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Pop Apocalypse: A Darkly Comic Satirical Novel of an Unlikely Hero, an Evil Twin, and Global Chaos
The United States and its Freedom Coalition allies are conducting serial invasions across the globe, including an attack on the anti-capitalist rebels of Northern California. The Middle East—now a single consumerist Caliphate led by Lebanese pop singer Caliph Fred—is in an uproar after an attack on the al-Aqsa Mosque gets televised on the Holy Land Channel. The world is on the brink of a total radioactive, no-survivors war, and humankind's last hope is Eliot R. Vanderthorpe, Jr., celebrity heir, debauched party animal, and Elvis impersonation scholar. But Eliot's got his own problems. His evangelical dad is breeding red heifers in anticipation of the Rapture. Eliot's dissertation is in the toilet. And he has a doppelgänger. An evil doppelgänger.
292 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
11 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Lee Konstantinou
13 books118 followersI've written fiction, criticism, and reviews.
- I wrote the novel Pop Apocalypse (Ecco/HarperPerennial, 2009).
- With Samuel Cohen, I co-edited The Legacy of David Foster Wallace (University of Iowa Press, 2012).
- Cool Characters: Irony and American Fiction was published in 2016 by Harvard University Press.
- The Last Samurai Reread came out from the Rereadings series at Columbia University Press in 2022.
- I co-edited with Georgiana Banita a collection called Artful Breakdowns: The Comics of Art Spiegelman (2023) with the University Press of Mississippi.
I'm working on a new project called “Creator-Owned Comics" which is about the ideal and practice of creator-ownership in the comics world in the 1980s and 1990s.
- I wrote the novel Pop Apocalypse (Ecco/HarperPerennial, 2009).
- With Samuel Cohen, I co-edited The Legacy of David Foster Wallace (University of Iowa Press, 2012).
- Cool Characters: Irony and American Fiction was published in 2016 by Harvard University Press.
- The Last Samurai Reread came out from the Rereadings series at Columbia University Press in 2022.
- I co-edited with Georgiana Banita a collection called Artful Breakdowns: The Comics of Art Spiegelman (2023) with the University Press of Mississippi.
I'm working on a new project called “Creator-Owned Comics" which is about the ideal and practice of creator-ownership in the comics world in the 1980s and 1990s.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
April 7, 2009
The whole notion of "rating" books seems a bit silly to me, but in the interest of naked self-promotion I will make an exception for my own book -- which is naturally perfect in every way.
April 28, 2009
Disclaimer: Lee and I were on panel together at the 2009 L.A. Times Festival of Books.
Pop Apocalypse: A Possible Satire is a highly entertaining shaggy dog story about the confluence of branding and Big Brother in the near future.
Eliot Vanderthorpe, Jr. is the son of multibillionaire who has developed a software program that searches video. Plugging this software into the Total Terror Surveillance System makes everyone instantly searchable in virtually real time. Instead of dwelling on the Big Brother aspects, Konstantinou focuses on consumer applications in a culture that is as celebrity-crazed as our own.
Eliot is a philanderer and all-around lout in the famous-for-being-famous mold. His girlfriend is fed up with him as is his family who are concerned that he’s going to blow it just as his Name goes public. In this particular future, Names are publicly traded entities whose value is determined by one’s Reputation and measured by the number of views generated on the mediasphere. The more popular you are the more valuable you are -- just like high shcool! But with the stakes so high, Eliot's status is anything but secure with millions of viewers who can “smell the red meat, and mediasphere residuals, of a celebrity fuck-up.”
Things get complicated when Eliot, an expert on Elvis impersonators, discovers that he has a doppelganger of his own, only this one wants to destroy the world and Eliot reluctantly sets out to foil the plot.
One of the most compelling characters in Pop Apocalypse (try saying that three times fast in a crowded lecture hall with TV cameras rolling) is Eliot's brother Elijah who is the front man for the Christian punk band Eye for an Eye, which later turns to Turn the Other Cheek, and whose lyrics are riddled with profanity.
Even by the standards of drug-addled playboys, Eliot is unusally vapid. This is undoubtedly intentional but, at times, his struggle for selfhood is less interesting than the story he swims in. That said, Konstantinou's world abounds with fascinating ideas. Warfare is divided into two components: Leviathan Force, which conducts military activities usually associated with war and SysAdmin Force, which manages occupation and reconstruction. Nation states, divided along ideologial lines, collaborate on various conflicts and have media sponsors. Then there's CRAP: Conceptual Rights and Patents Act which replaces all intellectual property, copyright and patent laws and allows the holder to get rich on the media coverage of catastrophic events. The obvious conflict of interest drives the main plot of Pop Apocalypse with hilarious/terrifying implications for us all.
Pop Apocalypse: A Possible Satire is a highly entertaining shaggy dog story about the confluence of branding and Big Brother in the near future.
Eliot Vanderthorpe, Jr. is the son of multibillionaire who has developed a software program that searches video. Plugging this software into the Total Terror Surveillance System makes everyone instantly searchable in virtually real time. Instead of dwelling on the Big Brother aspects, Konstantinou focuses on consumer applications in a culture that is as celebrity-crazed as our own.
Eliot is a philanderer and all-around lout in the famous-for-being-famous mold. His girlfriend is fed up with him as is his family who are concerned that he’s going to blow it just as his Name goes public. In this particular future, Names are publicly traded entities whose value is determined by one’s Reputation and measured by the number of views generated on the mediasphere. The more popular you are the more valuable you are -- just like high shcool! But with the stakes so high, Eliot's status is anything but secure with millions of viewers who can “smell the red meat, and mediasphere residuals, of a celebrity fuck-up.”
Things get complicated when Eliot, an expert on Elvis impersonators, discovers that he has a doppelganger of his own, only this one wants to destroy the world and Eliot reluctantly sets out to foil the plot.
One of the most compelling characters in Pop Apocalypse (try saying that three times fast in a crowded lecture hall with TV cameras rolling) is Eliot's brother Elijah who is the front man for the Christian punk band Eye for an Eye, which later turns to Turn the Other Cheek, and whose lyrics are riddled with profanity.
Even by the standards of drug-addled playboys, Eliot is unusally vapid. This is undoubtedly intentional but, at times, his struggle for selfhood is less interesting than the story he swims in. That said, Konstantinou's world abounds with fascinating ideas. Warfare is divided into two components: Leviathan Force, which conducts military activities usually associated with war and SysAdmin Force, which manages occupation and reconstruction. Nation states, divided along ideologial lines, collaborate on various conflicts and have media sponsors. Then there's CRAP: Conceptual Rights and Patents Act which replaces all intellectual property, copyright and patent laws and allows the holder to get rich on the media coverage of catastrophic events. The obvious conflict of interest drives the main plot of Pop Apocalypse with hilarious/terrifying implications for us all.
![Profile Image for Jeffrey Paris [was Infinite Tasks].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1280795564i%2F4099259._UX200_CR0%2C10%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
January 3, 2011
[Update: A more complete review now available at http://infinitetasks.wordpress.com/20... .] I taught Pop Apocalypse in a First-Year Seminar at the University of San Francisco, on Philosophy and Science Fiction. The students loved it. It's a very funny and engaging read, and highly intelligent. There are some subtle odes to David Foster Wallace, William Gibson, and Alex Shakar, but it is not at all derivative. Lee also attended class to discuss the book in person, and we had a great conversation. Highly recommended as science fiction, post-ironic literature, but mostly as just a roaring good time!
June 16, 2009
This book is hard to describe and as problematic as terminology is I suppose you could call it post-cyberpunk. End times, Nor-Cal secession, reputation trading, media saturation, and all of sorts of interesting goodness pervade this novel. I enjoyed Eliot's struggles and found the whole novel witty. Unlike some reviewers I guess I liked the zaniness and lighthearted tone
November 30, 2009
Pop Apocalypse reads like the treatment for a much bigger, more exciting book. The dystopia-lite setup involves a near future where you can essentially copyright your identity and charge people for its use in any context, aided by a search system that basically can tag an identity based on existing information. They even have a human reputation stock exchange so people can buy shares in a person's standing, fame, and success.
When it comes to books I buy on impulse, it starts with the cover. This book has a wonderful cover, it just jumps out at you. My next step is to read the first page. Not the back, the back is sales pitch. If I don't find their prose comfortable it's a no go, and I'm very picky. THEN I flip to the blurb explaining the story.
So we have solid prose, cool concept, spiffy cover. Should have been smooth sailing. But the protagonist and the plot are both lumps just sitting there letting every other element of the story do all the hard work.
The main character is supposed to come off as an oversexed jack ass son of a billionaire trying to straighten himself out. Unfortunately the author wants to have it both ways, trying to underscore his sexual escapades and misbehavior while trying to get us to relate to his flimsy moral issues. Eliot Vanderthorpe Jr. just comes off as boring, most of the plot arising from his impulsive behavior rather than any interesting growth or decisions.
As for the plot, it involves an doppleganger trying to steal his identity. Yes, all the creativity just oozing off of the setting and we get a plot device so tired it normally only crops up ironically or in soap operas. There's lots of great set up, including a hip hop ruler of the middle east and the possibility that someone can own the rights to the apocalypse, but the way Eliot moves through the story is really uninspired.
This book reminded me pretty readily of Jon Armstrong's "Grey". Both deal with whiny, unlikeable sons of very powerful men, both are set in a near-future dystopia with strong pop culture influences, both are trying to be funny but really only succeeding in being mildly zany, and both feel like awkward novels indicative of an authors who may some day right really amazing fiction.
Yes, he's getting a two for this one, but I'll probably pick up the next one he puts out.
When it comes to books I buy on impulse, it starts with the cover. This book has a wonderful cover, it just jumps out at you. My next step is to read the first page. Not the back, the back is sales pitch. If I don't find their prose comfortable it's a no go, and I'm very picky. THEN I flip to the blurb explaining the story.
So we have solid prose, cool concept, spiffy cover. Should have been smooth sailing. But the protagonist and the plot are both lumps just sitting there letting every other element of the story do all the hard work.
The main character is supposed to come off as an oversexed jack ass son of a billionaire trying to straighten himself out. Unfortunately the author wants to have it both ways, trying to underscore his sexual escapades and misbehavior while trying to get us to relate to his flimsy moral issues. Eliot Vanderthorpe Jr. just comes off as boring, most of the plot arising from his impulsive behavior rather than any interesting growth or decisions.
As for the plot, it involves an doppleganger trying to steal his identity. Yes, all the creativity just oozing off of the setting and we get a plot device so tired it normally only crops up ironically or in soap operas. There's lots of great set up, including a hip hop ruler of the middle east and the possibility that someone can own the rights to the apocalypse, but the way Eliot moves through the story is really uninspired.
This book reminded me pretty readily of Jon Armstrong's "Grey". Both deal with whiny, unlikeable sons of very powerful men, both are set in a near-future dystopia with strong pop culture influences, both are trying to be funny but really only succeeding in being mildly zany, and both feel like awkward novels indicative of an authors who may some day right really amazing fiction.
Yes, he's getting a two for this one, but I'll probably pick up the next one he puts out.
July 27, 2009
This book frightens me by just how realistically it forecasts the future. I could feel the wheels to create this world turning right here and now. It didn't help that at the time I was reading this I was at a wedding that felt at least somewhat peopled by those as vapid and image crazed as the characters in this book. I felt that the chapters leading to the real action of the novel were interesting in themselves, but when the author introduces the plot of the story it seemed a bit abrupt, one moment he's only concerned about getting away from his reality show, the next he's traveling into Riot Zones, risking his life and limbs to discover some strange conspiracy. That is my only real criticism of the novel. It had a lot of really funny moments, a lot of really frightening realizations that this could plausibly be the future, and uh...heart-rending drama that would engross the minds of reality television aficionados everywhere. The beginning starts out a little slowly, the only action seeming to take place elsewhere on television and doesn't seem to affect Eliot (the main character) at all, but the tension keeps growing until it's outside the character's door. His reaction to all of this is also hilarious. My favorite moment is when he gets rescued by the Eliot Vanderthorpe Brigade. Ohmygod!
August 15, 2009
This was a GREAT, quick, FUN AS HELL read...
I actually thought it was more Science Fiction that Satire, but both styles were done with perfection. Lee captures a near-future world with such damn EASE and smoothness. He makes 'the mediasphere' and 'Corporate Branding of the Apocalypse' seem perfectly natural. He has taken elements of current society and 'exponentiated' them so seamlessly, makes it a MUST read for any tech-savvy, hip person who is slightly uncomfortable with what we see developing in technology and media these days.
Some of the futurespeak might drift over the heads of non-Facebook, non-twit, non-connected folk out there (are there any?)...but the way Lee creates this world with minimal explanations is what makes it so REAL and amazing. If he took the time to explain Branding, social networks, de-friending it would KILL the vibe.
Modern sci-fi writers can take some lessons from this man. And hell, the satire is as brilliant and unique as I have ever read ..
Well done sir!
I actually thought it was more Science Fiction that Satire, but both styles were done with perfection. Lee captures a near-future world with such damn EASE and smoothness. He makes 'the mediasphere' and 'Corporate Branding of the Apocalypse' seem perfectly natural. He has taken elements of current society and 'exponentiated' them so seamlessly, makes it a MUST read for any tech-savvy, hip person who is slightly uncomfortable with what we see developing in technology and media these days.
Some of the futurespeak might drift over the heads of non-Facebook, non-twit, non-connected folk out there (are there any?)...but the way Lee creates this world with minimal explanations is what makes it so REAL and amazing. If he took the time to explain Branding, social networks, de-friending it would KILL the vibe.
Modern sci-fi writers can take some lessons from this man. And hell, the satire is as brilliant and unique as I have ever read ..
Well done sir!
June 26, 2009
Imagine a world where video blogging has taken an Orwellian turn.
March 3, 2018
DNF. I could barely get started. I was expecting a dystopian satire, not terrorism and holy wars.
June 17, 2013
The protagonist is spoiled, stupid, entitled little brat. The narrative is not unaware of this, but neither does it utilize this awareness to develop him in any particularly meaningful way. If one was feeling charitable, one could argue that by the end of the book, he is a slightly less terrible person, but any motivation for this seems to come less from anything that happened in the story, and more from a seemingly random epiphany he has early in the narrative that maybe, just maybe, rape isn't actually super cool.
What all of this means, practically, is that the protagonist of the book is extremely unlikable, a fact which is not helped by the fact that I am hard-pressed to think of any active, meaningful decision he made throughout the course of the story. He is basically a less pretentious but more entitled Bella Swan; the only decisions he truly makes for himself are the exceptionally stupid ones that get him into even more trouble--not that he ever suffers largely for these decisions, as someone quickly shows up to rescue him, solve most of his problems, and buy him stuff. Occasionally he has to whine a little bit before all of these things happen, but happen they do. In the end, it feels like we're supposed to be giving him huge props for realizing, along with the fact that rape isn't actually super cool, that the apocalypse would also be, like, bad, and that if you can stop it with minimal inconvenience to yourself, you, like, should.
The world and side characters are nowhere near clever enough to make up for any of this.
What all of this means, practically, is that the protagonist of the book is extremely unlikable, a fact which is not helped by the fact that I am hard-pressed to think of any active, meaningful decision he made throughout the course of the story. He is basically a less pretentious but more entitled Bella Swan; the only decisions he truly makes for himself are the exceptionally stupid ones that get him into even more trouble--not that he ever suffers largely for these decisions, as someone quickly shows up to rescue him, solve most of his problems, and buy him stuff. Occasionally he has to whine a little bit before all of these things happen, but happen they do. In the end, it feels like we're supposed to be giving him huge props for realizing, along with the fact that rape isn't actually super cool, that the apocalypse would also be, like, bad, and that if you can stop it with minimal inconvenience to yourself, you, like, should.
The world and side characters are nowhere near clever enough to make up for any of this.
December 20, 2009
I don't know if "science fiction" is exactly right for this; it calls itself a satire but that doesn't feel 100% right either.
This book is really, really fun; it's zippily written and a quick read and a smart read and just very enjoyable.
I really enjoyed the we're-almost-there-! world of the novel, and Konstantinou has a very easy to read, kinda demotic narrative voice. It's also actually funny, which I find unusual in books that are ostensibly funny, although it got less funny to me as the story progressed.
I was driven reasonably crazy by the protagonist, and that probably held me back from fully engaging the story. In general I actually wasn't 100% sure how much it wanted my engagement in that way: the characters and motivations were given enough (skillful) attention that I felt it did, but then some things (like the protagonist, and the (very fun) outlandish of some of the plot and world constructions) made me feel that it was either deliberately spurning my real emotional connection or that we wanted different things out of the relationship.
But that's too many words of critique about a very, very cool book.
This book is really, really fun; it's zippily written and a quick read and a smart read and just very enjoyable.
I really enjoyed the we're-almost-there-! world of the novel, and Konstantinou has a very easy to read, kinda demotic narrative voice. It's also actually funny, which I find unusual in books that are ostensibly funny, although it got less funny to me as the story progressed.
I was driven reasonably crazy by the protagonist, and that probably held me back from fully engaging the story. In general I actually wasn't 100% sure how much it wanted my engagement in that way: the characters and motivations were given enough (skillful) attention that I felt it did, but then some things (like the protagonist, and the (very fun) outlandish of some of the plot and world constructions) made me feel that it was either deliberately spurning my real emotional connection or that we wanted different things out of the relationship.
But that's too many words of critique about a very, very cool book.
January 23, 2021
I picked up this book because it has apocalypse in the title, and a crazy cover with a cow. Cows and the apocalpse? How could I resist!
Then I read the book jacket. Uh... what? This sounds like some crazy crap. You know, when authors write REALLY bizarre stuff, and they're probably on drugs, and a lot of people like the book even though it's almost impossible for people to follow and it's just a bunch of shit (*coughHunterSThompsoncough*)? That's what it sounds like. Eh.
But I ran out of the type of apocalyptic books I usually read (zombies! explosions! survival!) so I started trying to get into this one.
Hmm... weird, yes, but cleverly so. And with a smart storyline.
I was going to give this 4 stars, but in light of all that I've given 4 stars, I think it's only fair to go with 5 on this. It's really a very amusing, clever, thought-provoking book. Even without zombies. And I think I have a crush on the author now. To write this, you must be a very hilarious person, although also, pretty weird.
Then I read the book jacket. Uh... what? This sounds like some crazy crap. You know, when authors write REALLY bizarre stuff, and they're probably on drugs, and a lot of people like the book even though it's almost impossible for people to follow and it's just a bunch of shit (*coughHunterSThompsoncough*)? That's what it sounds like. Eh.
But I ran out of the type of apocalyptic books I usually read (zombies! explosions! survival!) so I started trying to get into this one.
Hmm... weird, yes, but cleverly so. And with a smart storyline.
I was going to give this 4 stars, but in light of all that I've given 4 stars, I think it's only fair to go with 5 on this. It's really a very amusing, clever, thought-provoking book. Even without zombies. And I think I have a crush on the author now. To write this, you must be a very hilarious person, although also, pretty weird.
July 8, 2009
I gobbled up the first half of this book with pleasure. Konstantinou frontloads his novel with fascinating ideas and delicious satire. The almost casual way we arrive at and embrace a police state is plausible given the rise of social networking. And then the plot kicks in and we realize we don't care much about the lead or his effort to save the world.
Konstantinou's work is frequently brilliant, but he needs to work on his characterization and plotting. Fans of Warren Ellis's "Transmetropolitan" will recognize the future of "Apocalypse." Looking forward to returning to this world in the author's planned sequels.
Konstantinou's work is frequently brilliant, but he needs to work on his characterization and plotting. Fans of Warren Ellis's "Transmetropolitan" will recognize the future of "Apocalypse." Looking forward to returning to this world in the author's planned sequels.
December 7, 2010
How to describe this book? This book is set in the future when the "mediasphere" (internet) rules everything and you can sell shares of your Name and Reputation to earn money. Eliot is a spoiled rich boy who has never had to do anything for himself. His father breeds red heifers waiting for the Rapture, and everyone around him seems to think Armageddon is coming soon. One day Eliot realizes he has a doppelganger in occupied Berkeley CA, and he decides to go talk to the guy assuming he's a crazy fan, but finds out it's actually some crazy plan to replace him. And so slacker Eliot finds himself reluctantly pulled into saving the world, assuming nothing kills him first.
May 17, 2010
This book was an action-packed romp through a frighteningly possible world. It takes place in a near-future, wherein the media has become omnipresent, and people themselves have become commodities. (For example, there is a Reputations Exchange, where one's value is traded like stocks.) I won't give away much of the plot, but I must add that the main character has a doppelganger. An evil doppelganger. Hey, if the book sleeve is allowed to tell you that, then I am. It's worth a read, and not just because I know the author.
October 19, 2009
A very hilarious satire of what we might become in the next 30-or-so years. Imagine the internet evolving into a "big brother" system called the mediasphere, celebrity obsession evolving to the point where reputations are sold and traded like stocks, and the intersection of pop culture and politics has gotten completely tangled (even more than now, if you can believe it). So scary you gotta laugh.
May 18, 2015
This book is a riot, though I am not sure it would appeal to everyone. This liberal, atheist, tree-hugging vegetarian laughed at almost every turn.
The characters are engaging parodies of politicians, evangelicals, rock stars, activists, you name it. The settings extrapolated from our current obsession with being on-line all-the-time and treating everything as a commodity on the open market (even your reputation).
And then there is the impending apocalypse.......
The characters are engaging parodies of politicians, evangelicals, rock stars, activists, you name it. The settings extrapolated from our current obsession with being on-line all-the-time and treating everything as a commodity on the open market (even your reputation).
And then there is the impending apocalypse.......
July 30, 2011
A fun and interesting book even if not all of its initial ideas are really developed. The world that the author Konstantinou creates is an awesome one sure, grand in scope, but the arc of his characters seems less compelling. Pretty good though, and based on it I really think his next one will go even further.
September 16, 2019
I found the first half of this book boring and confusing. It got interesting half way through but soon I found myself getting bored again with all of the unnecessary words. The ending was weird. I feel like reading adult books is not my forte.
Full review here: https://jenjenreviews.wordpress.com/2...
Full review here: https://jenjenreviews.wordpress.com/2...
April 13, 2009
it took about 100 pages before i got interested in anything the characters were doing, so it's a good thing that i'm the kind of person who will stick around for 100 pages. an extra star for occupied, earthquake-shaken, anarchistic san francisco.
December 3, 2009
I would have to elevate Lee Konstantinou to the ranks of William Gibson and Neal Stephenson when it comes to the vivid extrapolation of current ideas into the near future. To say more would ruin the surprise, but I did find myself marvelling at his cleverness more than once.
February 9, 2011
how have I missed so much modern satire? This is definitely lad-lit, but it was fun, funny, and politically interesting. I have to say, it made me far more aware of the Egyptian protests than I would have been. entertaining read, I look forward to more from this author.
May 16, 2009
Too many ideas in this book but I'm interested in what he does next.
July 23, 2009
Doesn't reach its potential in the satire level (guess that's why it is called a "possible satire"), but is occasionally very funny.
August 28, 2009
I didn't finish it. I think the intended audience is young men. It didn't interest me or appeal to me. I guess I was expecting the satire to be more humorous. Maybe it has a great conclusion.
December 26, 2010
Perhaps the most damning book of the facebook age. Solid read.
September 25, 2012
Although his insights into the near-future, particularly in terms of celebrity obsession and religious conflict, are worth reading, they don't overcome the lackluster character and plot development.
June 23, 2014
super unsubtle, but a good message otherwise. Also I wonder how ironic he was about how easy it would be to convert this book to a movie, given it's about how bad commercial culture is
January 3, 2015
ok twinkletoes, you fuck.
Read
January 25, 2016Off the wall and hysterically funny. A little bit too political for me; I don't have the mind for all that, but a very enjoyable read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews