Gone to See the River Man

By: Kristopher Triana

Narrated by: Dani George

Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Super fans. Groupies. Stalkers.

These people will give anything for the idols they worship, be they rock stars, actors or authors. Or even serial killers.

Lori is just such a fanatic. Her obsession is with Edmund Cox, a man of sadistic cruelty who butchered more than 20 women. She’s gone so far as to forge a relationship with him, visiting him in prison and sending him letters on a regular basis. She will do anything to get close to him, so when he gives her a task, she eagerly accepts it.

She has no idea of the horror that awaits her.

Edmund tells her she must go to his cabin in the woods of Killen and retrieve a key to deliver to a mysterious figure known only as The River Man.

In her quest, she brings along her handicapped sister, and they journey through the deep, dark valley, beginning their trip upriver. The trip quickly becomes a surreal nightmare, one that digs up Lori’s personal demons, the ones she feels bonds her to Edmund. The river runs with flesh, the cabin is a vault of horrors, and ghostly blues music echoes through the mountains. Soon they will learn that The River Man is not quite fact or folklore, and definitely not human - at least, not anymore. And the key is just the beginning of what is required of Lori to prove she’s worthy of a madman’s love.

©2020 Kristopher Triana (P)2020 Kristopher Triana

Serial killer infatuation

Lori is enamored with Edmund Cox, a brutal serial killer serving a life sentence. They have become pen pals and she goes to visit him in prison once a month. Then he asks a favor, for Lori to go get a key from his shack and deliver it to the River Man. What can she get in return?
This twisted, demented tale holds nothing back Creepy and tense at times, leading to an equally demented conclusion. So, yeah, I liked it.

Good, but overhyped.

I had high expectations for this book and I was let down. It was a good listen, don’t get me wrong. It has a little bit of everything and was creepy and odd at times. But it didn’t live up to my standards and the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I’d hoped. Beautiful written though and it was immersive.

Pretty good extreme horror

By extreme horror standards I think this is a pretty classy book, I enjoyed it a lot. I do think it’s important to know that shock value and atmosphere seem to be more important to this writer than writing compelling and unique story threads, but he is very good at shocking and building atmosphere.

Amazingly Dark

Great piece of writing I am a new fan of this author, he really puts you in the story. My mouth dropped a few times.

Wasn’t expecting that!

Definitely some interesting twists in this one. Read the trigger warnings before starting this book, but if you can get past those, it’s good

Awkward Narration

Story was fine, but I really struggled to get into this book multiple times. The narration being both flat and droning but also really odd emphasis on seemingly random words, some mispronunciations, and cheesy acting for the dialogue (which may be on the part of the writer, as a lot of the dialogue comes off as caricature).

Storywise, the plotting and twists were good, but the visual descriptions were pretty vague and didn’t take advantage of the setting, to the point that once the gorey details start to appear it all feels a little cartoonish. Like it didn’t properly ground itself first in the sensory perceptions of reality.

Good Story

I loved the storyline and even the ending, but the narration was less to be desired.

Violence for the sake of violence and disdain for women is evident.

There is no redemption or better understanding of life. There are few moments of transcendence and spookiness. An oversimplification of showing love through pain and suffering. A dude definitely wrote this.

10/10

The author does such a great job of creating the false narrative of who Lori is and what she represents. The book makes you love her, and slowly your descent into her psyche and her back story makes you despise who she is, yet some thoughts, are relatable. Nice quick read!

Ho-Hum.

I was really excited about this book, and honestly, the story is solid. Where this takes a turn is the narration.
Really poor attempts at slang/accents that are borderline offensive, and mispronunciations all over the place. It really took me out of the story.

If you’re looking for a book with tough subject matter and a fair amount of gore, this is a good starting point. If you care about the details, like the narration and the pacing, this one might be one to skip for now.