Reviews

Along the River of Flesh by Kristopher Triana

samjoc's review

dark fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gore, and Incest

Moderate: Mass/school shootings

Minor: Child abuse

reeminbooks's review

dark tense fast-paced

3.5

nyquilcryptid's review

dark fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Incest, Sexism, and Rape

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Mass/school shootings, Animal death, Alcoholism, Police brutality, and Trafficking

skogsheks's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

3.75

gracethezombie's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

readingwithgoose's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Really solid follow-up to the first book. Triana's writing is good, if a little wordy and verging on purple at times. He's also great at crafting characters with interesting layers, and I have to admit I'm still pretty enthralled by the River Man himself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Body horror, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Gore, Animal cruelty, Murder, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Pregnancy, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Grief, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Suicidal thoughts

fullmooneaters's review

5.0

Triana does it again. Everyone, this is how you make a sequel. The prose, *chef’s kiss*, I mean, I actually feel like I’m floating down a river when I read these books. It’s so beautiful, everything flows, just like the river. I mean, seriously, this was a cracking sequel. And I normally nitpick the hell out of sequels, but this was something else. This is what all sequels should be. No nuance, nothing fancy added for fluff or extra surprise or shock, just a continuous flow of the first story into the second. Triana hit it out of the park again. I liked all the little Easter eggs from the first story, but nothing too overdone so that it felt like a continuation, not a copy or overkilled version of the first. And damn, those encounters with The River Man get me every time. Just the right amount of mystique in my opinion. The atmosphere of the town, the hesitancy of the people, the allure and mystery behind it all, what more could a girl ask for?

I read this is one sitting, that’s how brilliant it was.

When I say this is a perfect sequel, I mean it. Authors, filmmakers, creatives of every type, please take notes, this one is going to be tough to beat.

bbbunniii's review against another edition

2.0

While the first book was a wild ride, this one fell flat for me. The extreme aspect of this novel felt played up for shock value that did nothing to drive the plot. The characters had 0 depth and were almost caricature-like. The Cox storyline is drawn out and overdone. The “plot twists” were easy to predict. All of that plus the lack of editing makes this a 2 star read for me. Very disappointing.

shaeg77's review against another edition

5.0

Sequels are rarely as good or better than the first one. I didn’t have high hopes but this was an excellent second book.. just nasty.

loveandpop'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25