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A review by yourspookymom
Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana
4.0
I. Have. So. Many. Thoughts. This story is so deeply sad, but it’s very well written, quite beautifully at points. The imagery was incredibly vivid & thoughtfully detailed. I thought the letter writing between chapters was a nice touch that further creeped you the fuck out. Descriptions of the River & The River Man were so awesome. This was a wonderfully unique story.
With all that being said, I don’t know that I particularly enjoyed reading this. Lori’s character definitely makes you question the nature vs. nurture argument… I have a hard time really understanding why she jumps to such extremes. There’s not much justified redemption - it’s depraved, taboo & menacing. Although I felt so badly for Abby, I didn’t feel like any of the characters were really loveable. Well, except for Pete & Buzz - who you just feel such a deep sorrow for. I won’t even get into Lori & Ed more because, lol, what the fuck.
It could have been a hair longer to leave more room for the reader to be inside of The River Man’s shack. There was SO much build up (towards the end I was like just get there already!!); so much potential to only be pretty short lived & tame.
MILD SPOILER/TW: I skipped over chapter 13 entirely & most of 16 because of the rape/incest. 0 desire to experience that.
Overall, Gone to See The River Man is more extreme horror because of the undignified acts of the characters rather than gore. The blood & guts aspect was pretty tame. Or…am I slowly loosing my mind!? Triana does know what he is doing - that is nothing to be slept on. For the genre, this was an incredible story, but for me I am just not sure how to feel. I do plan on reading the second in the series to see if some of the gaps are filled & if we learn more about The River Man’s history/significance.
3.5/5!
With all that being said, I don’t know that I particularly enjoyed reading this. Lori’s character definitely makes you question the nature vs. nurture argument… I have a hard time really understanding why she jumps to such extremes. There’s not much justified redemption - it’s depraved, taboo & menacing. Although I felt so badly for Abby, I didn’t feel like any of the characters were really loveable. Well, except for Pete & Buzz - who you just feel such a deep sorrow for. I won’t even get into Lori & Ed more because, lol, what the fuck.
It could have been a hair longer to leave more room for the reader to be inside of The River Man’s shack. There was SO much build up (towards the end I was like just get there already!!); so much potential to only be pretty short lived & tame.
MILD SPOILER/TW: I skipped over chapter 13 entirely & most of 16 because of the rape/incest. 0 desire to experience that.
Overall, Gone to See The River Man is more extreme horror because of the undignified acts of the characters rather than gore. The blood & guts aspect was pretty tame. Or…am I slowly loosing my mind!? Triana does know what he is doing - that is nothing to be slept on. For the genre, this was an incredible story, but for me I am just not sure how to feel. I do plan on reading the second in the series to see if some of the gaps are filled & if we learn more about The River Man’s history/significance.
3.5/5!