Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Troop by Nick Cutter

78 reviews

_ash_mac's review against another edition

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dark sad 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? No

4.75

Very immersive and hooked me in from page one (which I loved!) Kept me interested throughout and liked the ambiguity of the ending, my first and favourite of Cutter so far! 

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queergoth_reads's review against another edition

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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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autumnrevisited's review against another edition

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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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poop_scoop's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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


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j_m_alexander's review against another edition

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

1.75

 NOPE! - nope, nope, nope.

Body horror, animal harm, and overly descriptive scenes written with the explicit intention of raising the bile straight up your gullet. Can't say the writing is itself is bad exactly, so thus not a 1-star, but oof I REALLY did NOT like this book. This is a straight up book of grotesqueries that tries to toy with ideas of psychological terror, that I just didn't find successful within the context of the relentless squelching bodily fluid wallowing imagery. The premise is what drew me in, but after a while it seemed like the boys slid back into caricatures (it's like Cutter said "have your read The Body or Lord of the Flies, and/or seen the respective movies? -- it's pretty much some of those kids with a touch of a more youthful and messier American Psycho") and the order of operations were fairly predictable I found.

In reflection I recognize that what I look for most from horror these days is building tension and I am not as big of a fan of overt body horror, so this is maybe just the opposite of my current preferences. I have specifically identified that possession stories are something I am just NOT into, and really this is a possession story, a different take on possession, but possession none-the-less. Intermittently Cutter broke in with after-the-fact reports and testimonies, he mentioned being inspired by Carrie, and I can't decide if these helped or hurt the book; often they worked as a pallet cleansers from all the revulsion by inserting plain reportage, but they also depleted momentum... not sure if the trade off was worth it. I did find myself wanting to stop at points so maybe I would have made this a rare DNF if not for those breaks in the story, but then again maybe I would have sped through it instead of the stopping and starting as I ended up doing, making the choppiness even more pronounced.

Carrie apparently was an inspiration of sorts, but that book was punchier and King managed development with economy, while this book seemed sickeningly bloated, squishy, and somewhat flat. The more direct King comparison to make would be Dreamcatcher, which was also not my cup of tea, but in hindsight (and comparatively) is not so bad, certainly I think it's a better take on the basic premise of this other type of possession in the context of a group of friends in a secluded setting.

If you like detailed descriptions of slow horrific death and have a strong stomach (or enjoy the sensation of wanting to toss your cookies), then maybe this is a good book for you! Not a good book for me as it turns out.

 

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heartofhorrors's review against another edition

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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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alsavini's review against another edition

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

4.0


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gianna_lodato's review against another edition

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I work in a hospital in a unit known for its gore; the kitten scene was just too much for me I couldn't really recover after that. You definitely need thick skin if you're trying to get through this. 

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actuallyirina's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

Personally, not for me. I found the horror to be more sad than scary, and I felt pretty frustrated by the end of it. Give it a try, it's definitely last paced, but I dunno I don't think I'll be picking up another from this author anytime soon .

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mothmaam's review against another edition

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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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