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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
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:
Yes
Grotesque
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“His fear was whetted to such a fine edge that he could actually feel it now: a disembodied ball of baby fingers inside his stomach, tickling him from the inside."
I read The Troop back in July and it got stuck with me ever since, so I felt the need to come back to the Canadian wilderness to talk a bit about it.
This was such a raw story and held such power over my head. I remember picking this one up because of Mr. King's review on it, I went into the whole craziness pretty blind, not knowing what to expect and oh my sweet Jesus was I shocked in the most twisted and horror satisfying way. As a vivid fan of the horror genre, The Troop did it for me. I truly felt for some of the characters and there were some really moving pieces thrown together in the mix of terror; I highly appreciated that, it gave verisimilitude to the innocence of childhood versus the madness of the mind.
This was an easy 5 out of 5 for me. Personally, Max was my favorite.
"That's what mortal terror felt like, he realized. Tiny fingers tickling you from the inside.”
I read The Troop back in July and it got stuck with me ever since, so I felt the need to come back to the Canadian wilderness to talk a bit about it.
This was such a raw story and held such power over my head. I remember picking this one up because of Mr. King's review on it, I went into the whole craziness pretty blind, not knowing what to expect and oh my sweet Jesus was I shocked in the most twisted and horror satisfying way. As a vivid fan of the horror genre, The Troop did it for me. I truly felt for some of the characters and there were some really moving pieces thrown together in the mix of terror; I highly appreciated that, it gave verisimilitude to the innocence of childhood versus the madness of the mind.
This was an easy 5 out of 5 for me. Personally, Max was my favorite.
"That's what mortal terror felt like, he realized. Tiny fingers tickling you from the inside.”
Eh. It had good moments but overall incredibly underwhelming.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Had to knock it for 2 graphic animal death scenes that just don't sit well with me but I loved this.
This book took 2 weeks to finish because it was very tough for me to get through. Not only did it make me gag from disgust at the incredibly vivid imagery, but it also scared me into swearing off any potential trips to isolated islands. Perhaps Im more sensitive to tragedies befalling children, or perhaps Nick Cutter wrote about a troop of teenage boys that were so realistic that we can all say “Yes I knew an Ephraim… I once met a Kent… I was a Newton at one point.”
First off, I want to begin by saying the contrast between the boys story and the news reports were a huge contribution to lending the book a strong feeling of hopelessness and devastation. Moreover, at times the concept made me squirm in my seat and twist my face in literal pain. Needless to say, I was unable to read this book during my lunch.
Cutter did an amazing job at making me question how I would behave in a survivalist situation as this, or if I would even survive. Scoutmaster Tim was the first tipping point for the boys and helped create a Lord of the Flies situation. Though by his tragic end, the boys have learned to come together. This story is superior to lord of the flies because instead of a story of boys becoming monsters to survive, it is a story of boys fighting against becoming a monster. Though they try to fight against their own habits of violence and bullying for the sake of survival, it was pointless. “Survival of the Fittest,” was not typical in this situation. The worms killed off the strongest first, and the second strongest sank into a wormhole of madness and self destruction. A part of the novel that had me gripping its pages.
I began this novel with Ephraim as my favorite character. He was too similar to so many young boys in our country and his fight to better himself was noble, so I couldn’t help but root for him. How fitting is it that he had the most gruesome, pitiful ending.
At the end of it all, I was shedding tears because the finale of Newton and Max was too much to bear. A glimmer of hope for them both, but Newtons final stand became his downfall. I like to think he did this on purpose so he could go down in dignity. He probably correctly assumed that he would not be granted amnesty otherwise.
Would I recommend this book? Not exactly. It’s an excellent read, but not for the faint of heart. It won’t be my top recommendation only because not many people I know would be able to handle this gruesome story.
Would I reread it? Well, I own it now so I probably will when I get frustrated at children.
First off, I want to begin by saying the contrast between the boys story and the news reports were a huge contribution to lending the book a strong feeling of hopelessness and devastation. Moreover, at times the concept made me squirm in my seat and twist my face in literal pain. Needless to say, I was unable to read this book during my lunch.
Cutter did an amazing job at making me question how I would behave in a survivalist situation as this, or if I would even survive. Scoutmaster Tim was the first tipping point for the boys and helped create a Lord of the Flies situation. Though by his tragic end, the boys have learned to come together. This story is superior to lord of the flies because instead of a story of boys becoming monsters to survive, it is a story of boys fighting against becoming a monster. Though they try to fight against their own habits of violence and bullying for the sake of survival, it was pointless. “Survival of the Fittest,” was not typical in this situation. The worms killed off the strongest first, and the second strongest sank into a wormhole of madness and self destruction. A part of the novel that had me gripping its pages.
I began this novel with Ephraim as my favorite character. He was too similar to so many young boys in our country and his fight to better himself was noble, so I couldn’t help but root for him. How fitting is it that he had the most gruesome, pitiful ending.
At the end of it all, I was shedding tears because the finale of Newton and Max was too much to bear. A glimmer of hope for them both, but Newtons final stand became his downfall. I like to think he did this on purpose so he could go down in dignity. He probably correctly assumed that he would not be granted amnesty otherwise.
Would I recommend this book? Not exactly. It’s an excellent read, but not for the faint of heart. It won’t be my top recommendation only because not many people I know would be able to handle this gruesome story.
Would I reread it? Well, I own it now so I probably will when I get frustrated at children.
Tw: extreme body horror, animal abuse, death/decay
This was absolutely horrifying, disgusting, and riveting.
This was absolutely horrifying, disgusting, and riveting.