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nyquilcryptid's review
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
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
readingwithgoose's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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
itsjustgrumpy'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Sexual content, Police brutality, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Child death, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Sexism, Trafficking, and Slavery
k_rose95's review
- 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
3.5
Felt like Gary was just shoehorned in for plot though, he didn't contribute anything to the end game.
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Torture, Incest, Misogyny, Death, Pedophilia, Ableism, Sexual content, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Rape, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence
jimgerdes's review against another edition
- 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
There's always a skepticism that comes with sequels, especially when it is for a beloved novel like Gone to See the River Man, Krisopher Triana's 2020 breakout horror novel about the personal hells we create for ourselves. Too often sequels are made either with a commercial interest in mind to build on the sales success of the original work or are cumbersome retreads of the same material.
A good sequel builds and expands on the original text, either taking the story in new and interesting directions, or further exploring the themes the prior work touched on. A sequel is an opportunity for an author to revisit their work, understand what worked and did not, or explore new directions with the same ideas.
It's too bad then, that following River Man's thoughtful explorations of the destruction of an American family, sexuality in society, and dive into the psyche of a truly despicable protagonist, that the sequel would fail so completely to recapture these elements that made the first book so fascinating.
Structurally, there is nothing new in River of Flesh that separates it meaningfully from its predecessor. The protagonists, as noted in the book's blurb, seek the deranged killer from the first novel as he ventures to see the mythical River Man. This means the book takes place in the same setting, revisiting the same set pieces from the previous novel. In this way, Triana quite literally retreads his previous novel.
The sole structural difference being that this novel has four main POV characters compared to the previous novel's one. This works against the story, as there is little time to truly understand and watch these characters grapple with their demons as we saw Lori do in River Man. While Lori revealed herself to be a truly deplorable person, we saw her grapple with those feelings, and make her choices accordingly. None of these characters carry that same dynamism. They are unrepentantly horrible from the beginning (with the exception of one who is mostly a helpless victim), with no reflection or exploration of why. This makes them far less interesting, and their fates feel unsatisfying to see play out.
In this way, Triana's story really misses the mark of what was previously set up in River Man. Where Lori journeyed through her own personal hell as a result of her choices, these characters are simply brute and blunt objects wielded against each other.
There is one other thing to be said and that is the depiction of the character's evil deeds. Obviously, the grotesqueness of the protagonist is an important piece of the original, but where River of Flesh falls flat is that these characters' actions do not seem to serve any central theme; they are simply perpetrators of the most horrific acts of evil that can be described. Their pasts are truly shocking once they (somewhat arbitrarily) revealed two-thirds of the way through the story, but they do not contribute to the readers' understanding of them as people other than that they are despicable and revel in their own evil.
The descriptions of these acts are frankly gratuitous. They don't serve the story or the characters and seemingly exist to be shocking and repulsive. This is not captivating horror, and is my biggest disappointment with this novel, especially since Triana has previously revealed himself to be extremely capable of approaching these subjects thoughtfully in this very series.
There are some poignant things touched on in this story, but most of them don't tread any particularly new ground. It does not further develop the themes of the original work, nor does it use those themes in new and thoughtful ways. The splatter and depravity are taken to new levels, but these were never the aspects of River Man that made it an interesting read. It's concerning that Triana did not take that into account when writing this sequel.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Death of parent, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Misogyny, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Torture, Domestic abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexism, Animal death, Blood, Death, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Violence, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racism, Murder, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Body horror
hapikohw's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Child death, Rape, Sexism, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Blood, Death, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Torture
mikepalumbo's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Murder, Rape, Misogyny, Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Child death, Animal death, Death, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Violence, Incest, Sexual assault, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, and Grief
aykdanroyd's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Gore, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Death, Animal cruelty, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
readingwithbritney's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Blood, Sexual assault, Cursing, Excrement, Gore, Incest, Torture, Violence, Death, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
amurderofporgs's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Murder, Body horror, Child death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Torture, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Rape, and Death