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nunparasite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide
momostark's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder
elonn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
ohsunnyaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
It's also very obvious a man wrote this because of how the female characters were acting.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent and War
lunababybat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
carissatheluca's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This could have used another round of edits, but- and particularly for the genre- color me suitably impressed. Bonus: for the first time in quite a while, disturbed.
Gone to See the River Man had a rocky beginning. I could see where it was going, but the stylistic choices (I hope) just did not translate well into setup. Triana's sentences stutter; my flow was constantly interrupted by misplaced words and staccato descriptions. I know that's (probably) on purpose, and it was fantastic during gruesome scenes, but it's irritating to read a full paragraph of broken sentences every other chapter. (Bear in mind the chapters are very short.) Similarly, Lori's characterization is so vague during the first half I had a hard time buying her motivation for her bizarre-ass decisions. She kept EXPLAINING her motivation, but that doesn't make me believe it. Developing her neediness and frustration towards Abby should have been done far sooner + more deliberately.
As it were, I had to really force myself through large swaths of the first 100 or so pages. I appreciated the rising tension, but making me stay inside Lori's head in the "real" world only made it harder to suspend my disbelief. There's just a level of depth which is sorely lacking + the consequence is flat, marionette characters and some eye-roll sequences. Nobody was screening the mail of a serial killer who still has possibly unconfirmed victims? A body is nearly skeletal after less than a year in a COLD cellar? Literally just Google your gore, authors, please!!
And far more frustrating for me: tf is Abby's brain damage? I know it's a plot device. I know it's meant to be a manifestation of [IYKYK] and provide conflict. It's 90% of her characterization, but it's left so vague as to almost be... cowardly? What exactly is her brain damage? What can and can't she do? We see her mostly through the lens of what she WAS, and it's just convenient in a way I don't love. If you don't describe any of the medical problems, you can't be wrong about them. Booooo!
The setup for the first letter from Edmund was fantastic. All this anticipation between Lori's first letter and that one, slowly discovering just how unreliable a narrator Lori's been... It was genuinely incredible. I appreciate the big bad serial killer being given a background + reasoning, and I'm willing to pretend it's not silly. Weirder shit has happened for real. I kind of respect the vision, as much as I feel I can say that given- 🥴🫡🤮 you know.
Man, this made me legitimately recoil in disgust. For once, the worst of the plot was justified enough by the exposition that I felt dirty and uncomfortable reading it. A lot of Splatterpunk/extreme horror authors will write about this stuff, but it's used so randomly and gratuitously it doesn't even land. It's just noise. Not so for River Man. I was sat and sick. The gore was deliciously visceral and the flashbacks... *shudder*
I'll be having nightmares tonight, I'm sure.
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and War
chuckyinspace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
violargento's review
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Incest, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
ronnir's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, War, and Injury/Injury detail
racl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The writing style is good, but the content is gratuitous and leans towards shock horror than anything else. Not for me.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, and Violence
The incest in particular is more graphic than necessary and involves children, please be careful if this is a trigger