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Loading... John Dies at the Endby David Wong
  
Books Read in 2018 (1,406) Books Read in 2017 (1,795) » 10 more No current Talk conversations about this book. 1   mstrust | Feb 5, 2019 |  I remember reading this when it was free online, many many years ago. At the time, it felt like a life-changing work. So many books consist of dull introspective characters, plodding plots. This was a story for the MTV generation, with creative monsters, gross-out moments, and complete rejection of post-modern literary crap. But it’s a flawed narrative. Many scenes take up space and reflect what you’d see in a movie. They don’t drive plot, reveal character, or restate theme. Also, all the events happen without being tied together, so it gets long and boring when the characters don’t want anything except to survive. It’s like a Transformers movie: every scene is framed as MAXIMUM importance… which means nothing is important.Things happen, but you don’t care. It’s not a character-based story, it’s event, then event, then event. There’s no quiet scenes where we get a chance to absorb the impact. There’s sort of a beginning but there’s no middle or ending. The imagery provides information that isn’t necessary, like reading a book while listening to a different one. It’s all spectacle and no information. (  ) theWallflower | Jan 30, 2019 | This is the craziest, weirdest book I have ever read. Funny as Hell. Nothing is what it seems but that is kind of beside the point anyway. Gore and penis joke meter off the charts but somehow it all works. The writing is smooth, the details are vivid but he always leaves enough out to make you feel smart when you get the joke or figure out the implication. Loved it! (  ) Gezemice | Oct 29, 2018 | Did not finish. About a third of the way through, I realised I just did not care about the characters or the horrible whatsits breaking through into our reality. (  ) Robertgreaves | Aug 7, 2018 | REVIEWED: John Dies at the End WRITTEN BY: David Wong PUBLISHED: December, 2012 (original limited release August, 2007) I was looking for something “different” to read and I found it. John Dies at the End is a hilarious and fascinating take on two slackers who must save the world amidst a backdrop of drugs, aliens, monsters, demons, girls, minimum-wage bosses, and an unbelieving reporter. Totally inappropriate and sometimes immature jokes, but very funny for those with a warped sense of humor. I loved the originality of the book and the voice of the characters. The plot was awesome – just crazy and fast-paced – until about half way through. Then, it began to lull. That was my only problem with the book, is that it just seemed to go on for too long. It didn’t drag, per se – the plot was always moving – but I just had a sense of a story which would never end; just one madcap adventure after the other. It’s like sitting in front of a stand-up comedian hour after hour: for awhile, it’s great and you’re enjoying yourself. But chalk up five or six hours of the same guy’s routine and you just want it to end. So, overall, good book and I recommend it, though it cut have been cut shorter. Four out of Five stars ( ) Eric_J._Guignard | Jul 26, 2018 |
 John Dies at the End is a novel written by David Wong (Pseudonym for Jason Parguin) that was first published 2007 by Permuted Press. The book really cannot be described as horror, nor is it really a thriller. There are elements of Sci Fi, Noir, Hard Boiled Detective, Comedy and a few other genres. The book in turns reminds me of Raymond Chandler, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Charles Burn’s comic books, The work of the Church of Subgenus, Jack Chick Tracts, The Outer Limits TV show and more. There are times when the work has stupid dick jokes and quips that make me roll my eyes, other times I’m pasting post it notes to mark a poignant passage. This is possibly the most mixed up and ADHD work I have ever read. (I have ADHD so I can say that.) I enjoyed the work immensely as I have all of this authors other works. I can’t say I am a rabid fan, but I liked this author’s works enough to seek it out and read it all so that speaks, Pun unintended- Volumes. I had some times where I was impatient with the book, but eventually these parts always paid off. I was dismayed as the long list of racial slurs that litter this work, some more than others. This book may offend some people, so warning. I don’t mean just a few but some racial slurs I won’t repeat are said so often it made me take pause. I don’t believe that the work is racist in any obvious sense, but there is something there when the words are used so often that it starts to make me feel uncomfortable. Some of Wong’s fans may say I’m making too much of it, but if you have not read the book I want you to know about that beforehand. The fact that a non-Chinese man uses a Chinese name as a kind of fun Pseudonym may offend others as well so that’s something to ponder. I’ve wondered why this author continues to keep the Pseudonym. Only he can say. I do recommend this work to anyone, it’s very well written and fun. I enjoyed it immensely. “Scientists talk about dark matter, the invisible, mysterious substance that occupies the space between stars. Dark matter makes up 99.99 percent of the universe, and they don't know what it is. Well I do. It's apathy. That's the truth of it; pile together everything we know and care about in the universe and it will still be nothing more than a tiny speck in the middle of a vast black ocean of Who Gives a Fuck.” ― David Wong, John Dies at the End The book was followed by a sequel, This Book Is Full of Spiders, in 2012.  JDATE is the rare genre novel that manages to keep its sense of humor strong without ever diminishing the scares; David is a consistently hilarious narrator whose one-liners and running commentary are sincere in a way that makes the horrors he confronts even more unsettling. Plot-wise, for a good two-thirds of the book, it seems like Wong is more interested in piling on weirder and weirder threats than fitting the pieces together, and while his invention never flags, the accumulation of horrors eventually threatens to turn the narrative into a breathless series of “And then?”s. Still, the tone and white-knuckle pacing cover up a lot of sins, and Wong manages to pull everything together for a finale that’s both stomach-churningly freaky and oddly moving. It’s the sort of thing that leaves readers breathless and nauseous, but surprisingly hungry for more.
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NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
STOP.
You should not have touched this book with your bare hands.
NO, don’t put it down. It’s too late.
They’re watching you.
My name is David Wong. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours.
You may not want to know about the things you’ll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it’s too late. You touched the book. You’re in the game. You’re under the eye.
The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me.
The important thing is this:
The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension.
John and I never had the chance to say no.
You still do.
Unfortunately for us, if you make the right choice, we’ll have a much harder time explaining how to fight off the otherworldly invasion currently threatening to enslave humanity.
I’m sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind:
None of this is was my fault.
(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:19:28 -0400)
This may be the story of John and David, a drug called soy sauce, and other-worldly beings invading the planet. Or, it may be the story of two beer-drinking friends who live in an unnamed Midwestern town and only think something horrific is going on. But the important thing is, according to the narrator, "None of this is my fault."… (more)
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It's a lot more fun than my review would indicate. In fact, this is probably the most imaginative book I'll read all year. (