Horror, Fantasy, and other non-sci-fi genres...

[D_Davis]

Can you give an idea what the book is like, D? I'm not asking for plot spoilers or anything, just the style.

What type of horror is it?

It's like a comedy Lovecraftian tale meets J.R. Lansdale's Hap and Leonard books. A couple of semi-loser dudes discover a drug that opens their eyes to the real world, revealing a horrible truth that drives them insane, and then they become paranormal investigators who fight demons and monsters. At least that's what happens in the first 100 pages. But I think it's the kind of book that can go any where, and probably will. It's written by the editor of Cracked.com and National Lampoon, and was first published on line. It's at times hilarious, and at others gross, and still at others kind of freaky.

[D_Davis]

Oh, and Don Coscarelli's making a movie of it. I guess you could say it's "pop-horror."

[D_Davis]

While unpacking a box, I found a GC to a book store that I thought I had lost. So I went and got the new Stephen King book, and picked up John Dies at the End as well. I got it simply because I liked the title and the cover.

[megladon8]

It sounds really interesting, D.

I've requested it from the library.

[D_Davis]

It sounds really interesting, D.

I've requested it from the library.

It's totally insane. I was afraid that it'd end up being one of those super pop-culture reference books, in which the author name drops all the cool bands and movies he know. However, it's not like that at all. In the first 200 pages, he's only name dropped like 2 movies and 2 bands. There is a ton of slang, but it all feel entirely genuine; the author really knows today's youth language.

It's also really funny - I've LOL'ed more than a few times, chucked and smirked a couple dozen times, and rolled my eyes with the book even more.

[megladon8]

It's totally insane. I was afraid that it'd end up being one of those super pop-culture reference books, in which the author name drops all the cool bands and movies he know. However, it's not like that at all. In the first 200 pages, he's only name dropped like 2 movies and 2 bands. There is a ton of slang, but it all feel entirely genuine; the author really knows today's youth language.

It's also really funny - I've LOL'ed more than a few times, chucked and smirked a couple dozen times, and rolled my eyes with the book even more.

But the key word is rolled your eyes with the book, though, right? Not at?

I'm really interested to read this.

Are you finding it to be as genuinely horrifying as a lot of the reviews make it out to be? They say it's a near-perfect mix of comedy and outright terror.

[D_Davis]

But the key word is rolled your eyes with the book, though, right? Not at?

I'm really interested to read this.

Are you finding it to be as genuinely horrifying as a lot of the reviews make it out to be? They say it's a near-perfect mix of comedy and outright terror.

Yeah, with the book. There is a part where one of the characters uses a chair to fight all these demons, and every time he hits one of them he yells out a stupid chair pun.

"Have a seat, bitch!"
"Here's some dessert, with a chair-y on top!"

And each time they get worse and worse as he runs out of puns.

The author knows when he's being corny, and tongue in cheek, and it plays really well.

It's just smartly written.

There are parts that are pretty freaky, and really gross. It reminds me a lot of Joe R. Lansdale. I'm having a blast reading it, and I can't wait until I can pick it up again. It's the first book this year that I've actively looked forward to reading since Under the Dome. I want to devour it.

[D_Davis]

It's not trying to be hip or cool at all. It's all very genuine. It's more Evil Dead 2 and Braindead than Evil Aliens and Undead, to use a movie analogy. It's not trying to be something else, it's simply being its own thing.

[D_Davis]

This book is continuing to kick my ass. One of the best books I've ever read. It just keeps getting better and better. I think it's destined to be one of those underground classics that people talk and talk about but not a lot of people read. It's so well written and inventive, I imagine that people not into horror could really get something out of it, although it might be a little too gross for them.

[megladon8]

This book is continuing to kick my ass. One of the best books I've ever read. It just keeps getting better and better. I think it's destined to be one of those underground classics that people talk and talk about but not a lot of people read. It's so well written and inventive, I imagine that people not into horror could really get something out of it, although it might be a little too gross for them.

Is the writing itself any good, thought?

Not to generalize an entire "movement" of fiction, but I've read a large handful of "internet sensation becomes published novel" books, and most all of them have featured interesting ideas by someone who really cannot write worth a damn.

[D_Davis]

I think the writing is great. The dude's the head editor for Cracked.com and a regular contributor to National Lampoon, so he has some experience behind the keyboard, especially when comedy is concerned.

I guess the original small press version was littered with typos, but this version seems to have been re-edited and cleaned up.

It's better written than many other horror novels by established authors like Bently Little, Robert McCammon, Dean Koontz, and that recent del Toro travesty.

It definitely has that internet snark and sarcasm, but it totally works with the characters.

I'd compare it very favorably to Joe R. Lansdale's Drive In in terms of prose and atmosphere.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Someone else was telling me about John Dies At the End. I'm intrigued, and now, D, you've upped the ante. Given how right you were about Under the Dome (which gets better the more I think about it), I should hit this one soon.

I just finished Red Dragon, and I wrote a blog post about it, mostly so that I could post some art by William Blake. Still, I thought it was a good novel, efficiently-told, if sometimes uninspired, and Francis Dolarhyde was an impressive creation. Pitiful and frightening in about equal measure.

[D_Davis]

I think you'll dig it.


And (kind of) speaking of Lansdale, looks like all of the Hap and Leonard books are back in print! It was so amazing to see a shelf at a normal book store stocked with Lansdale stuff. Hopefully some people will discover these books. Why these haven't been made into movies yet boggles my mind.

[D_Davis]

Under the Dome has settled really well with me, too. I think about it quite a bit, almost as much as I do The Stand and the Dark Tower series. Really looking forward to his latest - Full dark, No Stars. I hear it's really bleak and well written.

[Mr. Pink]

I think you'll dig it.


And (kind of) speaking of Lansdale, looks like all of the Hap and Leonard books are back in print! It was so amazing to see a shelf at a normal book store stocked with Lansdale stuff. Hopefully some people will discover these books. Why these haven't been made into movies yet boggles my mind.

Yeah, the Hap and Leonard books are amazing. I think the last one (Vanilla Ride) is the only one I didn't finish in a day or two.

Between those and F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack novels, I can't think of anyone else more deserving of a big-screen treatment (although I believe a Repairman Jack movie is in the works).

[lovejuice]

Roverandom turns out to be a pretty nice read. An enchanting book that foreshadows the whole Legenderium of Tolkien. I especially like the semi-symmetrical structure of the book.

[D_Davis]

So all-in-all, John Dies at the End is an excellent read. It's page count led me to believe that it would be a more epic story, but it reads more like a collection of connected novellas. It stays funny, creepy, and gross throughout, and it really is totally insane. Really looking forward to reading what the author does next.

Started King's Full Dark, No Stars. The first novella 1922 is, so far, really great. Like King's work in Different Seasons, the stories here deal less with the supernatural. Instead they focus on the murky depths of humanity. It's really well written and pretty dark. It's almost Lansdale-esque in where it goes.

[Dead & Messed Up]

This took way too much of my free time.

[D_Davis]

Nice. Very cool.

[D_Davis]

The Cthulhu mythos, and the industry surrounding it, is a great example of the benefits of a creative-commons-like approach to the arts. HPL gave birth to a few ideas (ideas that he actually borrows from Dunsany), and then encouraged dozens of other authors to expand upon. And now, even today, we have authors, filmmakers, artists and musicians using the mythos for their own creations.

[megladon8]

The Cthulhu mythos, and the industry surrounding it, is a great example of the benefits of a creative-commons-like approach to the arts. HPL gave birth to a few ideas (ideas that he actually borrows from Dunsany), and then encouraged dozens of other authors to expand upon. And now, even today, we have authors, filmmakers, artists and musicians using the mythos for their own creations.

Totally. While I absolutely adore HPL and many of his stories I consider to be masterful, subsequent authors have done some of the best Cthulhu fiction available.

Hell, while not actually Cthulhu-based, I find Thomas Ligotti to be an example of an author who writes Lovecraft-style horror cosmic horror, and his work is brilliant.

"The Shadow at the Bottom of the World" is one of my favorite short story collections.

[lovejuice]

The Cthulhu mythos, and the industry surrounding it, is a great example of the benefits of a creative-commons-like approach to the arts.

Not that I disagree with you, but on the other hand, this is how you de-elevate some books into a cultist status that's invigorating for fans but leaves outsiders cold.

[D_Davis]

Not that I disagree with you, but on the other hand, this is how you de-elevate some books into a cultist status that's invigorating for fans but leaves outsiders cold.

This can be true. But when something is as niche as the mythos I'm not so sure the creators and fans are too worried about the outsiders. And also with the mythos, the fans often became the creators. Yes, the entire thing is very insular, but it does help to create a sense of community which is exactly what HPL wanted which was made clear through his many correspondences with his colleagues.

[megladon8]

Sometimes I wish I lived back in the '20s/'30s/'40s and could go down to the store and buy those beautiful pulp magazines and novels.

Man, those were the days...

[D_Davis]

Sometimes I wish I lived back in the '20s/'30s/'40s and could go down to the store and buy those beautiful pulp magazines and novels.

Man, those were the days...

Can you imagine actually being one of the few to discover Lovecraft, or Clark Ashton Smith, in one of these pulps? Must've been pretty cool to just pick up a copy of Weird Tales and read these authors without any preconceived notions or baggage.