Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana

43 reviews

wutheringlows's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Excrement, Murder, and Sexual harassment

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

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Content Warnings

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

a_novel_craving's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

stephanieluxton's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• 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

I was a little hesitant to give this book 5 stars because it wasn't absolutely perfect by any means, however I really enjoyed reading it. Some parts made me incredibly uncomfortable but they weren't there just for shock value - they did add to the story.

I don't like the official synopsis for this story because I feel like it reveals a little too much of things that would be better as a surprise. This is the story of Lori, a nearly 40 year old woman who has been having a correspondence via letters and visits with a brutal serial killer named Edmund, who's in jail. After developing a sense of trust and kinship, Edmund tasks Lori with going on a mission to deliver something to The River Man. Lori, wanting to prove her devotion, accepts the quest (bringing along her disabled sister), which turns out to be darker journey than she could have ever imagined. 

This book is neat because it jumps back and forth between Lori and Abby's journey along the river to Lori's adolescence, where we are given the information needed to understand why Lori is the way she is. We also get glimpses of Lori and Edmunds letters to each other as the story goes on. The pacing in this book is excellent. Things are revealed gradually and we get a deep look into Lori's psyche.

Some of this is uncomfortable to read but it works. I'm not sure the book ended in the most satisfying way but the ending worked.

A few parts of this story, more so towards the beginning of their journey were quite unsettling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and War

These are major spoilers but the worst things that happen in this book are:

We find out Lori repeatedly molested and blackmailed her little brother when she was a teenager to the point where he developed an eating disorder and died from the shame and humiliation. There's a scary scene in a cellar in which Lori finds a rotting desecrated corpse and needs to reach inside it to retrieve a key - the description is pretty intense. Lori is responsible for her sister's disability and brain damage after pushing her off a cliff. Edmunds letters to Lori are pretty off-putting - he describes his fetish for killing and SAing asian women based off of the atrocities his uncle committed in vietnam - the descriptions aren't too intense but it's still unpleasant.

carissatheluca's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

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

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

sydavant's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Cannibalism, and Murder

ronnir's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

kyra_joy's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• 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

4.0

Please please look for trigger warning before you read this book. 

These types of books are always hard to rate, it was written well, and is successful in what it sets out to do. It is gruesome, and disgusting, and is truely extreme horror in my opinion. I can’t fully say I enjoyed it because I don’t think the content is enjoyable but it is still a good book. I think this is def not for first time readers of extreme/more violent horror. However if you are someone who “enjoys” this genre then this is the perfect book for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

lexy_jc's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail