Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

JOHN DIES AT THE END by Jason Pargin

24 reviews

seagullsaga's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

The only reason I finished this book is because I have a complex about DNFing books. 

It’s needlessly vulgar, racist, sexist, and full of slurs that serve no purpose. The occasionally actually funny joke does nothing to counter these or make the book anywhere near worth it. 

If you like this book you probably also think that Tyler Durden is a good role model. 

Every time I looked to see how much I had left of this book I was disappointed. It drags. There’s always more nonsensical toilet humor and psychedelic crap, and none of it does anything to tell a coherent story. I was wishing EVERY character died by the end. 

I don’t normally leave reviews, and especially not with text, but this book was so unpleasant that I had to get my feelings out somehow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Racism, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Cursing, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Death, Animal death, Drug use, Gore, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Sexism, Car accident, Misogyny, Vomit, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Death of parent

fuglaepir's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

JDATE is outdated 00s internet humour (quite literally, given its original publishing was online) but I love this book to pieces. Pargin's prose here is immature but visceral. I read this book for the first time in two sittings. John, Dave and Amy are fantastic characters and their debut is worth reading... If you can stand some questionable language in places. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Death, Car accident, Drug use, Chronic illness, Alcohol, and Body horror

Minor: Ableism and Racial slurs

caseyf's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Racial slurs and Suicidal thoughts

amradio's review against another edition

Got like 30% of the book read and dropped it
Didn't think I'd want to drop a book and yet here we are
I swore I liked the movie but maybe I'm misremembering
The book is honestly nonsensical trash and that's saying something as someone who like the tv show 12 oz mouse
Just every -ism in a book and unlikeable characters I wasn't about to force myself to finish

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Racial slurs

acwhite's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I first read this book around 2010 & had fond memories of the thrilling fever dream it is. So revisiting it in 2022 I was surprised to find my brain had edited out some choice language. I had no recollection of the excessive use of r*tard and occasional drops of the n word and f*g. Some of this language can be attributed to the book starting as a blog in the early 2000s but it still put a slight stain on the reread for me. 

I’m rating it so middling for the aforementioned language but also because the pacing was rough. Again I think we can blame the blog origins, the whole business seems like three novellas in a trench coat masquerading as a full novel. But I still came out the end having enjoyed it. 

The last third is the strongest part of the book in my opinion, Amy is a crucial character and “David” having a slightly different tone improved things. 

I have the whole quartet and do intend to read them all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Excrement, Gore, Racial slurs, and Drug use

Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

pinkmalady's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Laugh out loud funny, psychologically horrifying, and gut-wrenchingly volatile... This is the exact kind of thing I will be thinking about for a long time. The way it handles mental illness and trauma targeted me specifically in such a deeply visceral way... The narration perfectly captures how it feels to lose your mind.

I adored the characters and their relationships. While I went into this mostly blind, I knew prior that

Amy and Dave would end up together. I'm honestly surprised at how well their relationship and their respective traumas relative to their relationship were fleshed out. It absolutely makes you feel for these two. Especially when Amy's life is on the line.

This book stressed and stresses me out. I'm afraid that if I think too hard about it I'll start spiraling... Going in, I had the feeling this book would rearrange my brain chemistry, and I believe it didn't fail. It's utterly chilling, and I don't usually spook easily when it comes to horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug use, Body horror, Blood, Cursing, Excrement, and Gore

Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Car accident, Animal death, Ableism, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Antisemitism, and Suicidal thoughts

thedadsie's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism and Racial slurs

Minor: Drug use

jaydoncornell's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Outing, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Alcohol, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

entityj's review against another edition

dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Cursing, Death, Excrement, Gore, Violence, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Alcohol, Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Racial slurs

laserdiscreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

An enjoyable read that was maybe made less enjoyable by some of the dated language. This was written in the '00s and it shows in the relatively frequent use of various slurs. The writing itself is very fast-paced; I found myself often rereading sections because I lost how things progressed so quickly. I'm not surprised this became a movie (haven't seen it yet) because of the pacing as well as the graphic descriptions of all the demonic happenings that, well, happen. One very bright part of the book is how well the author writes in the tone of the narrator. Probably one of the best examples I've seen for embodying a first person narrative with a certifiably wild story to tell. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Violence