Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Troop by Nick Cutter

183 reviews

jennaraetions's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Medical content, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Vomit, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, Fatphobia, Animal death, Bullying, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Grief

arealpup's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

4.0

I feel like this book could easily have been a 5 star book if the cast didn't feel quite so... desolate? When I say the main focus of the book was the plot, I mean that. It's a good, well rounded plot with a fantastic beginning, middle, and end, but I didnt quite feel for the characters the same way I would most books. I felt as though I barely knew the characters, and often mixed the crew up, however maybe it was purposefully done by the author to save you from feeling so much remorse and discomfort that came from the more graphic scenes. It wasn't until the last few chapters that I felt I started to really know two of them, but I felt the development and introductions could have been a lot more apparent. Still, this book certainly kept me on my toes, and wanting to know how things would be resolved. The graphic story telling was fantastic, and Im very happy with how it ends. I enjoy the more realistic approach to such a disgusting story, almost painting a very plausible reality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Eating disorder, Murder, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Eating disorder and Vomit

There's a very graphic scene of a kitten death that is toward the middle end of the book. It's a chapter that only really describes more of a characters upbringing and personality. If this is something that is triggering or hard to read, I'd recommend skipping to the chapter ahead.

deevs_rose's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Self harm

Minor: Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Murder

michellec9's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Animal death, Gore, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Blood, Animal cruelty, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Vomit

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.

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

melanishka's review against another edition

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? No

3.75

Well written, but not for the faint of heart and I don't recommend to anyone who hasn't read other horror novels, because this is truly horror and not thriller. It's violent and visceral and I had to skip the animal torture scenes because it made me sick to my stomach, but I guess that's what a horror novel is meant to do. I will never read this again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Murder and Gore

Minor: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia

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

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

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