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Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
We're All Slaves Of History, In Sprawling Dystopian Novel

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Nudemanatee
12/11/08

In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
Well, I recently read "Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse," and I found it wildly entertaining. A great read, and a humurous look at the horrible world of I-75 after the apocalypse. Frankly, I'm disappointed it isn't mentioned here, unless iO9 is planning a major 7 day series of posts just to laud this work of Victor Gischler. Of course, others might find it crap.
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Charlie Jane Anders
12/11/08

@Nudemanatee: @AbramWachter: Hmmm... a shocking oversight to be sure. I missed reading that book (though I had heard of it) and forgot to include it. Thanks for mentioning it though!
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Pope John Peeps II
12/10/08

In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
1) A new literary sub-genre is being born today, while you nap at your desk.

2) To be sure, there have been funny books about the apocalypse forever.

Just thought I'd point that out. In grad school, you'd get the red pen, and a couple of red pen exclamation points.
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Charlie Jane Anders
12/11/08

@Pope John Peeps II: Nope, the "To be sure" graf is a time-honored journalistic escape clause. It means "yes, there is evidence against the point I'm making here. I will now list it, and then go on to ignore it for the rest of the article."

In any case, say there were two funny post-apocalyptic books in the past decade. And now there are two at the same time, and they're both getting a lot of buzz. Doesn't that seem like it's more of a subgenre now, and less a collection of flukes?
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Pope John Peeps II
12/11/08

@Charlie Jane Anders: "Journalistic escape clauses" are one of the reasons journalists don't make great essayists. It just sounds like your hedging a bad bet, and trying to cover all your angles without making an opinion.

If a couple of books of the same theme existed before, it seems like the genre existed before, regardless of the frequency of the occurrence.
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Charlie Jane Anders
12/11/08

@Pope John Peeps II: actually, the "to be sure" paragraph is a staple of essayists as well, I think. In any case, I'm sticking to my guns. Two books in a decade don't make something a genre, but when you start seeing more of them sprout up at the same time, it looks more like one.
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phoghat
12/10/08

In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
Rogues will survive because they're better equipped to.
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Rasselas
12/10/08

@phoghat: Unfotunately, I suspect that an examination of history would teach us that the most numerous survivors of any apocalypse are conformists, bullies and sneaks.
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tetracycloide
12/11/08

@Rasselas: that's certainly what fallout taught me
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Dormouse: Corporate Tool
12/10/08

In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
Is Liberation good?

I need shit to read over Christmas break.
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Charlie Jane Anders
12/10/08

@Dormouse II: The Wrath of Gryphon: I liked it a lot... with one or two minor reservations. You can read my review here: [io9.com]
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Grey_Area
12/10/08

@Charlie Jane Anders: I generally approve of Charlie's taste in books but I couldn't stand it. It does have a few fine qualities but the long rambling druggie slam poetry sequences really got on my nerves. And I usually like that gonzo Pynchonesque $h!t.

Re-reading Jay Lake's Trial of Flowers at the moment and looking forward to the sequel coming out next week. Super-weird "Urban Fantasy" with creepy mystics, decadent fops, and SEX DWARVES.

All a matter of personal taste, of course.

And now my work here is done, Drunken Book Reviewer Awaaayy!
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Dormouse: Corporate Tool
12/10/08

@Charlie Jane Anders:

Oh yeah, I forgot about that review. I guess I'll give it a try.

Is it the fun kind of satire, or the depressing kind? The cover and subtitle look fun, but the slavery shit sounds depressing.
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Charlie Jane Anders
12/10/08

@Dormouse II: The Wrath of Gryphon: I'd say it's mostly fun, but with a depressing undertone... there's a decent amount of assassin duels and zany set pieces. It really is true that some of the long passages where there's a party and somebody plays blues music and everybody dances are crying out to be skimmed. You get the feeling Slattery really likes parties.
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PeterFloyd
12/10/08

In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
You might also take a look at The Apocalypse Reader, an anthology of new and selected short fiction about the end of the world, which I edited, and which came out last year from Thunder's Mouth. There are a number of stories that fit in with the trend you're describing. A story called "Fraise Menthe et Poivre 1979" by a guy named Jared Hohl, is the best example of what you're talking about, but also check out Shelley Jackson's "The Hook" and Brian Evenson's "An Accounting." Plus, the rest of the book isn't bad either. Sorry to be such a commercial, but I just think/hope you might get a kick out of it.
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Charlie Jane Anders
12/11/08

@PeterFloyd: I will definitely go track that down. It sounds great!
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