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The Visitor
On Christmas, during one of the worst snowstorms Indiana has ever seen, five strangers are forced to take shelter inside of a roadside diner. As the night progresses, the snowfall shows no signs of relenting, ice begins to build up on the roads, and the temperature seems to be dropping by the hour. But the worst has nothing to do with the weather, and everything to do with the sixth visitor coming to the diner.
The jolliest time of the year quickly turns bloody as the diners find themselves fighting for their lives. This Christmas won’t just be white. It’ll be red, too.
The jolliest time of the year quickly turns bloody as the diners find themselves fighting for their lives. This Christmas won’t just be white. It’ll be red, too.
72 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 15, 2020
324 people are currently reading
8276 people want to read
About the author
Sergio Gomez
15 books429 followersBorn in Mexico. Raised in the 'States. I live in Philadelphia with my family, which includes 3 cats. I enjoy writing novels that evoke thrills, fears, and any strong emotions out of my readers. I'm an avid reader, a martial artist, and a Nintendo fanboy.
My FB page: https://www.facebook.com/authorsergio...
My FB page: https://www.facebook.com/authorsergio...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,073 reviews
May 16, 2021
4.5 Stars ⭐️. Damn, there’s some rude arse mo fo’s on here
This is a fun and gory little alien novella that just happens to take place at Christmas! I thought it was super fun and because of the afterword, the book was bumped from 4 to 4.5 stars. Of course, the afterword was all the stars, but I digress. I liked the characters as well.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
This is a fun and gory little alien novella that just happens to take place at Christmas! I thought it was super fun and because of the afterword, the book was bumped from 4 to 4.5 stars. Of course, the afterword was all the stars, but I digress. I liked the characters as well.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
December 24, 2023
A group of strangers stranded in a cafe at Christmas, during to a snowstorm, encounter an alien.
March 21, 2021
Some strangers are stranded in a roadside diner anywhere in Indiana due to heavy snow. At first everything is alright but then one of the characters starts screaming in the cellar. The hunt has begun. An alien "hunter" and its dog are preying on the humans. Who will survive? Interesting premise and some eerie moments but sometimes too many characters and a confusing plot. Nothing extraordinary but good enough for a long winter night!
January 17, 2021
3.0 Stars
This is a short (but not sickly sweet) Christmas horror novella. Personally, I adore horror stories set during the holiday season because they serve to contrast to the inherent goodness of the season. I appreciated that this one had those holiday details without being overdone. Set during a blizzard, this story also had a good wintery atmosphere.
As for the story itself, it was a good, yet simple tale of a mysterious visitor. While there is technically a scifi element to this book, this is definitely first and foremost q piece of horror. The novella was quite short in terms of page length, which limited the scope of the story. Personally, I found myself wanting more. The afterward, however, was perfection.
I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a new holiday theme horror story to read during the Christmas season.
This is a short (but not sickly sweet) Christmas horror novella. Personally, I adore horror stories set during the holiday season because they serve to contrast to the inherent goodness of the season. I appreciated that this one had those holiday details without being overdone. Set during a blizzard, this story also had a good wintery atmosphere.
As for the story itself, it was a good, yet simple tale of a mysterious visitor. While there is technically a scifi element to this book, this is definitely first and foremost q piece of horror. The novella was quite short in terms of page length, which limited the scope of the story. Personally, I found myself wanting more. The afterward, however, was perfection.
I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a new holiday theme horror story to read during the Christmas season.
April 22, 2022
Fast-paced, deliberate and scary. I wasn’t able to warm up to it because it ended too quickly—which is satisfactory.
Five strangers are stranded inside a diner during one of the worst snowstorms in Indiana. But they’re not alone. Something unworldly and transcendent is about to pay them a visit.
It was an OK read for me. Not really a fan of this kind of horror but it was kinda fun in its own little ways. I really liked the ending and the fact that the author didn’t decide to kill off one special character from the book. Thumbs up for that!
Five strangers are stranded inside a diner during one of the worst snowstorms in Indiana. But they’re not alone. Something unworldly and transcendent is about to pay them a visit.
It was an OK read for me. Not really a fan of this kind of horror but it was kinda fun in its own little ways. I really liked the ending and the fact that the author didn’t decide to kill off one special character from the book. Thumbs up for that!
December 19, 2024
I’m a fan of this novella for a few different reasons. For one I like how it had a nice build up and was also action packed. There was suspense that kept you guessing and an overall eerie atmosphere! I don’t think I read a single Alien themed book all year so this is a first for me. It was short and sweet & had a somewhat happy ending (at least for me). I feel like I was expecting a twist or just something extra to bump it up to a 5 stars - I would recommend this!
December 23, 2020
While I’m not here to trash the author’s name, I AM here to call out those people mentioned in the acknowledgments who did this author dirty by encouraging him to publish this book in its current form. Thanks to the friends and family members who lied to this poor man—some of them even going out of their ways to leave inflated review scores—this author can never undo his mistake of publishing such an embarrassing manuscript for all the world to see with its atrocious grammar, unbelievable dialogue, and nonsensical character behavior. We’ve all heard that “honesty is the best policy,” but unfortunately, that practice wasn’t applied here. I imagine the author will have to go with a pen name from now on it he ever chooses to publish again. With that said, if any of you reading this review are ever put in this situation with a loved one, if you can’t find it within yourself to be honest, then at least do them a favor by scrounging up enough cash to hire them a professional editor.
December 25, 2024
A little spooky suspenseful book to balance out all the other sappy Christmas things going on! And the Author is right - He gave us a “gift” on the last page of this book! That will make sense after you read it! 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
December 20, 2021
This was a really fun, short little alien horror story set at Christmas time, and I enjoyed it a lot! This was my first experience with Sergio Gomez's writing, but definitely won't be my last. I enjoyed all of the characters and felt oddly attached to them, for it to have been such a short story. If there was ever a full novel to follow up this story, I'd definitely read it.
✨ Representation: one Latinx character and two Japanese characters
✨ Content warnings for:
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✨ Representation: one Latinx character and two Japanese characters
✨ Content warnings for:
———
twitter | booktok | bookstagram | blog
December 12, 2020
Hurry up and pre-order, this drops on the 15th. Perfect lazy, by-the-fire, Christmas Eve Horror! Full review soon
December 19, 2022
3.25 Stars — A seasonal novel that’s got some bite to it but that’s also mostly fun and manages to hold the readers attention through its 90-odd pages.
Five strangers find themselves stranded at a roadhouse diner thanks to inclement, unforgiving weather. I’ve is only building and getting worse by the minute and the strangers must suddenly equip themselves with their survival instinct quick smart, if they’re to manage to stay alive.
This one has solid plot and the prose flows on, but the novella does suffer a little from lack of an editing process — or a good one at least — which takes away slightly form the narrative. But there’s no doubting this was a fun romp of a Chrissy Thriller, having the feeling of a episodic mini-series of survival horror or game.
Five strangers find themselves stranded at a roadhouse diner thanks to inclement, unforgiving weather. I’ve is only building and getting worse by the minute and the strangers must suddenly equip themselves with their survival instinct quick smart, if they’re to manage to stay alive.
This one has solid plot and the prose flows on, but the novella does suffer a little from lack of an editing process — or a good one at least — which takes away slightly form the narrative. But there’s no doubting this was a fun romp of a Chrissy Thriller, having the feeling of a episodic mini-series of survival horror or game.
January 14, 2021
Oh boy. Here it comes. The inevitable negative review that seems to be completely opposite of the majority of the readers.
I guess I’ll start with what’s at least decent with The Visitor. First, it’s quick paced and reads fast. Gomez keeps the story lean and doesn’t fill it with a bunch of unnecessary fluff. Second, Gomez is an independent author and the fact that he was able to publish this novella completely on his own speaks volumes about the D.I.Y. movement that is currently pushing a lot of unknown authors to the forefront of horror and thriller genres. You can’t fault an author for busting their ass to get their stuff out there and available to consumers through Amazon and other platforms that support their efforts.
And that’s why I feel a little bad with giving The Visitor such a low score...especially when the algorithm and aggregate ratings are one of the big reasons indie authors either live or die.
But I honestly can’t give this any higher rating just to support Gomez. That’s something his friends did (according to the acknowledgments) and look how this one turned out.
The absolute biggest problem with this novella is that it’s just badly done. The spelling errors are plentiful. The sentence structure is a mess. Punctuation is hit or miss as some sentences just end mid stream of flow on for far too long. Gomez’s lack of a thesaurus is clearly evident as he uses the word “creature” to describe one of the baddies no less than 24 times in one 3 page chapter. His use of “alien” and “visitor” are also excessive and extremely overused.
Furthermore, this overall plot of The Visitor is extremely old hat and unoriginal. Aliens who use special guns and wear special suits have been seen in countless films or other books. This was a copy-cat’s wet dream of both Predator and The Day the Earth Stood Still. The paper thin characters don’t help things with their asinine decisions and total lack of emotions.
Planning, execution, and production all needed better editors than family, friends, and social media fans.
I seriously hate giving bad reviews to indie authors (they have the balls to do something I’ve been unable to get off
My ass and do for years) so I don’t give bad reviews lightly. I just hope my (and other Goodreaders’) critique will push Gomez to work through his next manuscript with a fine tooth comb...or at least a decently paid editor.
I guess I’ll start with what’s at least decent with The Visitor. First, it’s quick paced and reads fast. Gomez keeps the story lean and doesn’t fill it with a bunch of unnecessary fluff. Second, Gomez is an independent author and the fact that he was able to publish this novella completely on his own speaks volumes about the D.I.Y. movement that is currently pushing a lot of unknown authors to the forefront of horror and thriller genres. You can’t fault an author for busting their ass to get their stuff out there and available to consumers through Amazon and other platforms that support their efforts.
And that’s why I feel a little bad with giving The Visitor such a low score...especially when the algorithm and aggregate ratings are one of the big reasons indie authors either live or die.
But I honestly can’t give this any higher rating just to support Gomez. That’s something his friends did (according to the acknowledgments) and look how this one turned out.
The absolute biggest problem with this novella is that it’s just badly done. The spelling errors are plentiful. The sentence structure is a mess. Punctuation is hit or miss as some sentences just end mid stream of flow on for far too long. Gomez’s lack of a thesaurus is clearly evident as he uses the word “creature” to describe one of the baddies no less than 24 times in one 3 page chapter. His use of “alien” and “visitor” are also excessive and extremely overused.
Furthermore, this overall plot of The Visitor is extremely old hat and unoriginal. Aliens who use special guns and wear special suits have been seen in countless films or other books. This was a copy-cat’s wet dream of both Predator and The Day the Earth Stood Still. The paper thin characters don’t help things with their asinine decisions and total lack of emotions.
Planning, execution, and production all needed better editors than family, friends, and social media fans.
I seriously hate giving bad reviews to indie authors (they have the balls to do something I’ve been unable to get off
My ass and do for years) so I don’t give bad reviews lightly. I just hope my (and other Goodreaders’) critique will push Gomez to work through his next manuscript with a fine tooth comb...or at least a decently paid editor.
September 30, 2022
A quick, fun, straight forward holiday horror novella about a group of people snowed in at a roadside diner that must survive an alien invasion!!
December 23, 2020
I'll put as much effort in my review as I feel Gomez put on this book.
This book feels unfinished because
EDIT, putting some more effort
Dear Sergio (From a Latin American reader with love):
English is hard, don't I know it! Don't feel bad if your English is not perfect, getting there is hard. Even for native speakers, mastery of a language takes time and writing in a language that's not your own is an everestian feat. But knowing you are writing at a disadvantage, you should put double the effort in making sure what you put out is readable. Have you read your whole book, from beginning to end? Have you tried reading it out loud? The amount of weird phrasing, incomplete sentences and spelling mistakes shows an unprofessional lack of effort (or interest), and if you don't care about your book, why should I?
This book feels unfinished because
EDIT, putting some more effort
Dear Sergio (From a Latin American reader with love):
English is hard, don't I know it! Don't feel bad if your English is not perfect, getting there is hard. Even for native speakers, mastery of a language takes time and writing in a language that's not your own is an everestian feat. But knowing you are writing at a disadvantage, you should put double the effort in making sure what you put out is readable. Have you read your whole book, from beginning to end? Have you tried reading it out loud? The amount of weird phrasing, incomplete sentences and spelling mistakes shows an unprofessional lack of effort (or interest), and if you don't care about your book, why should I?
November 30, 2022
The Visitor by Sergio Gomez
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Think of the movie 'Alien' but at a diner. I had fun reading this book. Short as hell- 90 pages but highly entertaining. Perfect horror xmas read on the ol' Kindle. I could easily see a sequel to this...
.
👽👽👽👽
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Think of the movie 'Alien' but at a diner. I had fun reading this book. Short as hell- 90 pages but highly entertaining. Perfect horror xmas read on the ol' Kindle. I could easily see a sequel to this...
.
👽👽👽👽
December 23, 2020
This reminded me why I generally avoid self-published books. It really could have benefited from an editor.
Read
December 16, 2020Editor?
Seeing as though Sergio has written two novels and a collection, I wouldn’t consider him brand new to the game. This novella, however, feels like a first draft. He should have hired an editor or gotten eagle-eyed ARC readers. The Visitor had a ton of ARCs before going live, why the dismal copyediting? Not sure I’ll look back into his stuff again.
Seeing as though Sergio has written two novels and a collection, I wouldn’t consider him brand new to the game. This novella, however, feels like a first draft. He should have hired an editor or gotten eagle-eyed ARC readers. The Visitor had a ton of ARCs before going live, why the dismal copyediting? Not sure I’ll look back into his stuff again.
December 23, 2020
this would have been three stars if not for the sloppy construction, typos, and a couple of sentences that just stopped halfway through. a fun little romp, but in serious need of an editor
December 28, 2020
This book needed some serious edits before it went to the press. Incomplete sentences, bad grammar, and just plain weird word choices are littered throughout the entire thing. It's an easy read and I didn't dislike reading it, but in it's current form, it reminded me of a lot of some things I read during the heyday of fanfiction.net.
December 27, 2020
Nope. How is this getting such high ratings? I will never understand the need to rate books high according to who you are friends with and not the actual book itself. Do you want a future of nothing but shitty books because of false self inflation? Come on people. Speak the truth or we are in for some real trouble.
Anyway, needs better editing. A story line. Some sense.
Anyway, needs better editing. A story line. Some sense.
December 23, 2020
I gave this two stars because one of the characters shares my name.
December 31, 2020
Update: I am changing my rating to 2 stars. It's not fair to all the "good" books I rate 3 stars, that are well-written and edited. My thoughts below remain true.
Read on my Kindle, because the paperback I ordered is still somewhere lost between PA and MA, likely due to a fun combination of a pandemic, the holidays, and a massive snowstorm that hit the northeast last week. Light spoiler warning ahead.
I was really torn between 2 and 3 stars here. I've seen other reviews that address legitimate concerns about the quality of the writing. That said, I'm not as "critical" of a reader as some, and any noticeable mistakes made did not impact my enjoyment of the story. There was something, though, that was off about the writing that I cannot put my finger on. It felt, in a way, juvenile and shallow. Conversations between characters felt fake.
I did enjoy the story, though. I felt invested in knowing what would happen. Knowing that the story was so short too, made it an enjoyable little romp about aliens. The characters, while simple, were easy to root for (expect Moshe - f*** Moshe!) (any Sanderson fans out there?)
Was Santiago driving a USPS truck? Maybe my copy of this book was on his truck.
Read on my Kindle, because the paperback I ordered is still somewhere lost between PA and MA, likely due to a fun combination of a pandemic, the holidays, and a massive snowstorm that hit the northeast last week. Light spoiler warning ahead.
I was really torn between 2 and 3 stars here. I've seen other reviews that address legitimate concerns about the quality of the writing. That said, I'm not as "critical" of a reader as some, and any noticeable mistakes made did not impact my enjoyment of the story. There was something, though, that was off about the writing that I cannot put my finger on. It felt, in a way, juvenile and shallow. Conversations between characters felt fake.
I did enjoy the story, though. I felt invested in knowing what would happen. Knowing that the story was so short too, made it an enjoyable little romp about aliens. The characters, while simple, were easy to root for (expect Moshe - f*** Moshe!) (any Sanderson fans out there?)
Was Santiago driving a USPS truck? Maybe my copy of this book was on his truck.
December 24, 2021
Tis the season for a Christmas horror story 🎄👽
This little novella was fast paced and bloody. I really appreciated having such a diverse group of characters. The plot could have been better, but I was here for cheap thrills and I mostly got what I wanted. I wouldn't go into this one with more expectations than that and just have fun.
This little novella was fast paced and bloody. I really appreciated having such a diverse group of characters. The plot could have been better, but I was here for cheap thrills and I mostly got what I wanted. I wouldn't go into this one with more expectations than that and just have fun.
December 15, 2020
Barely 2 stars, and only because it was a short 70 page novella, can't believe all the 4 and 5 stars, maybe they are the author's friends..
December 25, 2020
Lack of editing aside, The Visitor is just lazy storytelling. The premise of an alien hunting people on Christmas is a fun idea but the author does nothing interesting with it (other than maybe drawing in a few extra readers looking for some festive horror). Aside from some generic tech, there’s nothing alien about the alien. Based on limited description (big eyes, collarbone, crotch) it seems to just have basic human anatomy. There’s nothing alien about the way it moves, thinks or reacts. The same story could have been told if the alien was just a psycho hunter tracking down a few people with his mean-ass dog. That’s how much this story depends on the killer being an alien.
And why does this story need to happen at Christmas time? Sure, the snow makes for a great horror setting but just throwing up pretty lights and sprinkling some unopened presents doesn’t make something a Christmas story. Strangers coming together to help each other is kind of Christmassy but also one of the biggest Yuletide cliches of all time.
I wouldn’t bother writing a review for a book I didn’t really enjoy but I feel disappointed and cheated, both by the quality of the text and the lack of an interesting story. More the fool me for being lured in by the promise of some great Christmas horror.
Give me a story that makes full use of its great premise. Give me some little killer space elves who visit earth every December to harvest organs to use in their workshop back home. See you next Christmas...
And why does this story need to happen at Christmas time? Sure, the snow makes for a great horror setting but just throwing up pretty lights and sprinkling some unopened presents doesn’t make something a Christmas story. Strangers coming together to help each other is kind of Christmassy but also one of the biggest Yuletide cliches of all time.
I wouldn’t bother writing a review for a book I didn’t really enjoy but I feel disappointed and cheated, both by the quality of the text and the lack of an interesting story. More the fool me for being lured in by the promise of some great Christmas horror.
Give me a story that makes full use of its great premise. Give me some little killer space elves who visit earth every December to harvest organs to use in their workshop back home. See you next Christmas...
November 21, 2020
ALIENS!!! I feel like aliens don’t get enough action in horror. I literally love watching alien movies. They are so mysterious and intriguing. I was super pumped to get to read “The Visitor” by Sergio Gomez. I’ve only read his book “Camp Slaughter” and I just love how easy it is to slip into his writing. I could get lost for hours and be done before I even know it.
It’s Christmas Day, the roads are icing over and a storm is cutting out any visibility of the road. The weather leaves some drivers stranded with only a diner nearby. The weather isn’t the only thing they should be worried about.
Instead of a jolly white Christmas let’s have a RED one! The mood and scene setting is perfect. The best thing up north are the diners and I just felt transported there. The story doesn’t dwell heavily on the details and is quick to set up the characters. I was a little worried about connecting with the characters with such a quick set up but in the span of 83 pages I found deeper connections than I ever thought possible. Each chapter leaves you anticipating what would come next and I was riddled with anxiety with each turn of the page. Everything was touched on and executed with great precision; mood, setting, pacing, and character connection. This is surely to be a Christmas treat! I gave this 5 ⭐️.
It’s Christmas Day, the roads are icing over and a storm is cutting out any visibility of the road. The weather leaves some drivers stranded with only a diner nearby. The weather isn’t the only thing they should be worried about.
Instead of a jolly white Christmas let’s have a RED one! The mood and scene setting is perfect. The best thing up north are the diners and I just felt transported there. The story doesn’t dwell heavily on the details and is quick to set up the characters. I was a little worried about connecting with the characters with such a quick set up but in the span of 83 pages I found deeper connections than I ever thought possible. Each chapter leaves you anticipating what would come next and I was riddled with anxiety with each turn of the page. Everything was touched on and executed with great precision; mood, setting, pacing, and character connection. This is surely to be a Christmas treat! I gave this 5 ⭐️.
November 4, 2024
Atmospheric, creepy, gory
This was a quick, easy, creepy and gore filled holiday novella. It was straight to the point and I enjoyed the little time spent with the characters.
I liked the imagery, the wintery feel, the build up to the action, it was all well done.
If you're looking for a holiday read to send shivers down your spine. This is the story you're looking for.
This was a quick, easy, creepy and gore filled holiday novella. It was straight to the point and I enjoyed the little time spent with the characters.
I liked the imagery, the wintery feel, the build up to the action, it was all well done.
If you're looking for a holiday read to send shivers down your spine. This is the story you're looking for.
April 28, 2022
2.5*
Short story set around Christmas where a few strangers meet at a diner...but they are not alone!😂
I liked this story it was a quick little read.straight to the point and it may have me thinking i would try one more from this writers.
Only thing was it seemed rushed and a bit cut off in bits. If he had expanded a little and made it a bit more creepy then i feel it would have been a good bit better. This is why i will try this writers full storys as it was interesting! It was packed with enough going on for a short story
Short story set around Christmas where a few strangers meet at a diner...but they are not alone!😂
I liked this story it was a quick little read.straight to the point and it may have me thinking i would try one more from this writers.
Only thing was it seemed rushed and a bit cut off in bits. If he had expanded a little and made it a bit more creepy then i feel it would have been a good bit better. This is why i will try this writers full storys as it was interesting! It was packed with enough going on for a short story
December 10, 2024
I really enjoyed the concept of this book. I’m quite a seasonal reader, and I also love horror, so the idea of a horror novella set on Christmas Day in an isolated diner, with a mix of sci-fi elements, feels tailor-made for me.
The opening scenes were genuinely effective at introducing the characters quickly and gathering them in an atmospheric setting. The idea of a group of strangers huddled together in the middle of a once-in-a-century snowstorm gave the story a great sense of claustrophobia.
My favorite part of any horror story is the suspense—the moment when you haven’t seen the monster, ghost, or demon face-to-face yet, but you can just sense its presence. There were some suspenseful moments in the early chapters that felt wonderfully cinematic.
However, as soon as the suspense broke, I lost interest pretty quickly.
There were also some editing issues that pulled me out of the story, and a few characters made questionable decisions that didn’t feel realistic. The ending, unfortunately, wasn’t very satisfying.
Don’t get me wrong—I don’t regret reading this. I’m grateful that this book exists, and despite my average rating, it’s a story I’d still recommend for scratching that itch for seasonal horror. It's so short too! That said, it’s not one of the better books I’ve read this year—or even this month.
2.5 ⭐️
The opening scenes were genuinely effective at introducing the characters quickly and gathering them in an atmospheric setting. The idea of a group of strangers huddled together in the middle of a once-in-a-century snowstorm gave the story a great sense of claustrophobia.
My favorite part of any horror story is the suspense—the moment when you haven’t seen the monster, ghost, or demon face-to-face yet, but you can just sense its presence. There were some suspenseful moments in the early chapters that felt wonderfully cinematic.
However, as soon as the suspense broke, I lost interest pretty quickly.
There were also some editing issues that pulled me out of the story, and a few characters made questionable decisions that didn’t feel realistic. The ending, unfortunately, wasn’t very satisfying.
Don’t get me wrong—I don’t regret reading this. I’m grateful that this book exists, and despite my average rating, it’s a story I’d still recommend for scratching that itch for seasonal horror. It's so short too! That said, it’s not one of the better books I’ve read this year—or even this month.
2.5 ⭐️
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,073 reviews