Book Summary

A struggling writer journeys through the world of fan conventions, collectible merch and more in this satirical novel—a “searing critique of geek culture” (Washington Post).

As with so many members of his generation, down-on-his-luck writer-filmmaker Milton Siegel has an unhealthy fixation on the TV shows, movies, books, music, and celebrities from his childhood that spanned the 1980s and 1990s. Unlike many of his generation, Milt has spent most of his (so-called) life chronicling this same pop culture of his youth.

After leaving his job at a regional newspaper, Milt embarks on a quixotic journey across the country to promote his latest project. Along the way, Milt contends with a horde of manic nerds, an inexplicable rash of natural disasters, clickbait-savvy media pundits, ambitious pseudo-celebrities, a seductive stripper, ultra-competitive frenemies, and his own sense of the precarious future while being so embroiled in his childish past.