Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana

61 reviews

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

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

brutallybookish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The way this story unfolded was so addictive. Every time I thought I had an idea of what was to come, I was surprised and intrigued, especially given the taboo topics of Lori's past and how her attempts to rationalize her actions somehow continued to humanize her up until the very end. I loved the description of Lori's quest, the land she traversed as it changed, and her descent into a madness that also somehow felt like coming home. The language was simultaneously poetic and graphic, and so many descriptions were hard-hitting. I can't wait to pick up the sequel to this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder and Violence

Minor: Sexual content and Grief

eerieehobbit's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

retiredclownboy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Incest, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual content

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

katelynalice's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

lish02's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, and Murder

itsjustgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Even though it is grim and harrowing, I often found myself not able to put this book down. The well written characters had little to no redeeming qualities, all varying shades of putrid muck. Finished it in just under two days and that ending was absolutely perfect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit

thereadingdude's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit