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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-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
I love that macabre humor from David Wong. I’ll always say this guy deserves more accolades and notoriety for the books he writes. There are so many books that are trying to be Victorian prose and stylistic word poems and post-modern literary realism and there’s nothing for the reader that just wants a good time. Just because something’s old doesn’t mean it has value. Don’t be The Exorcist, be The Evil Dead. Books should be fun, not homework.
That said, it’s the “least good” of the JDATE books. Maybe because there are several Deus ex moments that ruin the stakes. And some plot elements that don’t fit in, don’t make sense. It’s borderline bizarro fiction, so things that don’t make sense are par for the course (like a Santa Claus made of sausages). But when they affect the consequences or challenges of characters in the narrative, when they scoop them out of trouble, that’s where I have a problem. It’s cheap to say “I set this up while I was on a drug bender where I don’t remember anything, and now it shows up to save us.”
It’s not as erratic or short attention span as the first book, but also not as cohesive and linear as the second one. It’s a mix of the two.
That said, it’s the “least good” of the JDATE books. Maybe because there are several Deus ex moments that ruin the stakes. And some plot elements that don’t fit in, don’t make sense. It’s borderline bizarro fiction, so things that don’t make sense are par for the course (like a Santa Claus made of sausages). But when they affect the consequences or challenges of characters in the narrative, when they scoop them out of trouble, that’s where I have a problem. It’s cheap to say “I set this up while I was on a drug bender where I don’t remember anything, and now it shows up to save us.”
It’s not as erratic or short attention span as the first book, but also not as cohesive and linear as the second one. It’s a mix of the two.
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Easily one of my favorite series of novels. Mr. Wong can do no wrong maybe except in his ways of writing minority characters. Hope for another one with as many references to butts as he can possibly fit.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another delight in a wonderful series. Jason Pargin has reignited my appreciation for horror and did it thoughtfully and comedically.
This is the third in the series that started with John Dies at the End. It’s tighter than the last two, and the story rolls along. It’s got the trademark body horror thing going on just wonderfully, and parts of it are laugh out loud funny.
If you liked the first two books in this series then read this one.
If you liked the first two books in this series then read this one.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
This was hard to read in bits as it was so ADHD but gosh was it so much fun! An entire bonus star for the running BATMANTIS??? joke. Oh lord, did I cackle every time I saw that. I think I might have read the first Johns Dead book... but this read fine on its own? I didn't realize it was a third installment. It just read as an adventure if the scooby doo gang were unemployed and casual drug users. And Monsters. So much fun it has encouraged me to read the others in the series.