. It is just that there is so many lies in there that you get a bit tired of it. It gets a bit boring. Every character is a liar and it seems like everything that is said is a con.
The author has a lot of great potential, but the book really has too much of that quick hollywood blockbuster type feel to it that could have been backed off. The author could have cut down on the plot and developed a few more aspects of it. As a character study it starts to get a bit too much action towards the end, and it feels like it takes a way just a bit towards the end. The other thing I kind of hated was the ego the author injects by way of the protagonist with respect to vocabulary. Perhaps it is meant only to be part of the protagonists quirks, but the dropping of supposedly "big" words and the reminder of what they mean made me feel like the author wants to either prove he knows how to use a dictionary, which is ridiculous, or he just wants to make the reader feel a little less in an otherwise simply written novel.
A little bit of further development, I would have rated this a 5 start novel. As it is, it is still a fun and quick read. It is quick enough and does have its fun aspects. I just wish that in terms of plot, the story would have been shortened by a few chapters and perhaps the character developed a bit further. In otherwords, a shorter plot with a slower paced read would make a great book. Instead, you have what feels like a glorified script, which is fitting since the author is a screenwriter.
Here you have a character based novel about a con man. Now as far as character based novels go, I love them. The focus is really on what is inside the main character's head. The problem is that, the protagonist in this book is a liar. Now, that isn't a bad thing... at first. Afterall, this is a story about a con man, and in the first chapter you are basically told that everything could be a lie, and by the time you are a few chapters in you know that not only that he is a liar, but everyone you meet in this book (potentially) is.
In a lot of regards, this book works from the point of view it is told, and relying heavily on the thoughts of the protagonist, it gets to be fun... for a while. The unfortunate part is that at about halfway through the book the lies start to get old and the twists get to be a bit too much. It almost seems that the author took a little of a good thing and took it a bit too far. It almost feels like the author was trying to see just how confusing he could make the story just to prove he could. That isn't to say that the book is really that confusing. It is mostly an easy read, and the plot isn't too difficult to follow. It is just that there is so many lies in there that you get a bit tired of it. It gets a bit boring. Every character is a liar and it seems like everything that is said is a con.
The author has a lot of great potential, but the book really has too much of that quick hollywood blockbuster type feel to it that could have been backed off. The author could have cut down on the plot and developed a few more aspects of it. As a character study it starts to get a bit too much action towards the end, and it feels like it takes a way just a bit towards the end. The other thing I kind of hated was the ego the author injects by way of the protagonist with respect to vocabulary. Perhaps it is meant only to be part of the protagonists quirks, but the dropping of supposedly "big" words and the reminder of what they mean made me feel like the author wants to either prove he knows how to use a dictionary, which is ridiculous, or he just wants to make the reader feel a little less in an otherwise simply written novel.
A little bit of further development, I would have rated this a 5 start novel. As it is, it is still a fun and quick read. It is quick enough and does have its fun aspects. I just wish that in terms of plot, the story would have been shortened by a few chapters and perhaps the character developed a bit further. In otherwords, a shorter plot with a slower paced read would make a great book. Instead, you have what feels like a glorified script, which is fitting since the author is a screenwriter.
April 26, 2011
Radar Hoverlander is a grifter- a con artist -and like every grifter, he's seeking his California Roll. Which means to say that he is seeking his one big take that will set him up with sushi for life, and allow him to ride off into the sunset to live a charmed life of hot sands and cold beers. Then he meets up with fellow grifter Allie, and he has to begin to wonder whether he just bit off more than he can chew.
This was a fun and “smart” story. Full of clever dialogue, a twisting plotline, and more new-to-me vocabulary words than I can even mention in this review, I found it to be fresh and engaging.
There’s something likable about Radar Hoverlander. You almost get the feeling that he’s “honorable”, despite him being a con artist. Is there such a thing as an honorable con artist?
Radar finds himself surrounded by his ragtag team of fellow grifters. And grifters always seem to be trying to wind up as the man on top, always trying to outdo one another. And, really, how does a player trust a player not to play them?
Allie had me as stumped as she did Radar, wondering what her game was. You want to believe that she is real, but can you really trust her to be on the up and up?
There are some mild sex scenes, crudity and occasional vulgarity, but all of it is appropriate to the story and the characters involved. There was no real gratuity (other than gratuitous usage of pedantic vocabulary- which I loved!)
There are interesting footnotes in the book, but they are used more parenthetically than in the traditional sense that footnotes are used. The character Radar even has a website in the book that is an actual website used by the author: radarenterprizes.com
This book had so many twist and turns, I thought I may have to file a lawsuit against the author for whiplash! A fun read that I would definitely recommend!
This was a fun and “smart” story. Full of clever dialogue, a twisting plotline, and more new-to-me vocabulary words than I can even mention in this review, I found it to be fresh and engaging.
There’s something likable about Radar Hoverlander. You almost get the feeling that he’s “honorable”, despite him being a con artist. Is there such a thing as an honorable con artist?
Radar finds himself surrounded by his ragtag team of fellow grifters. And grifters always seem to be trying to wind up as the man on top, always trying to outdo one another. And, really, how does a player trust a player not to play them?
Allie had me as stumped as she did Radar, wondering what her game was. You want to believe that she is real, but can you really trust her to be on the up and up?
There are some mild sex scenes, crudity and occasional vulgarity, but all of it is appropriate to the story and the characters involved. There was no real gratuity (other than gratuitous usage of pedantic vocabulary- which I loved!)
There are interesting footnotes in the book, but they are used more parenthetically than in the traditional sense that footnotes are used. The character Radar even has a website in the book that is an actual website used by the author: radarenterprizes.com
This book had so many twist and turns, I thought I may have to file a lawsuit against the author for whiplash! A fun read that I would definitely recommend!
February 18, 2013
For the most part, 'The California Roll' is a fun book as it takes the reader into the heart of the world of grifters. It has a distinct narrator voice (Radar Hoverlander) and his little group of rivals/associates all share the same language. There are also clear points of action in the story. What made it a little less interesting was the slabs of explanation of 'wheres/whats/whyfores' that rob the story of its bright and modern spirit. Some of the resolutions are all-too-easily wrapped up in neat packages of explanation. It almost seemed to me as though this had firstly been written as a treatment for a film and then padded out into a book as I could see a fair measure of strain in describing the end of tale climax, its location and action. I do enjoy books that take me into a world about which I know very little (eg. Doug Danielson's Jake Mortensen series) but sometimes Vorhaus became repetitive. The concept is terrific though and yes, it would make an excellent film as he has managed to make his lying, cheating protagonist likeable.
June 4, 2010
I won an ARC of this book through Crown Publishing Group's Read It Forward program.
The California Roll: A Novel is a very clever novel. It's basically a cross between "The Sting" and "Paper Moon" set in modern-day Los Angeles. There were moments in the first few chapters when I laughed out loud. Sadly, the cleverness wore thin for me about 50 pages in and it never really picked up the momentum. Vorhaus' writing style reminded me a lot of Tom Wolfe's in The Bonfire of the Vanities, which I loved.
This is one case where I suspect my failure to fully enjoy this book was more my state of mind than the quality of the novel. It is a humorous novel and humor is always subjective.
The California Roll: A Novel is a very clever novel. It's basically a cross between "The Sting" and "Paper Moon" set in modern-day Los Angeles. There were moments in the first few chapters when I laughed out loud. Sadly, the cleverness wore thin for me about 50 pages in and it never really picked up the momentum. Vorhaus' writing style reminded me a lot of Tom Wolfe's in The Bonfire of the Vanities, which I loved.
This is one case where I suspect my failure to fully enjoy this book was more my state of mind than the quality of the novel. It is a humorous novel and humor is always subjective.
June 12, 2013
Notes below copied from my notes about the book back in 2010 - the book I read has some traveled, hopefully quite far.
"Hmm... where did I read again that this would be a detective? Nothing to detect, or at least, no one is dead, and no one turns out dead.
What is left to detect is everything around Radar Hoverlander. The master scammer, who is getting paranoid about getting scammed...
Pretty funny, mostly thanks to the language. Lots of nice images painted with the words, but maybe more of them are like the "pornographic memory" that was so many times in this book. I saw last Sunday the old episode of the Simpsons where they open the casino in Springfield, and the pornographic memory was there, a homersimpsonism of years ago.
Something on the last page kind of turned me down (something around one of the "not really"s). But, oh well, other than that, overall enjoyable, and I'll keep my eyes open for the next readers for it... "
"Hmm... where did I read again that this would be a detective? Nothing to detect, or at least, no one is dead, and no one turns out dead.
What is left to detect is everything around Radar Hoverlander. The master scammer, who is getting paranoid about getting scammed...
Pretty funny, mostly thanks to the language. Lots of nice images painted with the words, but maybe more of them are like the "pornographic memory" that was so many times in this book. I saw last Sunday the old episode of the Simpsons where they open the casino in Springfield, and the pornographic memory was there, a homersimpsonism of years ago.
Something on the last page kind of turned me down (something around one of the "not really"s). But, oh well, other than that, overall enjoyable, and I'll keep my eyes open for the next readers for it... "
October 1, 2014
Radar Hoverlander...the main protagonist's name alone tells you this book is going to be entertaining, and it doesn't disappoint. The first line of chapter one provides an instant hook rife with playful conflict. John Vorhaus loves his wordplay, which is clever and witty. The general concept and life of a con man carries an inherent "forbidden fruit" sort of appeal, and the author works this angle expertly from beginning to end. The plot features multiple twists and turns that kept me guessing. As both a reader and an author, I've always most enjoyed stories where the lead character is a do-gooder at heart. While Radar is a con man, he's still a good guy deep down.
Overall, I highly recommend it.
Overall, I highly recommend it.
May 2, 2010
What I learned from this book is that I've been conned a lot..lol.
If you enjoy twists & turns in your reading you've come to the right book. Radar Hoverland is the creme of the crop. Laugh a minute, fun filled romp on the side of ungainly employment. His sidekicks are both for and against him but roll with the punches.
Radar charms, and always manages to make good his escape although at times it's dicey.
Allie, Vic & bad cops(fibbies) and more. They are chained to a tree on a mountain. Fear, laughter, the dark side of fate. It really makes you sit up knowing you've been along for the wild ride.
Run don't walk to your nearest book store to grab this one!!
If you enjoy twists & turns in your reading you've come to the right book. Radar Hoverland is the creme of the crop. Laugh a minute, fun filled romp on the side of ungainly employment. His sidekicks are both for and against him but roll with the punches.
Radar charms, and always manages to make good his escape although at times it's dicey.
Allie, Vic & bad cops(fibbies) and more. They are chained to a tree on a mountain. Fear, laughter, the dark side of fate. It really makes you sit up knowing you've been along for the wild ride.
Run don't walk to your nearest book store to grab this one!!
May 14, 2010
This book was a fast moving, slick romp though the mysterious underworld of grifters and con men. The prose was colorful and convoluted, much like the patter of a street hustler running a game of three card monte- give the subject matter, completely appropriate! I found the book a little hard to get into at first, but gradually got the hang of Radar's speech and thoughts, and found myself just letting go to enjoy the ride. As the novel built to a complicated climax involving double cross on top of double cross, I found myself unable to put the book down. Well written and engaging, this book was a fast and enjoyable read.
March 2, 2011
This is a short novel that has some meat too it. The story is of a con man that gets made by another con artist. And than him and his friend, another con artist, are put through a real flim flam involving another con artist and several law enforcement individuals. I was very surprised by this one as I had no prior knowledge of the author. He writes in a very clear easy to follow style lacing his story throughout with plenty of action and humor. At a total length of just under three hundred pages this one goes by fairly quickly but still leaves the reader feeling as if they have read a story of greater breadth.
August 3, 2011
Although he is likable, he is such a con that you never know who's conning who. And indeed he cons, gets conned, cons back, double crosses, triple crosses. You really never know what's going on. Or who to trust. The girl friend is conning him. Wait, no she isn't. Oh, she's working for the feds. Wait, no she isn't. She's working with another con. Wait, no she isn't. Same with his buddy, Vic. He's in, he's out, he's working with him, he's working against him. Yikes.
I also think there's too much description of the different cons. I really don't need to know all the names, and all the nuances. At the end I didn't even care who was zoomin' who.
I also think there's too much description of the different cons. I really don't need to know all the names, and all the nuances. At the end I didn't even care who was zoomin' who.
June 11, 2010
The California Roll was a romping good read! Hang out with Radar the super witty con artist & the other cast of characters that will be sure to keep you entertained! But wait, there's more! There's so much conning going on, this book is like a roller coaster ride! A twist here, a turn there, another twist here! You won't want to put it down! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this & would definitely love read more from Vorhaus! This is a read that will keep you entertained & laughing til the end!
June 24, 2012
I'm a sucker for a good con -- and who isn't? THE CALIFORNIA ROLL by John Vorhaus is a doozy. Radar Hoverlander has been scamming folks all his life. From the moment he meets Allie Quinn, through, it's not clear whether he's on the snuke or if he's the mook. "Snuke?" "Mook?" No worries! They're both fabricats. Part of the fun is in Vorhaus' colorful bafflegab, which evokes Damon Runyon's colorful characters. The rest is in working through this elaborate con alongside Radar. It's a great ride.
April 27, 2010
This is a fast-moving, highly entertaining story about a con artist and the trouble he gets into when he meets that special girl. There are plenty of plot twists and insights into cons, and the book is a pleasure to read. I hope this is just the first in a series. If you like the Tony Valentine books by James Swain, I think you'll like this one.
June 30, 2011
This was pretty good. Vanity and indestructibility meets paranoia...with a little bit of luck, both good and bad.
Who is the good guy? Who is the bad guy? Who can tell?
It has been awhile since I read this, so that is all I am comfortable saying here.
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Who is the good guy? Who is the bad guy? Who can tell?
It has been awhile since I read this, so that is all I am comfortable saying here.
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
July 12, 2012
This is a light read that can be finished in a few days. I enjoyed the dry humor. Had me laughing out loud many times. The vocabulary was more advanced than the fluff I've been reading recently and I appreciate the challenge of that. I didn't finish the book feeling like I'd been a educated, but I had been sufficiently entertained!!
August 11, 2012
I was a bit disappointed in this one as I read it after the next book in the series, which is much better. I found The Albuquerque Turkey to be much more amusing, mainly because of the development of the Mirplo character. The financial con in this novel was also not as interesting as those in the second book. If you are going to read one of this series, read The Albuquerque Turkey
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