John Dies at the End

By: David Wong

Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne

Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

John Dies at the End is a genre-bending, humorous account of two college drop-outs inadvertently charged with saving their small town—and the world—from a host of supernatural and paranormal invasions.

Stop.

You should not have touched this flyer 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.

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 was my fault.

©2007 David Wong and Permuted Press. All rights reserved. (P)2011 BBC Audiobooks America

It doesn’t ever end. Not really.

Imagine a young adult author writing a story, but after a 15 day alcohol and acid fueled bender. That’s exactly what you get here. No more. No less. It’s beautiful.

A convoluted, gruesome, & insanely funny story!

as the title says. definitely not for kids, a lot of dick jokes, but also a lot of other good laugh out loud humor. so it has something for everyone.

Dated, but funny

The story is original and mostly funny. There’s a lot of offensive language though. I wasn’t expecting the intensity or frequency of slurs

Amazing writing

I never read anything related to horror but the writing in this book is nauseatingly filled to the brim with liquid gold and its about to blow.

Fantastic

I’ve repeatedly binged this entire series. Amazing! Love the author’s sense of humor. Definitely a ride from start to finish. I’ve recommended it to all of my family and friends.

Solid adventure

Basically "What if fantasy horror was fun and wild?". the plot is fine but the characters are what really made it worth listening to.

Hilarious

A great book! Funny, fast paced. Performance was entertaining. Love the story as long as you are willing to accept the ridiculousness of it.

The Darkness

this book is wacky and witty, and any positive or neutral reference to the band The Darkness gets a positive appraisal from me

So torn…

This story is like a stoner comedy with a reluctant no-nonsense protagonist that mixes hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy with a heavy dose of welcome to nightvale and a dash of the tv show supernatural. I love cosmic horror as a genre, especially when you infuse it with a mix of comedy and absurdism as this story has. It is generally pretty funny and had me hooked from the beginning.

However, as a woman, I REALLY hate the main protagonist! He’s very immature and as a result I hate how the author writes about women through his eyes. I also think the edgy humor highlights that immaturity. He’s basically that dude most of us encountered in our early 20s that gawked at women, wouldn’t leave us alone, and generally made everyone uncomfortable. I can’t quite tell if this is generally unaware or intentional to highlight the fish out of social water.

Regardless, I’m enjoying the chaos, but split on whether I want to continue viewing through the eyes of someone I would actively despise in real life.

I love this book....

...but I don't know that any review I can give will do it justice. It's about a pair of Gen Y underachievers who, through experiences I can't relate without ruining anything, are gifted with a sensitivity to the supernatural and extra-dimensional. Their new perceptions give them glances at, and make them targets of, cloak-and-dagger forces that are inimical to humankind and..... just effing weird.

One guy is the irresponsible friend, the other is the straight-man, slightly less irresponsible friend. You'll get to accompany them as they try and manage their slacker, workaday, part time crud job lives - and at the same time deal with secret, heinous powers. Without any proof, it's just them against the world.

It's a contradiction, but their ineptitude has great poise, and you forgive their ridiculousness because 1) they're good-natured dudes at heart and 2) they're friggin hilarious.

I highly recommend this book. However, I've seen from the other reviews that it's pretty polarizing; people either love it or are unimpressed. I use it as litmus paper to see if my tastes are calibrated to other reviewers' when looking for suggestions. I def suggest checking a reviewer's history before taking their word on this book just in case it isn't your lager colour. If it is though, I promise you'll be well-sated.