Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

John Dies at the End by David Wong

31 reviews

gawdz0rz's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

3.5

the book was pretty funny. the story was weird but interesting. will probably read the next book. 

very obviously written in 2007, especially with its usage of ableist and homophobic slurs and how edgy the characters were. also feels like the author just really wanted to use the n-slur and found excuses to do so??

does dude have a thing for farting? he talks about it so much. like, way too much. 

the columbine comparison was off because the columbine kids were not bullied, they were the bullies. 

not great to have the alien language compared to hebrew!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

unit25's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Exactly my kind of book. I really enjoyed this. The whole time I was reading it I thought, "this would be good to make into a movie"... Then when I finished it, I looked it up, and found out that it has been made into a movie! Then I watched the trailer, and realized that I've already seen the movie! I never put the two together in my head, so I'm going to have to go and rewatch the movie again. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

deltaupright's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I enjoyed this book, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone. Listing all of the content warnings this book needs would be nearly as long as the book itself, so the broad strokes are:

The main character is not a good person. He isn't meant to be, but it can be kind of tough hearing it in the first person. Imagine an early 20s white dude with working a dead end job in a middle of nowhere town in the early 2000s, and you've probably got a good idea. At one point early in the story he's complaining about his town and saying that they've got "too many jokes containing the n-word" except, you know. He just says the n-word, and that feels like a good way to sum up what kind of person the main character is.

In a weird twist of fate, if you're not sure this book is for you, I'd recommend watching the movie first. A lot of the bigotry has been toned down, but the absurdity, gore, and body horror remain for the most part the same, and it's honestly a very faithful adaptation. If you like the movie, the book is that, dialed up to 11. If you hate the movie, the book will probably make you want to scream.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

arig's review against another edition

Go to review page

Weird quirky white dude shit for weird quirky white dude’s sake. Barely any plot or characterization. Racism and slurs for no reason. R and F words do not add to characterization or plot. Couldn’t get through it. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

aidualc_clau's review

Go to review page

challenging dark funny mysterious tense 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

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

espea's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-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? No

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

turtleofhades's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I'd forgotten how early 00s this book was. Some of the language punted me back to a time of low rise flared jeans and layered polos; this is not a good thing.

It's still a good story with not quite unlikable main characters. I'm ready to continue on this series again as I just found out there's a fourth book (super excited since the author's writing has gotten so dang good with the Zoey Ashe series).

Definitely a must read for any time of year, but especially October. Who doesn't need a little existential dead and body horror every now and then? 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

juledebaum2's review against another edition

Go to review page

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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

cheetah26's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

em_chen's review

Go to review page

2.5

read this bc i was a cracked girl back in the day but forgot that my tolerance for bullshit used to be way higher. teen incel shock value vibes.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings