Reviews with content warning for Bullying - John Dies @ the End

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

John Dies @ the End by David Wong

18 reviews

scottnap's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

3.0

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simplythegirl's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense

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

2.75

Definitely hasn't aged well. The racist slurs are really off putting I know it was a different time back in 2007 but it's still uncomfortable especially since I listened to the audiobook. The book is really tense and the descriptions are great. I do wish there were more female characters it's pretty lame the women get shafted. I really love the funny moments but I think the characters are overdone and stereotypical. Is that the point? The characters are like stereotypical white guys. It's also off putting that the african american people get shafted too. Not to mention the only presumanly latina character is hypersexualized

and thrown away never to be seen again when romance with a main character doesn't work out.

. Robert one of the few African American characters is the stereotypical drug dealer type and

who is involved with ending the world and "Morgan Freeman" an African American detective/cop of course dies early on. Then a journalist dies. The only survivors are the white characters obviously. Yes lots of characters die in general but not even one survivor is a person of color? Come on

One of the characters was in the special education class and casually called the r word repeatedly. Her health is made fun of too. Women are higly sexualized with little to no personality.
The representation in this book is terrible. Some good things in the book but it is definitely annoying and gross.

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acwhite's review against another edition

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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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jaydoncornell's review against another edition

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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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entityj's review against another edition

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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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jstatt's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

3.5

This book is simultaneously hilarious and scary. Before reading this I didn't think that someone could mix Lovecraftian Horror and comedy and it come out good, but hey, it works. I highly recommend this if you enjoy a bit of laughs with your horror.

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remie's review

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adventurous dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

0.5

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vsnuffles's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I picked this up and didn't get super into it but my brain is like that sometimes. It's generally not an indicator of whether or not I like a book. But I got back into it and really loved it! Real life got in the way a bit but I finally finished it this morning.

This will date the review a bit but there is something deeply cathartic about reading cosmic horror when Omicron is rearing its ugly head and the powers-that-be in our own governments are failing us in sometimes minor and sometimes major ways. Just the huge complexity of these systems is a kind of cosmic horror. At least we aren't dealing with the (all-too-often literal) shit they have to in this book though.

Glad I read it.

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