John Dies at the End
Just the Facts
1. John Dies at the End is a horror novel written by Cracked.com editor David Wong. It will be released by St. Martin's Press in the second half of 2009. A feature film is also in the works, to be directed by Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-Tep).
2. A website with a related Alternate Reality Game Adventure can be found at JohnDiesattheEnd.com
3. The story contains the word "bratwurst" 17 times.
Cracked on John Dies at the End
David Wong has been publishing horror novels since 2001. And by "novels" we mean "John Dies at the End." That one story has been published in no less than four formats: as an online serial, then through the print-on-demand service at CafePress, then via indie horror publisher Permuted Press, and now by huge megapublisher St. Martin's.
Some have thus referred to Wong as "the Capcom of horror authors" and declared JDatE to be his Street Fighter II. All formats combined, the story has been read by some 85,000 people.
Plot:
The main character--who though named David Wong, is not a biographical representation of the author--and his best friend--named John--stumble across a drug called Soy Sauce that lets them have out of body experiences. Then they are attacked by monsters and stuff. Dave kills a dude.
They find out the world is being attacked by a Lovecraftian god named Korrok, whose godhood has not saved him from being totally retarded. Dave must overcome Korrok's dark and invisible army, while overcoming his own personal demons. His primary demon is the fact that he just doesn't give a shit.
The Online Experience:
On Halloween of 2008 David Wong (who wrote this but enjoys referring to himself in the third person) launched an entirely new tie-in website at JohnDiesattheEnd.com, a serial adventure done in the "Alternate Reality Game" style where hidden codes and messages are embedded in each updated, which allow the reader to "unlock" hidden areas of the site. JDatE has its own forum area on Cracked.com where readers are currently spending many hours of their free time trying to unravel it.
I serve none but Korrok, oh and Cracked...
ReplyI love how dave wrote this himself. classy
ReplyJohn Dies at the End is the best thing with words on it forever.
ReplyMost definitely one of the greatest novels in existence. I hope to God there's a sequel soon.
ReplyI absolutely f*****g LOVE JDatE. It's pretty much the best book in existance.
ReplyI must say, JDatE is fucked-the-fuck-up (as in 'twisted'). In a good way, I mean. I'm using it as a very loose basis for a book I'm writing. reply if you would like to read it.
ReplyJDatE is my Bible.
Replyits just meh.
ReplyThis book made me happy in places I didn't know I could be happy. Like my heart.
ReplyDude... its a book
also a "making your heart happy" machine. What, you didn't know that? It's written on the inside flap.
Loved loved loved it. Finished it and then flipped right back to the beginning and started again :)
ReplyIt's an incredible book... it has my recommendation. Which of course means dick all, but still read it anyway.
ReplyThis is by far the best book ive ever read in my entire life... it was filled with twists, kept me guessing the whole time, and Johns insane penis jokes had me laughing until i cried. Keep up the good work, Dave. Im definitely looking forward to the movie adaptation!
ReplyEffing awesome book "David"; read it before I ever came on the site.
Replythis book is quite good
Replyhttp://www.cracked.com/forums/topic/57413/jdate-tshirt
ReplyI'm half way through this book, I mean I'm reading it right now in the way that it's sitting next to me and I took a break during an action scene (it seemed like a good time). I want to be impregnated by David Wong now; I'm a guy so this may be difficult, but anything worth doing is worth trying. I have a girlfriend, you should make love to her. We'll share a beer and a laugh over it after, maybe crack some jokes.
Replydongfully yours, an avid fan
I would love to read this and watch the movie, but I could never pull myself away from cracked.com long enough to do either.
ReplyYou should do it. It's worth the time spent away from Cracked just to read the part where the wig monster steals John's corndog. I laughed for about a minute straight.
Can't wait to read it... as soon as my damn cat stops spilling bleach all over my various piles of money..should prob stop leaving those so near his food bowl...
ReplyBubba Ho-Tep was a funny-ass movie. I hope they can do your story the same justice.
Reply