Last week I finished John Dies at the End by David Wong (a pseudonym of Jason Pargin), a comedy horror novel about Dave and John, two losers who end up being forced to be heroes. While going through three major arcs, the idea behind the book is best explained by the setup of the first arc. There’s a drug called Soy Sauce that gives people incredibly heightened senses. Users can practically read minds based on observable clues (similar to the crumb of cake in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). The side-effect to Soy Sauce is that it gives you the ability to see things related to the paranormal. These things, presumably, are around us but not normally visible.Because John and Dave are the only ones able to interact with this other layer of reality, it’s up to them to stop the big bad guys.
I’ve never really read any horror novels, so I’m not sure how to compare it. There are movies that would freak me out to read alone, but I don’t think the book would really do that to me. However, I guess I was always reading it with people around or in broad daylight on the street. (I like to read while walking.) The humor probably helps, especially because it isn’t very intellectual humor. The story is told by Dave while John can act very immature, reciting puns in the face of mortal danger and always being quick to make a penis joke. Still, I will admit to getting a little freaked thinking about the book when alone and in the dark. Then again, that happens to me anyways.
For the first half of the book (or maybe more), the novel seems incredibly disjointed. The novel not only has Dave jumping around as he tells it, but there’s are scenes at the beginning and end that exist outside of his retelling as well. By the end of the novel, it really does come together. That doesn’t mean that all questions are answered, however. Many answers are supplied, some are suggested, and others remain. I guess you could consider that appropriate in a tale of so many paranormal subjects.
Remember what I was saying about the humor? Here’s a link.
Fuck that idea like the fucking captain of the Thai Fuck Team fucking at the fucking Tour de Fuck.
A movie based on the novel was recently released on some digital distribution networks with a limited theater release later this month. In addition, a sequel is also available called This Book Is Full Of Spiders: Seriously Dude, Don’t Touch It that was released in October. I found the book very engaging and funny with a ton of crazy one-liners. Surprisingly, some of the paranormal ideas seemed incredibly interesting to me as well. I gave the novel a five out of five on Goodreads.
