Thosewho liked Chuck Palahniuk's wildly successful first novel, Fight Club, shouldenjoy this sophomore effort. Palahniuk's dark, comedic style takes the readeralong with Tender Branson from his complete obscurity to the highest levels ofstardom. As is expected from this young Seattle novelist, Survivor contains agreat deal of social commentary, satirizing everything from religion toprefabricated houses.

As the last living member of the Creedish deathcult, Tender Branson finds himself in the perfect position to be launched intothe public eye. After a few phone calls from a nameless Hollywood agent, andsigning several dotted lines, Branson becomes a rising star. This, however, isnot without its problems. Not all the other Creedish cult members are dead. AdamBranson - Tender's brother - has decided to kill all Creedish who have veeredfrom church doctrine.

This is recounted by Tender while he sits on aplane that is about to crash somewhere over the Pacific. The drama is heightenedby how the novel's pages are numbered: beginning on page 248, it counts down tothe last page, page one.

The characters themselves are moreentertaining than the plot. Quirks, flaws and psychotic disorders abound, fromTender's furnishing his employer's garden with fake flowers stolen fromgravesites, to the barren Fertility Hollis' job as a surrogate mother. Even thesocial worker (who tries to prevent Tender from following his family and friendsdown the road to suicide) seems to suffer a mental breakdown.

The themesin Survivor may be just more of the trite, nihilistic, disillusioned musings oversociety's state that the public has become used to, but Palahniuk presents themin a unique way that makes Survivor a worthwhile read.