Survivor (ISBN 0843955678)

hide this one from the kids!:
holy cow what a crazy book!! wouldnt say i enjoyed it all the way through it but it was definitely intense. the story started off really strong, scary and suspenseful. from there it gets into some reeeaaally disturbing plot developments that made me uncomfortable but in a good way! guess my tolerance for depravity is pretty high, im sure a lot of readers would give up about halfway through. biggest complaint is the story becomes a little unbelievable toward the end. overall a decent read for people who arent afraid of really heavy graphic horror.

Much more than just a horror novel:
Under the guise of an extreme horror novel, author J.F. Gonzalez has managed to create, with Survivor, an emotionally resonant moral commentary on the underbelly of society, showing how the top and bottom blend until there is little or no difference anymore. Brad and Lisa Miller are on their way to a romantic vacation (where she will announce her new pregnancy to him) when with the unwitting help of the police, Brad is arrested and Lisa is kidnapped. The kidnappers are snuff-film producers, and Lisa was the specific request of one of their best clients. She'll soon be a movie star unlike she ever imagined unless she can somehow bargain her way out, letting her maternal instinct guide the way. But that's only the beginning. Gonzalez expands his novella Maternal Instinct into a gripping full-length novel that is better than a novella expansion has any right to be. He layers on the suspense and makes Survivor into a real page-turner, despite its horrific subject matter. The killings put on film are graphically depicted in the prose, which will put off some readers who are more used to the tongue-in-cheek horror of Richard Laymon or Edward Lee. Gonzalez touches on the reality of the situation in a way I've previously encountered only in Jack Ketchum novels, which makes the interpersonal violence even more disturbing. He also approaches an aspect of murder rarely encountered with any depth in horror novels: the consequences. Every character's actions in Survivor have definite and unavoidable repercussions, and Gonzalez folds them all into his believable plot. The decision Lisa makes in order to attempt her escape has perhaps the most horrifying outcome of all, the effects of which are felt throughout Survivor -- much like in the best work of Gary Braunbeck -- in both tangible and intangible ways. What this all adds up to is a book that impressed me far more than I expected it to, and one that I continue to think about over a year after finishing it. (I never intended to review it, but I had to get all my thoughts out and down in some organized fashion so they'd stop buzzing around my head -- so here they are.) The early part of Survivor is not as well written as what follows and contains a good deal of unnecessary repetition -- something that, as a proofreader, is a real pet peeve of mine. There are also a couple of unrealistic character autobiographies (where they tell the histories of how they got in the snuff-film business) that slow down the story but do serve to make them more three-dimensional. All of the majors, however, were well drawn so that I can still picture them clearly in my mind even now. Out of a fairly straightforward novella, J.F. Gonzalez has constructed a multilayered novel with a least three genuine surprises. Survivor can be read as simply a fast-paced and entertaining (if gruesome) horror novel, or also as a statement on family dynamics and their potential outcomes. And it's accompanied by one of the more effective covers I've seen in some time from Leisure Books (usually their images are too vague to evoke any response whatsoever). If Gonzalez's other novels are this impressive, he will have a new fan in me.

Horrible writer:
I have no problem with the subject matter---it sounds cool--but the author is a horrible writer---i can't believe he got published--might be the worst published author i ever read---do not waste your time!!!!! read a jack ketchum book instead.

Fails on all levels.:
Many of the poor reviews for this book are based on its graphic content. Yes, it does portray some disgusting events, but nothing that would shock a reader of extreme horror authors like Edward Lee, or authors like Jack Ketchum on the darker edges of the genre. No, the real problem with this book is that it's abysmally written. Amateurish doesn't begin to describe the level of incompetence Gonzalez demonstrates in this novel. It gives the impression of having been written at great haste by a writer who was barely paying attention to what was going onto the page. I'm pretty certain that this book received absolutely no editing apart from running it through Microsoft Word's spell checker. We see everything from basic grammar errors to clumsy stylistic goofs to the kind of storytelling gaffes that can only be made by a fumbling hack with only the dimmest grasp of characterization or suspense. Readers with delicate sensibilities should obviously stay away from this book, which features graphic descriptions of atrocities such as rape, necrophilia, and the gruesome murder of infants. But the danger in describing these details is that they might attract fans of extreme horror to this book, creating the impression that they're in for a good old splatterfest. You're not. If you're looking for kinky horror thrills, you're unlikely to find them here, unless your standards are low enough that you're content with the mere description of horrific acts, staged with absolutely no imagination or style, and in fact rendered with such hamfisted dullness that this book might turn you off of horror for good. What separates enjoyable extreme horror writers like Edward Lee from wannabes like Gonzalez is that guys like Lee revel in their dark subject matter. They love slogging through the rivers of gore and dredging up bloody treats to dangle before their repulsed, yet fascinated audience. Gonzalez, on the other hand, is an opportunistic hack, and it shows. Gonzalez doesn't understand the genre (s)he is playing at. The way the violence is depicted in this book, it's like a novel about marijuana written by the creators of Reefer Madness. When you have characters who are purveyors of "hardcore S & M porn" actually (and repetitively) using phrases like "the hardcore S & M scene" in casual conversations, you know this author knows nothing about the "hardcore S & M scene" or anyone associated with it. If you're looking for extreme horror, please stay far away from this book. It's not what you think it is. Read "Bighead" or "The House" by Edward Lee. Read "This Symbiotic Fascination" and "Haunter" by Charlee Jacob. Read something by competent authors who have more knowledge and interest in extreme horror than some pretender dabbling in the field. This book is a ridiculous bore, an absolute waste of any real horror fan's time and money.

Chances are you knew what you were in for.:
Sweet mother of god. In my quest for increasingly depraved and heinous reading material, well, after reading this I am sated for the time being. I have been wanting to read this books for a while, and, it was worth my wait. I mean. I don't even know what to say. Most of the other reviewers have covered it. The story is well written, and the characters are interesting and well-developed. The topic -snuff films- is interesting and shows a glimpse in a world most people don't know exist, and would do everything in their power to keep it that way. For a horror fan, this is brutal and horrific as it gets. There are no monsters or spooks or ghost, this stuff could happen, and does. This book exposes a dark underbelly, no, its doesnt just expose it like a flasher in a trenchcoat. Its suns itself like a reptile on a warm rock. For the sicko inside all of us, your bases are covered. Sadistic rape, cannibalism, torture, pedophilia, necrophilia, sex with parts of the body that were never meant to be penetrated (plus new wounds created for that sole purpose). There is a pornographical element for all you movie buffs as well. Because they are filming all these aforementioned atrocities. I sat in a restaurant reading this book, and during one part of the book, my friend could see the revulsion in my facial expressions from across the small restaurant. I mean, this is one of the most over-the-top books I've read. I read America Psycho by Ellis when I was twelve or thirteen and this book is one of the few that I can remember to equal my horror. Good stuff. Not for the faint of heart. Or for those who mind a sadistic 81 year old lady talking about her pussy getting wet, or her favorite recipe for cooking the buttocks of children. Bravo Mr Gonzalez.