I half closed my eyes, my mind flooding with images of the 103 billion humans who have been born since the species appeared. A sea of people living, dying and multiplying like cells in a single organism. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to clear my mind by focusing on a mental image of the waitress’s boobs.

I’ve been a big fan of David Wong (a.k.a. Jason Pargin) for some years now. While I wasn’t there at the genesis of his internet fame, alongside guys like Maddox in the Early Days of the Internet (circa the late 90s/early 00s), I did happily discover his work on Cracked.com. His frequent presence on their podcast made for some of the most enjoyable episodes, as he would break down society and examine it with a critical lens, honing in on our weaknesses and, perhaps more importantly, humanity’s strengths.

David, the protagonist in his book “John Dies at the End,” is not a strong man, not in the traditional sense. He routinely talks about beating the sh-t out of his best friend John and is attracted at all times to at least one woman in his vicinity, but he’s flawed. Human. All he wants is a regular life and his best friend, John (you know, from the title) won’t let him have one, regularly bringing him into his crazy, insane escapades, which David, without question, always saves him from. It’s that courage, that willingness to jump into the fray, that should be admired.

That whole bit was something John had come up with, the man having a terrible habit of carrying out his drunken 3:00 A.M. ideas even after daylight and sobriety came. It was always 3:00 A.M. for John.

I’m still in the early stages of the book, but I can see it’s already becoming one of my favorites and another outlet to enjoy Pargin’s work.

John Dies At The End (Amazon)

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