Rating: 
Summary: Better than Fight Club, at least to me!
Review: I liked this book better than Fight Club. Maybe that is because I saw the movie for Fight Club before I read the book, so I allready knew the seceret. This book however took me by surprise. I read a lot of so-so reviews of this book so maybe I wasn't expecting how different this book would be. I loved the fact that it was a count down. Granted we (the readers) knew how it was all going to end, but it was the getting there that was the fun. I would deffinately recomend this book to anyone who likes dark satire. Go ahead read it, you won't be dissapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than Fight club.(FC three stars)
Review: Fight club and this book are about accidental Messiahs but this book has much more complex characters. Again as in fight club there is long lists of free assoctaion like text. But these listing of things fit the character better. The main character Tender Branson is built from the ground up where in fight club the character just appear. Tender is part of a defunct cult whose remaining members are killing themselve and some times being murdered. There supporting characters are better than in fight club they are more every day than realistic than those of fight club. (IE these people would avoid getting beaten up but they tend to be a little less afraid of killing themselves) Fertility Holis adds mistery and excitement with her Cassandra complex. She is always in the background springout adding a new dimension to the story. Again as FC it is a first person narritive with a character in a strange position that is very destructive in nature. Again like FC the book looks into the interesting phemomena of the creation of a Messiah figure and shows the danger of being and following these strange men. There is some violence in this book but unlike fight club the violence comes off as very unenpowering. Sex and repression of sex replaces violence and the repression of violence in FC If you liked fight club this doesn't hit you over the head with a brick like FC did but it delivers a more complex and intersting story.
Rating:
Summary: You know, from the beginning, that his plane will crash.
Review: This type of writing is following the Vonnegut rule, which is to disclose all information early. Suspense created by lack of information is usually tedious and annoying, and not suspenseful at all. This book is amazing, simply because of this: at first, you have a man called Tender Branson, who is part of a cult that declared the Apocalypse ten years ago (like every good cult does when the law finally gets involved). So, as a member of this sect, he should had killed himself ten years ago, but he decides to keep living (even though he regularly thinks about getting it over with). Suddenly, he is the last member of his sect that is still alive (the Survivor), and an agent turns him into a superstar overnight. His name is put on many products supposed to be spiritually improving: for example, he releases a book of prayers (the title of the book escapes me) featuring prayers to deal with everyday problems, like: The Prayer To Find Good Parking Spaces; The Prayer To Help Quit Smoking; The Prayer To Hlp Fight Hair Loss; and it goes on. Some prayers are even shown to the reader, and we can't help but find them hilarious: to put it flatly, the prayers are corny as hell. Potboiler material (of course, to add to the satire, the prayer book still ends up selling millions of copies). The entire book is Tender Branson recording his last words on the black box in a plane, which he plans to crash with himself in it. How he got himself in that position is nothing short of genius on the part of Palahniuk (which involoves a friend of Tender's, who can see the future. And strangely enough, it doesn't seem to amaze anyone in the book) and the general way the text is written is simple, direct and without useless sentences. Also, just in case you're interested, the book starts at page 200-something, and ends at page one. In my opinion, it really goes well with the idea of the book. I beg you all to read this book. (And please, everyone, stop comparing it to Fight Club. Who cares if it's better or worse? They're two entirely different books, and both amazing. Case closed.)
Rating:
Summary: English Lit. 101
Review: some claim that palahniuk's second novel, "survivor", is subpar when compared to "fight club", his first. that's not the case. at all. in fact, i'm a huge fan of chuck and his writings... "fight club" blew me away. ("invisible monsters" did not, but we'll save that for another time.) but, this book, "survivor", will stand the test of time. it'll be the book our grandkids are reading in honors english. disecting. picking apart, because it offers so much more than a great plot and interesting characters (which it does). it gives the reader so much to think about and mull over. raises so many metaphysical questions about life and death and love and loyalty that it will take us years to truly understand this work of epic proportions. if you like "fight club"... or even if you liked the film version by the brilliant director, david fincher... i urge you... implore you... BEG you to buy this book. you will not be sorry. plus... you'll get a head start on next semester.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant satire.
Review: A well-crafted modern fable full of Palahniuk's token twists and turns, Survivor takes the concept of 'the meek shall inherit' to ridiculous heights, then sends it spiraling out of control. This is a ride you want to take. A truly enjoyable, intelligent novel.
Rating:
Summary: 3 - 2 - 1 - the end
Review: The film Fight Club drew me to another book by the same author. The unusual set up fascinated me: a man using his last hours to tell his story into the black box of a hijacked jet. The first third of the book goes slowly, because the character, although strange and of an incredible background, is just living. Nothing happening. Get through that (it took me about 2 months as I only read a few pages every few days), and then it grabs you. As he becomes the one remaining survivor, he becomes a tool -- a victim -- of the media. Other interesting elements, like his future-seeing girlfriend and SURPRISE! his forgotten twin brother (oops... well, it didn't spoil that much, I promise!), are what keeps you drawn to the story. Something is bound to happen. Towards the end, Palahnuik deliciously describes a scene of bloody violence that forces you to turn your head from the pages (in my mind, a great success). With an ending like an olympic diver piercing the surface of the water without a splash or a sound, you will close the book amazingly satisfied.
Rating: 
Summary: Expected Better
Review: There were lots of rave reviews for this novel, however I found the book was not living up to my expectations. Yes, it will make you turn the pages, but it leaves you with a bad taste on your mouth when you reflect on it. It reads like an average movie--you aren't riveted at all (you CAN put the book down), and are easily distracted (hmm, maybe I should go do [fill-in-the-boring-chore] now). The sex is superfluous and doesn't mean anything, as though only to 'fill the quota' of sex expected in books these days. I would suggest reading it so you can get your OWN feel for it, there is an interesting idea underneath the extras (phone sex, drinking, etc.), but Palahniuk isn't skilled enough to work the interesting plot line throught the story in a way that would keep the reader interested.
Rating:
Summary: Another Solid Palahniuk
Review: My amazement with "Fight Club" lead me to "Survior" and only slight dissapointment. While the story itself breathes action and intensity, one also finds themselves being forced to question many societal conventions. There remain many of the same themes and devices as seen in "Fight Club", which come across well literature wise, but one does not see Palahniuk progressing as a writer. Palahniuk remains the master of the extended societal metaphor, this time heavily utilizing fake-flowers. Tyler's trivia has been replaced with that of an apparent home economics major, resulting in a piece of literature useful as a cleaning and ettiquete guide, aslo. The first half is definitely more solid than the second, but the story is so tight one cannot put it down despite this.
Rating:
Summary: Dark satire has been redefined and given a new direction.
Review: First there was God, then there was Vonnegut(*). A new suitor has come forth to carry the torch into a new age of cheeky sarcasm and nihilistic verve to amuse, provoke,enlighten, disgust, and in every way kneed your brain into a mushy bread dough. Palahniuk is to writing what Dali is to art:that is, he's an innovater who's willing to take the risk of stabbing at the unconventional, blowing it up into something outwardly uncomfortable to look at but we are compelled to look at it anyway because it is in its raw form with undeniable elements of truth. Survivor tells of the rise and demise of the last surviving member of a suicide cult in Nebraska. The irony is edgy to say the least(move over bacon, there's something leaner!). We have a lead character who gets his kicks convincing suicide hotline callers that they'd be better off dead:his phone number is one digit different than the local suicide hotline. Conflict arises when he realizes that one of the callers was the brother of a girl he's enamoured with. Fertility Hollis is her name and she is a real piece of work.She's a surrogate for hire who's infertile. There's a grief counselor who's diagnosed Tender Branson, the lead character, with every disorder in the DSM-4 when he's rather normal and adjusted until she steps into the picture.The abandoned cult compound becomes the world's largest pornographic and sex toy dumping site. Palahniuk puts a refreshingly sadistic twist on Martha Stewart in Tender, who's endured a life of servitude to others and has gathered a large collective of amusing anecdotes to remove any stain from any surface. The absurdity of a person becoming the intellectual property of a corporation is brilliant and biting. The messionic ending is imaginative and gripping. If i ever were in a position of having to resort to cannibalism i would hope some day to dine on Chuck's dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.I imagine it to be rich and chewy with an unusual aftertaste.
Rating:
Summary: Palahniuk's second and second best book.
Review: There's a big debate on which Palahniuk book is better: Fight Club or Survivor? I think Fight Club is better, but it's all just a matter of taste. This one's just a funny (if not more). This one is more mainstream though (not saying it's mainstream, just mainstreamer). It doesn't feel as dangerous as Fight Club. This book is written much more cohesively, which I think is a shame because I liked Fight Club's choppiness. It's also not nearly as stylish. But enough of that. Celebrities always talk about how bad it is being a celebrity, but no one ever believes them. This book changed my mind. I was horrified by the price of fame Tender Branson paid. Tender Branson is so obligated to fame and phoniness that you feel claustrophobic just reading it. It's twisted like only Palahniuk can, and yet you still wonder how real is this? Chuck has some philosophy for you again, unfortunately this time it's moronic (Adam's sex philosophy is something that doesn't leave the notepad). It starts off boring enough, but as the pages count down (yep, literally. It's kind of a neat gimmick), it seems like you're going at the speed of that doomed plane. The climax is actually pretty powerful. As always, Chuck has good characters and funny parts and philosophy and everything. I don't think this will ever change. Ever. For better or worse. Perhaps a bad sign is that each of Palahniuk's books has been a bit worse than the one before it. Hopefully, this pattern will not continue. So basically, I'm going to reccomend this book, unless you haven't read Fight Club yet. Then go there.
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