Reviews

The Troop by Nick Cutter

carrie__hollis's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

windsorgrace's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

4.5

I went into this book apprehensively after reading The Deep and extensive discussions in Books of Horror about how gross it is. But I got through The Deep, and despite my fervent hatred of gore, I even enjoyed it. I was expecting something along the lines of what I think The Haunted Forest Tour is, but instead got Parasite meets Lord of the Flies meets World War Z. 

Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads his Boy Scout like troop of 5 boys into the wilderness for their yearly three-day camping trip. The boys and Riggs look forward to a long weekend of cabin camping, ghost stories, and fire side discussions away from the rigors of daily life. Little do they know, they’re about to get much more than they bargained for. 

On the first night, Dr. Tim Riggs spots a boat with a lone man coming to shore late after the boys have gone to sleep. He’s apprehensive to approach the sickly looking man, but he’s a doctor, and he doesn’t want to not honor his Hippocratic oath. Once he gets closer to the man, he sees something is very, very wrong. The man looks as if he’s starving to death and extremely sickly. Riggs brings him into the cabin to offer aid, but the man begins acting erratically, trying to hurt Riggs and soon after dies. 

Beginning to feel strangely sick himself, Riggs begins to panic. Has he brought some out of control pandemic into the camp and to his young charges? What should he do? He doesn’t want to infect the boys, but he also needs to figure out what is going on. He tries to radio the main land for help, but he can’t get through. The decisions he makes kick off a horrifying chain of events that begin a hellish descent into madness for the scoutmaster and the boys. 

While this type of story is not really my thing, I did enjoy it. It was gross in a way I was able to stomach and I enjoyed seeing what insanity the boys got into when one thing after another goes terribly wrong. 

If you love horror without a supernatural element this book is for you. Hell, even if you prefer supernatural horror, like me, I think you’ll like it. If you have any problem with somewhat extreme body horror, this book is not for you. The twists and turns are unexpected and delightfully horrific. I can’t wait to read more of Cutter’s work. 

asheslibrary's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

some descriptions were so gross i wild physically cringe but nick cutter is a great writer … and also i hate shelley and love newton

cassjaac's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Not the book or level of horror I expected based on the reviews

chicaso's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.25

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

blakeaustin's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I enjoyed this one a lot. Cabin Fever meets Lord of the Flies. It started to drag a little bit in the middle but picks back up towards the end.

kalan_megs14's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

madisonh31's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Best horror book I’ve read… maybe ever? Deeply chilling and disgusting at times. I had so many visceral reactions reading this book. A mix of Lord of the Flies and Contagion. Phenomenal story telling!

geneius's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark tense 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

3.75

this was fucking nasty. holy fucking shit. HUGE trigger warning for animal death and animal cruelty. like…. huge. i had to skip pages and skim read parts because i know myself and knew this book wasn’t worth sacrificing my mental health. i would’ve rated it a bit higher had those sections not been in the book, i understand backstory but jesus we get it! overall though this was great, the author’s writing style and the blurbs of interviews and news clippings and emails was really cool, i love when authors do that. i loved the kiddos (mostly… shelley can go fuck himself) and i loved the premise and the scenery despite some passages making me gag, even with me not being easily bothered by gore. this also made me want to  re-read lord of the flies, lol. i went into this book 90% blind and i’d say do the same if you feel like you want to read this. would i recommend this to just anyone though? absolutely not! fuck you nick cutter, i’m gonna think about this book and process everything for a long while!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

candever's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

3.5