Kristopher Triana is a new-to-me author, but I think he is relatively well known in the horror community, particularly for readers of cosmic or extreme horror. To be honest, I don’t think I knew much about what constituted those two subgenres of horror, so I did a little research. According to Wikipedia, cosmic horror (also known as Lovecraftian or eldritch horror) is “is a subgenre of horror, fantasy, or weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock.It is named after American author H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). His work emphasizes themes of cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability.” Extreme horror didn’t have its own entry on Wiki, but it has been called splatterpunk, which is described as a “literary genre characterised by graphically described scenes of an extremely gory nature.”

So that brings us to Triana’s novel Gone to See the River Man, a book that has been described as both cosmic and extreme. What exactly was I getting myself into? I wondered.

Thirty-nine-year-old Lori lives with her older sister Abby, not necessarily because she wants to but because Abby needs care. Lori doesn’t have much of a life. She works at a diner, has just broken up with her boyfriend, and is obsessed with Edmond Cox, a notoriously violent sexual sadist and serial killer. Cox isn’t the first incarcerated psychopath Lori has corresponded with, but she really feels the two share a special bond. She’s visited him a handful of times at Varden prison and she has just agreed to do Cox a favour.

“You’ll find the key in the chest,” he said, reiterating the letter’s instructions. “You’ll find it deep in the low valley of Killen, along the Hollow River, in the shack I done told you about. The one they never knew about.”

“You can count on me. I’ll bring the key as soon as –“

“Nah. Ya ain’t gonna bring it to me. I ain’t the one the key belongs to no more, see? Ya gotta take it to The River Man.”

So, not really understanding the quest or who The River Man is, Lori and her sister set out on a journey that will change her life forever.

Gone to See the River Man surprised me and I mean that in a good way. I tracked it down (not necessarily easy because it’s not traditionally published) because I had heard a lot of book tubers talk about it and I thought, sure, I’ll give it a go. I thought the writing was terrific. Lori herself was a complex character and certainly not who I expected her to be. As her story unravels (told in flashbacks), we see that she has some darkness in her that makes her attraction to Cox more understandable.

As she and Abby head out into the wilderness, first looking for the shack and the key and then heading down the river to find the River Man, things do get weird. Extreme? I don’t know – maybe I have a high tolerance for squick. There was definitely some of that, but mostly the imagery was nightmarish without being necessarily gratuitously violent.

Not gonna lie: I thought this book was great.