If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe
A John, Dave, and Amy Novel
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4.7 • 138 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
New York Times bestselling author Jason Pargin’s hilarious and horrifying John Dies at the End series continues with If This Book Exists, You’re in the Wrong Universe.
"Pargin once again delights with scathing social commentary thinly disguised as an outrageous action novel...This is a feast."—Publishers Weekly
"Within the snarky humor is an incisive commentary on social media and the state of our connected world, and a story about trauma and how people lash out when they’re hurt...This isn’t just a funny tale of inept supernatural investigators; it’s a story of people struggling through pain to find a better path. Pargin offers us a welcome note of hope." — Booklist
If the broken neon signs, shuttered storefronts, and sub-standard housing didn’t tip you off, you’ve just wandered into the city of “Undisclosed”. You don’t want to be caught dead here, because odds are you just might find yourself rising from the grave. That hasn’t stopped tourists from visiting to check out the unusual phenomena that hangs around our town like radioactive fallout. Interdimensional parasites feeding on human hosts, paranormal cults worshipping demonic entities, vengeful teenage sorcerers, we’ve got it all.
Did I mention the possessed toy? It’s a plastic football-sized egg that’s supposed to hatch an adorable, colorful stuffed bird when a child “feeds” it through a synchronized smartphone app. What’s actually inside is an otherworldly monstrosity that’s enticing impressionable wayward youth into murdering folks and depositing their body parts inside the egg as if it’s a hungry piggy bank to trigger the end of the world.
That’s where Dave, John, and Amy come in. They face supernatural threats so the rest of us don’t have to—and sometimes even earn a couple of bucks to so do. But between the bloody ritual sacrifices and soul-crushing nightmares, our trio realizes this apocalypse is way above their pay grade.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Reintroducing readers to catchers of cosmic chaos Dave, John, and Amy, Pargin (Zoe Punches the Future in the Dick) once again delights with scathing social commentary thinly disguised as an outrageous action novel. The trio of heroes have been keeping busyish in their work as investigators and streamers of the possibly paranormal phenomena in the American city of Undisclosed. Their latest job leads them to the Galveston family, whose nine-year-old daughter, Gracie, is being strangely affected by her trendy new toy, Magpie, an egg players have to feed, via app, until it "hatches" into a stuffed animal. Of course, things go sideways, fast, as the intrepid heroes begin experiencing déjà vu and missing time in the search for the demonic suspect, Xarcrax. Pargin delivers his signature bizarre and vivid visuals ("Into view stepped a man playing a guitar that was covered in thick black fur, wearing a mask of chiseled black stone, a vest of human foreskins, a winged speedo like the one Sting wore in Dune, thigh-high leather boots, and nothing else") alongside a bold, frank examination of societal norms that perpetuate cycles of poverty, helplessness, and generational trauma. This is a feast.
Customer Reviews
Absolute excellence
In the fourth book of the John Dies at the End series, we go back to Undisclosed with David, John, Amy, and now Joy as they try to save the city against imminent destruction. This is book feels like the culmination of the first three as the characters have all evolved. The addition of Joy makes it even better! This is a must read!
Humanity
Absolutely love this one. Some of the character dynamics are upsettingly real. The ending feels like a meditation on humanity. Just as fun and absurd as always with tons of heart.
Excellent!
Loved every second of this book!