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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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.