A review by sweetteeth
Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana

challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.25

I liked this book, but the story could not have moved along without a Black man being used as a plot device in a way that was extremely lazy and unrealistic. A little bit of "magical negro" in there. I think Kristopher could have come up with something that fleshed out the characters and story more, instead of flattening them. It was lazy enough that it brought me out of a story that initially sucked me in so deeply. Part of thr beauty of extreme horror is that its lack of boundaries allows stories to explore things nothing else will - the brutal realism of humanity's depravity, for instance. I think Kristopher did a great job at that up until one point, which deviated so strongly from the tone and themes of the story, it really drew attention to how little he thought about this character. And then just kind of kept doing that.

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Content Warnings

A Black man agrees to help out a couple of random girls who are trying to do something stupid and evil. He gets killed doing it, and then part of his body is used as a prop for the rest of the book. It's pointless, lazy and frustrating.