'Survivor' – J.F. Gonzalez (Deadite Press)

I wouldn't normally do this right at the start but 'Survivor' is as much a tale of certain people indulging their every sexual urge as it is a tale of one woman's fight to escape death (and what this ultimately does to her). They don't call 'Survivor' extreme horror for nothing so this review comes with a trigger warning for extreme sexual assault.

Still here? Ok then...

Reading 'Clickers Forever' got me in the mood to check out more of J.F. Gonzalez' work and the short stories 'Shooting Schedule' and 'Mabel's Recipes' pretty much sold me on what book I'd pick up next.

You see, if something is labelled as 'extreme horror' or 'the most horrifying book you will ever read' etc then part of me takes as a personal challenge and I'm there reading it. I did a little reading around 'Survivor' and that was the vibe I got so I had to read it; I'd read Edward Lee's 'Header' ('Header 2' and 'Header 3' as well, I loved 'Header 3') and it couldn't be any worse than that... could it? Oh it could, it really could...

BEFORE HOSTEL...BEFORE SAW..THERE WAS SURVIVOR...

It was supposed to be a romantic weekend getaway. Lisa was looking forward to spending time alone with her husband-and 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 aren't asking for ransom. They want Lisa herself. They're going to make her a star-in 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, Lisa's death will be truly horrifying...but even more horrifying is what Lisa will do to survive...

Wikipedia told me that Gonzalez said of 'Survivor', “My original intention wasn’t to write something with a polarizing effect, but to simply disturb the hell out of the reader, period.” I don't want to leave you guys in any doubt as to whether he succeeded doing this with me, he really did. Gonzalez doesn't hang around either, blindsiding the reader only a few pages into the book (I was literally like 'this is quite tame actually, OH MY GOD THAT WOMAN JUST') That is the tone for the rest of the book and all credit to Gonzalez in how he manages those moments. You know they're coming but he stretches things out until you're half thinking that maybe nothing will happen and then, it happens.

I like to think that I've got a pretty strong stomach for this kind of thing but Gonzalez proved me wrong... He's not shy in detailing what a certain clientele want in their videos and how this is visited on two victims; he's also not afraid to have Animal and Mabel say exactly why they love their jobs so much. It's brutal stuff, uncomfortably honest, that kept me reading even though there were a lot of times where I really didn't want to.

Fair play to Gonzalez though, the absolute most horrible thing you can think of is referred to but not dwelt upon at great length. You know it happened and its impact is not lessened by just playing it for the gore, it's fucking disturbing enough as it is.

What elevates 'Survivor' above torture porn though is the question that Gonzalez asks of several of the main players, what would you do to survive? He doesn't shy away from that question, or the consequences arising from that answer, and of course the reader ends up asking themselves the same question. What would you do to survive?

Lisa is the main character study here and a promise spoken in outright fear opens up the plot just when you think you're going to read a novella rather than a whole book. The tension is fierce and like I said earlier, I didn't want to read but couldn't help myself. The stakes are high for Lisa and I had to follow it through (especially the twist at the end, I was completely fooled by the build up). What was more interesting for me though was the sneaking suspicion that Gonzalez was asking exactly the same question of Animal and Mabel. If you've discovered your reason for being, what would you do to survive as that person? And where will indulging that 'inner you' lead? I'm glad, in a way, that Animal laid it all on the line; now I don't have to think too hard about the answer to that question...

It's probably safe to say that if you like extreme horror then you have probably already read and enjoyed 'Survivor'. I wouldn't say I enjoyed 'Survivor' but would definitely say that what it does is done very well and will stay in the reader's mind long after the book is finished. Not too long hopefully, I need to sleep and am dreading what 'Survivor' will do to my dreams...