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Book Reviews of Survivor

Survivor
Survivor
Author: J. F. Gonzalez
ISBN-13: 9780975514405
ISBN-10: 0975514407
Publication Date: 6/28/2004
Pages: 299
Rating:
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 7

4.3 stars, based on 7 ratings
Publisher: Midnight Library
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

36 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

missyd3694 avatar reviewed Survivor on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
I knew what this book was about when I started reading it but about half way through I had to quit. There were images of something that happened, and I don't want to give anything away, that were just to vivid and disturbing for me to go on. I think what bothered me most about this book wasn't what they were writing about but that there were really people in the world that really do these sorts of things.
texasgranny avatar reviewed Survivor on + 61 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Wow!! This one will keep you on the edge of your seat, but you will need a strong stomach. I don't know where this author got his info but I find it hard to believe that there are people in this world that participate in the activities described in this book
reviewed Survivor on + 216 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I gave this book high marks because I found it interesting, thought provoking, but NOT for the faint of heart. Snuff films are the subject and while the author is tastful in his descriptions, things still get grisly. Somewhat violent, yet not nasty, bloody, gory, violent like some horror writers. Be warned again, if you can't tolerate cruelty, or even reading about the bondage scene, do not read this book.
reviewed Survivor on + 117 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
WOW!! To quote Brian Keene, author of City of the Dead, "Quite possibly the most disturbing book I've ever read in my life." This is only too true! On the cover the quote from The New York Times, "It pushes your eyes off the page and then pulls them back." I can not describe the book in quite the right words. Explicit, morbid, DISGUSTING, disturbing, depraved, shocking. There just aren't the right words! Usually I enjoy the "movie in my mind" that goes with the reading of a book. This "movie" had to be turned off many times(as hard as some images were to get out of my mind, some still haunt me),made me want to puke, and on several occasions made me question myself as to why I was reading the book at all! If anyone had picked this book up and read a random page they would have questioned my morals and sanity. They would have thought me perverse and sick for wallowing in this squalor. I think I finished it because I have to finish a book no matter how dumb or in this case, disturbing it may be. Overall it was a very well written book and kept you wondering how they would escape or how they would end up. Good who done it, suspenseful. I expected violence and gore, it is a horror about kidnapping and snuff films, but the blatant pornography and torture sex was unexpected. Very vulgar. I cannot say I am a better person having read it and I cannot say that someone else shouldn't read it. You just need to be aware of the content.
davidalan avatar reviewed Survivor on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This book was a little disturbing if you take it as something happening right now, every day, Oh My God! in the world. It could be... who knows. But it is not THE most disturbing book I have ever read. I think fans of Richard Laymon would LOVE this book! Richard Laymon writes about the dark, evil side of human beings. That is what this is. No supernatural horror... just sick people doing sick things to other people. There is only a couple "over the edge" moments. My wife cried at the end... It was touching. The ending softened the books content perfectly and made it all easier to take. I loved this book. I highly recommend it to Laymon fans especially.
short-angry14 avatar reviewed Survivor on + 79 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is perhaps the sickest book I have ever read. I just finished reading it and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be sleeping much tonight. I am not easily offended, but this book make me physically sick. Very graphic, very gory and completely disgusting. I absolutely DO NOT recommend this book to anyone who is easily offended. You won't make it through the first five pages. This is one of those books that once you've read it, you wish you hadn't, because you won't be able to get the images out of your head any time soon. Just sick.
CatMom avatar reviewed Survivor on + 32 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Not for the faint of heart. However, if you want a horror novel based on the evil inside all of us, a treat awaits you. There is not a supernatural element to be found. The characters will scare the hell out of you. Graphic sexuality and language that are there for a reason. I enjoyed this book. but it certainly isn't for everyone. If your idea of horror is a vampire romance, stay away from this one.

This was my second Ketchum and I'm started on my third. After you've finished the book, ask yourself: If I had been Lisa what would I have done? The answer may frighten you.
reviewed Survivor on
Helpful Score: 2
This was a good book but you will definitely need a strong stomach to read it!!!
bookluver-in-sc avatar reviewed Survivor on + 229 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Good book, but a little on the sick side. Lot of sex and violence.
LaurieS avatar reviewed Survivor on + 504 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Two young lawyers decide to take a nice little vacation that turns nightmarish pretty quickly when a crazed driver decides to target them, separate them and kidnap the wife to make a snuff film. She's only just discovered she is pregnant and isn't going out without a fight.

This is a mean spirited book. Wow, even the victim turns out to make a horribly selfish decision to save her own skin. There's nothing to like about this book. It's disturbing and cruel but yet I continued reading . . .

I finished this but wouldn't recommend it. It gets a bit boring midpoint as the author felt a need to delve into the history of how his characters became the monsters they are today. It was all a bit pointless and very repetitive. The ending worked for me though.
missyh avatar reviewed Survivor on + 85 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
There were parts of this book that were so very disturbing that i didnt even know if i wanted to continue. Well, i did continue, and i loved it. It was almost like a train wreck....you dont wanna look, but you just have too! I did seriously feel like i needed a shower after reading it though. *shudder*
sarah5775 avatar reviewed Survivor on + 386 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Much has been made of the graphic and gory nature of this book, and it is pretty bad, but if you have read Richard Laymon, Jack Ketchum and/or Edward Lee, it really isn't worse than them. So I didn't find it too disturbing, really, despite what everyone says.

I thought this was good overall, typical Leisure horror fare, and if you like any of the authors mentioned above you will like this one. I did find some of the long descriptions a bit tedious at times, and the characters were not all that likable, but overall this was entertaining and held my interest.
reviewed Survivor on + 107 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed this book. it was true horror at it's best
reviewed Survivor on + 34 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I had to put this book down plenty of times it can get really explicit very hardcore!
From the Back Cover:
It is supposed to be a romantic weekend getaway. Lisa is looking forward to spending time alone with her husbandand telling him that they are going to have a baby. Instead, it becomes a nightmare when her husband is arrested and Lisa is kidnapped. But the kidnappers arent asking for ransom. They want Lisa herself. Theyre going to make her a starin a snuff film.
What they have in mind for Lisa is unspeakable. They plan to torture and murder her as graphically and brutally as possible, and to capture it all on film. If they have their way, Lisas death will be truly horrifyingbut even more horrifying is what Lisa will do to survive.
reviewed Survivor on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book is sick, twisted and yet very good. It keeps you wanting to know what happens next.
ocnsangel avatar reviewed Survivor on + 224 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Very good plot keeps you on the edge of your seat
but is graphic and not for the faint of heart.
reviewed Survivor on + 39 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A most disturbing graphically brutal horror story of a woman forced to participate in snuff films. This one's a shocker and a grusome great read.
reviewed Survivor on + 111 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was very sick and gross. A true horror for a true horror fan!
reviewed Survivor on + 17 more book reviews
this book has graphic murder scenes in it. if that doesn't bother you then you'll enjoy it. a very suspenseful, imaginative mystery.
reviewed Survivor on
I love horror, but this is one of the worst books I have ever read, in any genre. Avoid at all costs.
reviewed Survivor on + 354 more book reviews
COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN,READ THROUGH ONE NIGHT
reviewed Survivor on + 32 more book reviews
WOW and I thought King had a twisted mind! This book is way beyond creepy. A real page turner I had a hard time putting it down!
reviewed Survivor on + 6 more book reviews
I didn't find it as gory as other people have.
cemeterygates avatar reviewed Survivor on + 29 more book reviews
If you're looking for a quick-read that delves into the industry of illegal pornography and snuff films, this novel delivers. The author doesn't pull many punches when exploring this seedy subculture in the context of a fast-paced kidnapping and mystery. I found the writing itself to be mediocre, but the content was reasonably satisfying for pulpy dark fiction
reviewed Survivor on + 25 more book reviews
Good book but VERY disturbing book. I did have a hard time reading this. The end is such a surprise. It's a sad book all the way around. No happy ending here.
reviewed Survivor on + 145 more book reviews
I read about this one in the forums and if someone says don't read it, I'll read it. LOL. Everything they said is true, it IS by far the sickest book I've ever read and now tops the one that for years held the number one sickest nastiest book on my top number one horror book. So I'm not going to tell you not to read it.
reviewed Survivor on + 224 more book reviews
Not for the squimish, plenty of graphic terror, toture and sex. In the vein of Richard Laymon when it comes to gruesome.
reviewed Survivor on + 58 more book reviews
I couldn't finish this book. It was so horrendous that it gave me nightmares and made me sad in my soul. I got it from PBS...and is the first book I've EVER thrown in the trash.
christinaholly avatar reviewed Survivor on + 27 more book reviews
I am not queasy or faint of heart, and I still want to wash out my skull after reading this book. Not only is it incredibly disturbing, but it's not even well-written (a lot of the dialogue is ridiculous), and the editing was terrible.
MarshallsMum avatar reviewed Survivor on
An extremely violent thriller with a surprisingly good story. There were some parts that were so disturbing that I almost stopped reading, but the story line had me and I had to know what was going to happen next. Highly recommend to thriller & horror fans that can stomach excessive violence & sex.
LaurieS avatar reviewed Survivor on + 504 more book reviews
This book may haunt you and not in a good way. I do not recommend reading it unless you are a hardcore horror reader because you will never be able to unread it. The scares here come in the way of torturous things happening to people by other people. None of it is supernatural in nature and that makes it all so much worse

So here's the setup. Two young lawyers decide to take a nice little vacation that turns nightmarish pretty quickly. A crazed driver decides to target them, separate them and kidnap the wife in order to make a snuff film. She's only just discovered she is pregnant and she isn't going out without a fight.

This is a mean spirited book about the lengths one will go to in order to survive, one where even the victim turns out to make a horribly selfish decision to save her own skin. I'm not going into any further detail in case you have an urge to read it. Really though there's nothing to like about this cruel book and somehow I kept on reading until the very last page. Maybe I am a sicko but I had to know how it ended.

I can't recommend going out of your way to read this. It gets a bit boring midpoint as the author felt a need to delve into the history of how his characters became the monsters they are today. I found those little forays into the past all a bit pointless and very repetitive.

The ending though? Yeah, that worked for me.
reviewed Survivor on + 5 more book reviews
mharmon(ark) I am not into horror. It is golish and doesn't interest me at all
reviewed Survivor on + 126 more book reviews
Whew!! I couldn't read this one. The prologue was too disturbing for me to continue to chapter one.
reviewed Survivor on + 12 more book reviews
Brutal stuff!
reviewed Survivor on + 5 more book reviews
Quite intense horror/thriller
reviewed Survivor on + 136 more book reviews
Absolutly disgusting. I didn't even make it past the prelude which was 5 pages. it takes a whole lot to gross me out, but this was totally unreadable.