The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel

By Paul Tremblay

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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Published Jul 2, 2019

304 pages

Average rating: 6.41

158 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Mellific
Jul 09, 2026
8/10 stars
I enjoyed the uniqueness of this book, however I have to say that the lack of explanation about the 'end of the world' left me feeling unsatisfied at the end. The implication, at least to me, is that only people who believe in God are essentially diseased with this belief about the need to sacrifice someone in order to spare the world of its imminent end. And if that was the only reason why these specific people are infected, then I find that to be a pretty lackluster explanation. I know there were some parts in this book that discussed shared delusion, but that didn't really explain it all. So, I wish that there was more of a finality to it all, which would have helped me to understand what was happening.
siemelle900
Nov 28, 2025
4/10 stars
Started off strong, but got harder to read as it went on. This may be one of the few times where not having a clear resolution bugs the heck out of me! After all that, I think I deserve answers! lol
raeallic
Oct 09, 2025
8/10 stars
This was an almost perfect read.
Anne-Marie Eberhardt
Jul 02, 2025
6/10 stars
I use the Netflix rating system and this book just wasn’t for me.
stackedlibrarian
Dec 11, 2024
8/10 stars
3.5

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