John Dies at the End by David Wong

There are books you read for their impact on literature. There are books you read so you can escape into the story. Still other books are read because the story is so strange that sheer curiosity compels you to open it up and look inside. John Dies at the End is that kind of book.

This book is all about Dave, John and Molly (their dog) as they share adventures and soy sauce. I can’t even begin to discuss plot or story line or tropes. At times it almost comes off as a stream of consciousness experiment rather than a book or even a short story. In spite of that, there is a slight bit of cohesion in the way it’s laid out that can keep you in the story.

The storyline has nothing on the characters. There is no real character development. We get to know the most about John and Dave. The rest of the characters sort of come and go with some exceptions (can’t say who, spoilers).

With a damaged storyline and odd characters you would expect the book to be horrible. In my humble opinion, it’s actually a pretty good book. It’s unpolished and somewhat crude for the most part but, it’s very entertaining. I got this on in audiobook form which may have something to do with entertainment value I found in it. Stephen R. Thorne does an excellent job of narration. His delivery of many of the passages help the humor shine through. Yes, there is humor in the book. If you listen to the audiobook, warn others around you that you my start laughing for no apparent reason. It is often that funny.

John Dies at the End is a quirky, irreverent and entertaining book. I like to think of it as the Airplane! of the genre. There is harsh language and some violence in it that makes it a mild R rated book but, if you are in the need for a few paranormal belly laughs, this is the story for you.