Customer Reviews

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse: A Novel

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Where to begin on a novel whose title is the barest hint of the wonderful weirdness packed inside? Gischler, best known for his excellent crime capers, here breaks new ground. And I do mean new.

Mortimer Tate has spent the end of the world hiding in a mountain cabin. He hasn't seen anyone for nine years. The first three people he does see, he kills. But really, it wasn't his fault.

Thus begins an adrenaline-soaked, wryly satiric journey through the ashes of America, a world peopled by savages and cannibals and struggling barmen, by rebel armies and mad transvestites, and by the enigmatic Joey Armageddon, whose Sassy A-Go-Go Clubs are the beacon of something a little like civilization. The prose is lean and compelling, and behind all the violence and jokes there's a Vonnegut-esque blend of both love-for and desperation-at all the madness of the world -- Mortimer's and ours.

I bought this book (the Kindle e-book edition) because I'm a lemming, sort of.

Amazon strongly recommended it, so it caught my attention. I wasn't familiar with Victor Gischler, but Amazon has recommended some fine books to me in the past. So what the heck!

Just like I don't like to start a book in the middle, I don't like reading a new (to me) author's work without starting at the beginning. So I mentally dog-eared this recommendation and started with Gischler's first book, Gun Monkeys. I could tell before I was even half way through Gun Monkeys that I was an instant Gischler fan. So I quickly bought the Kindle versions of the rest of his books (The Pistol Poets, Suicide Squeeze, Shotgun Opera, and of course Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse: A Novel) so I could read them one after another, just like the chain smoking characters in his other books.

It took me about a month to get through his first four books. They were all good reads, so I didn't want to rush too quickly.

My favorite thing about Go-Go girls was how different it was from the rest of his stories: the settings, the characters, the situation, and the conflicts were all unique to this book. I wouldn't say these aspects were "better" or "worse" than his other books, but they were dissimilar enough that I didn't feel like this was just a retread version of his previous novels.

The set up for the apocalypse was eerily believable. The west coast "big one" was a little bit farfetched to me, but that's only because I live in So Cal and am in total denial of the next big quake (the big quakes in '71 and '94 didn't kill me, so why should the next one?). The chain of events that the big quake set off were totally believable. One thing led to another, and then the world was kaput.

I could totally relate to the protagonist's predicament too. Without going into any details, he missed the nitty-gritty experience of the first years of the post-apocalypse. He seemed to be playing catch up through the rest of the story. He only survived due to his good luck and resolve.

I can only hope that if I live long enough to see the world that he describes, that the JD distillery survives intact and is available as cheaply as it is in Gischler's world. I suppose a regular supply of Diet Coke would be too much to ask for, but I'd find a way to adapt.

So out of a possible five stars I'm definitely giving it a five. If the scale were 1-10, I'd probably give it a nine. Then again, if it were 1-100, I'd give it a 93. So it's no stretch to round up to five.

Now my only disappointment is that I've consumed all of Gischler's books and will have to wait a while for the next one.

CAUTION - THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Let me start by saying that I am a fan of apocalyptic fiction. I love a good tale of the end of the world, whether by disease (The Stand), nuclear war (One Second After), zombies (World War Z), alien invasion (Footfall), cosmic disaster (Lucifer's Hammer), or anything else suitably dire. "Go Go Girls of the Apocalypse" is not exactly one of those tales.

In a nutshell, the story is as follows: after nines years of living alone in the mountains, our hero Mortimer Tate finally ventures out and see what is going on in what's left of the world. He discovers that society is being held loosely together (at least in his neck of the woods) by a string of strip clubs - Joey Armageddon's Sassy-a-Go-Go. Armageddon dollars are the coin of the realm, and by trading a few stockpiled supplies, Mortimer quickly finds himself to be a wealthy man. After acquiring a few traveling companions, he sets out on a quest to locate his ex-wife, who is rumored to be working at another Joey Armageddon's location. What then ensues is a string of close calls, narrow escapes, unlikely reunions, and general mayhem.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. Don't get me wrong, I found the book to be an entertaining, if not fulfilling, read with a new spin on the post-apocalyptic genre. It's not too far fetched to think that man might revert back to his baser nature in an attempt to bring order to an essential lawless and chaotic society. Why not have a Go-Go bar form the basis for a new world order? What I struggled with was the overall direction of the story. Much of the action is driven by Mortimer's desire to locate his ex-wife. Fine - but halfway through the book he has an epiphany and realizes that he has constructed a vision of reuniting with her as a means to add direction and purpose to his foray back in to society. He realizes that his new friends are purpose enough for him - and then still rushes headlong in to certain death to try and find her (and hopefully collect payment of 20,000 Armageddon dollars for his trouble). What the author wants to be seen as an grand final battle ensues, and Mortimer eventually ends up on the beach in Key West with his new friends. I didn't really get a good sense of closure from the story, or feel like the author paid off the premise in the end.

The blurb on the books calls it "part Christopher Moore, part Quentin Tarantino". Unfortunately, the book had neither the same wry wit of Moore, nor the engaging dialogue and rich characters of Tarantino. It would have been a far better read if it had.

It is always funny to read these reviews. Look, not every writer is trying to create the next Odyssey. If you want a fun, exciting book that makes you laugh and when you are done with it you are a little sad the ride is over then this book is for you.

The character development in a book like this is always problematic. Do you "Stephen King" it and spend 200 pages getting to know the characters or jam right into the action? This author does a great job of letting us get to know the characters and care about them THROUGH the action itself. There was never a dull moment here, and I will be very upset if there is not a sequel.

Thanks for it!

It probably looks something like this.

So I'm adding Victor Gischler, a writer as whacked as he is genius, to my short list of candidates of guys you'd most like to have a beer with. Few minds - maybe Charlie Huston's casting of a "vampyre" as a hard boiled enforcer/PI, or the inimitable Duane Swierczynski in off-the-wall bizarros like "Secret Dead Men" or "Severance Package" - could conjure a string of Go Go clubs as the cradle of reborn civilization in post-apocalyptic America, and actually make it work. Well, Gischler's warped brilliance makes it so, and if you don't pick this one up, you'll be missing a slice of new American literature that buries morality and a keen insight of humanity's apex and dregs between the pages of violence, deprivity, and yes, absurdity.

So how to explain "Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse"? Not easy, but as the title implies, the world has been trashed - the mechanism is not important - but suffice to say it's Murphy's Law applied to catastrophe of Brobdingnagian scale. Mortimer Tate, who fled to the Tennessee hills to avoid divorce and, conveniently missing the chaos, comes down from the mountain nine years later to find a world worse than northeastern New Jersey. This is David Brin's "The Postman" with a sardonic edge, or perhaps a more playful version - if "playful" even applies in a world devastated by war, famine, disease - of Cormac McCarthy's magnificently morose "The Road", or a less weighty take on Stephen King's classic, "The Stand." But to try and compare Gischler's black humor to the patriotism, utter despair, and moral redemption found, respectively, in these great works misses the author's tongue-in-cheek insight of our more base human instincts: "Yeah, I realize the world's gone way beyond Hell and we're fresh out of hand baskets - but where can a guy get a drink - and maybe a woman?"

Sure, it's sexist, but it's more - a lot more - more red meat than alfalfa sprouts, and yes, it will likely offend the more gentle and politically correct crowds of Berkeley or Madison. But hey, we're not talking "The Audacity of Hope" here - this is a different brand of fiction - and it will likely not be confused with chick-lit, either. "Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse" may be paradise lost or it may be paradise found, but while Gischler may not be Milton, he sure knows how to spin a yarn that will keep the water cooler crowd in fresh content till his next installment of inspired mayhem hits the shelves. Well done, Mr. G, and nice rebound from "Shotgun Opera".

I don't know where to start with this book. It is everything good you have read about it and then some. The writing is tight and while not sparse it lacks anything superfluous.

It is one of the rare books that I cannot describe or critique very well. The thing is a hilarious adrenalin charged romp. Yet it is really so much more. The ponderings on how we cope with life, divorce, and disaster are brief and stay away from preachy. Yet they remind you subtly of the subtext and themes that run under the plot. Mortimer, Bill, and Sheila feel like they're believable in their world. They also feel like extreme examples of the neurosis of our daily lives.

The author has come up with something rare. Go-Go Girls is a mad dash-pulp- noir-comedy that will keep you addicted with a good plot, good characters, and amazing action. More importantly, maybe, a few times during the book you'll stop and think about how their situation really is a mirror of our own.

There have been some complaints and they are not without merit. The characters do seem a little two-dimensional at times. Plus some of the important things are glossed over, such as the missing pinky. There are a few legitimate gripes but none of them were big enough to detract from the entertainment value. A book with a title like Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse isn't going to be Hemmingway.

What you get is a modern piece of satire. It pokes fun at everything about modern America. Only it does it on the grand scale an apocalypse deserves.

How can you resist a title like 'Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse'. More, how can a book live up to such a title?

Somehow, this book lives up to its name and more. This is a fun post-apocalyptic romp. The world the author creates is both nightmarish and comical (if such a combination exists) and Mort, the protagonist "every man" is both likeable and flawed.

My rating is shy of a full five stars because a novel like this should be big, meaty and epic. This is more of a fun, quick read. But it's well worth picking up.

Caveat: There is some graphic violence and sexuality, so if that's not your bag, you may want to re-think this one. However, the sex and violence is written well enough and fits the situations in the book. I'd say they're pretty necessary to the story.

The story relates the exploits of Mortimer Tate, an insurance salesman who is coming down the mountain after nine years of isolation to see what is left of the world he left behind. In this take on what America would look like after a world wide collapse, the key civilizing force is a chain of strip clubs called Joey Armageddon's Sassy A Go-Go.
It's a great read. This may be a departure from Gischler's usual hard boiled crime stories, but he's far from out of his element. With a plot as active as the lead character, I had to make an effort to stop reading so I could do less significant things like sleep and work. Gischler's treatment of Mortimer makes him very relateable even in the bizarre setting of the post-apocalyptic US. This take on post-apocalyptic society is laced through with multiple layers of wit, satire and Gischler's brand of black humor. If violence and a bit of sexuality don't make your spine go all squidgey, pick this one up for a thoroughly entertaining read.

Author Victor Gischler put together a book that reads like an R-rated Douglas Adams novel complete with Adams' humor, yet at times a bitter accounting of Man's last days on earth. This post-apocalyptic novel has a catchy title for sure, and the hot woman with an assault rifle on the cover would make any red-blooded American want to read this book.

There are so many crazy coincidences and odd happenings that make the world end that you would not fathom it. It breaks the envelope of credulity, for sure. A terrorist nukes Washington and a major earthquake ruptures the west coast and at the same time World War III happens in China, Russia and Europe. Everything goes to hell all at once.

Except for our former insurance salesman and (we think) divorced husband who has been holed up for nine years in a well-stocked cave somewhere in Tennessee, a state that still has some sense of normalcy -- if you don't count the Red Stripe gangs and the slaves on bikes.

Interesting society: One side ruled by The Red Czar, who rules with an iron hand has gathered all the gangs into one large gangland. On the other side we have Johnny Armageddon and his Go Go clubs, that are really nothing more than a "titty & bar" show (which Johnny denies of course).

The book makes interesting premise as to the different kinds of society here -- capitalism on Johnny's side and a military dictatorship on the other. Each plans the others' demise and Mortimer is the pawn that both sides attempt to use to wipe out the other.

At times the story is tedious, especially the relationships between Ann, his former wife, and Mortimer. Also the subplot of slavery, with men riding bicycles to generate electricity was kinda silly -- there were solar panels around and someone was starting to refine oil again -- as was the convoluted war between the two factions towards the end of the book.

It's not a bad book by any means and reads rather quickly, if somewhat violently. A bit of graphic sex and lots and lots of drinking and vomiting ensue between plot points, just to warn ya!

Are we heading to a future where the buck rules and the girls are hot? Read the book and find out!

Other Novels by Victor Gischler:

To the Devil, My Regards
Shotgun Opera
The Deputy

I bought this book for the mere fact the review on the front related it to a Quentin Tarantino film and a Christopher Moore book. Boy were they right!

In a post-apocalyptic world Mortimer wonders down from his 9 year refuge and finds all that he had known in ruins and the new America founded around Joey Armageddons. Who knew that the few things that would remain a mainstay after the apocalypse were alcohol and naked women! Mortimer's time is spent finding his way out of unimaginable situations (Mort ends up naked and tied up more times then I can count!). With the help of a post-apocalyptic cowboy named Bill, they are off to rid America of Joey Armageddon's rival, but things don't turn out as expected.

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse is a fast paced fun filled book. I had a hard time pacing myself and not reading it all in one sitting. Your time and money will be well spent on this one!