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Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana

3.58 AVERAGE

delta_hairlines's profile picture

delta_hairlines's review against another edition

2.0
no thx

tsaianng's review against another edition

3.0
maybe the real river man was the friends we made along the way.



but real talk this the most messed up book i ever read. captivating at first and had me hooked for the majority before it became something i only continued because i felt like i had to finish. certain parts of the book were just disgusting to read and made me not really want to continue. i like thrillers but don’t think i’m built for this level of deranged. also, the last few chapters didn’t really make any sense to me. supernatural stuff isn’t really my thing (that’s what i get for not reading the synopsis). that being said, it’s like reading a nightmare, which honestly works given the context of the story. besides that it gets some points for having a very well-paced plot, great description, and, as messed up as they are, interesting characters.
scary_stan's profile picture

scary_stan's review against another edition

3.5
dark sad medium-paced
Loveable characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

shubh_reads_constantly's review against another edition

4.0
adventurous 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
ellegreads's profile picture

ellegreads's review against another edition

3.0
Gone to See the River Man is a sick book but in a slow and disturbing way. It’s a raw and unflinching novel about a woman who will basically go to ANY lengths in order to get what she wants- even if that means hurting those who will get in her way. It takes a while to see this happen (basically until you hit the fifty percent mark) but once it happens you are thrust into a vortex of horrible things that will make you shudder. I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting the book to take the turn it did and while I found it to be unique for a horror novel, I didn’t find it to be one of the best I ever read. I guess I was hoping to feel something more but because it’s such a short book the characterization was limited. I also hated some of the characters (I can’t say who without spoiling it) and was happy to see what happened to her in the end. It was fitting and probably the only time I had a smile on my face while reading this.

If you enjoy twisted characters, those who will stop at nothing to get what they want (it’s written very slyly here) with stomach churning content then this is a good book for you. It’s not a slasher or haunted house horror novel but it’s psychological and creepy in its own right.


mwk01's review against another edition

3.75
adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
lightseeker's profile picture

lightseeker's review against another edition

3.75
challenging dark tense fast-paced
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
delotani's profile picture

delotani's review against another edition

4.0
dark sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
This book is crazy, I did enjoy it though

jrayers97's review against another edition

4.0
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
Gone to see the river man is an extreme horror novel, marketed as such, and yet I still didn’t expect everything that happened in this book. The crux of this novel is a Faustian bargain with the titular River Man. Lori’s love with a serial killer drives her to seek out this River Man and deliver a key to him. I really appreciated how the novel drip fed us with Lori’s backstory, starting as a sympathetic caretaker but slowly transitioning her to an incestuous attempted murderer. I wasn’t anticipating the supernatural horror but it was a pleasant surprise. In addition, I’ve read a few extreme horror novels, but the writing quality of this one surprised me quite a bit. The author clearly went to lengths to tell a well written story, and throw in disturbing aspects, rather than just the latter. The ending was quite predictable, as all Faustian bargain novels are, but the journey down the river was worth it.

smelleyeanne's review against another edition

4.0
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated