Until the Last Dog Dies

by Robert Guffey

What happens when all humor is wiped off the face of the Earth? Around the world, an unusual viral plague is striking the population. The virus attacks only one particular section of the brain. It isn’t fatal, but it results in the victim’s sense of humor being obliterated. No one is immune. Elliot Greeley, a young stand-up comedian starving his way through alternative comedy clubs in Los Angeles, isn’t even certain the virus is real at first. But as the pandemic begins to eat away at the very heart of civilization itself, the virus affects Elliot and his close knit group of comedian friends in increasingly personal ways. What would you consider the end of the world? Until the Last Dog Dies is a sharp, cutting satire, both a clever twist on apocalyptic fiction and a poignant look at the things that make us human.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Humor

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2017

About the author

Robert Guffey is the author of Chameleo a lecturer in the Department of English at California State University – Long Beach. A graduate of the famed Clarion Writers Workshop in Seattle, he is the author of a collection of novellas entitled Spies & Saucers (PS Publishing, 2014). His first book of nonfiction, Cryptoscatology: Conspiracy Theory as Art Form, was published in 2012. He’s written stories and articles for numerous magazines and anthologies, among them Fortean Times, Mysteries, Nameless Magazine, New Dawn, The New York Review of Science Fiction, Paranoia, The Third Alternative, and Video Watchdog Magazine.

Reviews

[Euzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Agh this was frustrating at times.

It's hard to say what this book is

As I've hidden this due to spoilers I assume that if you are reading this you know the basic premise at least. Stand-up comedian in a world where there is a humour virus sweeping the nation.

OK, the first 75% of this didn't seem to care about the actual virus story line much, more trying to set up the contrast of the protagonist before and after. This seemed to consist of a bunch of sub Marc Maron meets angry redditor musings on life and a bunch of genuinely unfunny jokes and schtick. There were also some punk lyrics that could have been written by a 14 yr old emo kid on a particularly bad day.

I know it was written in the first person, but does that explain why every single character speaks with the same voice?

Then the book actually went somewhere, echoing Flowers for Algernon as the virus took hold. At this point I finally realised (maybe wrongly) that the book seemed to be an allegory for modern day society, over political correctness, lack of individuality and a general "spirit". (it did get a tad heavy handed towards the end)

So as a critique on modern society it does work rather well, but takes forever to get there.

Thing is, the main character is an absolute bellend (non Brits feel free to look this up) , really one of the worst whiny, angry, self loathing but egotistical piles of sh¡t I have had to endure. Constantly believing he is funny but really really isn't. Also, there is a difference between being politically incorrect to make a point, and coming across as borderline misogynistic and racist. Simple word choice.

Unless that's the point? Maybe the lack of humour is supposed to make me think I have the virus? hmmm? or maybe the character had the virus all along? That would explain it.

Why did i finish it? The premise was actually interesting. so a star for that

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid 2.75-3.0 - I liked the idea of a virus destroying our capacity for humor & I liked the narrator (a great deal of self-identification there, for better or for worse) but it only gets interesting around the last quarter of the novel; too late to save it from being just OK+.

Our new routine didn't require a stage or a microphone. Comedy isn't just words, syllables, phonemes. It's not just parking meters and airplane food and bad weather and tired punchlines. It's seeing what no one else sees and saying what no one else wants to say (p. 305).

[slowtime · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept waiting for the protagonist to realize that humor virus aside, he was a fundamentally unfunny a-hole, but eventually had to give up. This book would rather I be a punch line than a reader. Hard pass.

[Meera Nair · Rating 1 out of 5]

Robbert Guffey dives right into the field of stand up comedy with his science fiction novel, Until The Last Dog Dies, speculating a future devoid of humour. A virus has infected people's ability to register or respond to humor, thereby threatening Elliot and his friends' profession.

The premise of this novel is a fantastic one! I couldn't have been more excited to read it. But sadly, I didn't finish it. The initial couple of chapters weren't gripping at all and try as I might, I couldn't bring myself to push through till the very end. There were some scenes strung together that didn't make sense to me and Elliot's character didn't help make matters better. All throughout the chapters, his thought process is all over the place and so the narrative digresses multiple times in a confusing manner. The writing style of the author is pretty articulate and does not heavily rely on dialogue. Apart from the writing style, the plot was something I really looked forward to. But when you are unable to connect with any of the characters in a book, it becomes a little difficult to keep reading. 

Perhaps if you do finish reading it, you could let me know your thoughts about the book. But I tried a couple of times to get a grip on it and failed. 

What do you get out of it? Honestly, other than coming to terms with what it's like to be a stand up comedian, I can't highlight any plus-points within the chunk of the book that I read. 

Thank you Ingram Publisher Services and Edelweiss for an e-galley in exchange for a review.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this novel has gotten some unwarrantedly bad reviews based on the prevalence of (very colorful) foul language on the part of the first-person narrator. I usually quit reading a review at that point on the grounds that the reviewer is a pearl-clutching blue-nose prude and it is unlikely that their opinions and mine are going to have any overlap at all.

First of all, let's get a couple of things out of the way:

1. No dogs die in the course of the novel. It's just an offhand reference to something a minor character says having no connection to the plot, which somebody thought might make a snappy title.
2. The novel really is not really about what the publisher's blurb and jacket copy say. Yes, there appears to be some sort of virus which disables peoples' sense of humor, which is an interesting premise, but frankly, not a lot of verbiage is spent on that.

Instead, it's about the hopes, frustrations, fears, and minor triumphs of an up-and-coming standup comedian, and his various relationships -- with his agent, with friends, with various romantic possibilities, with club owners and managers, and various interesting strangers. It's extremely funny (and the over-the-top creative swearing is a large part of that) and it's basically a quirky and darkly comic novel rather than a science-fictional or apocalyptic exploration of what might happen if humans did in fact lose their sense of humor, and it's a manic romp of a read. Recommended.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dumpster. Fire.

This is a fascinating concept (what happens when everybody loses their sense of humor?) poorly executed.

Rather than focusing on the humor virus crisis, this book focuses on drugs, sex, drugs, horrible relationships, drugs, death, violence, and drugs.

Nothing was funny. And I'm not here to police anyone's language, but the use of words like r*tard and f*g were completely and utterly distasteful. There was no need.

Hard pass.

[Deana St. John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. The premise sounded good, it just never really materialized for me in any way that I cared about. The plot was all over the place and I really only cared about the one actual protagonist. The sex, drugs, rock & rock, foul language, just got to be a bit too much of each for me. "Shooting up heroin in his 13 inch member, because he doesn't have any other veins available????"

Good luck with that...
DSJ

[Kristi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is trying to be some sort of deep exploration of the state of human society amid heavy-handed allusions to the 2016 presidential election. In truth, I can't stand anything about what the main character or, apparently, the author, thinks is "comedy". I'm sure that to the author and others like him, that means I'm just a humorless zombie like those infected by the virus in this book. Personally, I think I've got a decent sense of humor, it's just that ableism, racism, sexism, Islamophobia, homophobia, etc. etc., aren't actually funny. Uh oh, guess I'm just too politically correct.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Di Filippo reviews Until the Last Dog Dies by Robert Guffey:

http://locusmag.com/2017/12/paul-di-f...

[Joan D'Arc · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Until the Last Dog Dies, a group of L.A. comics are in the throes of losing their jollies to a modern malady that punches them in the gut and steals their mojo, causing them to turn to alcohol, heroin and even -- gasp! -- love. This is the story of the Los Angeles Apocalypse, the inner edge of the real Apocalypse too recognizable to be fiction. It could even be a story in the L.A. Times, maybe exposing a conspiracy that occurred last summer, while we were all asleep, and we never even knew what hit us. Robert Guffey exposes the conspiracy, which was cracked open by a stand-up comic who was in the position of revelation if only because he was the last guy standing.

It's a rain of frogs and here's the rub: If you could remember a joke, nobody would get it anyway. And then it happens so slowly that nobody sees it coming. I would hope the aliens don't read this book because it's a doozie of an idea!

This book is one of those rare benders you can read in bed on a rainy day and gloat at L.A. and say, "yeah, you LaLa people had it coming anyway." One always hoped the Apocaplyse wouldn't steal the last vestige of humanity we had left -- our funny bone -- and in this story that's the only thing it takes away. Robert Guffey has written a twister here, and I enjoyed the heck out of reading it!

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75-3 stars. I wanted to like this a lot, but it was more “good enough” than “great.”
The first 1/4 or so seems like it’s leading up to an exploration of the disease that destroys humor, but then that storyline appears to be dropped. However, it’s not until near the end when the book ends right after the 2016 election that I realized the story is probably a comment on modern society and that maybe the appearance of dropping the disease storyline was to make the reader experience the disease in some way. The old comic’s musing that he always thought the apocalypse would happen without anyone knowing is going to stick with me, but the story does end on a somewhat hopeful note.

[Kristen Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique

Quite a bit of this book reminded me of John Irving’s style of writing. Totally wild and hilarious scenarios that would unfold over several chapters, getting weirder and weirder they went on, and then they’d cycle back to the original idea just when you’d forgotten it. Entertaining and unique.

[Christina Mahlstedt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I laughed and my husband looked at me not sure what had me giggling. I would say that there are jokes not for the politically correct (then again that's most comedy, right).

I teeter between 3-4 stars; however. It felt like the story was building up and then was rushed through the last few chapters. Overall, the message told through humor made for a good read.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sharp and lively diatribe that almost seems Dadaist, but just when I thought, ah he's lost his way, and was about to put it down, the shape of the story came clear. Smart and funny, and a quick read.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book thinks it is smarter than it is. Humor is a bit too crude, everyone says "retard," the only glbt characters are a pedophile and a gold digger that gets people hooked on heroin. The idea is there though.

[Wade · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sounded good but I could not get in to it. Not for me.

[Tracett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now, I like crass humor and potty talk as much as the next person, but there has at least got to be characters that I like or can identify with. This wasn't the case in my reading and in fact, I skipped the middle of the book and went straight to the end - and I still didn't care about anybody. (I get it, skipping half of the book kind of disqualifies me from having a well rounded judgement.) This clearly is the wrong book for me, but it might be right for you. While the title creeps me out, this does have an awesome cover.

[Nikki]

Disclosure: ARC received from Edelweiss & publisher in exchange for an honest review. (They may regret this.) Any and all quotes were taken from an advanced edition subject to change in the final edition.

[Bethany Kok]

DNF at the 17% point. The idea is interesting, but the white boy protagonist who does crude comedy about his imaginary girlfriend's sex life interspersed with postmodernist dreamscapes is just... no thank you. Neither original nor compelling. "Women as props" is officially my least favorite trope of 2018.