Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Troop by Nick Cutter

240 reviews

mewpasaurus's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

4.5

Normally, I'd be keeping (and re-reading) any book I rate this highly, however, Nick Cutter's The Troop is an exception; it's too gruesome and descriptive when it comes to wanton animal cruelty. It's incredibly well written and engaging and it definitely does body horror well (something I find hard to find in written works), but I just don't care to re-read accounts of squishy, gross torture of animals and the whiny, teenage narratives of the main characters.

If you like body horror, you'll probably find this is a good/fast read. It's also worth noting that while the characters aren't necessarily likeable, they are not two dimensional and do seem to be complex in the way I would say most pre-teens/teenagers tend to be, which made it more believable.

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shelbywestc's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75


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brandocalrissian83's review against another edition

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

3.0


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jennaraetions's review against another edition

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

5.0

5 stars simply because what the fuck

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saint_eleanor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I was so pleasantly surprised by this!! I was expecting like 80’s goop horror and instead i got a hybrid of Lord of the FliesRussian Sleep Experiment ,  &  Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. All wrapped up in like a devastating painting of boyhood.
I was so sad that Newt got infected and also that Ephraim went crazy bc of Shelley-thing. Rest in peace baby boys.
i want a sequel! Reading this book is like watching the worm-fight scene from the movie Splice.

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charlieeee's review

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

3.0


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nerdywerewolf's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It's Stephen King-level writing in terms of engaging storytelling. A decisive voice.

The reason it won't be a re-read is due to the same relationship I have with Grady Hendrix's work. It's gross, which, believe it or not, is a compliment.

I can do psychological torment, body horror, monsters...but throw in crawling bugs and now it's icky.

This and the other visceral descriptions of everything the characters see are intense for someone who can really put their imagination into someone's words.

All that said, it was a great story with heroes and villains and secret plots and jump scares and fidgety dread.

I loved the way the boys and their Scout Leader interacted. Getting to know each boy was either great or fascinating as the story progressed.

The ending felt right. Same feeling as movies like Disturbing Behavior or The Faculty, though the plot is far different.

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madelinequinnee's review

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dark emotional sad 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

5.0

So this is the second book i’ve read about worms this year, so that’s fun. 

This was so sad, I didn’t expect to feel so connected to the characters by the end, but i was actually heartbroken by Newt’s death in the end, and Max being the only one left but never being able to return to normality was just devastating. 

The horror was so effective in this, the descriptions of the boys’ demise was so visceral, and the things that Shelley did to his troop mates made me feel so horrid, he was a great hidden evil character, and I was pretty damn happy he died in the end 

Overall I think this is a solid contamination horror book 

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deevs_rose's review against another edition

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

3.75


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harley_dean's review against another edition

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

2.0

It took me over 200 pages to get invested in the story or really care about any of the characters; I did like a lot of the rest of the book and a lot of the descriptions of the infection or what it does to people are genuinely disturbing, and I also appreciate a lot of the little testimonies and emails and article snippets, but the last two chapters also could've been taken out and I wouldn't have minded and those first 200 or so pages were just a pain to get through. 

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