When this was offered as a GoodReads giveaway I had to enter. I've attended a few cons and, written with a lot of wit, a book about cons could be very funny. I didn't win but I got it for my Kindle.

Cobb calls himself a political journalist. He writes for an online news site. He hates his life having to work for an idiot just to get a paycheck. He needs more time to write his own great American novel.
Between time spent at his stupid job, and time spent drinking, he just doesn't have the time, nor More...

Hunter S. Thompson would be proud after reading this masterpiece. A well written journey into the world of "cons" where ppl dressing as their favorite superhero is the norm and child hood hero's can be met. (if you have enough money that is.) the book centers around Cobb a drunken, negative, journalist who didn't want to be bothered with such a lame gig as covering GriffinCon but after a few drinks a few rails of x and a cyber 16th president of the United states his mind will change forever. giv More...

Lost at the Con by Bryan Young is a wild romp through the world of a science fiction convention. It is the story of Cobb, a political journalist who has sold out on his ideals for a steady pay check. Disgusted with his personal and professional life, he is given an assignment he could care less about - covering the science fiction convention Griffin*Con (based on the real life Dragon*Con) in Atlanta. Armed with a pen, a press badge, and a glass of scotch (or any other alcohol handy), Cobb sets o More...

Plot:

A political journalist gets an out-of-left-field assignment: cover a sci-fi convention for his employer, a trashy web tabloid. Under protest, he packs his bags for "GriffinCon" (DragonCon minus the potential for trademark infringement). The main character is a drunk, a raging jerk, and mostly unfamiliar with geek culture. He's got some preconceptions about his fellow attendees: male, overweight, hygiene-challenged, and an axe to grind. As he goes about the convention, judging, belittling, a More...

Bryan Young’s Lost at the Con is a remarkable novel that tells the exploits of Micheal Cobb, a political journalist who is sent to Griffin Con, a sci-fi geek convention filled with characters from our past and new ones from the present. The only thing that can make this weekend bearable for Cobb is the constant stream of alcohol at nearly every corner. From pedophiliac Harry Potter writers, being chased by Space Lincoln and rescuing damsels in distress, he will have bitten off more than he can c More...

Lost at the Con, by Bryan Young, came highly recommended to me. I was interested in the premise, being a sort of border-geek. To give some perspective, it's been awhile since I've read a Star Wars novel, but I had a bookshelf full of them in middle school. I still have a row of Robert Jordan books. Yes, they're generally awful. I have no shame. Anyway, I'd probably enjoy a con.

Lost at the Con is narrated to us by Cobb, a misanthrope "journalist" with a scotch problem. Cobb hates his job. He hate More...

Lost at the Con: What Every Geek Will Want For Their Birthday, IF They Don't Already Have It

Have you ever stayed up late reading a book, only to dream about the book, wake up early and properly slack off so you can finish it? THAT is a 7/8 Sleepless Hours book. Or in book terms: Lost at the Con by Bryan Young. In short, one of the funniest books I've read since Chris Moore's Stupidest Angel with the geek cred of the zombie jamboree in space, Death Troopers. If you have ever been to ComicCon or D More...

To sum up in the first sentence, there were times I was laughing so hard I literally had tears rolling down my cheeks & people around me thought I'd lost my marbles (was reading on a plane).
Imagine, if you will, a political reporter, who knows absolutely nothing about the fandom world, assigned to cover an event like Comic Con or Dragon*Con... really, imagine it - because I think you'll then know why I was laughing so hard.
Young's wit at portraying Cobb (our reporter) is sly too - what appea More...

I picked this up a couple of weeks ago, after realizing that I'd had - but not read - it for months.

That was my mistake.

Lost at the Con is a great story about Michael Cobb, a man who is plunged into a world far removed from anything he's ever known. The story spends most of its time following him over four days as he walks, stumbles, and backs into one bizarre situation after another, while covering a convention for his publication.

Bryan Young has done a wonderful job of bringing his protagonist More...

Cobb is a man lost. Lost professionally, lost emotionally, lost motivationally and lost romantically. Then when his editor sends him on the worst assignment of his existence he finds himself physically lost for a few days in Atlanta. In the human maelstrom of 60's sci fi, pen and paper role playing games, costumes, knuckle dragging jocks, drioids, light sabers, a dead ex president and Hogwarts students Rowling never imagined he finds something very important.

This is a must read for anyone who ha More...

lost at the con is of an out place journalists strange, sex driven, and humorous 3 day adventure to a comic con. I am not sure if I would recommend this book to anyone but found it an interesting read for those who enjoy a rousing and crazed story.

I had a lot of trouble understand the main characters hate for all things in life but this also added a strange view into the life of a character you don't see often.

I also felt the way the 3rd wall was removed and the main character explained every sm More...

Cobb travels to Griffin Con in Atlanta, complaining bitterly inside his head that his journalistic skills are too good for a fantasy/comic book type convention and so is he. Free floating hostility and free flowing alcohol, together with a sense of superiority define Mr. Cobb, pre-Con. Then the Con happens to Cobb, and he will never be the same again. At a Harry Potter slashfic panel, he drunkenly threatens to bring down all the "pederasts." Two pretty girls adopt him and give him a better drug More...

This book reads in a style reminiscent of stream of consciousness, following the author/main character's flow of thoughts. The story flowed extremely well, and I found myself constantly empathizing with the main character, a political columnist forced to cover a geek convention against his will. The book follows his journey through the convention, including the columns he submits to his spiteful editor.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys conventions, stories of self-discovery and r More...

Cobb is a jerk, a completely unlikeable self-proclaimed asshole, yet he did odd things that kept me guessing about him. Full of priceless scenes and numerous geek-specific references, Bryan Young nonetheless presents a believable 'noob' of the whole sci-fi/fantasy/cosplay convention phenomenon.

Cons (no pun intended) were a few formatting issues when the character submitted his 'reports' and a couple of typos, but nothing to truly jerk one out of the reader experience. The last half somewhat chu More...

[Full disclosure: I know Bryan Young personally.]

Lost at the Con is, in many ways, a geek homage to Thompson's _Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_. So I should probably start by saying that I thought that _Fear and Loathing..._ was, at best, okay.

The main problem I have with this book is the same problem I had with Thompson's : I didn't like the protagonist. They aren't people I choose to be around - and would probably be people I'd actively avoid, if at all possible. However, I liked this book qui More...

My first thought when I initially started reading this book: "Hunter S. Thompson traipses the Geek side of Americana." Especially in the case of the Space Lincoln character, which could've come right out of the drug-fueled, paranoid ramblings of Fear & Loathing if Thompson had garnished it with a wedge of geekdom. My second thought: "This shit is hilarious...and completely relatable whether you're a geek or not."

The main antagonist, Cobb, a journalist and an unreliable drunk of a narrator, More...

This story made me laugh out loud. As someone who has attended Dragon*con (the obvious inspiration for the setting) for many years, I easily related to the situations that Cobb found himself in.

His lack of knowledge of fandom and the passion that geeks display makes this tale easily accessible to non-geeks, but those in the know will get all the various pop culture references.

I plan on reading it again. It's hilarious.

Fans of Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter . . . EVERYONE should read Lost a More...

i thought this book was excellent. poor michael cobb is lost literally and figuratively, but eventually finds his way and himself. i was kinda disappointed when it ended; i want more. my only issue is the book wasn't well proofread. typographical and grammatical errors are here and there, but not so excessive to obscure the story. if you're looking for a quick, summer read involving drunks and nerds, this is a must :)

Thank you, Mediocre Show. I heard about this on their show, that it was being given away as a free promo on the kindle & snagged it before that offer expired. And just started reading it. It's a story on Griffin Con in Atlanta and a drunk Reporter sent to cover it as punishment by his editor.

I found it a funny read in a Gonzo-journalist way.

While it was an easy read, and mostly enjoyable, I found it difficult to ever like the main character. Also, I felt like at times the main character didn't act the way a normal person would which made him seem more of a caricature than anything else.

If you like conventions, especially Dragon*Con, it might be worth reading.

If you haven't read it yet... what are you waiting for? This is the perfect book for any fun-loving geek. Even if you're not a geek, it's a great read. It's funny and smart and by the end, you are left hopeful because if someone like Cobb can come to the conclusions he comes to at the end, then anyone can. Get now!

A look in the introspective and phobia of what a "normal" person into immersion of geekdom in their own environment. Here's my full review of what I thought of it at my blog. But if you want the short of it, it was pretty damn good.

I was looking forward to a fun book about an outsider going to a "Con."
Instead I got a character was not only unlikable but nasty to almost everyone he meets. All while talking down to the crowd he is writing about.
Why alienate your core audience??

Hilarious. Lost at the Con is about a drunk political journalist who's sent to cover a sci-fi convention. Something he's totally clueless about. An easy, humorous, read for anyone! But especially for those involved in con community.

This books was hilarious. I loved it soooooo much.

This is one hell of a surprising book - it's so noteworthy I'd probably blog about it. Will add the link once I do get around to writing about it. :-)

A pretty enjoyable read. Think Fear and Loathing at Comic-Con.

I got this book a while ago after I first got a Kindle. A friend had told me about it around last year's Dragon*Con and I put it on my Wish List. So I figured that I'd read it during Dragon*Con this year.

It sucked. The only thing that saved this book a little was how I knew EXACTLY where he was talking about a lot of the time and that was cool to me. And Sylvester was kind of awesome. But I hated Cobb. I didn't care about him and wanted him to diaf already. So there's that. I don't recommend th More...

Please see my blog for my review of this book - http://browncoatmom.blogspot.com/2011...