Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Troop by Nick Cutter

241 reviews

harley_dean's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Body horror, Child death, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Mental illness and Police brutality

houseofjules's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

 Great writing, gory, gory story. Addictive and repulsive. Part of me wished I had looked up TW/CW's (which I will mention below) but overall, a good story.

Everything below could and should be considered spoilers.

I was not very fond of...

the ending, as it was left up for interpretation. However, personally, I would say Max (the lone survivor) was not infected. If anything a more devastation ending would have been an unaliving considering how traumatizing the whole event would have been to Max, survivor's guilt and all that, plus the way he was marginalized by the whole town afterwards.

The TW/CW are...

descriptive animal death & torture, gore, infection, parasitic worms and insect torture, brief sexual content, body mutilation, and on the lower end bullying language. Also one of the kids is a literal psychopath.

I enjoyed the format of this book, as there are interviews and new clippings etc. peppered in between chapters. It's more of a 3.75 The writing and the format are right up my alley, but the contents was at time difficult to get through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Self harm, Child death, Sexual content, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Murder, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence

The book contains

explicit descriptions of a parasitic worm that devastates a group of 14 year old scouts. There's rampant paranoia, body mutilation and truly disguising things occurring. The animal cruelty happens a few times, including a gorilla experiencing this parasite. A kitten being drowned and a sea turtle being killed by 2 of the scouts.

michaelsp21's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Self harm

kenziekat's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Self harm

Moderate: Fatphobia and Blood

whydinniewhy's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.5

If you want something disturbing, you will like this. The characters were flawed even before the incident happens. I would not recommend reading this while eating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, and Self harm

alina_aleni's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Self harm, Death, Blood, Cannibalism, and Body horror

keyofthekey's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Dysphoria, Cursing, Violence, Gore, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, Vomit, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death, Fatphobia, and Mental illness

curtiswastaken's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

 yeah it's a pretty gross book, but done with an odd amount of care and attention that keeps it from fetishizing the violence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Cannibalism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Gore, Eating disorder, and Child death

queergoth_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

I had high hopes for this book as I had heard a lot about it. It was a cool concept but it didn't really do it for me. It felt like a Stephen King book. And by that I mean the writing style felt so similar that if you had told me it was Stephen king I would have whole heartedly believed it. And I think that's one of the main reasons I didn't enjoy it. I love horror but I want to expand past King and this didn't do that at all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Self harm, Medical trauma, Body horror, and Blood

Moderate: Vomit, Fatphobia, and Excrement

gatsbyonabudget's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

A round of applause for this incredible body horror book. It’s a creepy mix of Stand by me and The Thing. Camping trip with the boy scouts on a remote island? Check! Horrible science project gone wrong? Check! Lord of the Flies type chaos ensues? Check! If you’re in the mood to be slightly nauseous and saying “aw hell no” all the time, this is a book for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cursing, Bullying, and Fatphobia