Why Hitchhiker's works: white mice running experiments on the human race and threatening to carve up Arthur's brain. Aiming said dog's hind end at bad guy when he has burrito gut. Why John doesn't: waiting for a dog to poop so that the humans can retrieve a bomb. Why Hitchhiker's works: a robot so depressed, talking to him compels other machines to suicide, including life-support systems. Wet meaty chunks in various sizes throughout the book that have no meaning, except to impress us that people can die in a gross fashion. Why John Dies doesn't: numerous exploding bodies. It might be connected to a vase of petunias and have existential meaning. Why Hitchhiker's works: exactly one exploding body, in the form of a sperm whale landing on a planet. With characters we haven't met or know nothing about but appear to be taken over by aliens by the end of chat. Why John Dies doesn't: two pages of random girlish chatroom transcript, complete with chat shorthand and exclamation points. To appreciate the humor, he built a race entirely absent in emotional expression and vulnerability and then provided an example of their self expression, and the appropriate screams of horror from the audience. Adams managed to turn the entire SF genre sideways with is originality, John Dies mostly feels like an unfinished stew of popular culture references and genre mashup. Adams envisioned an entire universe for his absurdity while Wong plays around in modern America, where we've navel-gazed at absurdity so long, the commentary is hardly unique. However, there are critical, fun-diminishing differences. Both plots involve the end of the world as we know it, and time travel or alternate realities may or may not be involved. The heroes are similar and somehwhat unlikeable the rather boring Arthur Dent and 20-something slacker, David, a video store clerk. Yes, like the book blurb says, in some ways it resembles The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-it's that strange blend of humor that occurs partially because of stacking two incongruencies in a slice of bread and calling it a sandwich. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault.Put this book down and go read Wong's work at, particularly his piece '6 Things Rich People Need to Stop Saying,' a brilliant piece of humor, psychology and economics.īack to John Dies. I'm sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. John and I never had the chance to say no. The important thing is this: The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. You may not want to know about the things you'll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. You should not have touched this flyer with your bare hands. John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End #1) STOP.

John dies at the end of this book