Langley Powell and the Society for the Defense of the Mundane

Langley Powell died. Then, much to his surprise, he kept living. Sort of. And then he had to save the universe from erasure. Langley Powell was definitely the world’s most famous non-believer, a debunker of mysteries and exposer of hoaxes who lived a life of casual reason and lucrative celebrity. But then he died. Crushed by a falling piano. So it goes. Instead of immediately ceasing to exist in a vast expanse of nothing, as he’d expected, Langley found himself right back on Earth — but a different one. Aided by an extremely surly childlike guide, Langley goes to work for the network of the powerful elites that run whatever realm this is to stop his childhood hero’s mystical, magical mentor from resetting the entirety of existence. Along the way, there are secret decoder rings, rare foods, reborn rock stars, red herrings both literal and figurative, and blasts from the past and present, all terribly necessary to the mission of Langley Powell and the Society for the Defense of the Mundane.

Langley Powell and the Society for the Defense of the Mundane is part sci-fi, part fantasy, and part philosophy, a passionate and compassionately humanist novel full of laughs, tears, secret decoder rings, rare foods, reborn rock stars,
and red herrings (both literal and figurative), all to serve a wildly creative and dazzling take on what could happen after death. Jeff Giles, a prolific pop culture writer (Popdose, Rotten Tomatoes, Beer-Topia, Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live) and podcast host (The Record Player) delivers a staggering, entertaining, and thoughtful first novel.

Advance Praise for Langley Powell and the Society for the Defense of the Mundane:

“Saying this book is wonderfully mundane is the highest praise one can heap upon it.”

—Jimmy Pardo, Never Not Funny Podcast

“Langley Powell and the Society for the Defense of the Mundane is a delightfully zany romp through the afterlife. Smartly written and wonderfully imaginative, this wacky, dimension-hopping adventure from Jeff Giles tickles the funny bone and tugs at the heartstrings in equal measure. I gobbled it up like a plate of crispy dodo tenders.”

—Lauren Thoman, I’ll Stop the World