Survivor (1999)

Tender Branson, messianic cult leader-turned-media superstar, is the sole passenger on a hijacked plane that will crash when it runs out of fuel. While he waits for the plane to go down, Branson narrates his deranged autobiography into the flight recorder; it is this bracingly caustic transcript that makes up Palahniuk's second novel (after Fight Club). In 289 pages, numbered backward, Branson recalls his cult's mass suicide (of which he was the sole survivor) and details the conspiracy that has inspired this self-destructive mission. But since the conclusion is foregone, Palahniuk's cynical high-wire satire of media and religious frenzy lacks one crucial element — suspense. B

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