What the Hell Did I Just Read: A Novel of Cosmic Horror (John Dies at the End, 3) Paperback – September 4, 2018

Never read the original books in the series and only vaguely remember the movie. Easy to follow without context of the series. Book is general Wong brilliance. Engaging plot, great characters with consistent personalities. Gloriously off-kilter with a wonderful interplay between bizarre horror and raunchy jokes, laced with poignant observational philosophy. Structurally, the voice changing plays well and the self-aware nature is fun and enjoyable. The tension is fluid, especially toward the end. None of the tropes or devices feel tortured or ham-fisted. There are some quibbles to make in the omitted speaker tags during dialog, but it arguably would have broken flow, so leaving it confusing to preserve pacing makes it justifiable. Chekov's guns pay off satisfactorily, the plot is tight and services the characters well, even inside an "unreliable narrator" frame. As far as literary chops go, the experiential metaphor is clean and, when not drawing from first-hand experiences, very well-researched. The commentaries on rural decay, personal agency, fallibility, and mental health are hard to miss, but the symmetries and contrasts between the perceptions of the narrator and those around him/them make for a poignant juxtapositions, operating most compellingly when exposing the toxicities of untreated mental illness. It's every bit as subtle and nuanced a Pulitzer contender, even if we won't be seeing it "in the running" any time soon. Highly recommended, definitely worth the read.

I've been a big fan of David Wong/Jason Pargin since the early days when John Dies at the End was posted on Pointless Waste of Time. He's earned the right to get a pre order from me any time he publishes a book, and I started this one literally the minute it came to my kindle. I can definitely say I was not disappointed, and I don't think long time fans of JDatE will be either.What the Hell Did I Just Read is a lot truer to the series than This Book is Full of Spiders, I think. I similarly read TBiFoS as soon as it was possible, but I finished reading initially with a bit of disappointment. My biggest problem with TBiFoS was what Pargin did with Amy and John as characters. In JDatE, Amy and John are both good characters to round out David. While David is a bit of a buzzkill, and reluctant to do anything or be the hero, John and Amy are there to drive forward the stupidity and give you something to cheer for. John was a great character in JDatE because not only does he go along with the insanity of what is happening to them, he seems to embrace it. Amy is good for similar reasons, but in a different way. While she is frequently a voice of reason, she also doesn't want David to shy away from what needs to be done, and she always wants to go along.However, in TBiFoS, both characters are given points of view, which they didn't previously have in JDatE. They're given significantly more depth, which generally is a good thing the deeper you go into a series, but I don't actually think they benefited from this in TBiFoS. The biggest problem I have is John in particular, instead of being the insane, stupid badass that he is in JDatE, he's made to look more like a raging alcoholic that doesn't have his life together and actually becomes a way less likable character. Don't get me wrong, he's definitely a drunken idiot that has serious issues in JDatE, but the lack of repercussions makes it a lot easier to look past. In TBiFoS, John lets Amy down multiple times, which mostly makes him very disappointing.My other big issue with TBiFoS is that the story itself is a bit trite and overdone (it boils down to a zombie book, really, and there's too many zombie stories right now), despite JDatE being the first of its kind at the time and breathing some fresh air into the horror genre. The biggest thing JDatE had going for it was that one second you would be laughing uncontrollably and the next absolutely horrified. I never really had moments like that with TBiFoS, in fact there was very little in the book for me to laugh at.All that being said, What the Hell Did I Just Read completely turned all that around. Within the first few chapters I was laughing way too hard, and the jokes were very true to JDatE at its roots. The story itself was much more reminiscent of the original story, without being the same thing all over again. And John and Amy were still given points of view, but I thought their characters were much better used in WtHDIJR, and John became a likable character again.My big concerns with the book were that Amy was given an amount of depth that may be pushing too far for some fans. I found her concerns and issues in the book very reasonable and realistic, but I could see some fans starting to treat her like Skyler White, if anyone is familiar with Breaking Bad and the fan backlash against that character. It will be interesting to see how the fanbase reacts.My other issue is that while the first half of the book was very page turning and engaging, the second half tended to drag. The climactic ending to the story seemed to start too early and last too long, which leads to disinterest. This is actually one of the biggest reasons I had trouble getting into Pargin's last book, Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, but not something I noticed in his first two books. Hopefully this isn't the direction he finds himself going in with future books, and he learns to reign this in a little.Overall, though, this book is amazing. Very worth reading for any fans of JDatE, and definitely holds its own in the universe that was written. I'm excited to read it through again, maybe a little slower and get a feel for it more.

Ever since I read the first JDATE, I have found myself compelled to pre-order any David Wong novel that is released. Sometimes I don't even remember doing it, I just wake up with an e-mail from Amazon congratulating me on my my purchase. As soon as this latest addition to the series arrived at my home, I furiously ripped open the packaging, apparently mumbling in some unknown language the entire time, as reported by my concerned fiancée. I don't remember any of this, but I do remember enjoying the novel immensely.Unfortunately, my fiancée has since decided that my love for these novels is a good enough reason for her to give them a read as well. When she told me of her intentions, I locked the novels away in a heavy trunk inside an unused closet, sure that I had prevented her from such a catastrophic error. When we awoke the next morning, all the novels were stacked in a neat pile on her bedside table. What is happening?Besides the near-constant sense of being observed by something, and the strange way these novels never seem to stay where they were placed, this is once again a highly satisfying and appreciated work in the JDATE series. The horror is real enough to actually be scary, the drama provides interesting and thoughtful insight into real world issues, and the humor is joyfully low brow.5 stars, will be compelled to re-read, may compel enemies to also read.

It's such a great book and fits well in the series! Seriously you should definitely read it if you haven't

If youre familiar with this series and familiar with the characters. This book will leave you after completion asking yourself... what the hell did I just read?Its a solid book and I personally, thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book is (almost) entirely about the fun of reading. Like when you go watch a superhero movie, you’re not really expecting insulightful dialgues on the human condition. When you do get them it usually sucks. This book is not like that at all. It is fun, it is hilarious (although not as much as jdate1 and 2) and in the few occasions when it does offer some insights, they are very good, short, to the point, well written and fits perfectly into the plot. My first (and probably last) 5 stars in 2017.

As always, David Wong manages to deliver on a highly amusing novel whith plenty of nonsense, which somehow, makes sense in the end. This is the third book on the series and works as a stand alone history, so it is not neccessary to have read the previous two in order to enjoy this one, but it is highly recommended

Arrived early, such a great read. So funny and creepy but hilariously suspensful. Kinda wanna trip with the author just think that would be fun. #IYKYK