Rekt has a lot of big, timely ideas -- grief, toxic masculinity, internet radicalisation -- but the execution just didn’t land for me. The themes are compelling, and the setup has real horror potential, but the writing is awkward and often heavy-handed, which undercuts the impact. What could have been chilling or thought-provoking mostly felt clunky. I wanted to be disturbed or moved; instead, I was mostly just frustrated.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of >rekt by Alex Gonzalez! This book was incredibly dark, often uncomfortable, but like a car wreck you can't look away from. Feels like living in a nightmare. I loved the creepypasta aspects and the web stuff at the end, which lends to the mystery about what really transpired. This book was a deep dive into the dark web and how we deal with grief. Very well written and neat formatting.

Rekt is a deeply disturbing tale for our current internet age that brilliantly juggles multiple relevant topics such as the use of AI for sinister purposes, internet safety and doxxing, snuff videos and dark web forums, questionable online gambling, and toxic masculinity and violence - all with grief horror at the heart.

I was absolutely absorbed by Sammy and his tragic past. The various interwoven anecdotes told by Sammy did a wonderful job of fleshing out his character and background while making you feel sympathetic for him, despite his eerie descent into madness spurred by his messed up dark web obsession.

This story is fast paced, gross, uncomfortable yet realistic, and witty with a dash of Chuck Palahniuk nihilism. One of my favorite reads of the year, and I am greatly looking forward to future releases from Alex Gonzalez and his dark mind.

This is one of those books that will make you look at the internet in a totally different light. The internet and its users need to be used with an air of scepticism. It will really put a little bit of fear in you!

What does grief look like in the age of the internet?

This book reminds me of why SafeSearch is important. Kids used to be able to find the worst things online way too easily.

Sometimes, adults still can.

-- SPOILERS --

The entire haruspx reveal was incredible. The bizarre vigilantism, with Jay desperate to be "the good guys," really helped hit home how fucked their actions were. And I LOVED the way chapters 3 and 13 mirrored each other. The ambiguous ending was perfect for what this book was and I thought it was fascinating how obsessed Angela was with "the Wax Man." Sammy's actions were disturbing and morally questionable/wrong at basically every turn, but I still couldn't look away (much like Sammy and chinsky). At times I even found myself rooting for him. He may have been a real bastard but gd he was interesting. And being interesting is a hard thing to give to your protagonsists. Alex Gonzalez knocked it out of the park with this one.

> be me, 40-something
> looking for the next the sluts
> penance would be fine too
> feel nothing

I really wanted this one to land for me, but it just didn't. I felt thiiiiiiiis far away from Sammy the whole time. I didn't feel his grief, his horror, his slow (and then quick) sinking into online spaces no one should be. I didn't feel Sammy experience the way that kind of content can turn your soul black and be a cruel reminder that we are vulnerable bags of meat and then reconcile that with the pain of losing Ellery. I read it, but I didn't feel it. I wanted to feel it.

Chinsky: why? Having the story pivot on this hinge of online boogeymen made rekt feel like there were two separate novels that got smashed together and didn't marry well. I'm not usually the sort who needs a lot of technical questions answered in fiction, but the way chinsky worked left way too much room for me to be distracted. My AI fear is real, but this is not the kind of AI fear that's effective for me.

All that being said (I know it sounds like a lot of negatives), I did enjoy reading rekt. I enjoyed what it was trying to do, but I'm just not sure it succeeded. I also realize that I'm probably not the audience for this one.

I predict that many people will find the thing in it I was looking for, and I truly love that for them.

I think the concept behind this book is really interesting and it definitely hooked me in the beginning. It did start to slow down in the middle though... and the inner workings of what was going on didn't ~really~ make sense? I won't go into details as it would involve a lot of spoilers, and maybe I'm just over thinking it or missed something.

I do think this is a great read for those of us stuck in doomscroll mode who spend way too much time online. Overall yes, I'd recommend it, but it won't be one I'll be quick to re-read.

This was good! More emotional than I expected, for sure. And definitely as messed up as I'd imagined. Maybe even more so, if that is possible. I was certainly invested in the story, as I found Sammy to be quite the heartbreaking character. And frankly, I wanted to know just how messed up the internet can be. Is it this bad? Is it worse? I have no idea but it sure is thought provoking! The pacing is a little off at times, and I think I had hoped for a wee bit more from the ending, but it was an engaging story and one that definitely made me think and also freaked me out!

>Be me, 23
>Loves horror novels inspired by obscure internet culture

Think Amygdalatropolis meets Fight Club, that's honestly the only way I can really describe this. 3.75 rounded up to 4.

I don't want to say too much about the story, since I think going in with as little knowledge as possible is the best way. Rekt is an exploration of grief and trauma told through the eyes of Sammy, who gets up to some unsavory activity on the internet. Gore videos, creepypastas, NSFL content, dark web browsing. He self-sabotages himself at every turn and is having a hard time grieving with the passing of his girlfriend--who has passed in a car accident.

I was getting huge Palahniuk vibes from this. There were points where I was saying to myself "this is like Choke" or "this is like Fight Club". I really enjoy that brand of witty satire from Palahniuk, so I really resonated with this story and the commentary it was providing on not just grief but the state of AI in the digital world today. Overall it kept me very engaged.

However I would have liked for the chapters to have been shorter. When you start one it's a long stretch before you get to the next one, and there are plenty of breaks in the story to end a chapter and start a new one. It would've made the experience a little less heavy and digestible, if that makes sense.

And also that ending. It honestly just ends and it's not even wrapped up or anything, it happens so quickly as well. It's pretty open-ended and is followed by several forum and fanfiction posts that are meant to make the ending more ambiguous than it already is. I enjoy endings like that that leave the ending up to interpretation, but here it just felt like there wasn't much idea on how to finish off the story.

3.5/5⭐, rounded up

Pretty cagey, wild stuff in this novel that leads a grief-stricken young man down a road into the sinister, horrific corners of the dark web and all the depravity it contains. But soon Sammy stumbles into an impossible world of video footage of deaths that should not be, and he is drawn deeper into a perverse and merciless world of individuals who place bets on death. As Sammy tries to work out what’s real he must become a monster himself.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯.”

As Sammy investigates the seemingly impossible footage looking for answers and retribution, he throws in with a couple of others who are also on the hunt for those responsible.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘈𝘐-𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘴, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘈𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺.”

The novel starts off strongly with an intriguing plot and a dark premise. The writing was powerful and conveyed the dread, grief, and self-abhorrence of Sammy, whose traumas just keep piling up. The plot did lose momentum for me just after halfway through, where it slowed considerably, before it picked back up just for the ending, which culminates in an interesting, but somewhat ambiguous conclusion.

My thanks to NetGalley for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really am a little dumbfounded by this story. It’s incredibly dark and disturbing.

Sammy Dominguez has just lost his girlfriend, Ellery, in a tragic car accident. He is completely consumed with grief. Even her parents are struggling. Only Sammy is also eaten up with guilt.

He drinks, uses drugs and even trolls the internet. Then, someone sends him a secret video of the actual accident that claimed her life. Who sent this? He becomes fascinated with death scenes online. Soon, he finds himself addicted to the horrors on the dark web.

When I started this, it was such a slow crawl. He spends so much time talking about his misery and what Ellery was like. The pacing was really too slow for me. Then, when we get to how everything spirals out of control, it becomes insane. Lots of gore scenes to make you cringe.

I really wanted to like this one, but it just wasn’t for me. I think fans of grief horror or splatterpunk are the perfect readers for this. The writing was great, just not my cup of tea.

Thank you Erewhon, Alex Gonzales and NetGalley for the opportunity.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3,5 star, rounded up to 4 stars for Netgalley
** I received an ARC copy from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review**

Rekt is a book that is all about grief. From the very first page, the main character’s grief is just jumping off the page. Sammy has lost his girlfriend in a car accirdent and is having trouble processing the trauma. Throw the deep dark web into the mix, and you have a recipe for disaster.

I really enjoyed the story, and I personally had no issue with the pacing. There was a lot happening, which managed to keep me engaged enough through out the chapters. Though, I would have liked for the chapters to be a little shorter. Some parts dragged just a little bit, but this was not too big of a bother for me. The scariest part of the book is how close to reality it comes. Lots of things I can see happening in real life, with all of the AI going on.

There was much more gore in this book than I initially expected. Though, it definitely does not reaches the height of extreme horror and splatterpunk books. Not all characters had been equally developed, but the main character -who felt very unlikable, and that’s how I like my morally grey characters- felt very deep. His trauma, grief and insecurity really brings him to life.

Besides the dragging at some parts, the ending felt entirely anti-climactic and I was somewhat disappointed. The story felt a little unfinished. I guess it’s an open ending and up for interpretation? But that’s not the type of ending that I like. I would have given it 4 or maybe even 4,5 stars if the ending had been different.

I was really excited to read this book. The premise about the dark web and viral shock videos drew me in. I was a kid in the 2000s and remember watching shock videos on the family computer and sharing creepypastas with my friends. However, I lost interest about 50% in and wished the pace was faster. The ending felt rush. There was this long and drawn-out build up and right when we reached the climax of the story, it ended abruptly. The characters were unlikable. I wasn't rooting for anyone. It was ok.

In the year 2025, it often feels as though the internet (yes, the thing you are using now to read this) has grown into an untamable mess. Much like weeds in a festering, untended garden, the places in which technology reaches know no bounds, disrupting the growth of healthy foliage and flourishment. With his debut novel, rekt, it feels as though Alex Gonzalez has harnessed this fear, tapping into the unending void of depravity that is a few keystrokes away.

Sammy Dominguez has grown up with the internet, finding weird videos with his friends at sleepovers way too young, reading and writing creepypastas, and documenting his relationship with his girlfriend, Ellery. One car accident changes this all, Ellery’s life claimed, and Sammy left to navigate the world from his warped perspective, alone. One link to one website plunges Sammy’s already bleak world into deeper darkness as he watches the deaths of numerous people, even those he holds dearest who are still living. Descending into a madness of conspiracy, Alex Gonzalez thrusts us into the brokenness of the digital age showing there is no bounds to depravity.

One of the most rattling sentiments behind rekt is Gonzalez’s ability to examine our morbid fascination with violence in a way that immerses us wholly within this very notion. As we follow Sammy through this depraved navigation of death, hurt, and gore, we, the reader, also cannot look away from the destruction unfolding in Sammy’s life. Are we any better than him in our fascination with his struggles? It’s a strange, self-referential conundrum Gonzalez presents, adding a depth to a story that thrives on thematically dark motifs.

Even more impressive is the grit that is deeply ingrained in Sammy’s story. Many novels have delved into the nefarious nature of technology, the internet, and artificial intelligence, but rekt is a book that feels unique in its unfortunate honesty. While much good has come from these technological advances, the unchecked nature by which this beast has grown, spawning new dimensions of illicit activity, is purely terrifying. Sammy’s descent into this realm of death, conspiracy, and violence feels otherworldly as the events that transpire are riddled with shock and brutality. Somehow, Gonzalez has bottled the fear of the future, the horrors of the uncontrollable, into one unputdownable novel.

A book that accomplishes so much through its harshness, rekt by Alex Gonzalez feels like one of the most pertinent novels of the digital age. There are no doubts that this is a mean novel, one that is genuinely frightening with the lines of reality and digital fiction blurring beyond comprehension. Yet, this fear is for good reason with every transgression reading as a warning, a flashing warning sign of the destruction to come. For these reasons and so many others, rekt is a bold debut with an unwavering voice that needs to be heard.

Alex Gonzalez’s gripping debut novel >rekt, set to release tomorrow, 25 March 2025, offers a chilling exploration of toxic masculinity and the darkest corners of the Internet.

At its core, >rekt follows Sammy Dominguez, a man who believed he had life under control—until a devastating car accident upends everything. Overcome with grief and guilt, Sammy turns to shocking and violent videos from his past for solace. But when he receives a link to a dark web site featuring footage of his girlfriend Ellery’s death, he descends into a nightmarish world of disturbing videos—accidents, suicides, and murders.

The site, Chinsky, seems to anticipate his every move, and the enigmatic user “Haruspx” guides him deeper into a virtual abyss. As Sammy becomes more consumed by his obsession, he begins to uncover an unsettling truth: to expose Chinsky’s origins, he may have to transform into something monstrous himself.

A gripping, unsettling and poignant read, >rekt fuses the cautionary tones of Black Mirror with the visceral rawness of Chuck Palahniuk. The novel relentlessly examines how we fill the emotional voids within us with digital content—and the disturbing consequences that follow.

In anticipation of the book’s release, SCREAM Magazine sat down with Gonzalez to explore the dark themes at the heart of rekt. We discussed the intersection of grief and the dark web, the dangers of living in an internet- and social media-driven world, and how the digital realm can be as toxic for those with addictive personalities as substances like drugs, alcohol, or gambling. These provocative issues are woven into rekt, a novel that forces readers to confront uncomfortable truths about our relationship with the digital world—and the terrifying consequences that come with it.

When Sammy’s girlfriend dies in a horrific accident, he turns to shock value videos online for distraction. Until someone messaged him a dark web link to various videos of his girlfriend dying, including one of the accident that killed her. As he dives into this site, he becomes obsessed and the darkness takes over.

Given this book is largely about snuff films, please only read if you can deal with gore or have a strong stomach. That said, there is so much more to the story than that. It’s a twisty, action based, creepy story, that also is a strong character study and dives into mental illness. Fans of creepypasta and just overall odd tales, will enjoy this one. Personally this would have been a five star read for me except it was a little longer than it needed to be and I lost interest at some points. I still highly recommend!

“Now I’m fairly certain that anything good online is fake, but everything bad online is real.”

Rekt comes out 3/25.

rekt by Alex Gonzalez is a story of how grief can take us to some very dark places. Being new to the genre, I have to say that I was very uncomfortable and disturbed by some of the places this book takes the reader to, but I could not put it down. Be warned that this has so many trigger warnings so please be sure to do your research before going on this journey. From what I can tell, this is a debut novel. I finished it in almost one sitting, and I cannot wait to see what comes next for this author.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing | Erewhon Books for the opportunity to read this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Mar 25 2025

Tags:
#KensingtonPublishing
#ErewhonBooks
#rekt
#AlexGonzalez
#YarisBookNook

Honestly I’m sad I can’t rate this one higher. The premise is what drew me to it initially—I’m a sucker for stories about grief, and stories that involve the dark web. But for whatever reason, it took me forever to get into, and I just didn’t want to pick it up. Towards the end, the story is told through mixed media, and I felt like that worked much better for this sort of plot—I wish the whole thing would’ve been told that way. Overall, I’m glad I gave this one a shot, even though it didn’t quite meet my expectations.

This book made me deeply uncomfortable and gross. The nightmare every single one of these characters went through is enough to make anyone nauseous. There were so many horrific things described so casually that it was reeling to keep up with.

But I could not put it down. Because that was the point. It overwhelmed the senses, it was confusing and weird and unsettling and awful and thrilling and consuming. It talked about toxic taboo things by forcing them to be black and white. And while there are no characters you'd necessarily root for, especially Sammy, you walk away really wanting things to turn out all right for them.

I've never read a book like this before and I don't think I ever will again.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alex Gonzalez, and Kensington Books / Erewhon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to get into this book, but I just couldn't. The slow build-up just didn't do it for me and I couldn't get past it. I think that the main character overall was written fine, and I could really feel his grief, but I couldn't get into the book at all.

I think this was a fine book and would be good for someone, but it wasn't good for me.