Most artists are trying to say something about the human condition. John Hodgman just happens to be the only one who does it by putting you through seven hundred names of the ancient and unspeakable ones and then telling a story about the Headless Body of the Nug-Shohab that is somehow terribly sad.

That's the thing that I really love about Hodgman's work. I come for the humor but I stay for the secret chocolatey center of sincerity. I saw him on stage last night (which is what reminded me I hadn't posted a review of this book) and there were a lot of funny jokes, but honestly my favorite part was when he took forever telling some stories about going back to visit the campus of Yale. He's an innovative storyteller who knows when to stop innovating and just say some simple true thing.

This book may or may not merit five stars on some mythical objective scale, but the entirety of Hodgman's trilogy, taken in concert with the Daily Show spots and the computer ads and the live shows--this whole oeuvre is one of my favorite things to come out of pop culture since I've been aware pop culture existed. I'm sad that Ragnarok has brought us to the end of this particular arc, but I can't wait to see what he does next.