The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel

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.

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304 pages

Average rating: 6.39

70 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Anonymous
Aug 30, 2023
4/10 stars
This writing style is far from my favorite. Every single line of dialogue is the same (Eric says, Andrew says, she says). It was hard to get through and then left us on a cliff hanger.
Ximenamor
Jul 01, 2023
4/10 stars
This book was gut wrenching and intense. I didn’t really like the book ending but it was overall a pretty good read.
oh_let3
May 16, 2023
10/10 stars
taut apocalyptic tale
DesignsByMeghen
May 04, 2023
6/10 stars
This book is full of tension and confusion. Quite honestly I’m not sure how to feel about it. I heard there’s a movie with the same plot, I’m going to have to check it out. To be honest I’m quite mad how the end of this one ended! I haven’t read a bullshit ending to a story in a while, lol. It’s a great book club book to discuss it. If I had to speculate if the end of the world was real or a hoax, I’d have to lean towards real.
Anonymous
Apr 24, 2023
8/10 stars
Paul Tremblay creates a sanctuary far away from civilization, until four random strangers show up with a chilling demand. I wanted to read the book before the movie came out, and I'm thrilled with the solid, well-defined characters. It's unlike anything I ever read before. While your mileage may vary on the ending, I found it fitting for the story and true to Tremblay's MO. Definitely worth your time.

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