Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Troop by Nick Cutter

44 reviews

saint_eleanor's review against another edition

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 Flies ,  Russian 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Self harm, Child death, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Animal death, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Gore

Minor: Abandonment and Excrement

Sooo gorey and gorey animal death

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Animal cruelty, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, Death, Medical trauma, Vomit, Self harm, and Terminal illness

hautemessreads's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

5.0

There are books that cling to you, like an oily muck, foul even after you've scrubbed yourself within an inch of bleeding.
This book is one of those. I am an avid horror novel enthusiast, and I've read some rough things. But I have never read a horror novel that worms it's way inside you quite so vividly. Giving this book five stars was both difficult to do, and also a no-brainer. I think those of you who have read it will understand that dilemma.

We start with a Scout Master and his troop of boy scouts, who have gone to an island for a wilderness trip. A sick man shows up, unexpectedly to the island. What happens next is so true to human nature, so disturbing, so downright realistically written that I struggle to write about it. You'll see.

Cutter does such a phenomenal job building this corner of the world. The characters are so vivid, I could have sworn I was another scout on the trip, a friend, sharing this same heart-wrenching experience.

There are so many things I could say about this novel. Because of that, I'll say less. This is a novel that is so 3D, so real, that you will squeeze your eyes shut to avoid seeing what they're seeing, you'll feel hunger pangs and the immediate nausea that comes from them, you probably won't feel comfortable eating during most of it. **Please, as always, check the TWs before reading.** I don't have many, and there were moments I considered setting it aside. I'm glad I didn't. I'm glad to have known the boys of Troop 52, and I'm glad that you're here, considering knowing them, too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Gore, Cursing, Child death, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Bullying, Animal death, Violence, Body shaming, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

autumnrevisited's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. Not because it was bad but because it was so gross and detailed in a way that is just viscerally unnerving. Impressive writing but fucking hell. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Child death, Gore, Animal death, Excrement, Murder, Abandonment, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Blood, Death, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Police brutality, Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Medical trauma, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Torture and Sexual content

heartofhorrors's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Suicide, Violence, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Torture, and Toxic friendship

Minor: War, Gun violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Sexual content

voxlunae's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

4.5

Man, this book is fucking gross. So disturbing sometimes. I grimaced through whole scenes, several times. However, I really enjoyed the writing and I burned through it in two sittings. I always advocate for more diverse characters and strong female characters, but given that this is about Boy Scouts and inspired by Lord of the Flies, the homogeneity isn't surprising. I give it a pass. Really taut storytelling, a horrifying threat, some heartbreaking scenes, and all the skin-crawling disgust you could ask for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, and Self harm

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, and Homophobia

Minor: Abandonment, Bullying, Confinement, Cannibalism, and Cursing

mothmaam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not for the faint of heart, quite graphic. 
A group of boy scouts get stranded on an island after a strange man wanders into their camp. Their scout leader, Tim, is the local doctor and tries to help the man. 

Shelley might be my most hated character ever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Grief, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Vomit and Bullying

alexlouise97's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Body shaming, Sexual content, Violence, Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, and Vomit

rosaelia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, this one was absolutely amazing.
I dropped (not DNF'd; I'll pick it back up eventually) Cows for this one. And boy oh boy, am I glad that I did.

I grew to love

the last character, Max.

The ending was somewhat confusing, though?

Did Max end up actually infected? If so, how? Did the worms stay dormant and hidden inside of him somehow?

Anyway, it was a fabulous read! Sort of a slow start once it focuses on the boys, but it was very worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Fatphobia, Death, Self harm, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Child death, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Torture, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cursing and Vomit

Minor: Excrement and Alcohol

crispr_breadboard's review

dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

The trigger warnings are true. Graphic means graphic. I could barely muster up the heart to continue reading any of the animal scenes. It was gut-wrenching. The villains of the story were well developed, I loved the twists and turns, and the fact I teetered between characters when trying to see who (if any) would survive. Loved the different types of media- from third person narrative, to interviews, to lab experiments, to indictments, to even an advertisement (corny photos and all). Really cool stuff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror

Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Medical trauma, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Abandonment, Confinement, and Police brutality

Insects - GRAPHIC Illness - GRAPHIC