This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It

Starred review from August 20, 2012
Cracked.com editor Jason Pargin's alter ego Wong returns with a sequel to the cult classic John Dies at the End. The 25-year-old John is very much alive in this book, less drunk than last we saw him (though not for lack of trying), and joined by David's loyal dog, Molly, and his freckle-faced, one-handed fiancée, Amy. Together they battle an infestation of spider-like monsters that lodge themselves in their victim's mouths, take control of their bodies, and wreak havoc on the town of "Undisclosed." Not all the monsters are as easy to spot as the "shambling meat" marauders, such as the man-shaped monster with skewered turkey appendages or the anus-gouging ground-tunneler they call Carlos. Shadow men appear, John hits the "Soy Sauce," his dangerous drug of choice, and even the government quarantine team led by David's court-ordered therapist might pose more of a threat than the zombie contagion (as infected humans prey on people, and can survive massive traumas, the group decides that "zombie" is the best term). This phantasmagoria of horror, humorâand even insight into the nature of paranoia, perception, and identityâheralds the film adaptation of its predecessor; directed by Bubba Ho-Tep and Phantasm auteur Don Coscarelli, it premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group.

October 1, 2012
Violence, soy sauce and zombie survivalists abound in this clever and funny sequel to John Dies at the End (2009). One of the great things about discovering new writers, especially in the narrow range of hybrid-genre comedic novels, is realizing that they're having just as much fun making this stuff up as you are reading it. Sitting squarely with the likes of S.G. Browne and Christopher Moore, the pseudonymous Wong (Cracked editor Jason Pargin) must be pissing himself laughing at his own writing, even as he's giving fans an even funnier, tighter and justifiably insane entry in the series. A quick prologue catches us up on Wong and friend David, whose first adventure was chock full of psychotropic drugs and X-Files style paranormality. The great thing about these characters is how normal they are amid the madness. "We're not special, it's just the result of some drugs we took," Wong explains. "Just for future reference, if you're ever at a party and a Rastafarian offers you a syringe full of a shiny black substance that crawls around on its own like the Blob, don't take it. And don't call us, either. We get enough bullshit from strangers as it is." This time around, the boys are trying to mitigate an influx of spidery invaders that soon blossoms into a full-fledged zombie massacre. The humor here is unforced and good-naturedly gory. Anyone who enjoyed the recent films The Cabin in the Woods or Tucker & Dale vs. Evil will find themselves right at home. An upcoming (cult?) film adaptation of John Dies at the End promises to lure new readers. A joyful return to the paroxysms of laughter lurking in the American Midwest.

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2012

Here's a sequel to John Dies at the End, the online comic horror spectacular that inspired 70,000 downloads and then book sales amounting to 60,000 copies. An evidently revived John and costar David battle raging zombie anxiety--though there's no proof that zombies are actually stalking the earth. Still, something is out there stalking, and it makes zombies look like cupcakes. From the pseudonymous Jason Pargin, editor in chief of cracked.com.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.