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The Last Commercial Ever
The whole world was watching. Thirty seconds later, the world was never the same.
After finally achieving his dream of writing a Super Bowl commercial, a young ad guy's success turns into a nightmare when a shadowy organization inserts a message into the commercial that causes fatal seizures in anyone that watches it. Now, he must traverse an apocalyptic version of America to save his girlfriend.
The Last Commercial Ever is a fast-paced, dystopian story with compelling characters and plenty of action.
After finally achieving his dream of writing a Super Bowl commercial, a young ad guy's success turns into a nightmare when a shadowy organization inserts a message into the commercial that causes fatal seizures in anyone that watches it. Now, he must traverse an apocalyptic version of America to save his girlfriend.
The Last Commercial Ever is a fast-paced, dystopian story with compelling characters and plenty of action.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 20, 2022
32 people are currently reading
571 people want to read
About the author
George Ellis
5 books32 followersGeorge Ellis lives in Austin, where he writes fantasy and science fiction books at night and runs an advertising agency by day. In addition to novels, he writes screenplays, viral videos and Internet memes.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 7, 2022
The Last Commercial Ever is a clever take on an “end of the world” scenario set in motion by a successful television commercial that is aired during the Super Bowl—a commercial, designed by ad gurus Kip and Kelly, that is both light-hearted and well-executed. Before it is set to actually air, however, it is hacked by domestic terrorists and embedded with a series of visual patterns and images that cause fatal seizures. In the blink of an eye, millions die as they engage in the time honored tradition of paying homage to those expensive 30 to 60 second halftime advertising spots that have, in the past, been a source of great entertainment. The aftermath is brutal, the retelling of which takes up the lion’s share of the book.
Author George Ellis is a gifted writer. In this genre of post apocalyptic lit, finding an author like Ellis who can string together a coherent story without a plethora of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and typos has become like finding unicorn tears. Additionally, the book itself is well structured, believable and contains enough action to maintain reader interest. In spite of these strengths, however, there were weaknesses profound enough to cost a few stars in the rating process.
First, Ellis is clearly a man who prefers breadth over depth. The number of intersecting and parallel plots is unwieldy—a flaw reinforced by the absolutely inordinate number of characters, none of whom is ever fully developed. Instead, they are formulaically introduced, engage in some activity that may or may not further the plot, and then are rotated out to allow for the next character/set of characters to appear and repeat the process. This constant revolving door was at times disorienting and made it difficult to develop empathy or sympathy for any of the lot. The moment one is swept up in the story unfolding, the perspective is changed. Although some of the story lines intersect, there are others that simply run along a parallel set of tracks. I found myself wishing that Ellis had stuck to just the story of Kip and Kelly instead of allowing for huge periods of time to elapse before returning to them.
My second issue here is again with the characters, but this time it’s for the obvious attempt by the author to appear “woke”. The story has a gay character, a character that is a POC, a widower, a badass beautiful girl and a nerdy guy with self-esteem issues. There are young characters, old characters, educated characters, ignorant characters, and the list goes on. In the end, it felt forced and as if Ellis was inventing scenarios to allow him to include a “United Nations” cast instead of allowing the characters to grow organically from a strong storyline.
Three stars for the unique approach.
Author George Ellis is a gifted writer. In this genre of post apocalyptic lit, finding an author like Ellis who can string together a coherent story without a plethora of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and typos has become like finding unicorn tears. Additionally, the book itself is well structured, believable and contains enough action to maintain reader interest. In spite of these strengths, however, there were weaknesses profound enough to cost a few stars in the rating process.
First, Ellis is clearly a man who prefers breadth over depth. The number of intersecting and parallel plots is unwieldy—a flaw reinforced by the absolutely inordinate number of characters, none of whom is ever fully developed. Instead, they are formulaically introduced, engage in some activity that may or may not further the plot, and then are rotated out to allow for the next character/set of characters to appear and repeat the process. This constant revolving door was at times disorienting and made it difficult to develop empathy or sympathy for any of the lot. The moment one is swept up in the story unfolding, the perspective is changed. Although some of the story lines intersect, there are others that simply run along a parallel set of tracks. I found myself wishing that Ellis had stuck to just the story of Kip and Kelly instead of allowing for huge periods of time to elapse before returning to them.
My second issue here is again with the characters, but this time it’s for the obvious attempt by the author to appear “woke”. The story has a gay character, a character that is a POC, a widower, a badass beautiful girl and a nerdy guy with self-esteem issues. There are young characters, old characters, educated characters, ignorant characters, and the list goes on. In the end, it felt forced and as if Ellis was inventing scenarios to allow him to include a “United Nations” cast instead of allowing the characters to grow organically from a strong storyline.
Three stars for the unique approach.
December 30, 2022
I won this title in a Goodreads Giveaway and it was surprisingly good! I had a hard time keeping up with all the different characters, but other than that, the book read like a movie. Lots of action in the 2nd half. Not so much horror as a thriller, but I enjoyed it.
June 11, 2022
I loved this book. The premise seemed well-thought through. There were a couple scenes that were maybe a little hurried, but I prefer that to a book that drags on!
The characters were extremely interesting and I loved how the different plots interacted with each other. Several parts of this book reminded me of Stephen King (Cell, The Stand) in a really good way.
This was a very enjoyable story and really had me on pins and needles. I was not expecting the ending!
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway (not sure if I have to say that but just to be safe).
The characters were extremely interesting and I loved how the different plots interacted with each other. Several parts of this book reminded me of Stephen King (Cell, The Stand) in a really good way.
This was a very enjoyable story and really had me on pins and needles. I was not expecting the ending!
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway (not sure if I have to say that but just to be safe).
May 25, 2022
This was a GoodReads giveaway of a Kindle ebook.
A captivating story. Starts very much in the same vein as Stephen King's The Stand or Cell, but much less wordy and very much less gruesome. There are a lot of characters running parallel to each other, but not a lot of character development. Makes it hard to really root for anyone in particular or to really develop a hatred for any of the villains. I would have liked this book to have at least one incident that moved me emotionally. But overall, I really liked this story.
The cover art belied the actual tone of the book. Not that it did not reflect the author's personality, but I assume it would have been more of a comic tone.
This was a GoodReads.
A captivating story. Starts very much in the same vein as Stephen King's The Stand or Cell, but much less wordy and very much less gruesome. There are a lot of characters running parallel to each other, but not a lot of character development. Makes it hard to really root for anyone in particular or to really develop a hatred for any of the villains. I would have liked this book to have at least one incident that moved me emotionally. But overall, I really liked this story.
The cover art belied the actual tone of the book. Not that it did not reflect the author's personality, but I assume it would have been more of a comic tone.
This was a GoodReads.
May 20, 2023
It is rather fitting that the vast majority of humanity is wiped out by ads and viral videos in this dystopian tale.
Kip is an ad guy who, along with Kelly (his coworker & kinda girlfriend), who created the ad that started the downfall of society. An organization operating behind the scenes attaches a virus to the ad. Kelly is out in California on another problem when the ad airs. Kip sets off from Chicago to find her.
The biggest problem with this book was its length. There was so much story, so many characters packed in. A longer book would've worked through some bits that felt lacking.
The ending of this book, while predictable, still packed a punch!
Kip is an ad guy who, along with Kelly (his coworker & kinda girlfriend), who created the ad that started the downfall of society. An organization operating behind the scenes attaches a virus to the ad. Kelly is out in California on another problem when the ad airs. Kip sets off from Chicago to find her.
The biggest problem with this book was its length. There was so much story, so many characters packed in. A longer book would've worked through some bits that felt lacking.
The ending of this book, while predictable, still packed a punch!
July 18, 2022
An original take on the apocalypse, but a bit of a light-hearted romp through what should have been a lot more horrifying. A healthy dose of suspension of disbelief was also needed, such as characters who never even held a gun are acting like seasoned commandos after plinking a few cans in the backyard. And speaking of characters, way too many, with not enough development. It seemed like the first 75% of the book was just introducing character after character, and then they rush straight into the climax and epilogue without enough substance in between.
June 2, 2022
I love me some post-apocalyptic dystopian stories. This one was kind of fun and tongue-in-cheek but also had a few social critiques and intense scenes.
The story was a little busy with the variety of characters, where I think even the author may have lost track in regards to Skylar's dad. I really liked the array of narratives but it probably would've worked better in a longer novel.
The story was a little busy with the variety of characters, where I think even the author may have lost track in regards to Skylar's dad. I really liked the array of narratives but it probably would've worked better in a longer novel.
June 3, 2022
Don’t watch TV
Once through the first few chapters this book pulls together very nicely. It’s fast paced and exciting. The idea of trying to eliminate the population of the world through a commercial and other social media is unique. A very good read
I received this book free through Goodreads.
Once through the first few chapters this book pulls together very nicely. It’s fast paced and exciting. The idea of trying to eliminate the population of the world through a commercial and other social media is unique. A very good read
I received this book free through Goodreads.
July 3, 2023
(4.0 Stars)
This book has been sitting on my Kindle for a long time, and I finally decided to read it and I am glad I did. What a good book. Very entertaining and great world building and realistic characters.
This book has been sitting on my Kindle for a long time, and I finally decided to read it and I am glad I did. What a good book. Very entertaining and great world building and realistic characters.
May 17, 2022
Not a bad little romp, a nice easy read
May 18, 2022
Interesting premise, fast moving, and loved the ending twist!
May 13, 2023
A different apocalyptic fantasy
Humans are responsible for climate change, so let's kill most of them off. We'll blow their synapses by inducing artificial epileptic fits
Humans are responsible for climate change, so let's kill most of them off. We'll blow their synapses by inducing artificial epileptic fits
July 9, 2023
I am a sucker for authors that live in the Austin area.
April 24, 2024
Good story well written.
July 14, 2024
Not a bad quick read.
July 13, 2022
The premise really intrigued me! I was immediately sucked into the story and felt that it was easy to read, though somewhere midway through, I started to find parts a little rushed and hard to follow until the end. However, I did NOT see the ending coming and it left me wanting to know what might happen next.
-Goodreads giveaway winner.
-Goodreads giveaway winner.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews