A review by twincorsair
The Troop by Nick Cutter

challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I loved the central idea of the story, the body horror aspect was excellent. I really felt the terror and desperation of the boys' situation, and the loss of their humanity (bodily and spirtually) was well done. 

However...
One scene in particular involved abuse and killing of a kitten, which I could not bring myself to read. The scene felt gratuitous, and I honestly feel like it would have been better left out. Another scene involving the botched killing of a turtle for food seems to draw more attention among reviewers, which confuses me a little. I felt that the scene (while very difficult to read) really emphasised the powerlessness of the boys, unable to feed themselves and causing great suffering in the attempt. The kitten scene meanwhile felt like the author was overdoing it. Perhaps I'm being unfair, since admittedly I didn't read it through, but I felt that less was more with the horror in these kinds of scenes.



Expand filter menu Content Warnings