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lilcarol's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
4.5
nimirra's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
JP is the dumbest genius I've ever read. I'm not the target audience for many of the jokes yet I find that even when I'm rolling my eyes I'm still feeling very much in on the joke. This level of absurdity is hard to write while remaining coherent and not only do we consistently have a coherent story from this series, but the mystery is always interesting and the twists are numerous. The number of times the shit hits in the fan in this series is astounding. Yet each time summons the same level of dread and hilarity that I just shake my head wondering how tf are they going to pull it off this time? I loved the alternating POVs and how you knew exactly who you were reading without needing any indicator. It's been so long since I read the first two, but I think there wasn't POV changes in those? This series feels like Douglas Adams got into Hunter S. Thompson's stash and wrote this book on the way to the hospital. I would hate to know any of these people in real life, but I cannot stress how much I love reading about them. The side characters are so varied and the number of them + plot threads of insanity is just... It's a lot. The ones that made me laugh every single time they were even mentioned on screen this book would be Ted and BATMANTIS??? (tm) Truly a blast.
gwyndae's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.0
keen23's review against another edition
3.0
There isn't any way to describe this book. It's strange and fucked up.
marzipan951's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
timlarsson's review against another edition
5.0
Truly amazing, but struggles to live up to the first book. Was difficult to put down, highly recommended!
laerugo's review against another edition
5.0
dave and john have, dare i say it, grown up...?
sort of. also not really. this third installment is full of just as many ass jokes as the previous books, but a more (surprisingly) mature cast of main characters, even if it doesn't appear that way on the offset. we have found ourselves with a david wong who saves children, thinks about others, is still a bit of an idiot, and deals with the daily horrors of paying rent and finding meaning in a meaningless existence as often as he deals with the reality-warping nightmares he is hired to resolve.
this book did lose me in the third act. i'm not sure if, maybe, i wasn't paying enough attention or i just need to reread it again, but there were about three chapters of nonstop mindless action and i admit i started skimming because none of it really seemed to matter. but did it actually? i'm still wrapping my head around the ending.
there were some other frustrations i had, mostly with amy - i'm a bleeding heart liberal as much as the next person, but even i got frustrated with how naive she could be at times. HOWEVER>>>
[[SPOILERS]]
far and away, most of my favorite, and some of the most chilling, parts of the entire series have come from this book. dave standing in the bookstore contemplating suicide. the chapter of amy and not!dave, and "his" goodbye to her at the end, how it felt so humane coming from something we (but not she) knew was terrifyingly inhuman. the reveal that inter-dimensional maggots are feasting on the people that have saved and believe them to be their children. john and dave getting high on the sauce, blacking out for a weekend, and spending the rest of the novel in some hilariously twisted scavenger hunt of clues that their high selves had left for them to find. humans being treated like pets in that dimension gone wrong. marconi's last excerpt on the future of man, and what we are capable of.
[[/SPOILERS]]
why does this book of chilling cosmic horror have so much childish potty humor? i don't know. sometimes it ruins the whole scene. other times, though, it makes it. i understand why you have a character like dave, who doesn't give a shit (but really d0es (but really doesn't (but really does, maybe?))) serve as the star of this bizarre series. the david and john who walked away from an inter-dimensional war at the end of the first book aren't the same people as the david and john who hauled ass across this entire book to save the day for people who would never appreciate it.
who is david wong? wejustdontknow.gif
sort of. also not really. this third installment is full of just as many ass jokes as the previous books, but a more (surprisingly) mature cast of main characters, even if it doesn't appear that way on the offset. we have found ourselves with a david wong who saves children, thinks about others, is still a bit of an idiot, and deals with the daily horrors of paying rent and finding meaning in a meaningless existence as often as he deals with the reality-warping nightmares he is hired to resolve.
this book did lose me in the third act. i'm not sure if, maybe, i wasn't paying enough attention or i just need to reread it again, but there were about three chapters of nonstop mindless action and i admit i started skimming because none of it really seemed to matter. but did it actually? i'm still wrapping my head around the ending.
there were some other frustrations i had, mostly with amy - i'm a bleeding heart liberal as much as the next person, but even i got frustrated with how naive she could be at times. HOWEVER>>>
[[SPOILERS]]
far and away, most of my favorite, and some of the most chilling, parts of the entire series have come from this book. dave standing in the bookstore contemplating suicide. the chapter of amy and not!dave, and "his" goodbye to her at the end, how it felt so humane coming from something we (but not she) knew was terrifyingly inhuman. the reveal that inter-dimensional maggots are feasting on the people that have saved and believe them to be their children. john and dave getting high on the sauce, blacking out for a weekend, and spending the rest of the novel in some hilariously twisted scavenger hunt of clues that their high selves had left for them to find. humans being treated like pets in that dimension gone wrong. marconi's last excerpt on the future of man, and what we are capable of.
[[/SPOILERS]]
why does this book of chilling cosmic horror have so much childish potty humor? i don't know. sometimes it ruins the whole scene. other times, though, it makes it. i understand why you have a character like dave, who doesn't give a shit (but really d0es (but really doesn't (but really does, maybe?))) serve as the star of this bizarre series. the david and john who walked away from an inter-dimensional war at the end of the first book aren't the same people as the david and john who hauled ass across this entire book to save the day for people who would never appreciate it.
who is david wong? wejustdontknow.gif
carolinecobb's review against another edition
3.5
I’ve now read all three books in this series and I still couldn’t tell you what the fuck it’s about. Like seriously not a single plot point. But it was funny as fuck and I loved all three
h3ath3r's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes