Salty

April 2, 2007
Staking out uncomfortable territory between gonzo humor and something far more serious, this thrill-packed romp from novelist (Moist
; Delicious
) and screenwriter Smith is set primarily in Thailand. While vacationing, unemployed rock star Turk Henry, a recovering sex addict, tries to avoid the temptations of his many fans, a predicament sent up beautifully by Smith. Meanwhile, Turk's wife, Sheila, takes a group tour elephant ride—only to have her party kidnapped by Captain Somporn and his violent band of former narcotics policemen. The novel alternates between explicit sex scenes involving Turk and the fairly severe acts of violence against Sheila and her fellow tourists. As the situation turns deadly, Turk has to rouse himself to save his wife, a challenge that Smith manages to make more meaningful than just one man's waking from a cosseted cocoon. Humor and suspense rub up against each other uneasily throughout, but Smith's writing is sharp, and Turk makes a blundering, contradictory and very compelling lead.

May 1, 2007
Screenwriter and novelist Smith likes exotic settings (Hawaii, Thailand) and one-word titles ("Delicious", "Moist"). There is one word for this farce about a fat alcoholic rock star whose wife is kidnapped by Thai pirates: vulgar. Thailand is the sex vacation capital of the world, and Smith gives a colorful, beer-drenched tour of the five-star resorts and seedy sex bars that fuel the Thai economy. Superstar bass player Turk Henry would willingly pay a million dollars to ransom his supermodel wife, but a bored and unscrupulous American counterterrorism agent who ultimately plans to murder Turk hijacks his money. The plot meanders from one sex scene to the next. Smith keeps it low key, and the narrative, alas, only rises to the level of good erotica once or twice. On further thought, a couple of other words describe this bookcolorful, satirical, and hilarious! Recommended for nonprudes who like a ribald romp.Ken St. Andre, Phoenix P.L.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2007
In Carl Hiaasenlike fashion, Smith exuberantly spins out a busy plot loaded with over-the-top characters while taking a few well-aimed potshots at cultural expectations. Tuck Henry, bassist for a wildly popular but recently disbanded heavy-metal group, finds himself vacationing in Thailand at the urging of his wife. They met in rehab; she was there for cocaine, while he was there for sex addiction. Turk has already decided he is in what his therapist terms a catalytic environment, surrounded by topless, sun-loving tourists on the one side and a bustling Thai sex trade on the other. As he struggles to control himself, he gets word that Sheila has been taken hostage by a pirate, who is asking for $1 million in ransom. Suddenly, Turk is forced to deal with a crisis without benefit of his once numerous handlers. Powered by a sort of all-purpose hedonism, Smith turns his appraising eye on the spicy Thai food and multihued architecture with the same high energy he brings to the numerous debauched sex scenes. Absurd, grotesque, and plain fun reading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)