“(…)How much shock trauma does the patient stand?

(…) The answer is another

question: how badly does the patient want to survive?”. That’s how the book Survivor
Type, from Stephen King begins. This first-person narrative is the story of Richard
Pinzetti, a sociopathic surgeon who got stranded on an island after a boat sinking.
Survivor type honors the title of horror fiction with its disgusting and agonizing plot.

Richard was a poor man born in New York. Since childhood, had to fight in order to
achieve his goals. Pinzetti got an athletic scholarship, due to his excellent football
abilities, but his father died right before graduation. Richard was glad. That’s when it
clicks that something is wrong with this guy. He always wanted to be a surgeon. Always
protected his hands. But when he actually started his residency, his corruptions began,
and got worse and worse. Eventually, he started smuggling. As Pinzetti brought drugs
from Thailand to San Francisco, the ship sank.

After some days wobbling through the ocean, Dr. Pine’s lifeboat dumped on a pile of
rocks. And there he was, stranded on an island with $300,000 of heroin. Life was tough
in that place. Food was a rare blessing. Once, Pinzetti tried to wave at a plane, but in the
process, he slipped and fractured his ankle. An amputation was necessary. That’s when
the narrative gets nasty. At the same time the best and the worst part of the story. The
injury gets worse and the doctor has to cut his leg more and more. There’s a point where
he gets so mad that he starts to cut other parts of his body for no reason. Meanwhile,
Richard gets addicted to the heroin, first used as a painkiller.

Survivor Type is an absolute masterpiece. A captivating and nail biting story. Stephen
King manages to perfectly transmit the feeling of a person in that situation. The
character Richard Pinzetti has a really strong personality and invites the reader into the
island and makes us feel his pain. This superb narrative is a must-read.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2298766/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_Type
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17160738-survivor-type
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_fiction#Contemporary_horror_fiction
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/book-reviews/
“(…)How much shock trauma does the patient stand? (…) The answer is another
question: how badly does the patient want to survive?”. That’s how the book Survivor
Type, from Stephen King begins. This first-person narrative is the story of Richard
Pinzetti, a sociopathic surgeon who got stranded on an island after a boat sinking.
Survivor type honors its title of horror fiction with its disgusting and agonizing plot.

Richard was a born in Little Italy, New York. Since child, had to fight in order to achieve
what his goals. Pinzetti got an athletic scholarship, due to his excellent football abilities.
His father died right before he graduated. Richard was glad. That’s when it clicks that
something is wrong with this guy. He didn’t actually love his family. Right before the
beginning of med school, changed his surname to Pine. He always wanted to be a
surgeon. Always protected his hands. But when Richard actually started his residency,
his corruptions began. He started with prescription blanks, but then it got worse and
worse. Eventually, he started smuggling. As Pine brought drugs from Saigon to San
Francisco, the ship, called Callas, sank.

After some days wobbling through the ocean, Dr. Pine’s lifeboat dumped on a pile of
rocks. And there he was, stranded in an island with $300,000 of heroin. He never
thought of using it at first. Richard was negligent about other people’s life’s, never with
his own. Life was tough in that place. Food was a rare blessing. One day, a plane flied
over the rock pile. Pinzetti tried to wave at it, but in the process, he slipped and fractured
his ankle. The injury is serious. His foot had to be amputated. That’s when the narrative
gets nasty. Richard uses the heroin as a pain killer.