It might surprise some people to learn that I don’t restrict myself to reading historical romances, or even romances in general. As it turns out, my reading habits are eclectic as all get-out. The book I just finished is about as far away from a historical romance as it’s possible to get!
“This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude, Don’t Pick It Up” is the second book by David Wong, a pseudonym used by Jason Pargin. Don’t worry, I’m not outing him. David Wong is the main protagonist of these books and they are presented as though they were written by him. The first book was “John Dies at the End” and was turned into a movie that was released in 2012 and featured Paul Giamatti. As of today, the movie is currently free on Amazon Prime, but that’s subject to change without notice. I’d suggest watching it with teenage boys, if at all possible. Expect something along the lines of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
If you don’t like hilarious and seriously off-kilter books, then this isn’t for you. The character of David Wong is a low-achieving guy (think Sean of the Dead) who is used to being dismissed and ignored. It turns out he can see monsters that are invisible to everyone else, and at the start of the book he’s visiting a therapist in court-ordered sessions because he shot a pizza delivery man with a crossbow. (But it was an honest mistake… he thought the guy was a monster!) The real trouble begins when an enormous spider attacks him and tries to take over his mind, and then grows exponentially until the entire fate of the planet rests on David’s shoulders.
I found this book laugh-out-loud funny and totally irreverent. I listened to it as an audiobook, and the narrator is one of my favorites, Nick Podehl. (I first discovered him when I read “The Name of the Wind” and I’ve been a fan ever since.)
Jason Pargin/David Wong did a wonderful job giving each character his own unique voice. I learn something about writing from every single book I read, and this was no exception. The author handled a complex and bizarre plot masterfully, ensuring that all the elements of the final solution existed in his universe well before the final resolution. His foreshadowing was brilliant.
I’ll definitely be reading the next one!
You can go to Amazon here to read more about it.