The Survivor Spoiler Comes Forward – A Review of ChillOne’s New Book

Everybody knows about the secrecy surrounding Survivor and the identity of its competitors, especially the Final 4. Less well known to the average viewer – but certainly known to many Internet readers, is the community of people out there who play a game within a game. They scour the internet, local papers, some even use satellite mapping and travel different places all in the effort to unveil the secrecy that surrounds Survivor. They are the spoilers.

No one had ever really spoiled an entire show. Sure the locations had been spoiled, maybe they figured out by "vidcaps" which team won the next challenge and which player was voted off. And there was what seemed to be the biggest spoiler ever (at the time), when Clay and Brian were leaked as the Final 2 of Survivor: Thailand a few weeks before the episode aired. There was also "Tapewatcher," who you could say was the spoiler of all spoilers but he merely took clues in the episodes and formed a story out of it. It was spoiling, but there was never any concrete evidence provided. Not that the average reader could see, anyway. There was never one particular person who had stumbled upon such a large amount of top secret CBS information until Survivor 6 was a month away from airing. That person was ChillOne. He had successfully spoiled Survivor 6 in a day and a half.

In his new book, appropriate titled The Spoiler: Revealing the Secrets of Survivor (iUniverse, Inc.), he reveals how he came across this information, how he received it, and he tells of his adventures playing a game within a game within the ultimate game of Survivor. I remember seeing his posts on SurvivorSucks and reading along with it. I was intrigued! Just who was this person? How did he manage to get so much information? Once the cast list was announced and his information that a deaf girl would be on the show was confirmed, I never doubted his, as he says, "intel."

It's an interesting tale of travel, adventure, secrecy, and suspense. If you read along with, or have heard of ChillOne, this book is a definite read for you. If you are a Survivor fan – but not interested in the spoiling community – it is still a must-have coffee-table book. It's a light-hearted yet intriguing look into the game as well as the people who are undoubtedly some of the biggest fans of Survivor. There is no need to worry about Survivor: Pearl Islands being spoiled for you if you read the book either – it deals only with Survivor: The Amazon.

Along the way, we learn a little bit of who exactly ChillOne really is. He's always kept his identity a secret – which truly does add to the mystery of it all. Throughout the book, he takes us on an adventure of ups and downs as his "intel" either proves to be right or, in some cases, not quite the way he had planned. For those who think the book will be simply a repeat of how Survivor: The Amazon played out or just a "cut-and-paste" of his message board thread, you're mistaken. It's an adventure and a tour through the sometimes strange land of spoiling; but, most of all it's one man's journey through a fun-filled game of happenstance, mystery, intrigue and ultimately... well, you'll have to read the book for that.

It's filled with interesting characters – some of whom I'm left wondering about from time to time. ChillOne paints an interesting picture of the Amazon and an interesting look into the world of spoiling Survivor (not "ruining," he adamantly states). I've visited the spoiler boards but have never posted or really gotten into the whole idea of searching for the clues that Mark Burnett leaves in the episodes. However, this book has made the game within the game a little more interesting for me. I notice little things in the episodes now and wonder if that will sometimes play out the way I think it may. Am I following in the footsteps of ChillOne? Well, no, but it's fun to play along.

Despite what you might think of spoiling Survivor, ChillOne made Survivor: The Amazon one hell of an adventure for the media and the spoiling community. An average guy, out on vacation, takes a side trip and does what no one else has ever been able to do... spoil an entire series of Survivor in a day and a half. I've enjoyed his story. Some people may try to do what he did, some may even succeed, but he was the first. He was in the right place at the right time and will go down in history as, and rightfully so, The Spoiler.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Survivor, or as a Christmas gift for your favorite Survivor fan.

Paris Cosby is a Canadian mother of three. You can send her fan mail, hate mail, or junk mail at pariscosby@hotmail.com.

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