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A review by coralinejones
The Troop by Nick Cutter
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
As somebody who loves horror, loves mystery, loves coming of age storylines, and loved "Shonen" media growing up, me not loving this disappoints me. It wasn't the graphic, disgustingly described body gore, or the way the male characters spoke to each other, or the ignorance of the adults, or the insanity of the plot that upset me. The premise is what got me hooked in the first place. I'm obsessed with it, it's what kept me going until the end of this because I needed to see how this was going to end. But I Hated the writing. Goddddd I hated the writing. Way too many similes used for absolutely no reason, I found myself rolling my eyes half the time, or even laughing/making fun of them every time they popped up. Like we get it. Show us, not tell us. Not to mention, Cutter's writing is a little basic. I like a more challenging read, this wasn't it.
I wish the characters had a bit more life to them. They were explained in a series of tropes in the beginning of the book and that was, for the most part, all we were given with them? I know character description and development isn't the big point of this book, and there were more horrors to uncover than "The Fat One" or "The Big Jock", but I found myself disengaged at certain points because of this? Like, I could find these boys in literally any coming-of-age movie/tv show with an all male cast. Stranger Things, Stand By Me, The Outsiders, The Goonies... Nothing original.
However... The parts of this book that were good were honestly TOO good. I found myself glued to the pages until the story cut away (for a news report or a flashback, which are littered throughout the chapters) and then I was uninterested again until the plot picked back up. The conversations between the characters were heartfelt and felt realistic at times. The world building could've been better, but what we got was honestly stunning.
If the characters weren't so cliché, if the writing was better, and if the plot wasn't straightforward and predictable, I would've rated this higher. I can't say I'd recommend this to anyone (not with the graphic body gore, obscene animal abuse for no reason, and the okay writing), nor would I read this again.
I wish the characters had a bit more life to them. They were explained in a series of tropes in the beginning of the book and that was, for the most part, all we were given with them? I know character description and development isn't the big point of this book, and there were more horrors to uncover than "The Fat One" or "The Big Jock", but I found myself disengaged at certain points because of this? Like, I could find these boys in literally any coming-of-age movie/tv show with an all male cast. Stranger Things, Stand By Me, The Outsiders, The Goonies... Nothing original.
However... The parts of this book that were good were honestly TOO good. I found myself glued to the pages until the story cut away (for a news report or a flashback, which are littered throughout the chapters) and then I was uninterested again until the plot picked back up. The conversations between the characters were heartfelt and felt realistic at times. The world building could've been better, but what we got was honestly stunning.
If the characters weren't so cliché, if the writing was better, and if the plot wasn't straightforward and predictable, I would've rated this higher. I can't say I'd recommend this to anyone (not with the graphic body gore, obscene animal abuse for no reason, and the okay writing), nor would I read this again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Animal death, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, and Cannibalism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Cursing