Describing Labash as "one of the most consistently entertaining magazine writers today," Jeffrey Goldberg of "The Atlantic" praised his "innate sympathy for scoundrels," saying that "he brings them to life like no other journalist today." Goldberg called "Fly Fishing with Darth Vader" "the funniest book of the year." David Carr of the "New York Times" called Labash "the king of hang time, insinuating himself into a subject's world — remember immersion journalism? — and then writing those encounters up in all their rococo glory." Describing Labash as "one of the absolute greatest magazine writers in America" and calling Fly Fishing with Darth Vader "exceptionally good," The reviewer for "Esquire" wrote that "Every now and then, a collection of remarkable stories from a magazine writer has the effect of unleashing a significant new voice on an unsuspecting public. Tom Wolfe's "Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby" comes to mind. And so it is with Matt Labash's wonderful "Fly Fishing with Darth Vader"." Emily Bazelon of "Slate" described the book as "a collection of inflated egos, delicately punctured. You can hear the hiss as the air goes out of Dick Cheney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Sharpton, Marion Barry, and Roger Stone. At the same time, you'll also come away with some sympathy for these men, or at least their foibles."