Author: Victor Gischler
Publisher: Touchstone
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publication Date: July, 2008

Mortimer Tate was a recently divorced insurance salesman when he holed up in a cave on top of a mountain in Tennessee and rode out the end of the world. Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse begins nine years later, when he emerges into a bizarre landscape filled with hollow reminders of an America that no longer exists. The highways are lined with abandoned automobiles; electricity is generated by indentured servants pedaling stationary bicycles. What little civilization remains revolves around Joey Armageddon’s Sassy A-Go-Go strip clubs, where the beer is cold, the lap dancers are hot, and the bouncers are armed with M16s.

Accompanied by his cowboy sidekick Buffalo Bill, the gorgeous stripper Sheila, and the mountain man Ted, Mortimer journeys to the lost city of Atlanta — and a showdown that might determine the fate of humanity.

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse is an over the top social satire that cuts a wide social, political and personal swath. The targets are many, the aim is true. Sometimes the satriziations are intentionally ham-fisted in their gregarious presentations, like the basic idea of Ted Turner as a loopy mountain man. It’s absurdity at a high level. Other targets are more subtle and precise, like how our societies obsession with fitness and strength is lampooned by having a cross country train that is powered by pharmaceutically induced musclemen.

What’s interesting as a post apocalyptic tale, and its greatest asset as a satire, is that it is set pretty soon after the event. So it’s just close enough to the collapse of civilization that not only are the remnants still around but the memories of it are strong in the characters also. So, yes its a world that has been beset by massive destruction and change but it also manages to be pretty recognizable.

If I were to use just one word to describe Go-Go Girls it would be romp. Yeah, that’s right, I just used the word romp in a review. Its a lot of fun but its also a wild romp of a book. And perhaps just a little bit insane. All of which is meant as a compliment because all of this craziness results in a certain level of originality, especially when taken as a whole. Yes, some of the individual parts may feel familiar but they have never been used like this before.

One can also see that there is on display here a block-party like celebration of exploitation cinema (especially blaxploitation), pulp fiction, westerns, B movies, science fiction and cult cinema. I’d even go so far as to say that there may be some elements of camp that have been deliberately used, especially when you consider how close the relationship is between social satirization/criticism and camp.

If one were to dig down even further I think that you would find running through the book, an exploration of identity. The struggle for these characters to find an identity in a world where traditional power structures simply don’t exist results in identities being worn and cast aside casually.

Putting aside these notions of subtext (I mean who really wants to hear about that) you should read this because it’s a huge departure for Gischler. His last four novels have been crime fiction and it was a huge gamble that took a lot of guts to go in a completely different direction. This is the zig that should be celebrated. Not just celebrated for merely existing, but celebrated for being a success. Gischler kicked down the doors of possibility and stormed the house with this one. I hope he continues to go in whatever direction the voices in his head tell him to and that others take his lead.

As a side note, I’d like to point out what I believe to be a specific reference in the book. It’s not a spoiler so no fear. When Mortimer’s wife, now a dancer and dressed appropriately) busts out of the compound with her group of bikini wearing, machine gun toting girls near the end of the book I couldn’t help but think of Queen Bee and the Dolemite Girls. Given the recent passing of Rudy Ray Moore I felt that a brief mention was warranted. If I’m right then it was a fitting tribute.

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Topics: Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse, Touchstone, Victor Gischler