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A review by path_through_pages
John Dies at the End by David Wong
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-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
3.0
I'm really 50/50 with this book, and to be honest I did a speed read of the last half.
Pros:
- The title and concept were great
- The author's intro was hilarious
- A chaotic fever dream of a story where stuff was simply always happening
- trauma filled nightmare dreamscape of a book
Cons:
- there were times where it REALLY felt like the author was trying too hard to be edgy.
- there were moments where the irreverent humor was perfect and hilarious and other times where it felt like the author needed to slapstick throw something in there for the sake of shock value.
- I read the newly published 2021 version. The frequent and repeated use of the R word just seemed juvenile and distasteful. There was literally no reason why they couldn't have made an edit in this new version. It really did nothing to keep it in the story and it kept being used more and more frequently which started to give me the ick.
- Genuinely feel like this book could have been half the length because it just started feeling repetitive in its chaos.
I have several other books from this author/universe so I am hopeful they will build and turn into something great.
But honestly I don't think I'll ever have a desire to pick this one up again.
Pros:
- The title and concept were great
- The author's intro was hilarious
- A chaotic fever dream of a story where stuff was simply always happening
- trauma filled nightmare dreamscape of a book
Cons:
- there were times where it REALLY felt like the author was trying too hard to be edgy.
- there were moments where the irreverent humor was perfect and hilarious and other times where it felt like the author needed to slapstick throw something in there for the sake of shock value.
- I read the newly published 2021 version. The frequent and repeated use of the R word just seemed juvenile and distasteful. There was literally no reason why they couldn't have made an edit in this new version. It really did nothing to keep it in the story and it kept being used more and more frequently which started to give me the ick.
- Genuinely feel like this book could have been half the length because it just started feeling repetitive in its chaos.
I have several other books from this author/universe so I am hopeful they will build and turn into something great.
But honestly I don't think I'll ever have a desire to pick this one up again.