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The Beloved
Don Grant races against time to stop a beautiful succubus, who, seducing both men and women, drains the life force of anyone she encounters, before she destroys a whole new family. Original.
369 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
10 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
J.F. Gonzalez
80 books367 followersJesus F. Gonzalez was an American author, primarily of horror fiction (writing under the pseudonym J. F. Gonzalez). He has written many notable novels and has done collaborations with Bram Stoker Award winners Mike Oliveri and Brian Keene. His novel Survivor has been optioned for film.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
January 17, 2022
Ronnie has a new girlfriend who he seems obsessed with. He showers her with love, gifts, and money. When the family meets her, they notice Diana is pale, sickly looking. After a few months, Ronnie's sister, Elizabeth, notices that Diana is glowing. However, her brother now looks like death. There is something seriously wrong, Diana and her two kids. Don Grant has tracked the creature for years to get his revenge for turning his wife into a living zombie. I loved this book. Gonzalez had a wonderful talent for writing horror. He will be missed.
August 30, 2025
THE BELOVED [2012] By J.F. Gonzalez
My Review 5.0 Stars
Midnight Library is proud to present the author’s Preferred and Uncut edition of The Beloved
“The Beloved” was originally published in 2005, preceded by the author’s seminal work of extreme horror “Survivor” (2004), and followed by “Fetish” (2005) and “Bully” (2006). It is fortuitous that Gonzalez decided to use his own small press, Midnight Library, to publish a selection of his own works. It is interesting and rewarding that Gonzalez chose to make this act of enrichment only two years before his death in 2014 at only 50 years old. I have read all of the above referenced works, and in my opinion, they were all outstanding works of an immensely talented author.
I reviewed the sales and ratings on Amazon and took a look at Goodreads as well. Over 70% of ratings on Amazon were 4 or 5 Stars. But to be fair this was a small sample of readers. I was also genuinely perplexed by what some of the customers had to say. Goodreads does not use ratings in the same way, but there were a comparable low rate of sales and a rating of 3.9 from a small sample of readers. People who know me will say that I am not good with ad lib extrapolating outcomes especially with so little raw information. But it does occur to me that few of today’s readers of the Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror sub-genres appear to be duly impressed with the writing prowess of J.F. Gonzalez.
“The Beloved” by J.F. Gonzalez was a “Buddy Read” for the month of August 2025 and was hosted by the HGW Horror Book Club. I mentioned in the notes above that I had read the books which preceded and followed the original publication of “The Beloved” (2005). I would be remiss if I failed to mention that two of my very best friends in the Goodreads universe (Ian and Adam) read these with me as “Buddy Reads” on Ian’s Club. Originally a wonderful guy and author frequently joined us (Paul) and we miss him. I can still remember the first Gonzalez book that Paul read with us. He was worried because of its long page count since he was busy reading some other material. He laughed later and told us that once he started reading “Fetish” he couldn’t put it down and he was over halfway finished by the next day after he started it. Our little group that I love referring to as the “boys club” were bantering back and forth about this novel for a month after we read it. I tortured them endlessly about the surprise ending, and there was never a consensus among our group. Eventually I wore some of them down into partly agreeing with me, but one of these days I would love to read it again as a “Buddy Read”.
It is no secret that Gonzalez yearned to achieve recognition as an author of the mystery and thriller genres. He felt that he was viewed by the reading community at large as a writer of Splatterpunk/Extreme Horror. I have read several novels by this time that clearly demonstrated his aptitude for penning serious mystery thrillers. Gonzales was adept at characterization, pacing, and plotting. These talents served him well whatever genre he chose to experience and conquer. He often deployed themes of extreme horror which were used only occasionally to highlight or inject depth into a given novel.
I would like to take backtrack for a moment. It was not only Jesus’s desire to achieve the respect so richly deserved from the higher echelon in the industry and top tier bestselling authors of his day. It is obvious that would serve as a powerful motivator. There came a time following the “renaissance” when it would be quite advantageous for authors of the ground-breaking new sub-genre of “Splatterpunk/Extreme Horror” to possess qualities of versatility and flexibility that could aid them in adapting their fine honed writing skills to effectively compete in the mainstream market. Jesus knew that he had the tools to create novels that could fly off shelves, and he was figuratively “chomping at the bit” to write mysteries, thrillers, and police procedurals. Ironically, Jesus was only one author out of two who was invited to speak before the vaunted FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Prior to my awkward splash into the large pool of Splatterpunk/Extreme Horror I read mainstream genre fiction which included Mystery, Thriller, and Police Procedural fiction quite a bit and the various sub-genres such as Medical Thriller, Legal Thriller, Serial Killer Thriller, Psychological Thriller, etc. I would state that J.F. Gonzalez had a seat at the table, perhaps near the head of the table. I loved his exhibition of forensic science knowledge, aberrant psychology, and the nuts and bolts of the serial killer motivations.
“The Beloved” was an outstanding example of his talent in both chilling and mesmerizing the reader. The Amazon Description or marketing blurb (actually from the Back Cover of the book) while not that informative in general tells the reader up front that we are going to meet a supernatural entity of one kind or another, a “creature” whose evil is provided sustenance and immortality by the lustful passion she elicits from her victims. The reader gets the impression that the “creature” can suck the life out of a target with the ease of eating a Milky Way.
Gonzales was running on all gears when he wrote this one, and those gears were well oiled to take the friction and the heat. The character depth he manages with a comparatively large cast of players impressed me. The plot in a lesser talented writer’s hands could easily have resulted in a mediocre book. Gonzalez at the helm rendered the plotline as fascinating, evil, and a “creature” the reader could easily fear from the relative safety of the bed at night. The pacing was perfect, and the occult theme was chilling right out of the gate, and with no respite from the Epilogue. I felt cold in a cozy room, and I was chilled to the bone as the protagonist elaborated on how he was getting along after his battle with pure evil.
The horror was primarily psychological with limited (but well represented!) blood and gore. This novel was fantastic and a superlative example in my opinion of a mainstream psychological thriller with a paranormal theme. I feel like Paul did when we were reading “Fetish”. He was so impressed with the writing…he could not comprehend why there were not more purchases and reviews on Amazon.
“THE BELOVED” SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THIS RIVETING READ
My Review 5.0 Stars
Midnight Library is proud to present the author’s Preferred and Uncut edition of The Beloved
“The Beloved” was originally published in 2005, preceded by the author’s seminal work of extreme horror “Survivor” (2004), and followed by “Fetish” (2005) and “Bully” (2006). It is fortuitous that Gonzalez decided to use his own small press, Midnight Library, to publish a selection of his own works. It is interesting and rewarding that Gonzalez chose to make this act of enrichment only two years before his death in 2014 at only 50 years old. I have read all of the above referenced works, and in my opinion, they were all outstanding works of an immensely talented author.
I reviewed the sales and ratings on Amazon and took a look at Goodreads as well. Over 70% of ratings on Amazon were 4 or 5 Stars. But to be fair this was a small sample of readers. I was also genuinely perplexed by what some of the customers had to say. Goodreads does not use ratings in the same way, but there were a comparable low rate of sales and a rating of 3.9 from a small sample of readers. People who know me will say that I am not good with ad lib extrapolating outcomes especially with so little raw information. But it does occur to me that few of today’s readers of the Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror sub-genres appear to be duly impressed with the writing prowess of J.F. Gonzalez.
“The Beloved” by J.F. Gonzalez was a “Buddy Read” for the month of August 2025 and was hosted by the HGW Horror Book Club. I mentioned in the notes above that I had read the books which preceded and followed the original publication of “The Beloved” (2005). I would be remiss if I failed to mention that two of my very best friends in the Goodreads universe (Ian and Adam) read these with me as “Buddy Reads” on Ian’s Club. Originally a wonderful guy and author frequently joined us (Paul) and we miss him. I can still remember the first Gonzalez book that Paul read with us. He was worried because of its long page count since he was busy reading some other material. He laughed later and told us that once he started reading “Fetish” he couldn’t put it down and he was over halfway finished by the next day after he started it. Our little group that I love referring to as the “boys club” were bantering back and forth about this novel for a month after we read it. I tortured them endlessly about the surprise ending, and there was never a consensus among our group. Eventually I wore some of them down into partly agreeing with me, but one of these days I would love to read it again as a “Buddy Read”.
It is no secret that Gonzalez yearned to achieve recognition as an author of the mystery and thriller genres. He felt that he was viewed by the reading community at large as a writer of Splatterpunk/Extreme Horror. I have read several novels by this time that clearly demonstrated his aptitude for penning serious mystery thrillers. Gonzales was adept at characterization, pacing, and plotting. These talents served him well whatever genre he chose to experience and conquer. He often deployed themes of extreme horror which were used only occasionally to highlight or inject depth into a given novel.
I would like to take backtrack for a moment. It was not only Jesus’s desire to achieve the respect so richly deserved from the higher echelon in the industry and top tier bestselling authors of his day. It is obvious that would serve as a powerful motivator. There came a time following the “renaissance” when it would be quite advantageous for authors of the ground-breaking new sub-genre of “Splatterpunk/Extreme Horror” to possess qualities of versatility and flexibility that could aid them in adapting their fine honed writing skills to effectively compete in the mainstream market. Jesus knew that he had the tools to create novels that could fly off shelves, and he was figuratively “chomping at the bit” to write mysteries, thrillers, and police procedurals. Ironically, Jesus was only one author out of two who was invited to speak before the vaunted FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Prior to my awkward splash into the large pool of Splatterpunk/Extreme Horror I read mainstream genre fiction which included Mystery, Thriller, and Police Procedural fiction quite a bit and the various sub-genres such as Medical Thriller, Legal Thriller, Serial Killer Thriller, Psychological Thriller, etc. I would state that J.F. Gonzalez had a seat at the table, perhaps near the head of the table. I loved his exhibition of forensic science knowledge, aberrant psychology, and the nuts and bolts of the serial killer motivations.
“The Beloved” was an outstanding example of his talent in both chilling and mesmerizing the reader. The Amazon Description or marketing blurb (actually from the Back Cover of the book) while not that informative in general tells the reader up front that we are going to meet a supernatural entity of one kind or another, a “creature” whose evil is provided sustenance and immortality by the lustful passion she elicits from her victims. The reader gets the impression that the “creature” can suck the life out of a target with the ease of eating a Milky Way.
Gonzales was running on all gears when he wrote this one, and those gears were well oiled to take the friction and the heat. The character depth he manages with a comparatively large cast of players impressed me. The plot in a lesser talented writer’s hands could easily have resulted in a mediocre book. Gonzalez at the helm rendered the plotline as fascinating, evil, and a “creature” the reader could easily fear from the relative safety of the bed at night. The pacing was perfect, and the occult theme was chilling right out of the gate, and with no respite from the Epilogue. I felt cold in a cozy room, and I was chilled to the bone as the protagonist elaborated on how he was getting along after his battle with pure evil.
The horror was primarily psychological with limited (but well represented!) blood and gore. This novel was fantastic and a superlative example in my opinion of a mainstream psychological thriller with a paranormal theme. I feel like Paul did when we were reading “Fetish”. He was so impressed with the writing…he could not comprehend why there were not more purchases and reviews on Amazon.
In 2017, it was announced that the annual Splatterpunk Awards would include a J.F. Gonzalez Award honoring individuals whose contributions have had a memorable impact on the Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror sub-genres. This was a great honor that would remind the sub-genres he so memorably influenced that he had lived and died in their midst.
“THE BELOVED” SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THIS RIVETING READ
September 3, 2025
A dark 'family noir' thriller spiced with touches of the occult which are offered in explanation for the quickly spiralling death, devastation and destruction that occurs to the characters within the story.
Always a sucker for a good incubi/succubi adventure especially when narrated within the bounds of a possible actual believable reality. But would the cops be so easily convinced by explanations to cover over the supernatural elements that we are led to believe are actually occurring? I would suggest, probably not.
A bit on the long side and slow to catch fire, but a first rate demonic tale, that's for sure!
j. F. Gonzalez - a horror writer of the highest order, not to be missed.
Rating: 4.2 stars.
Always a sucker for a good incubi/succubi adventure especially when narrated within the bounds of a possible actual believable reality. But would the cops be so easily convinced by explanations to cover over the supernatural elements that we are led to believe are actually occurring? I would suggest, probably not.
A bit on the long side and slow to catch fire, but a first rate demonic tale, that's for sure!
j. F. Gonzalez - a horror writer of the highest order, not to be missed.
Rating: 4.2 stars.
April 22, 2011
Hmmm, is it fair to rate a book when I didn't finish it? Probably not but I'm doing it anyway. This 2 stars is for the first 90 excruciatingly boring pages. I quit after that, as I couldn't take yet another detailed description of a white trash woman getting blasted and cursing out her ex or the endless jabbering on about lame-ass, pitiful sex blinded Ronnie working double shifts to pay the mortgage, the utilities, and the car payment while his new girlfriend sits on her lazy ass, refusing to work and ignoring the kids. She gives good sex though, apparently. I read to escape this tedious real life crap. Also, the setup of this story could have easily been cut by half because the author repeats the same info. until you're bleary eyed with boredom. Things may get better but I couldn't chance tormenting myself for another 300 or so pages and I have too many other things to read/watch. It wasn't scary or suspenseful and the characters were dullards. It amazes me that this book was written by the same guy who wrote Survivor.
February 5, 2012
This was a very enjoyable quick read, 3.5 solid stars. Not exactly original, Gonzalez doesn't put a new spin on the succubus story, but I did enjoy the way he explored family dynamics in the situation and under duress and also the characters were well written and compelling. This book was also much better edited than his previous one, Survivor. Recommended to horror fans.
August 7, 2025
Really couldn't get into this book, he has written better stuff tbh. I took a risk as he was being compared to Bentley Little, I would highly suggest The Corporation an excellent horror novel.
February 22, 2009
First time reading this author. Interested enough to look up more of his books. Not for the casual horror reader. Cringe inducing scenes of torment and overall spine-tingling reading.
November 29, 2012
After a couple of books that I couldn't quite get sucked into completely, THE BELOVED was just what I needed. Something that pulled me in and wouldn't let go until I finished it. It took me a couple of extended marathon reading sessions to devour it but I was very pleased and satisfied.
The story follows a Ronnie Baker and his sister Elizabeth. Ronnie is out of a divorce and relatively new to the dating scene when he meets Diana via an online dating site. The two hits things off and he ends up quickly moving her and her two children, along with his own daughter, to a house in his hometown. However, Elizabeth doesn't like her brother's new girlfriend and senses that something is wrong. The story alternates between the two characters until suddenly there is more evidence as to what is really going on.
As I mentioned at the start, I was immersed into the novel and could hardly put it down. As a reader, I knew what was really happening but it was still engrossing to watch it unfold and affect all the characters. The richness of the characters really helped to keep me involved with what was happening and kept the pages turning. My only complaint was that Gregg, Elizabeth's husband, was a bit two-dimensional in the first half of the novel. Considering what an important character he was during the second half, I would have liked for him to be fleshed out a bit earlier. A minor complaint really. Considering the emotions that the novel invoked and the uneasiness that it left, Gonzalez did a great job!
The story follows a Ronnie Baker and his sister Elizabeth. Ronnie is out of a divorce and relatively new to the dating scene when he meets Diana via an online dating site. The two hits things off and he ends up quickly moving her and her two children, along with his own daughter, to a house in his hometown. However, Elizabeth doesn't like her brother's new girlfriend and senses that something is wrong. The story alternates between the two characters until suddenly there is more evidence as to what is really going on.
As I mentioned at the start, I was immersed into the novel and could hardly put it down. As a reader, I knew what was really happening but it was still engrossing to watch it unfold and affect all the characters. The richness of the characters really helped to keep me involved with what was happening and kept the pages turning. My only complaint was that Gregg, Elizabeth's husband, was a bit two-dimensional in the first half of the novel. Considering what an important character he was during the second half, I would have liked for him to be fleshed out a bit earlier. A minor complaint really. Considering the emotions that the novel invoked and the uneasiness that it left, Gonzalez did a great job!
December 9, 2008
What can I say. This was one of the most horrible books I've ever had the misfortune of reading. Utterly boring. Incredibly stupid storyline. It normally takes me two weeks tops to complete a book. It took me about 7 months to trudge through this piece of garbage. And when I finally finished it, that is where it ended up....in the trash can. Please stay away from in at all costs.
December 17, 2015
Addictions and Sex
I love this book... I've been a fan since I read survivor . This book is about a thing that finds people and makes them become addicts. Love marriage and money are all what the thing desire but it's the need for the person they enjoy. Love this book you should read it.
I love this book... I've been a fan since I read survivor . This book is about a thing that finds people and makes them become addicts. Love marriage and money are all what the thing desire but it's the need for the person they enjoy. Love this book you should read it.
August 10, 2023
Second clunker from this author after the sickening amateurish “Survivor.” This was not as disgusting as that boo (thankfully) but it’s equal to it in how bad the writing is. Ham-handed and repetitive to the point of absurdity. Paper thin characters doing boring things page after page until you’re struck by something shocking. Except it’s just clunkily dropped in front of you and then we’re back to tedium.
Solid idea for a creature feature thriller. About the only good thing I could say for it. That and that it was just boring and bad and not offensive and bad like the other novel of his I had the misfortune to read prior.
Solid idea for a creature feature thriller. About the only good thing I could say for it. That and that it was just boring and bad and not offensive and bad like the other novel of his I had the misfortune to read prior.
November 21, 2020
Though I've heard him referenced many times this is the first book I've read by the late J.F. Gonzalez. If the rest of his books are as good as this one I've got some making up for that to do. "The Beloved" is on its surface a page-turner of a genre read, a horror novel about Succubi/Incubi that in lesser hands would be rather silly. Here it's in turns terrifying and emotionally impactful. The supernatural thriller aspects work on their own just fine though the themes and ideas below (but just barely) the surface are as good if not better than they would be if this were a "literary" novel: themes of addiction and compulsion, family and conflict, sex and second chances. Great characters, snappy dialogue, quick pacing. This is Dick Laymon meets John Irving, Stephen King meets Charles Bukowski.
January 3, 2016
This was an interesting storyline but I found the actual writing to be quite poor. At one stage the character Elizabeth was actually referred to as Michelle. Further editing was required prior to publishing this book.
August 6, 2008
One of the best Books Ive ever read!!!
Even though it was so long I read it in 3 Days because I couldnt put the damn thing down!
Even though it was so long I read it in 3 Days because I couldnt put the damn thing down!
August 11, 2008
Deliciously trashy summer-time reading book. It was entertaining, suspenseful, scary and predictable.
March 5, 2010
This is so boring that I couldn't even get past page 50. No action just a bunch of cheating spouses. Supposed to be a great book but so slow it's not worth reading.
November 17, 2011
Very interesting.I like the legend of the succubus. This is a well researched and very good book.
February 6, 2025
My Review and Thoughts:
This plays out a lot different than J.F. Gonzalez's first novel Survivor that I read, which was mixed with nothing but hard core violence throughout. With this one he chooses to build the characters in their everyday lives, and struggles. The prologue as was in Survivor starts out perfect and leaves you with enough horror to read on wanting more. The gifted talent of weaving a story together, and holding the reader is something many authors sadly fail at in that they just give filler to build more pages to the novel. What Gonzalez does is weave the back story, the present soap opera drama to build, and let you understand each player so they grow on you, and when something happens to them, it feels more dramatic, and more appealing.
You have spent time with them, you have grown with them, he builds up the character and so Gonzalez has given the emotional appeal to the players, and when the horror hits the fan, it becomes more real to the reader. Gonzalez's writing, as an author, explores the deep dark recesses of the inner soul. His writing opens the deep portals of the ID and Ego, and Super Ego. He lances the festering darkness in us all, spilling out the darker side of existence.
His writing is monumental in its force, and blunt nature, leaving nothing to the imagination of the reader. In this book his talent showcases. I like reading in the dark with a book light giving it all the wonderful effect. This book is very spooky, very dark, and mysterious, and deep. I like how in this book Gonzalez gives just a little horror at certain moments building up to the main showdown. Slowly the small bits cling to the reader to continue down into the dark horror, waiting slowly to burst out from the page.
You know how Alfred Hitchcock, and Robert Bloch's Psycho did the famous shower scene, the viewer, or reader is dumb founded, and ends up going, "wow" they just changed the movie, that is the powerful shock appeal that floors the reader in this book. Gonzalez can push all the buttons to start, as you turn each page, and then boom, boom, boom, a twist and turn around every corner.
Gonzalez is a writing genius on many of his books. He is a talented artist in the world of perfect imagination. This book mixes elements of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the legend of the Succubus, and enters the realm of the Vampire. This is, filled with an over the wall originality that truly creeps out the reader. This monster is a new true monster icon. The nameless, will forever be a part of my thinking pattern. I have learned something from this book, and that's forget about online dating and hookups.
The whole book works, and Gonzalez does it again, a truly original memorable book that will linger inside my brain forever.
My Rating: 4 out of 5
This plays out a lot different than J.F. Gonzalez's first novel Survivor that I read, which was mixed with nothing but hard core violence throughout. With this one he chooses to build the characters in their everyday lives, and struggles. The prologue as was in Survivor starts out perfect and leaves you with enough horror to read on wanting more. The gifted talent of weaving a story together, and holding the reader is something many authors sadly fail at in that they just give filler to build more pages to the novel. What Gonzalez does is weave the back story, the present soap opera drama to build, and let you understand each player so they grow on you, and when something happens to them, it feels more dramatic, and more appealing.
You have spent time with them, you have grown with them, he builds up the character and so Gonzalez has given the emotional appeal to the players, and when the horror hits the fan, it becomes more real to the reader. Gonzalez's writing, as an author, explores the deep dark recesses of the inner soul. His writing opens the deep portals of the ID and Ego, and Super Ego. He lances the festering darkness in us all, spilling out the darker side of existence.
His writing is monumental in its force, and blunt nature, leaving nothing to the imagination of the reader. In this book his talent showcases. I like reading in the dark with a book light giving it all the wonderful effect. This book is very spooky, very dark, and mysterious, and deep. I like how in this book Gonzalez gives just a little horror at certain moments building up to the main showdown. Slowly the small bits cling to the reader to continue down into the dark horror, waiting slowly to burst out from the page.
You know how Alfred Hitchcock, and Robert Bloch's Psycho did the famous shower scene, the viewer, or reader is dumb founded, and ends up going, "wow" they just changed the movie, that is the powerful shock appeal that floors the reader in this book. Gonzalez can push all the buttons to start, as you turn each page, and then boom, boom, boom, a twist and turn around every corner.
Gonzalez is a writing genius on many of his books. He is a talented artist in the world of perfect imagination. This book mixes elements of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the legend of the Succubus, and enters the realm of the Vampire. This is, filled with an over the wall originality that truly creeps out the reader. This monster is a new true monster icon. The nameless, will forever be a part of my thinking pattern. I have learned something from this book, and that's forget about online dating and hookups.
The whole book works, and Gonzalez does it again, a truly original memorable book that will linger inside my brain forever.
My Rating: 4 out of 5
January 26, 2018
This was a tough read for me. I think it's because of problems that I, personally, had with how the first half of the book goes. I don't think anyone else would care.
I believe a work of fiction must be constantly moving forward. If you're flashing back a lot, you might want to start the book at an earlier time. Every step forward in this book took about five steps back to explain something that happened in the past, or to even flash back to something. That's how half of the book goes, and that was why it took me so long to get through to the juicy stuff. And it is very juicy, my friends. Before I got to that part, this was going to be a 3-star book. It earns an entire star for nearly everything that leads to the resolution.
Another problem I initially had with this book was that I thought it was being told from the wrong perspective. All these horrible things are happening to two characters, and almost all of it is "off screen," later told in flashbacks. I thought that the story should not have been told from the perspective of someone who wasn't present during the important stuff. Having finished the book, I see why it was written that way. It made the first half a chore to get through, but it was done for a reason. Gonzalez pulls a Robert Bloch near the end, and like the first time I read Psycho, I never saw it coming. It was amazing.
If you're a lot like me, you'll find it hard to get to the good stuff, but rest assured. The good stuff is more than worth it.
I believe a work of fiction must be constantly moving forward. If you're flashing back a lot, you might want to start the book at an earlier time. Every step forward in this book took about five steps back to explain something that happened in the past, or to even flash back to something. That's how half of the book goes, and that was why it took me so long to get through to the juicy stuff. And it is very juicy, my friends. Before I got to that part, this was going to be a 3-star book. It earns an entire star for nearly everything that leads to the resolution.
Another problem I initially had with this book was that I thought it was being told from the wrong perspective. All these horrible things are happening to two characters, and almost all of it is "off screen," later told in flashbacks. I thought that the story should not have been told from the perspective of someone who wasn't present during the important stuff. Having finished the book, I see why it was written that way. It made the first half a chore to get through, but it was done for a reason. Gonzalez pulls a Robert Bloch near the end, and like the first time I read Psycho, I never saw it coming. It was amazing.
If you're a lot like me, you'll find it hard to get to the good stuff, but rest assured. The good stuff is more than worth it.
August 27, 2025
Buddy Read with HGW Group for late August 2025. Another classic tale from the late J.F. Gonzalez who is just greatly becoming one of my favourite authors of all time. The evil in this book is intricate web of lust, murder and suicide leaving trails of destruction in its path. Chilling from it's opening to it's epilogue. Characters are great throughout, the evil drawing from occult themes is brilliant and done much better here than elsewhere and there's a heavy dose of character drama that adds to the story.
April 21, 2018
The writing? Weak and repetitive. The characters? Flatter than the page on which they're printed. And yet? I somehow enjoyed it. Guess it goes to show that a halfway decent plot can carry a lot of weight.
April 27, 2021
I like this story but the book has some issues. It feels like the novel went through a lot of last minute changes that were put in haphazardly. I Still enjoyed the book but it could have been a 4 star book with a little better editing
April 18, 2023
The premise is what sparked my curiosity. Made it to page 100 and stopped. The writing is a bit all over the place and while the idea of the story is great, the author just couldn't get it across on paper. The redundancy of the plot made it drag and frankly boring.
June 26, 2020
I'm a huge fan of J.f. Gonzalez. This book just wasn't what I was expecting. It wasn't a bad novel, I'm just used to his novels being amazing.
January 3, 2021
Another fun read by Gonzalez
This is a tame one compared to previous stories I've read by Gonzalez but this was still a fun read with some nice twists.
This is a tame one compared to previous stories I've read by Gonzalez but this was still a fun read with some nice twists.
May 15, 2024
I couldn’t put this book down. I really enjoyed it. I read A LOT of horror and rarely if ever, have I read a story about a succubus. Super original. Great storyline.
June 28, 2011
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.
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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2008
The Beloved was certainly an interesting, enthralling story. Unfortunately, this book didn't seem to be edited very well. The awkward sentences, meandering paragraph structure, and needless repetition of trivial details got to be a bit annoying after the first couple of chapters.
In short, note to Leisure Books/Dorchester: Hire some skilled editors who aren't afraid to be assertive with the authors in their charge!
In short, note to Leisure Books/Dorchester: Hire some skilled editors who aren't afraid to be assertive with the authors in their charge!
August 12, 2015
Normally I really like JF Gonzalez. Survivor was a brilliant horror novel. The Clicker's series is straight up monster mayhem. This one on the other hand just didn't do it for me. I had trouble getting into the characters. There was a lot of repetition in the dialogue. The story itself wasn't bad at all but it felt like it just never took off. If you plan on checking out Gonzalez hold off on "The Beloved" until you read some of his other works.
August 14, 2008
I didn't care for this. The story line didn't make me want to read more. I read it only to read it. It wasn't bad enough to stop reading. that is why I finished it. It's about a succubus and frankly that doesn't interest me. It seemed more horror than it was according to the cover.
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