If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe: A John, Dave, and Amy Novel

By Jason Pargin

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Oct 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781250195845

Jason Pargin

JASON PARGIN is the New York Times bestselling author of the John Dies at the End series as well as the award-winning Zoey Ashe novels. He previously published under the pseudonym David Wong. His essays at Cracked.com and other outlets have been enjoyed by tens of millions of readers around the world.

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Reviews for If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe

[nancyina2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's gross and funny and perceptive and thoughtful. It's very imaginative. I'm too old for this series and I just binged the books.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the fourth book in the series of comedy/horror novels that started with John Dies at the End, and the first Justin Pargin published under his own name (having, I believe, come to the conclusion that a white guy using an Asian pseudonym isn't super cool, even if he did adopt it for innocent reasons). If you've read the previous volumes, you probably know more or less what you're in for here, although I think maybe it does see the characters... well, I hesitate to say "maturing a little," because "mature" is not remotely the word you want to use for these people. But something like that, anyway. And if you haven't read the previous volumes, this one can be read on its own. There may be a couple of points that'll be a little confusing, but as the author himself notes in the afterword, having read the rest of the series is probably not actually going to make anything significantly less confusing. And that's okay! The confusing weirdness is part of the fun. And it is fun. Weird, and wacky, irreverent and sarcastic, and wild and fun, with some glimpses of thoughtfulness and heart beneath it all. Also, brain-hurting time travel, haunted toys, nihilistic teen nerds, and a monster made out of hair and tongues.

[treebeard_404 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great giggle-filled horror. That's not a contradiction, is it?

[thewallflower-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pargin’s most accessible and comprehensible book to date. Which is saying something because this one involves time travel and causality loops.

Usually these stories are pretty ADHD, bouncing from one strange thing to another without a connection to anything. It feels like Pargin started taking medication during the writing of this book.

But make no mistake, it hasn’t hindered his ability. It’s still a genre-busting horror-comedy with equal parts humor and gore. Like if Kevin Smith wrote The Evil Dead.

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’ve got to admit when I first started If You’re Reading this Book, You’re in the Wrong Universe by Jason Pargin aka David Wong I had no idea what to expect but all I can say after finishing it is...whoa, what a ride! Or to quote the title of another book in the series What Did I Just Read! This is the fourth book in the series but the first I’ve read and I’m wondering now why it took me so long to discover this series because I loved every weird, creepy, and just plain awesome word of it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fourth book in the series and just as gonzo. A horrible force from outside our dimension is getting people to summon it via a kid’s toy, turning virtual feeding times into times to feed it very real human parts. But the real fun is the narration, which is entirely fearless and willing to skip to the good parts or even past some things I’d really like to have seen to make the point about how out-of-control and marginally competent these folks are. Also, Dave gets a little closer to embracing his true nature, I guess? Comparing it to another, less weird ordinary-schlubs-fight-horror book I read at the same time, it’s clear that Pargin’s willingness to try anything serves him well here.

[lyndajcoker · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

know this is a satirical work, but for me, it just didn't work at all. Satire can be a double-edged sword. It can enlighten or it can deaden a reader's curiosity. I put it down on page 53.

I thank the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.