Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Gone to See the River Man

This was disturbing in the way banal evil is disturbing. While it has supernatural elements, the real evil in this story is the day-to-day atrocities anyone is capable of. It showcases how even rotten people do feel things, but can always find a way to justify their behaviors to themselves even if they can't to others. Even the River Man has a point; he doesn't make anyone do anything. Whatever they chose to do after meeting him was in them all along, and the journey to meet him is what really brings that negativity out. Someone has to have a bad seed in them to go searching for him in the first place. Not to get into spoilers, but the author has a way of making realistic characters and his writing fits the theme/setting of the story (except for his obsession with the word "sluiced", it felt out of place and a bit like a word of the day calendar prompt). When the big reveal of Lori's first taboo was about to play out, I actually felt my stomach drop. She starts out as s sympathetic character, but the more you learn about her, the more you understand that evil isn't just the serial killers that rip people open. I loved this, to the point I'm not sure I even want to read the sequel to preserve what this book gave me.

Content Warnings

carissatheluca's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

BRUTAL.

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.

Content Warnings