Patton Oswalt is such a talented, brilliant comedic mind it’s almost absurd that I’m even writing down an opinion on one of his works. Mr. Oswalt has stolen most of the world’s hearts guest starring on The King of Queens, but those of us with an interest in stand-up already considered him legendary. He’s quick on his feet, smooth with his words, and has an undeniable skill in making any story he tells extremely interesting. From his stand-up albums and podcast appearances, Patton is known for sharing stories about anything from Dungeons and Dragons to his mother’s side of the family, the infamous Runfolas. While Patton could make reading a chinese food menu interesting, it’s a strange lack of these famous tales that leave me not completely satisfied after reading all of Zombie Spaceship Wasteland.

Recently, I also finished Sarah Silverman’s book The Bedwetter and I as much as I hate to compare the two, I found myself enjoying Sarah’s book more. While Patton’s book had equal the personality in the writing, it was a lack of connection on a personal level that left me disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, Patton has fantastic accounts of his time being raised in Sterling, VA including one of my favorite quips about his time working in a 3 screen movie theatre. Ms. Silverman took the time to think about her comedic process and foray into stand up, while Patton shared a few bad stories from starting out on the road and then moved on to something else.

Honestly though, I can entirely see why he would choose to make it less personal. Some people may not be interested in a whole Patton Oswalt biography, and when it comes down to it he may not want to share the whole story either. None of that changes the quality of this book, but I don’t think I enjoyed it to the full potential. For those people just looking for a laugh, the other half of the book seems to exists mostly for getting humor out of seemingly random thoughts. Sometimes a few personal events will permeate into comedy bits, such as the literally epic poem dedicated to a fallen D&D avatar, yet can easily be as random as dissecting the meaning of old hobo songs. While the title nicely caters to a blend of audiences, I feel the book suffers slightly from a strong narrative or theme holding it together. It’s a fantastic series of comedic essays written by one of America’s most prolific comics, yet grouped together in a book leaves a little bit to be desired.