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by David Morrell, Martin Rowe (Translator)

The terror begins without warning. The cat suddenly dies of poison. At that moment, Reuben Bourne has no inkling of its significance.

Then bit by bit the full horror if it is unleashed upon him. He knows now that he and his family have become the target of a powerful and paranoid right-wing fanatic -- a man who will not rest until Bourne, his wife and children are exterminated!

Where can they run?

What can they do?

How can they save themselves from this madman's obsessive hate?

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Horror, Action, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Adventure

236 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

David Morrell is a Canadian novelist from Kitchener, Ontario, who has been living in the United States for a number of years. He is best known for his debut 1972 novel First Blood, which would later become a successful film franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. More recently, he has been writing the Captain America comic books limited-series The Chosen.

Reviews

[Brendon Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Testament by David Morrell who also wrote the Rambo character in First Blood starts well and ends well but the middle definitely drags.

Reuben Bourne is a writer and after publishing an article on the Kess Organisation a criminal network with unlimited power they seek revenge.

The first part of this novel is brilliant and had me captivated. It follows Bourne and his family as the hitman from the organisation are after him and how he tries to deal with it the normal way by trusting the police and there protection. Once it becomes evident how powerful Kess and his followers are and after a tragic death and pretty heinous sexual assault the family flee their home.

This brings us to part two where it dragged for me. It's basically a survival story from here on in with snippets of action but very few and far between. We follow Bourne and some of the family who havent already been taken out as they seek shelter, food and refuge from the harsh snow blizzard elements as the hitmen close in. I like a good survival story and this isn't bad but it definitely becomes boring and tedious after such an explosive start. There is only so many times I can care about how they find there food.

It wraps up very quickly as well in just a few chapters and is definitely unbelievable in nature but very bleak in its conclusion leaving you with the memories of a broken individual.

It was going to be a solid 4 stars maybe 4.5 but as stated due to the middle part I'm giving it at 3.5 upped to 4 for goodreads.

I definitely want to check out more of David's work and am on the hunt of First Blood now.

[Blake Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Morrell’s second novel, TESTAMENT, was published in 1975. You might have heard of his debut. Little book called FIRST BLOOD that introduced the character John Rambo and in the process invented the action novel. TESTAMENT is Morrell’s darkest book, and that’s saying something pretty profound. It opens "It was the last morning the four of them would ever be together" and heads downhill from there. Downhill being a good thing in this case. TESTAMENT is about a family being torn apart and having to fight for its survival under the harshest, most excruciating conditions. To give the briefest plot-tease, the husband/father has pissed off the wrong people, and those wrong people intend to murder his entire family, who’s forced to flee their home. There are scenes of such despair and power in these pages that they level you. But this is a book that must be read, and part of the fun is knowing TESTAMENT was written thirty-four years ago, in the age of Forsythe and Ludlum and the Big International Thriller. In contrast, TESTAMENT feels contained and intimate and linear. Very much a prototype of things to come, and without question one of the best thrillers I’ve ever had the joy and horror to read.

[Stewart Sternberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, a guy and his family are being hunted by neo-nazis. Cool. Good premise, and neo-nazis are wonderful villains. And any neo-nazi reading this review can go fuck himself.

And the book becomes a chase novel. Okay. And it becomes tedious. Worse than tedious. The last third of the book is a brain numbing sludge that slows time to a crawl until the act of reading is offensive. Oh my God!!!! What is this book? Why did he write...

And it occurs to me. Morrell didnt write the last third, the damned nazis did. They somehow managed to rewrite the book to punish me.

Clever nazis. Clever. But it won't work. I read Moby Dick, fuckers. I read War and Peace. You think I cant crawl through this aborted ruin? And when I do, I'm coming for you.

[Arun Divakar · Rating 3 out of 5]

One story thread that never ceases to go out of fashion is David v/s Goliath. By this I do not appeal to biblical themes but rather to that of the underdog defeating the giant. We see and read and observe it all the time in the world around us. Even when you start off on such a story, you do know that your protagonist will win in the end no matter how mighty the odds are. David Morrell builds his story on this archetype but his story is effective in delivering the goods. This is a damn fine yarn of a thriller that borders slightly on the edge of becoming a horror story. Not much, it perhaps puts a toe or two across the line into horror !

Testament tells us the harrowing accounts in the life of Reuben Bourne after he rubs a white supremacy paramilitary group in the wrong direction. Reuben has his own share of private hell in his family life even before the violent shock waves of hatred from this group starts hitting him. In short, Reuben's world goes to hell in a hand basket ! The opening scene of the novel is quite a shocker and gave me a little glimpse of what I was getting into. Morrell is very effective in conjuring an atmosphere of utter dread for the little family of Reuben in the chapters. Unable to deal with the bloodbath surrounding him, Reuben flees to the wild with only a theoretical notion of how to survive. There aren't many light moments in this tale and even when there is such a moment, there is a small chill clawing at your mind telling you that it will go wrong again. The bleakness builds with the chapters and as the end of the tale approaches, I had almost given up hope. Then again there is the climax which is anticlimactic and did not rather meet my expectations. It really isn't much of a climax either. Just a way of switching the story off !

Even when I had closed the book, one thought lingered in my mind : if instead of Reuben, we had Morrell's more famous protagonist along for the ride ! Yes, I do mean John Rambo for the backdrop here is one which he would take to like a fish to water. Morrell also quotes First Blood in this book, cleverly hidden away among some chapters !

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping and full of decently taut prose but really, really bleak.

[Wafa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
This was my first ever thriller. I've got to say I was quite impressed. Not what I expected at all.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Morrell's second novel written in 1975. This came after writing his first novel, FIRST BLOOD, that was made into the Rambo movie starring Sylvester Stallone. I've read a few of his other novels and consider Morrell one of the top thriller writers out there. However, for me, TESTAMENT was not quite on par with some of his other works. It tells the story of Reuben Bourne, a writer and reporter who was able to get in with a white supremacy group and write a magazine article about them. Well he had promised the leader, Kess, that he would show the group in a favorable light but after seeing the reality of what the group was capable of, Bourne published a not so favorable story getting Kess very pissed off. Kess sends his men to take revenge on Bourne and his family which brings a very shocking start to what is essentially a chase novel with Bourne taking his family to the wilderness to evade the men sent after him.

Overall, this one had a good premise and started out well. But as the novel progressed it became somewhat tedious as Bourne is able to evade his pursuers in the high country of the west and must use survival skills to make it through a severe mountain snow storm. There are definitely some shocking moments in the story and the ending was somewhat surprising but only a mild recommendation for this one.

[Chrisb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This began as a great read and the plot was very interesting yet the ending quit telling the story and eventually became an internalization of the lead character. Leaving all aspects of the great book it began as, to become a horrid finish.

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I have read this book a few times and it's a great book even better than first blood in my opinion, would make a great film thanks David for writing this book.

[Matt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a capital “T” thriller. I don’t think I’ve read a book that starts with a suspense level of 10 and doesn’t stop, but holds, and in some parts builds even higher.

From the first page to the last page I did not know where this was going. What would normally be the climax for any other book happens 1/3rd of the way through and left me asking, “what the hells gonna happen now?” It was utterly unpredictable, which made for a reading experience I couldn’t get enough of.

This would’ve been 5 stars if the premise wasn’t easy to poke holes through. I had a lot of questions about the set up, specifically the poison used. I can only attribute it to this being written in 1975 when information wasn’t at everyone’s fingertips.

If you can accept what happens in first 20 pages, and push past the shaky set up, then this is a great read.

[itchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

to think that i was dragging my feet on the onset;
sure beats the crap out of first blood

[Alex Budris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his first novel - First Blood - David Morrell invented the character John Rambo. Isn't that a statement?

A man walks into a bar and announces "I created Rambo! I am one notch of a man above Sylvester Stallone!" Swarthy gentlemen all around buy him double-shots of the oakiest whiskey in the world. After closing they all don finely-tuned custom hunting rifles and march into some remote and hostile wilderness, avoiding many cunning booby-traps, and meticulously assassinate their enemies. They cook the flesh of their foes for food and don the hides of the bears that they single-handedly strangled for warmth. They wander the snowy woods for months, seeking vengeance. Some do not survive, the ones that do are fueled by the fires of Survival and further Vengeance.

None of these men have any formal outdoor training. Most are stock-brokers or stay at home Dads. Their enemies are trained militia. The men hide in camouflaged shelters strategically constructed in the middle of the woods during a raging blizzard. There is five feet of drifting snow in the desolate wilderness. They manage to skillfully kill all their enemies with carefully planned maneuvers.

The question that lies at the heart of reviewing this book: Is This Ridiculous?

Answer that question and you will find the only issue that I have with this otherwise excellent novel. It is finely written, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and merciless. But, again, without giving away any plot-points, please refer to the stated question above. It's just this nagging inability to suspend disbelief that a middle-class family can become John Rambo overnight. Otherwise, like I said, it's one king-hell of a read.

And I haven't even gotten into the vaguely supernatural ghost-town that appears on no maps. Or the strange old man who is half mad with memories of more than heinous* atrocities from long ago.

Maybe one is supposed to suspend disbelief and just soak in the deeper, possibly allegorical elements of the book. Who knows? I just know that I enjoyed it and it stands very tall over Morrell's more recent novels such as "Scavenger" and "Creepers"... While entertaining, those books are mere beach-reading compared to this disturbing, psychologically-probing book.

Read it, take it as it is. WWRD. (What Would Rambo Do)

*Remember: "Heinous" is not a word to be used lightly.

[Martin Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very difficult book to read. Not that it is poorly written; the writing is some of David Morrell's best. However, the story is very disturbing and, at times, gut wrenching.

Testament was Morrell's second published novel, following the success of First Blood, the book that introduced Rambo. It is the story of a man who has made mistakes in his life. His first was having an affair with another woman, an event that nearly destroyed his marriage. His second mistake was writing an unflattering magazine article about the leader of a right-wing extremist group. In retaliation, that group marked him and his family for death.

This book starts with a heart-rending scene in which the writer's infant son and family cat are poisoned by the extremists. From there on, the tension is unrelenting. The extremists have operators in every walk of life. Unable to trust even the police, the family flees to the backcountry then, after being discovered, into the depths of the wilderness.

Where First Blood's plot was about a deadly chase, Testament's plot is about survival and endurance under the harshest conditions, and the lengths to which a man will go to protect his family. Known for his detailed research, Morrell took a wilderness survival course before writing Testament. As a former wilderness search-and-rescue medic myself, I found his research added both a greater depth of authenticity to the book, as well as gruesome realism.

This is not an easy book to read, but it is a book well worth reading.

[Nona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This starts out with all the trappings of a thriller, but then it becomes something more. The protagonist fails to fit the mold of your typical Hollywood Thriller Hero; instead he's just an average man trying to run and hide from skilled and tenacious killers. The results are devastating.

I've read a lot of books with a higher amount of horrifying content, but this one has stayed with me.

[DJMikeG]

I abandoned this book about 270 pages into it. It starts off incredibly, a great, gritty, fast moving thriller. At about 260 pages in, I stopped caring about the characters and got bored with it. Morrell is a good writer, but this one loses steam rather quickly.

[Agerius · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worst thing about Testament- and there’s plenty of things competing for pole position there- is that it resembles the sort of thing that would be resurrected by weirdo book nerd types. A relatively obscure work by an author of some note, a harsh, unrelenting pessimism and viciousness, a strange, anticlimactic ending which gestures at deeper meaning, a fixation on the most mechanical and physical parts of its action setpieces- honestly, that all sounds phenomenal to me, and if described only in those terms one could easily be tricked into thinking this was a cult classic turned unearthed gem. The reality, though, is that Testament fucking sucks for its bland prose, agonizing pacing, nonsensical plotting, and subtle but ever-present sense of its own torturous significance. It wears its tedium like a badge of honor. It is among the worst books I’ve ever read.

Morrell seems to have little understanding of what elements of his own story are significant or even interesting to the reader. To wit: in a story centering on the desperate fight for survival by a journalist hunted down by the neo-Nazi group he wrote a scathing article about, the reader never gets to read more than a few paragraphs of the article- and none of those are even scathing. Further: at no point does the protagonist ever actually interact with the shadowy head of this organization within the story itself, with prior interactions between the two merely alluded to. What fills that space instead: hundreds of pages of highly detailed and repetitive wilderness survival scenes punctuated by moments of explosive action that seem to exist merely to bump off members of leading man Reuben Bourne’s family, which would probably raise the emotional stakes of the work if our protagonist reacted to these events with anything more than a furrowed brow. There’s a Clancyesque inability to portray anything like real human feeling, which naturally leads to a complete lack of investment on the part of the reader. This would be the death knell for the book if you didn’t already keel over at the sheer implausibility and contrivance of the plot established in the opening few pages.

There’s a certain kind of weirdo much like myself who will read the above and think that there must be something of value to find through sheer virtue of how bizarre it sounds- that its utter disregard for basic storytelling practices might make it an avant-garde masterpiece. I am here to tell you that I am one of those weirdos and that Testament is explicitly not the book you’re looking for. What you’re looking for is the movie Blue Ruin- it hits very similar notes but with actual artistry backing it. Best of all: it’s 90 minutes rather than 350 pages.

https://hideousrecollection.substack.com

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most disturbing books I have read. Man hunted by people that feel he betrayed them finds himself in awful situation, witnessing how everything he loves and holds dear is slowly and meticulously taken away in worst possible manner.

At first targeted by insidious poisoning and then chased across the wilderness our hero finds that he is more than capable of surviving but unfortunately he is destined to see his loved ones fall one after another from bullets and unforgiving elements.

Deep tragic story of a man brought to the very edge, ultimately man who decided to remain human being.

You might say that ending is not satisfactory (I think lots of people would like to see Punisher-like slaughter of the criminals) but how many people are actually ready to live with the consequences and retain sanity? Entire story is very old-testament (hence the name) but ending is human like. While managing to punish some of the criminals haunting him our hero becomes aware that he has become the very thing that he is fighting against. After coming so close to the edge he decides to return to his life, as it is, and live it in best possible way considering.

Excellent book on revenge and old saying "Before You Embark On A Journey Of Revenge, Dig Two Graves". It comes very close to Count of Monte Cristo but without the happy ending for our hero (did I say it was old-testament-like story?).

In today's world of 0-tolerance and everyone following their own truth and following path of non-conformity above everything above would sound like giving in to the adversaries. But then one might ask himself when is enough just enough? Might sound like cliche but listen to old folk songs (especially old country songs) to give you a hint what happens when passion is not kept in check. Passion .... there is no more dangerous word out there. Whatever is driven by passion/emotion is like a firestorm unleashed, consumes everything. If you do not believe, check Middle East, Balkan and Eastern countries - they've been running eye-for-an-eye concept since the Roman times with just never-ending circles of blood.

One of the best Morrell's book I read. Highly recommended to all action thriller fans.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truly unsatisfying reading experience with a sour aftertaste. Odd plot structure as the first two-thirds of the book are fast-paced, non-stop action involving a family who tries to escape vicious, remorseless assassins always one step behind them. They kill an innocent baby then shoot the mother while the father and young daughter keep running deeper and deeper into the wilderness. In the final third a complete opposite as the father and daughter are trapped in a snow cave for several days or even weeks (the guy's watch stops and he can no longer tell time). The daughter dies of exposure; the father then goes on his own revenge trip, killing the assassins. He kills more of the gang and tracks down the leader and has him in his sights for a kill shot but he backs down, apparently to run away and continue being a target. Nonsensical ending.

[Chuckles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this thriller, one of Morrell's earliest novels from the 70s, I first read it in the late 90s and have reread it and still have it on the shelf to read again.

Here we are following a journalist who is threatened by a large white supremecist organization that he had written a harsh news magazine story on, which their leader considered a betrayal. He quickly realizes even with police protection he is not safe from this group which has more reach and connections that he realized. He flees with his shattered family and attempts to disappear and elude the group.

Several of Morrell's books are centered on surviving in the wilderness, at least aspects of the plots, and that is seen here as well. There is a bleakness to this story, similar to Morrell's first novel First Blood, almost a level of the protagonist raging against the resignation to the fate they are expected to follow. But the protagonist here is not Rambo, and much of his tools are those in him mind that we was taught and never practiced.

I loved this book, the pacing and tension were great but it did slow down a little at the end. Its biggest weakness in my opinion was the ending. I did not like it, it was a real let down, and while I guess I an talk my way into saying it fits the character's personality, the fact I have to talk myself into believing it says it probably is unlikely. Yes it worked, a better more agreeable ending would not have to go too far the other way to be a better wrap up. A solid four read, maybe just under because of the ending.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morrell should have gone with the title Relentless because that’s exactly what this book is.

From page one, Testament is non stop and every page just flies by.

It’s also excessively brutal and bleak, never once reading like a “feel good” novel. Something that many novels can’t ever truly grasp.

Someone I know said this book is the equivalent of rolling around in gravel and then jumping in a bathtub full of ice and I honestly can’t come up with a better description.

[Michael P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Testament is a dark, gripping thriller in which an author and his family are pursued by a ruthless group of white supremacists after he writes an article negatively portraying their leader. The novel is unrelentingly brutal, opening with a horrifying crime and only getting more ruthless as it goes along. Furthermore, Morrell fills the text with interesting details about survival and evading pursuers that make the plot even more interesting. This book is an unsung thriller classic.

[Maggie Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about this one

But I thought the character was too week and led his wife and daughter to a terrible death. End not clear did he kill Kess and family or not? Would Kess really spend all that time an money to find and kill a man like this. Too unbelievable for me but well written as always

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soooo WOW! This wasn't at all what I'd expected but it surpassed my expectations. A family member suggested this book to me. He said he'd first read it while fighting in Iraq. I wasn't expecting to be so into this book, but it as quite wild.
Tragic and gut wrenching and intense, but thoroughly good.

[Robert Whelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thin premise at the outset, but once past that, by acceptance of the premise, this was a great read. A cracking pace, some very violent scenes, as well as disturbing scenes, and very unpredictable. Some questionable scenes with his family at the beginning of the book showcase the time this was written, it could not be written today.

[Joni Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A breathtaking thriller set in the wilderness. Believable, brutal, and bitterly relevant with the current state of society. Start this book early in the day or you'll lose sleep to finish it. Morrell's you-are-there feel proves he thoroughly researched surviving in the wild.

[Bob Box · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 1977. Hunted by a powerful enemy a family must go on the run. Intense, grim and violent.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. It’s too violent for me especially against children.

[oddo · Rating 4 out of 5]

😬

[Graeme Achurch]

At least this didn’t happen to me

[GERALD COOK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Average book

So so read....a bit boring at times.. I felt the story line wavered at times....it became confusing..not a book I would recommend..2 stars!