The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel

Paul Tremblay

Jun 2018 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Paul Tremblay’s terrifying twist to the home invasion novel—inspiration for the upcoming major motion picture from Universal Pictures

“Tremblay’s personal best. It’s that good.” — Stephen King

Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. Their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road.

One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen, but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, “None of what’s going to happen is your fault.” Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: “Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world.”

Thus begins an unbearably tense, gripping tale of paranoia, sacrifice, apocalypse, and survival that escalates to a shattering conclusion, one in which the fate of a loving family and quite possibly all of humanity are entwined. The Cabin at the End of the World is a masterpiece of terror and suspense from the fantastically fertile imagination of Paul Tremblay.

Ratings and reviews

Bought for bookclub otherwise wouldn't have finished. Huge Stephen King fan and was confused and disoriented by his endorsement because this may have been the worst book I've read. For such a widely published author, this read more like a writer's conference submission. (Sorry author, I know it's your baby.) The flow of story had a whiplash momentum, stopping at *every *single point of progress to include a mostly irrelevant backstory. Spoiler, the ending made me want to mimic the blood dripping self-harm that was the gratuitous, repetitive theme of the entire book. As a voracious reader often reading three or four books at a time, I enjoy different genres and quality levels, yet couldn't find a thing here to enjoy. Confused even more by the Bram Stoker award, I stopped mid-book to Google and read reviews wondering what I was missing. I found a handful of similar reviewers proverbially staring mouth agape at the digital page asking what in Sam Hill!? As Simon says, "it's a no from me."

Mysterious end of days story, but the story fell flat for me. Unfortunately I felt confused throughout most of it. I feel like many would enjoy the book but it just wasn't for me. I did like parts closer to the end but I wish there were more. I think this story could have gotten really creative. I also found Leonard to be annoying which I struggled with.

A fun and quick read. It has some memorable lines and concepts. Kinda feels like a short story idea turn into a novel. Would not read again but would recommend.

About the author

Paul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book Awards and is the New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie, The Beast You Are, The Pallbearers Club, Survivor Song, Growing Things and Other Stories, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, and the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland. His novel The Cabin at the End of the World was adapted into the Universal Pictures film Knock at the Cabin. Another is his first children’s book. He has been teaching high school math for a long, long time, and he lives outside Boston with his family.