When it comes to a road trip filled with quirky escapades and misbehavior, Joe’s Odyssey from author Nick LaTorre definitely impresses. Fueled by testosterone, the overall narrative refreshes the college road trip genre by taking readers into an action-packed story with a quartet of hedonistic, pleasure-seeking friends, including open ocean adventures, world travel, mobsters, hitmen and college prankster antics.

Frustrated and haunted by middle-aged Joe Kerson, life in general has him in a bad place, in perspective. You find yourself trapped working for a company in a job with no room to advance and a boss who is deeply bothered by it. He is also deeply unhappy with his marriage, no longer wanting to be intimate with his wife, as well as frustrated with the stressful financial needs of caring for teenage children. As an escape, he finds solace in alcohol and his wailing at the bar he frequents.

However, on one crucial and fateful day, Joe’s boss comes to him with a special task to meet a potential new client, Luciano Galdonchino, (a well-known mobster) on his yacht. Initially without enthusiasm, Joe meets Luciano and, witnessing some of 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 thus sets off on the adventure of his life on the stolen yacht in the open sea. However, Joe does not choose to do this excursion alone; He is in a group of three college friends who also know his sons, known as Schmorde, Ron, Pirate, and Brute. Along with this mix of bizarre and immature characters, he embarks on a journey into all-encompassing chaos, danger, sex, drugs, and youthful behavior, making stops in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Jamaica. Having no regrets, Joe easily maintains the affair for months leaving his family and his old life behind while occasionally sending a nasty letter to his wife.

Meanwhile, mob boss Luciano and the League of International Gangsters are following his travels and tribulations as he and his fellow mobsters seek to stop the madness, take back the yacht, and kill Joe, the perpetrator. Ultimately, it’s a raucous adventure that unfolds filled with laughable, chaotic, and dangerous moments.

All in all, this is completely a story that can entertain many men, whether in the midst of a midlife crisis or just as older partiers. Ultimately, Joe’s Odyssey turns out to be a fantastic read that is very reminiscent of the National Lampoons Animal House with its high level of immaturity, antics, and stereotypes implicit throughout the narrative. Also within the story there are frequent reflections made by the storyteller, often leaving the topics open for later discussion. Totally, this is the book to read if you like superficial characters on a chaotic excursion.