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John Dies at the End Audiobook
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(3.00) - 16,569 listener ratings
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Plot Summary
At first glance, one would think that knowing the ending would spoil the plot. Not so with John Dies at the End. When John and Dave, best friends through the years, meet for the first time in awhile, everything seems normal at first. They talk. Tell each other what's been going on with their lives. But it's obvious right away that things aren't all as they seem...something unusual is afoot, and it has to do with a reporter named Arnie and a drug known only as "Soy Sauce". After a while, though, they start to wonder: is the drug really a drug at all, or something much more powerful? Only time will tell.
John Dies at the End is a riveting, hilarious tale that will have you certain you already know the end at first, before you start to wonder: Do you?
David Wong is a pseudonym for American author Jason Pargin. Born in 1975, his career in writing started a bit unusually. In 1999, he started the site Pointless Waste of Time, which would eventually become cracked.com, netting him quite a bit of fame along the way. While working as a copy editor at a legal firm, be began creating episodes of a popular web serial that would eventually become John Dies at the End. He is quoted with saying that his pseudonym was originally created to keep his friends and family unassociated with the work, but nowadays the knowledge does not bother him any longer.
"I thoroughly enjoyed David and Johns characters, they could have easily been any one of my friends. I laughed out loud a lot while reading this too, which was new to me, seeing as how I usually read fantasy and scifi. I constantly had to read exerts out loud for friends and strangers alike when they started looking at me funny in the coffee shop. Great read thank you Mr.Wong."
— Clifford (5 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
John Dies at the End is a genre-bending, humorous account of two college drop-outs inadvertently charged with saving their small town—and the world—from a host of supernatural and paranormal invasions.
Stop.
You should not have touched this flyer with your bare hands.
No, don’t put it down. It’s too late. They’re watching you.
My name is David. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours. You may not want to know about the things you’ll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it’s too late. You touched the book. You’re in the game. You’re under the eye.
The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me.
The important thing is this: the drug is called Soy Sauce, and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do.
I’m sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: none of this was my fault.
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Quotes
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“The book’s smart take on fear manages to tap into readers’ existential dread on one page, then have them laughing the next.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Mixing free-wheeling absurdist horror, great one-liners and wonderfully funny, if gory, set-pieces, the novel was first posted online in 2007 and gained a cult following. It may be a farrago of nonsense, but it’s also unputdownable thanks to great narrative pace and its pair of likeable layabouts. Imagine Vonnegut channelling Philip K. Dick channelling Hunter S. Thompson. A twisted delight.”
— Guardian (London) -
“When it’s funny, it’s laugh-out-loud funny, yet when the situation calls for chills, it provides them in spades.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“The rare genre novel that manages to keep its sense of humor strong without ever diminishing the scares.”
— Onion AV Club -
“John Dies at the End…[is] a case of the author trying to depict actual, soul-sucking lunacy, and succeeding with flying colors.”
— Fangoria -
“An anything-goes whirlwind of flying dogs, reality-warping drugs, and monsters made out of frozen meat.”
— NPR -
“David Wong is like a mash-up of Douglas Adams and Stephen King…‘page-turner’ is an understatement.”
— Don Coscarelli, director, Phantasm I–V and Bubba Ho-tep -
“David Wong has managed to write that rarest of things—a genuinely scary story.”
— David Wellington, author of Monster Island and Vampire Zero
John Dies at the End Listener Reviews
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" AMAZING!!! Horrific and funny!!! Could not put it down! "
— Matty, 2/14/2014 -
" I really enjoyed this romp, and look forward to reading the next! I'm not as effusive as "It was better than Cats!" but I do highly recommend. "
— Denise, 2/6/2014 -
" It is a really good story, but there was a SERIOUS overuse of the "r" word. "
— Joelle, 2/4/2014 -
" Fun and funny, but becomes tedious around the halfway point. "
— Joe, 1/29/2014 -
" very weird story, but I liked it. "
— Autumn, 1/26/2014 -
" Does for horror what the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy did for Sci-fi "
— Joe, 1/25/2014 -
" This is what my life was missing all along. "
— Carissa, 1/22/2014 -
" Harold and Kumar meet The Exorcist. Just a lot of fun. "
— Todd, 1/6/2014 -
" Awesome, Weird, Trippy, Laugh out loud funny. getting the sequel. "
— Dennis, 1/5/2014 -
" Bill & Ted have an adventure through Clive Barker's mind... "
— Karli, 12/7/2013 -
" A very odd, but in the end, entertaining book. "
— Rick, 12/5/2013 -
" Three and a half stars. There are issues with the story, but it moves along at a good clip (in fact, there's a little too much action). What makes it an enjoyable read, IMO, is the protagonist's voice, and his banter with the title character. "
— Brian, 8/15/2013 -
" Should be six stars, or eight. The only "horror" book I've read this year that was actually horrific. And funny as hell. Great book. "
— Joel, 3/3/2013 -
" Can't manage to finish this book. I'm about 2/3 of the way through, but simply don't care what may happen next ... "
— Pamela, 1/31/2013 -
" Not my favorite genre - shape-shifting, parallel universes, people who die who don't really die, and much silliness. Cross the movie & the sequel off my list. "
— Becky, 10/18/2012 -
" There are many reasons I shouldn't have liked this book. I liked it anyway. That's pretty much all that can be said. "
— Aram, 10/15/2012 -
" Liked it. Spooky at times. Started to loose me near the end. "
— Meg, 5/2/2012 -
" When a book is supposed to be funny, it does not mean it cannot also be smart. John Dies... is a perfect example of a book that does both. Laugh out loud funny at times, intricate plot, interesting characters and a couple great twists (that actually make sense.) "
— David, 3/14/2012 -
" Great book! Funny and twisted. "
— John, 12/31/2011 -
" The quote on the cover says it all--an author describing soul-sucking lunacy and succeeding with flying colors. Wow. "
— Searska, 11/10/2011 -
" Loved this! Scary and funny at the same time. "
— Jeremy, 9/11/2011 -
" This book is literally the best book I have ever read in the entirety of my life and probably that I'll ever read. This is such a compilation of genius that words may not be able to describe it. To put it simply this book must be read. by everyone. "
— Connor, 6/16/2011 -
" Absolutely ridiculous. And I loved it. It really is Douglas Adams meets Stephen King. Well, maybe Dean Koontz. "
— Michelle, 6/13/2011 -
" This book was absolutely hysterical! It is awesome comic horror, and my husband almost banned it from the bedside because I was snorting and laughing out loud so much while he was trying to sleep! If you like irony and offbeat humor, you will LOVE this book! "
— Jb, 6/7/2011
About Jason Pargin
Jason Pargin is the New York Times bestselling author of the John Dies at the End series as well as the award-winning Zoey Ashe novels. He previously published under the pseudonym David Wong. His essays at Cracked.com and other outlets have been enjoyed by tens of millions of readers around the world.
About Stephen R. Thorne
Stephen R. Thorne, winner of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards for narration, is a professional actor and member of the resident acting company at Providence’s esteemed Trinity Repertory Company, where he has played Hamlet, Henry V, and Tom Joad.