It's Only Another End of the World

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Fate conspires to unite Cody, a grieving man who lost all he held dear, and Suzy, an eldritch abomination from beyond the stars. Together they attempt to save humanity from yet another end of the world. They will travel beyond time and space! They will face madness, violence and greasy food! They will laugh, cry and fight for the sake of all mankind.

They will also fail.

This story will update infrequently for the last of its run.

WARNING: This story contains violence, swearing, sex, many depictions of suicide and dark subject matter. Reader discretion is advised. This story is considered NSFW.

Information

Status
Completed
Year
2018
Author
Mike Spivak

Tags

COMEDYTRAGEDYROMANCE SUBPLOTHORRORNON-HUMAN LEAD

Royal Road Stats

Rating
4.7/ 5.0
Followers
307
Views
157,057

Chapters(45 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

  • BinaryApotheosisRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    In a review, normally I would talk about SPAG, and pacing, and characterization  and all those little details. After just finishing It's Just Another End of the World, that feels wrong.
    Read the story. All I can say, all I can do, is give it a wholehearted recommendation. Even if you aren't familiar with Lovecraft's Mythos, or know absolutely nothing about The King in Yellow...
    It's truly an amazing story.
  • RevFitzRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Chilling, bizarre, and dark, this serial somehow strikes a balance with anachronistic humor. There is nothing else like it that I have seen on this site, or at least nothing like it done this well. We are still in the early parts of the story but already this is one of my favorites. I cannot wait for more!
  • RijentoRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    As the title of this review says, reading this story forever altered my perspective on the world. In a lot of ways, it was my "The King In Yellow." It is bar-none the best conceptualization of Eldritch Horror that I've read.
    Life is a confusing mess: a blessing to some, a curse to others, but always a miracle in its own way.
    10/10 would have an existential crisis/awakening again.
  • David GilesRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    A wonderful dive into the dark mythos of Lovecraft where a surprisingly personable Hastur gives our main character a tour of the various horrors as he tries to find a way for humanity to survive the apocalypse with some eldritch intervention.
    Honestly it's a lot of... well I want to say fun but it's not that kind of story, it's melancholy more than anything, and has an extremely bittersweet ending. Which is admittedly the best case for cosmic horror
  • Gruesome_GarryRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This story achieves a place in my Memory that will stay for years and maybe more and produces that horrible ache of 'not enough of the good stuff.'
    What starts as a curious take on Mythos well tread, will take you down a beautifully painful road if you let it.
    The characters are perfectly imperfect:
    The human side fights and fails, floundering in the deep end. All the while the Other that the author creates is better than most I've experienced.
    The people feel real and the monsters feel like monsters, even the ones I came to like. There isn't any easily established empathy with the Other that the story creates, unlike many modern takes wherein the things in the shadows are just the same as me and you aside from appearances.
    Instead the author does a remarkable job at keeping the alien, well alien to us the readers and the human elements.
    The substance is both mature, but not too serious at times:
    A bleak and undeniably dark setting sees great, callous gods tearing through the main characters life with little hope to come out alive.
    Hope, as bruised and bloodied as it is, still does exist. Showing off one of the greatest aspects of humanity in a cosmic horror setting.
    At the same time there are moments of a lighter nature that both contrast the darker aspects but also enhances them in my opinion.
    There is sex but it is not smut. There is gore but it is not a meaningless slasherfest. They are used in the right amounts to aid the story instead of hindering it.
    This story can bring you humor, horror, and maybe just a little hope.
    Whether you are a Lovecraft lover or otherwise I can strongly recommend giving this story a read.
    -A Humble, but Ravenous Reader.
  • ImpalerRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Hi, man.
    Thank you so much for this story, really loved how different it was from the usual stuff on RRL. Characters were great and even after the extreme shortening of the story the pace and ending was still perfectly well done. The emotional trauma, growth, and contention of Cody was so well done. I've never felt a character so well brought to life as Cody. The power dynamic you curated between Suzy and Cody also makes the story flows so well. Seriously, thank you!
  • KhalaenasRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    It's good, and amazing, and i actually had planned to write this long and extensive review, but it's two past midnight for me, so i'll pass.
    I will complain about one thing tho. I was promised eldritch waifu. But i wasn't delivered eldritch waifu. Yes, yes, i know. "But Suzy!" Yeah, but shes more friend/manipulator for MC. I want Romance. Eldritch romance! With our boy Cody smashing eldritch waifu. And by that i mean Suzy. I can just feel that they could be something.
    Other than that, amazing story, hope it never ends.
  • Reader0101Royal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    A novel take on the King in Yellow, or should I say Queen? Some liberties were taken here and there to the source character, but I can’t say I don’t love it.
    Somehow it balances things quite well, given I was convinced multiple times throughout it all that there is a… mellow/human side to her and this will eventually turn or twist Cody’s original wish true
    (love) with her of all things,
    but every time, the horrors resurfaced in fascinating ways. I could imagine a sequel to this, I hope you will someday as well and put it on paper.
    Overall, I expected this story to go in a different direction, but I am not disappointed with how things turned out in the end.
  • CheshireTwilightRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 4.5
    Based on the my title and score, you can tell that my view of this fic is a little confused, but sometimes that's what you want in a Lovecraftian story. Just don't expect the "Comedy" or "Romance Subplot" tags getting your hopes up for a fun-filled romp or a sunshine-and-rainbows ending.
    The fiction has its flaws: an over-complicated and muddled beginning, a repetitive middle, a slightly underwhelming ending. The flaws are not what would make this fiction so divisive, rather, it is its greatest attributes - its plot and characters - that you will either love or hate.
    To reiterate, this is not for everyone. A lot of people will hate this fiction. The protagonist is just about the opposite of what you would want in a typical story and the depressing "thrill-ride" towards the "end of the world" will not be entertaining for everyone.
    But with that said, I would be hard-pressed not to recommend it to anyone interested in the premise. While it might take tolerating the jumbled beginning to appreciate it, this really is an authentic and unique love story between an Eldritch God and a hapless human sap. Seriously; and despite it all, it pulls that premise off without it feeling nonsensical or childish.
  • mf_aureliusRoyal Road
    ★★★★ 4.0
    Like the review title says, this story isn't really my style. I don't agree with many of the decisions the main character makes, the direction the plot goes, or many other tiny details, but that's mainly unrelated to the what I should be putting in this review: all of what's below are just the opinions of a rando on the internet O_o.
    In my opinion, the entire story feels like it's dragging out the inevitable. It feels like a never ending stream of word soup, with a dash of existential dread and hopelessness for flavor. The often over described scenes make the story blisted and/or constipated, similar to Edgar Allan Poe. Maybe you (prospective reader checking out this review) might like it. Maybe you enjoy reading dread porn? Who knows.
    Spoiler: Spoiler
    The story is based on the perspective of a character with powerful social anxiety and other personality flaws.
    That should say at all; it reads like a diary of a person who has just recovered from being in an insane asylum. It feels disjointed and awkward in some places, but deeply philosophical in others. Sometimes, the results from this strange thought process might surprise you. Overall, not bad, but it could do with a bit more focus.
    Grammar is good. A few mistakes here and there, but usually in spelling, not punctuation, and usually not enough to ruin the flow of the storytelling.
    If there's one thing this novel does extremely well, it's illustrate characters. The characters feel visceral, realistic, almost as if you're meeting them as the author writes them in. (most of) The characters are charming, witty, and deeply human in a way that lots of authors on RR miss. Unfortunately, (sorry for saying this for the umpteenth time) this means that I hate the main character and I would love to punch the whiny baby in the face.
    There is my review. Whether you liked it or you don't like it, I always say read the first chapter and decide what you think about the writing for yourself.