Erin S. (nantuckerin) reviewed on 1/3/2010 + 158 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 5

Sometimes, I think authors try too hard to be weird and quirky and memorable. And sadly, that was my overall impression of David Wong as I trudged through John Dies at the End, his first novel.

John Dies at the End was initially a wildly popular online story that took on a viral life of its own, and recently got published. It has quickly gained a cult following for its mixed bag of gruesome horror, tongue-in-cheek humor and, well, ridiculousness.

Let me give you a for-instance: in the first few chapters of the book alone, the author David and its namesake, his friend and business partner, John, are trapped in a basement flooding with supernatural excrement, battle a demon made of animated meat products (kielbasas, a turkey, etc.) and play modern-day ghostbusters.

It's good that Wong doesn't try to pull a bait-and-switch on readers. If you don't like the initial chapters, you won't like the book. It's full of the same silliness, gross-out shocks and wry humor. I'm among the apparent minority of readers that just didn't enjoy the story or its telling -- the book has gotten generally good reviews from critics and everyday readers alike.

For that reason, I won't spoil the plot (which is a doozy, you can be sure), but I will say this -- Wong's writing is a little rough, but shows promise. His dialogue is the best thing about John Dies in the End. It's witty and unexpected, and kept me reading even while I rolled my eyes at the goofier story sequences. And in my humble opinion, the funniest line in the whole book can be found on the last page. I laughed out loud, which is never a bad way to end a story.

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