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The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel Kindle Edition
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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.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWilliam Morrow
- Publication dateJune 26, 2018
- File size8039 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
The Cabin at the End of the World is a thriller that grapples with the timely and the timeless. I tore through it in record time. I just couldn't wait to see where Tremblay was going to take me next.
-- "Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling"A striking work of psychological horror and unblinking terror...A blinding tale of survival and sacrifice that matches the power of belief with man's potential for unbridled violence.
-- "Kirkus Reviews"A tremendous book-thought provoking and terrifying, with tension that winds up like a chain. The Cabin at the End of the World is Tremblay's personal best. It's that good.
-- "Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author"An extremely intense, anxiety-inducing thriller that puts the family in mortal danger while forcing them to tackle a universal dilemma-is one life worth that of seven billion others?
-- "Booklist (starred review)"Tremblay loads emotion and tension into every paragraph...A heartfelt, emotionally charged journey into our worst nightmares.
-- "Caroline Kepnes, author of You"Tremblay once again demonstrates his talent for terrifying readers. Offering a terrible situation with no good outcome, this is the author at his best.
-- "Library Journal (starred review)"Tremblay skillfully seeds his tale with uncertainties...His profoundly unsettling novel invites readers to ask themselves whether, when faced with the unbelievable, they would do the unthinkable to prevent it.
-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)" --This text refers to the audioCD edition.Review
“A tremendous book―thought-provoking and terrifying, with tension that winds up like a chain. The Cabin at the End of the World is Tremblay’s personal best. It’s that good.” — Stephen King
“Read Paul Tremblay’s new novel, The Cabin at the End of the World, and you might not sleep for a week. Longer. It will shape your nightmares for months—that’s pretty much guaranteed. That’s what it’s built for. And there’s a very, very good chance you’ll never get it out of your head again.” — NPR
“The Cabin at the End of the World is a clinic in suspense, a story that opens with high-wire tension and never lets up from there. The blend of human horror and human heart is superb. Paul Tremblay is rapidly becoming one of my favorite suspense writers.” — Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author
“The apocalypse begins with a home invasion in this tripwire-taut horror thriller. . . .[Tremblay’s] profoundly unsettling novel invites readers to ask themselves whether, when faced with the unbelievable, they would do the unthinkable to prevent it.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Think The Desperate Hours meets 10 Cloverfield Lane, but way, way stranger. With The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay gives us a gloriously claustrophobic and gory tale of faith and paranoia. Signs and wonders and homemade battle-axes, oh my!” — Stewart O’Nan, author of The Speed Queen and A Prayer for the Dying
“The Cabin at the End of the World is a thriller that grapples with the timely and the timeless. I tore through it in record time. I just couldn’t wait to see where Tremblay was going to take me next.” — Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling
“A blinding tale of survival and sacrifice that matches the power of belief with man’s potential for unbridled violence.” — Kirkus Reviews
“[A novel] about the clash of rational and irrational, hatred and violence, prophecies and religion gone mad, and perhaps hope. The Cabin at the End of the World is a terrific, disturbing, desperate novel, one that profoundly reflects the current political climate of North America and our ambiguous times.” — Mariana Enriquez, author of Things We Lost in the Fire
“Tremblay once again demonstrates his talent for terrifying readers. Offering a terrible situation with no good outcome, this is the author at his best. Highly recommended for Tremblay’s fans and those who relish end-of-the-world scenarios.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“Paul Tremblay is the real deal! The Cabin at the End of the World is a heart-pounding, edge of your seat thriller that will leave you with one simple question: what would you do?” — J.D. Barker, internationally bestselling author of Forsaken and The Fourth Monkey
“Tremblay captures the intense emotional struggle. . . of Wen, Andrew, and Eric, while dread and terror permeate every sentence. This is a novel with the heart and tone of The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, but will also appeal to fans of Ruth Ware, Josh Malerman, and Joe Hill.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Paul Tremblay loads emotion and tension into every paragraph on every page of The Cabin at the End of the World. It is a dream come true, a heartfelt, emotionally charged journey into our worst nightmares. — Caroline Kepnes, author of You and Providence
“Tremblay skilfully keeps his readers guessing about the reality of Leonard’s ominous warning as he lets his horrifying scenario play out.” — The Guardian
“Equal parts gripping, horrifying, and mesmerizing. . . . The Cabin at the End of the World succeeds in part because it trades in frights rooted (or not) in totally unprovable motivation.” — GQ
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From the Back Cover
A propulsive, heart-palpitating novel of psychological suspense from the Bram Stoker Award–winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts
Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet lake in northern New Hampshire. A handful of miles from the Canadian border, far removed from the bustle of city life, cut off from the urgent hum of cell phones and from the internet, they are more than two miles away from their closest neighbors in either direction along an old dirt logging road.
On a cloudless summer day, as Wen catches grass-hoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen, but he is young—twenty-four and a half years old, he tells her—and friendly, with a warm and wide smile that wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen continue to talk and play, until three more strangers, two women and a man, all dressed like Leonard in jeans and button-down shirts, come down the road carrying strange, menacing objects.
In a panic, Wen tells Leonard that she must go back inside the cabin. But before she goes, her new friend tells her, “None of what’s going to happen is your fault. You haven’t done anything wrong, but the three of you will have to make some tough decisions. I wish with all my broken heart you didn’t have to.” As Wen sprints away 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. Please.”
The Cabin at the End of the World is 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. Electrifying and haunting, it is a masterpiece of terror and suspense from the fantastically fertile imagination of Paul Tremblay.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.About the Author
Paul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the author of Growing Things, The Cabin at the End of the World, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, and the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland. His essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly online, and numerous year’s-best anthologies. He has a master’s degree in mathematics and lives outside Boston with his family.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From the Inside Flap
Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin in New Hampshire. A handful of miles from the Canadian border, far removed from the bustle of city life, cut off from the urgent hum of cell phones and from the internet, they are more than two miles away from their closest neighbors.
On a summer day, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen, but he is young and friendly, with a warm smile that wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen continue to talk and play, until three more strangers come down the road carrying strange, menacing objects.
In a panic, Wen tells Leonard that she must go back inside the cabin. But before she goes, her new friend tells her, "None of what's going to happen is your fault. You haven't done anything wrong, but the three of you will have to make some tough decisions. I wish with all my broken heart you didn't have to." As Wen sprints away 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. Please."
--GQ --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.Product details
- ASIN : B074DTFY26
- Publisher : William Morrow (June 26, 2018)
- Publication date : June 26, 2018
- Language : English
- File size : 8039 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 281 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #661 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Gay & Lesbian
- #3 in Gay Fiction
- #3 in Ghost Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Paul Tremblay is the author of the Bram Stoker Award and Locus Award winning THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD, winner of the British Fantasy Award DISAPPEARANCE AT DEVIL'S ROCK, and Bram Stoker Award/Massachusetts Book Award winning A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS. A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS is in development with Focus Features. He's also the author of the novels The Little Sleep, No Sleep till Wonderland, Swallowing a Donkey's Eye, and Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn't Fly (co-written with Stephen Graham Jones).
His newest book is the short story collection GROWING THINGS AND OTHER STORIES.
His essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and numerous "year's best" anthologies. He is the co-editor of four anthologies including Creatures: Thirty Years of Monster Stories (with John Langan). Paul is on the board of directors for the Shirley Jackson Awards. He lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts, has a master's degree in Mathematics, and has no uvula. You can find him online at www.paultremblay.net. twitter: @paulgtremblay
He is represented by Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management.
Customer reviews
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So, what if you read the book in it’s entirety and find that there’s a tremendous question left unanswered?! If I told you that the answer to that question didn’t matter, would you believe me? The author’s notes said just that, without trying to provide a spoiler here, I will only say that whether the message of the “others” is true or false is not nearly as important as the underlying choice that’s required of our main characters, the broken Eric and the far more cynical Andrew. For anyone who’s read the book and would enjoy knowing why I left Wen (their young daughter) out is simply because there was never the question if they would “choose” her. That option was clearly never on the table. Other than in the introduction, the entire book revolves around their choice, and that choice revolves around the greatest sacrifice of all — love — is your love so powerful that it’s literally more important than everything else in the known universe?! Experiencing true love and ‘taking the easy road’ seem more mutually exclusive the more you think about it! That’s what it all boils down to, the family dynamic, and their own world within an even bigger world. The questions that affect our family and those outside forces that shatter it should be far more important to us than it’s screwed up macroscopic counterpart.
I should add that the literary devices used by the author were anything, but ordinary. A combination of first, second, or third person language was used throughout the book in order to better captivate the reader. It worked! By the end of the book, a “first person plural” was used to better facilitate the reader as if they were Eric and Andrew coming down to the moment that will change everything forever, but regardless of whether it would have any outside effect is not the concern, not in their ‘here and now.’ Their lives have been shaken upside down in some horrible and traumatic ways, however they just can’t escape “the question!”
The world will always be screwed up. The world may be here tomorrow or it may not. We have zero control over those things, though it’s nice to pretend we do, the fact remains that only a handful of people control the fate of our entire world! At one point in the book, they made it a point to mention that nearly everything spewing out of cable news is “bad news!” I totally agree and have been saying for years that each news station puts its own spin on the “news” to make it an entertainment show, not a legitimate news show, hell, it’s been 40+ years since we’ve had any semblance of real news on the airwaves! The reality is that such “news” doesn’t really have much of an impact on our daily lives, however 99% of what does have a major effect is dictated by those closest to us! All we could, and should want, is for those closest to us to be safe, healthy, loved… That’s what should really matter instead of a chance possibility in some far off land as told by an overpaid TV broadcaster! We need to worry about our loved ones primarily as those are the people who life goes on with. The thing this story teaches us to remember is that horrible things may happen, but:
“We will go on.”
After pondering that, this book is undoubtedly a 5/5 star read that I would urge anybody on the fence to just pickup and read! One warning, once you start, it will be VERY difficult to put this book down. On many levels, it is, simply, that good!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 1, 2022
So, what if you read the book in it’s entirety and find that there’s a tremendous question left unanswered?! If I told you that the answer to that question didn’t matter, would you believe me? The author’s notes said just that, without trying to provide a spoiler here, I will only say that whether the message of the “others” is true or false is not nearly as important as the underlying choice that’s required of our main characters, the broken Eric and the far more cynical Andrew. For anyone who’s read the book and would enjoy knowing why I left Wen (their young daughter) out is simply because there was never the question if they would “choose” her. That option was clearly never on the table. Other than in the introduction, the entire book revolves around their choice, and that choice revolves around the greatest sacrifice of all — love — is your love so powerful that it’s literally more important than everything else in the known universe?! Experiencing true love and ‘taking the easy road’ seem more mutually exclusive the more you think about it! That’s what it all boils down to, the family dynamic, and their own world within an even bigger world. The questions that affect our family and those outside forces that shatter it should be far more important to us than it’s screwed up macroscopic counterpart.
I should add that the literary devices used by the author were anything, but ordinary. A combination of first, second, or third person language was used throughout the book in order to better captivate the reader. It worked! By the end of the book, a “first person plural” was used to better facilitate the reader as if they were Eric and Andrew coming down to the moment that will change everything forever, but regardless of whether it would have any outside effect is not the concern, not in their ‘here and now.’ Their lives have been shaken upside down in some horrible and traumatic ways, however they just can’t escape “the question!”
The world will always be screwed up. The world may be here tomorrow or it may not. We have zero control over those things, though it’s nice to pretend we do, the fact remains that only a handful of people control the fate of our entire world! At one point in the book, they made it a point to mention that nearly everything spewing out of cable news is “bad news!” I totally agree and have been saying for years that each news station puts its own spin on the “news” to make it an entertainment show, not a legitimate news show, hell, it’s been 40+ years since we’ve had any semblance of real news on the airwaves! The reality is that such “news” doesn’t really have much of an impact on our daily lives, however 99% of what does have a major effect is dictated by those closest to us! All we could, and should want, is for those closest to us to be safe, healthy, loved… That’s what should really matter instead of a chance possibility in some far off land as told by an overpaid TV broadcaster! We need to worry about our loved ones primarily as those are the people who life goes on with. The thing this story teaches us to remember is that horrible things may happen, but:
“We will go on.”
After pondering that, this book is undoubtedly a 5/5 star read that I would urge anybody on the fence to just pickup and read! One warning, once you start, it will be VERY difficult to put this book down. On many levels, it is, simply, that good!
From that premise, the novel is able to explore a wide variety of deep ideas. It touches on the concept of what family and love mean to people. It explores the concept of sacrifice, and the fundamental psychological differences between forced and willing sacrifices (more on that in a moment). It explores religion, skepticism, delusion, and belief. These are the kinds of big questions with which great novels ought to grapple, and it was refreshing to read a novel that did explore them.
It was particularly refreshing that the novel doesn't force its author's conclusions about these questions down the reader's throat. Much of the novel, for instance, focuses on the question of whether the home invaders' actions would genuinely save the world or whether they're delusional. That allows the reader to grapple with such questions as the "goodness" of a god/universe/higher power/whatever that demands such sacrifices on the one hand, and the power of sincere belief to lead people to commit atrocities on the other hand.
Never fully explored explicitly but always lingering beneath the surface of the novel is the topic of what sacrifice really means. Psychologically speaking, our literature and mythology is full of stories of sacrifice because what humans have learned during our evolution is that we can make sacrifices today to ensure a better tomorrow. When translated into the terms of literature or mythology, these sacrifices can be exaggerated to the point of actual human sacrifice, as they are in this novel. However, there's a fundamental philosophical question of whether an unwilling sacrifice really does anything good at all, or whether sacrifices must be willingly given. The novel raises the question at one point, but leaves it for the reader to question whether a sacrifice prompted by the actions of home invaders could be considered willing under any circumstances. Admittedly, I wished the novel would explore this on a deeper level, but even raising the topic at all accomplishes quite a bit.
Throughout the book, I was engrossed by the straight-forward yet sincere style of writing from a variety of characters' perspectives and the narrative remained engaging even during the slower moments when nothing terribly exciting was happening. These moments were regularly punctuated, however, with moments of pure terror that make this book "unputdownable." The characters, for the most part, are vividly drawn, and the reader is often placed in the uncomfortable position of empathizing even with the villains of the story.
Indeed, while I was reading, I was consistently prepared to give this book a five-star review. In fact, I still award five stars to the bulk of the text. However, the ending simply doesn't work. It's been widely criticized by others. In some cases, I think people felt the ending lacked clarity. That is not my criticism, however. To me, it's pretty clear what happened, but I still didn't find it satisfying.
There are three main reasons for my dissatisfaction with the ending. First, the final pages are marked by a shift in perspective to the first person plural in a stylistic decision whose purpose I understand but with which I completely disagree. It is jarring to read and doesn't seem to contribute to the story's impact. That leads directly to my second complaint, which is that while the novel should be reaching a climax, its pace actually seems to slow to a crawl, partly due to stylistic choice and partly due to the fact that the true climax (in terms of reaching a peak in terms of both action and emotion) seemed to occur significantly earlier. Finally, I simply don't think the ending offered the best conclusion to the story. I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't say exactly what I would prefer to have happened, but a different ending occurred to me that would have highlighted those intellectual questions I was so enjoying, whereas the actual ending, while it doesn't exactly undercut them, seems to leave them hanging.
I do recommend this book. In fact, I think that for the bulk of its length, it represents the best of Tremblay's work that I've read to date (which is saying something, as I've also enjoyed his other works). It's just unfortunate that the ending failed to live up to the rest of the book's promise.
Will I watch the movie? Yes. I have to see how it compares to the book. I'm still a fan of Tremblay. This book just wasn't for me.
Top reviews from other countries
What I didn't like I couldnt put my finger on and tbh I still cant. I couldnt like the characters, the story was interesting but the characters couldn't lead me through it. I'm up to the bit where pretty much everyone is dead and they are leaving the cabin but that was a month ago and I just dread picking up my kindle again. I'm really sorry to the author for the poor, unhelpful review. But I will read other books by him.
I read about 35% and gave up. I am a youngish retiree and from page 10 I was worried that this would be the last book I would read before I die. That left me with dread and terror. The writing is not particularly good but the style is obscure and diffucult to grip. The initial fight sequence was nonsence. The arguments and logic were silly.
I'll move on, in search of a better book to end my days.
It kept me gripped for a conclusion and answers to what was happening, but the ending was left ambiguous and disappointing. I think ambiguity can work well sometimes by leaving it up to the reader, but it felt really cheap here. The Head Full Of Ghosts ending was left open too, but I think it was a good way to end that story. It didn’t feel like a cop out like it does here.
It’s a shame because I couldn’t put the book down and in that regard it is a 5 star book, but it doesn’t deliver a conclusion that lives up to all of the great build up.









