Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

By Patton Oswalt

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland - Patton Oswalt
  • Release Date: 2011-01-04
  • Genre: Humor
Score: 4
4
From 241 Ratings

Description

Prepare yourself for a journey through the world of Patton Oswalt, one of the most creative, insightful, and hysterical voices on the entertain­ment scene today. Widely known for his roles in the films Big Fan and Ratatouille, as well as the television hit The King of Queens, Patton Oswalt—a staple of Comedy Central—has been amusing audiences for decades. Now, with Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, he offers a fascinating look into his most unusual, and lovable, mindscape.

Oswalt combines memoir with uproarious humor, from snow forts to Dungeons & Dragons to gifts from Grandma that had to be explained. He remem­bers his teen summers spent working in a movie Cineplex and his early years doing stand-up. Readers are also treated to several graphic elements, includ­ing a vampire tale for the rest of us and some greeting cards with a special touch. Then there’s the book’s centerpiece, which posits that before all young creative minds have anything to write about, they will home in on one of three story lines: zom­bies, spaceships, or wastelands.

Oswalt chose wastelands, and ever since he has been mining our society’s wasteland for perversion and excess, pop culture and fatty foods, indie rock and single-malt scotch. Zombie Spaceship Wasteland is an inventive account of the evolution of Patton Oswalt’s wildly insightful worldview, sure to indulge his legion of fans and lure many new admirers to his very entertaining “wasteland.”

Reviews

  • All Patton.

    4
    By bghokie13
    If you like Patton, you will likely enjoy this. His stories of his suburban childhood ring true--except I got to see all of those cool punk bands in my suburban hell. The stories will make you laugh and wince. While not everything interesting ... Most of it was worth the price of admission. Hell, if you don't find his stories of headlining in Canada funny, you don't know from funny!!
  • Meh

    2
    By Dave the dust
    I love David Cross. He's a brilliant comedian. Just because a comedian writes a book, no one should expect that it be 300 pages of stage material. On the other hand when you're a comedian, chances are your fans are going to buy it with a certain level of expectation. I haven't made it through half the book and I read less and less every night. I'm pretty disappointed. I'll just stick to his stand up performances.
  • Excellent

    5
    By King James the 4th
    Laughed so hard I broke a rib, not joking.
  • Brilliant....

    5
    By B.Guz
    so buy it!
  • Poignant and Funny

    4
    By Snockin Great
    ZSW is less a coherent book and more of a collection of essays. Patton ruminates on his failures and successes, his epiphanies and failures in a way that is both funny, and also reflective/sad. Because of this the book may not live up to what one thinks when picking it up, I was personally aiming for more comedy, but the moments of reflection are a welcome treat. Oswalt showcases his writing skill often and with ease, a good book with unexpected emotion.
  • Don't try so hard

    2
    By CraigStevens
    Oswalt has a wonderful talent for words. And he knows it obviously but perhaps he is worried that his readers won't agree. The authors beautiful craftsmanship of words and tone are right and true but if only they were laid down in more of a subtle tone. The reader grasps this hope almost immediately while reading Zombie, Spaceship,Wasteland. As Patton won't give the reader a moments rest from the realization that his prose is so well manicured...so perfect. And so the reader becomes trapped in a world that is not his own and yet surrounded by beauty of language perfected. But when compared to the realities of the reader's real life sense of platitudes, Patton's work comes off as over the top and unrelatable in a very calculated sort of way.
  • Read this book

    5
    By E Gunnar Mortensen
    This book was surprisingly poignant and entertaining. I feel like I learned a lot but don't trust that what I learned was true. -Gunnar
  • Definitely for a fan

    4
    By OneDogBarking
    Although I found this book amazingly hilarious, I don't recommend this to ANYONE looking for a joke book or a transcript of a comedy central special. Great, interesting piece of work but much shorter than I was hoping for. Literally a 1 hour read through.
  • Genius.....

    5
    By Indy's Dad
    As expected. Thanks Patton.