In 1997, game studio Running With Scissors released its debut title, Postal, an isometric shooter aimed at shocking an imagined pearl-clutching public. The game was crass, gory, and dumb—all of which might have been forgivable if the game had been any fun to play.

Postal gained enough notoriety from riding the wave of public outrage to warrant a sequel. And DLC. And a remake. And, perhaps most surprising of all, a Golden-Raspberry-winning feature film adaptation directed by the infamous Uwe Boll.

In this thoughtful and hilarious tag-team performance, Brock Wilbur & Nathan Rabin probe the fascinatingly troubled game and film for what each can tell us about shock culture & mass shootings, interviewing the RWS team and even Boll himself for answers. Like it or not, Postal is the franchise that won't die—no matter how many molotov cocktails you throw at it.

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Brock Wilbur is a comedian and writer who is married to prominent feminist political journalist Vivian Kane, and cohabitates with three terrible cats. He produces political podcasts for Crooked Media, works in special projects for Riot Games, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Kansas City's The Pitch.

Nathan Rabin is the author of six books, the proprietor of Nathan Rabin’s Happy Place and the cohost of the Travolta/Cage podcast. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, dog and two sons.

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“Interesting read.” - Vince Desi, Running with Scissors 

“One of the strangest, funniest books I read this year; [...] one of the strongest uses of voice I’ve encountered in a book lately.” - D. F. Lovett

“Nathan Rabin and Brock Wilbur show that behind even the most forgettable trash culture footnote lies a fascinating, horrifying, weirdly poignant story.” - Elliott Kalan (MST3K, The Daily Show)

“There is no keener observer of pop culture than Nathan Rabin.” - Justin McElroy

“A+++ highly recommend.” - Eric Doty

“I read this book in one night and it’s goddamn brilliant - thoughtful, funny as hell, ingeniously structured to capture the wit and clarity of two of my favorite writers, highly recommended.” - Jason Bailey

“Brock writes … with enough blunt humor to make even conversations with monsters seem appealing.” - Joseph Knoop

“Wilbur and Rabin dive into one of the defining violent games of our generation, and surface with a book full of heart and soul.” - Francis Horton, What A Hell of a Way to Die podcast

Caleb J Ross video review

Excerpt: Nathan Rabin's Happy Place

More Reviews: Goodreads