Customer Reviews

The Beloved

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Beloved is the kind of novel I love. Well-developed characters, a menacing build-up and then heart-stopping suspense and horror. I was glued to the pages and found this book to be superior to his previous novel, Survivor. It's certainly more accessible to mainstream horror readers.

The plot concerns a high school teacher named Elizabeth Weaver. She has a good (if occasionally tumultuous) marriage to Gregg, and a young son. Her younger brother Ronnie is recently divorced from his alcholic wife and has custody of their daughter Mary. When Ronnie gets a new girlfriend, Diana Marshfield, who is recently divorced herself with two kids, he brings her to a family barbecue to meet his parents and his sister's family. But something about Diana doesn't sit right with Elizabeth. Is she being overly cautious because Ronnie's ex-wife is a loser and she's afraid her brother has latched on to another? That's what it appears like at first.

The novel builds slowly yet suspensfully, with subplots introduced. It seems Diana is not who she is making herself out to be. She has seduced Ronnie so completely that soon all he thinks about is her. Soon, he begins to neglect his daughter, his house, his finances, and himself.

What Gonzalez has done is create a horror novel with a creature barely used in horror fiction these days - the succubus. Only this succubus is different than the others we've read about.

The family dynamics in this novel are the heart of this story, and the characters are lively and believable. In short, a superb horror novel that succeeded brilliantly!

In 2006 J.F. Gonzalez shocked and disgusted us with the over-the-top, nausea-inducing Survivor; arguably the most graphic novel most of us will lay eyes on. In his 2007 follow-up, Gonzalez delivers delivers a tale that pulls a few of the punches in the raunch department, but still doesn't fail to deliver a lasting psychological impression.

Meet Ronnie Baker, divorcee, single parent, and former junkie, who has recently floated from woman to woman, looking to regain his lost love life. All of that is about to change.

Now, meet Diana Marshfield. To Ronnie, she's everything he's looked for, and so much more. Almost instantly, he has built a new home, and is relocating Diana and her children to live with him and form a family. His attraction to her goes beyond lust, bordering on addiction.

Ronnie's family takes an instant disliking to Diana, realizing that there is more to her than meets the eye. Ronnie is doing all he can to support her, emotionally and financially, and it's taking it's toll. Soon Ronnie begins to deteriorate, leading everyone to believe he's once again fighting chemical addictions. Meanwhile, Diana is more beautiful and charming than ever.

Before long, those who disapprove begin to die, and Diana's horrifying true nature is revealed.

Perhaps slow to build, and a bit wordy near the beginning, this book certainly redeems itself by the midpoint. Gonzalez has a way of using words to get inside your head, allowing you to feel the trauma of his victims. The characters may be a bit difficult to keep track of at the onset, but many of them will not stick around for the climax, and once it has come, you'll find that the slow build was satisfyingly worthwhile.

3 AND 1/2 STARS

I really enjoyed reading this book, written by the hardcore author that wrote "Survivor", also from Leisure Books. While having a slow pace for the first 150 pages, the writing is compulsively readable and consistent, and once the stuff hits the fan - as they say - it rose to another level of enjoyment.

I have a theory that if I hadn't read the prologue and only started with the first chapter, It would have doubled the suspense for me and I would have been more scared. I say this because after the prologue, you immediately discover that the 'villain' is not human and something supernatural. I would have loved to have pieced that information together myself as the book unfolded, but I realize publishers need an instant hook to grab the reader... but it would have been interesting to see where my mind would have gone if the prologue was deleted.

While not nearly as graphic or violent as Gonzalez' previous work, "Survivor", this book will be entertaining to fans of both horror and science fiction and is definitely worth picking up, especially if you enjoyed the films "The Hidden", John Carpenter's "The Thing", or any from the "Body Snatcher" franchise.

Well, what can you say? A Book about a creature that drains the life of men and women through sex, pain and confusion. Count me in. For the most part, the book was enjoyable. The sex and blood were done with taste but maybe a little too tasteful. After all, this was suppose to scare me right? At the very least, excite me? I like the way he writes but I found him repeating things over and over and over again. I would read a page and then two pages later either the same character or a different one would say the same thing. Shouldn't different people have different ways of expressing themselves? That happened throughout the book and made for some painful reading. It was suspenseful and I was glad to see that he had the guts to tear down the family. If it was another author (last name begins with Ko) everyone would have survived and all would have been good with the world. If it was another author (last name begins with Ki) the deaths would have take place on page 655, about 300 pages longer than necessary. So he gets points for not wasting time or being Mr. nice guy. I give this 3 stars because with the problems, it was still enjoyable and I will read another novel of his in the future.

This was a great book. It's my first read by J.F. Gonzalez and was tastefully written while keeping my hooked to the end.

This was not as good as some of his other books, but i think he is an amazing writer. It was worth reading.

J. F. Gonzalez rocks!!! As does this book. I devoured this novel in a couple of sitting, and was gripped with dread through the entire thing. I really cared what happened to the characters, especially the children, and I've learned from reading some of Gonzalez's other works that he will take your favorite characters, bite their head off, and spit them out if that is what the plot calls for. I won't ruin the book by telling you who bites it and who doesn't, but let me assure you that you will not be disappointed. Read "The Beloved", love it, and then go out and buy something else by this master of horror, because as far as his writing is concerned, it is all good.

This book reminded me why there are certain authors I refuse to read because of their lack of respect for the craft and art of writing. Gonzalez has been added to my list.

Can you say "redundant?" The author flips back and forth on different pages covering the same ground as before, leaving one wondering if the author is in the moment or in the past. Distracting, to say the least.

Can you say "cardboard characters?" I must admit Diana was well-developed, but the rest of the characters, even the main ones, were hardly more than a name. There didn't seem to be much, if any, characterization to give one a sense of who they really were and have the reader empathize with them.

Can you say "too many people" crowding the plot? Characters appear and disappear at the turn of a page, leaving you scratching your head as to why they showed up to begin with. Two of the characters even had the same name. Relatives appear out of the woodwork: cousins, in-laws, nephews, nieces, grandparents, children - in short, all the furthest reaches of blood and marital relations.

The action is slow, especially when wading through toward the end. Just like a horror movie on TV, some of the most important characters do really stupid things, jeopardizing not only their lives but the lives of others. Other elements of the plot are unlikely - like the mysterious stranger who shows up to explain everything.

The only reason I gave this book 1 star is that the paper it was written on must be worth at least that much.