Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

A Book by Patton Oswalt

By: Patton Oswalt

Narrated by: Patton Oswalt

Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

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.”

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2011 Simon & Schuster (P)2011 Lord Loudoun, Inc

Critic reviews

"Patton Oswalt is a brilliant rarity; a relentlessly creative and original comic who is also a superb writer. If you don’t buy this book you are a fool and I will, I swear, fight you.” (Conan O’Brien)

Fans of Patton Oswalt’s standup comedy have always known he was a born writer at heart, and now here’s the proof. This is a surprisingly affecting, sincere and daresay vulnerable collection of essays, all keenly observed, always very funny.” (Dave Eggers)

“Perfect—I can describe Patton’s book the same way I describe his stand up—brilliant and prolific, I am slackjawed, amazed, and left feeling both inspired and fraudulent.” (Sarah Silverman)

“Patton Oswalt is among the funniest on-stage talking humans I am aware of, so it annoys me deeply that he is also an incredibly talented writer. It annoys me, but it does not surprise me. Every sentence in this book is funny (except for the sad ones), but it also brims with Oswalt-ian smarts and surprising poignancy.” (John Hodgman)

An interesting peek into the mind of Oswalt

If you could sum up Zombie Spaceship Wasteland in three words, what would they be?

Funny, real, unique

What other book might you compare Zombie Spaceship Wasteland to and why?

None. This is strictly Patton Oswalt.

Which scene was your favorite?

I like when he discussess his memories of working in a movie theater,

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were several moment when I laughed out loud.

Any additional comments?

Patton Oswalt is incredibly funny and very intelligent. If you like his comedy you will like this book. If you don't like him don't buy this book. If you are a fan realize that while he is reading the book this is not standup. This is an often funny, real look at the life and thoughts of the mind of the author.

Patton on a strange and beautiful rant

Odd, insightful, funny. Some killer bits, and some strange rabbit hole looks into his mind.

Great anecdotes but bizarre pieces placed in.

loved the annectodes and stories that were shared but a few really bizarre chunks put in here and there that were a bit nonsensical.

Gives me crackers

This book injected my subcutaneous tissues with a viscous glowing alkaline buffer derived from a mixture of isoproterenol and rabies antibodies collected from bat carcasses. And peanut butter.

Hilarious, inspired and profoundly simple

I am a young actor and comedian, and so much of what Patton speaks to strikes a deeper chord with the artistic community. If you are a comedian, listen to this book, and realize that what we are doing is difficult, and that to get to the best of that, you have to find the humor in your life and hammer it out past the bad stuff.

Hilarious.

Like a young god

Where does Zombie Spaceship Wasteland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Easily one of the best all around. Comedians are uniquely privileged in being able to take pretty much absolute control of their own readings, and Patton makes the most of it. Granted you have to refer to a PDF here and there, but that's more than made up for by things like a series of fully-orchestrated hobo ditties and a cavalcade of silly, silly accents.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Zombie Spaceship Wasteland?

The whole Zombie/Spaceship/Wasteland thing is a stunner, but going by what I remember most vividly, the bit where he described getting loaded with his underage buddies while plinking the (semi-willing) local skate-rats with pilfered airsoft guns was the standout scene for me.

Have you listened to any of Patton Oswalt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

All I can compare it to is his stand-up, but it's as good as that, the only major difference being the format let's him get away with (slightly) more conceptual humor than the usual live show might be able to support.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Definitely teared up here and there, again, see the titular chapter.

Any additional comments?

Pure gold for fans, comedy nerds and geeks in general, but also contains some fairly substantial nuggets for those more interested in the nuts and bolts of creative synthesis.

Quirky humour

I really enjoyed this book. Oswalt's style of narration is reminiscent of Anthony Bourdain's writing. His stories are offbeat and my kind of humour.

Well...

I didnt fully get it, and it rambled at times. I'll be damned if I didnt enjoy it, it provoked alot of "what do I want"/ "where am I going in life" kind of thinking.

A little short, but great

What did you love best about Zombie Spaceship Wasteland?

There's some great extras in the audiobook not in the print copy. Oswalt frequently makes asides. Michael Stipe from REM does some of the reading. Also the songs in the "Songs for Hobos" chapter are recorded with music.

What did you like best about this story?

Songs for Hobos

Have you listened to any of Patton Oswalt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I love his stand up, and this book is just as funny as he is on stage. He's not pressured to appease an audience here though, so he's able to get more in depth with certain things. He' s a very talented writer

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and I did.

Any additional comments?

It was a little short. I wanted more.

interesting

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If you want to shut your brain off and just enjoy the amazingness that is Patton Oswalt, read this book.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The best thing about this book is also the most frustrating, it is about nothing.

What about Patton Oswalt’s performance did you like?

If you don't like ANY performance by Patton Oswalt you have issues.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Only if it were animated