chaunceybellhop 's review for:

The Troop by Nick Cutter
3.0

There’s lots to like about this book. Its setting is interesting, the characters are varied and unique. It’s a horror book in its truest sense with some skin-crawling moments (no pun intended!)

That said, it does get let down by some significant inclusions. The writing style does not flow as a narrative should especially when trying to build atmosphere or clearly depict action. An intense scene can be broken over and over again with flashback thoughts to childhood etc. I found this incredibly jarring.

The chapter involving a kitten flashback (no spoilers) was unnecessary and almost was enough for a DNF. That content doesn’t belong in an otherwise written horror novel and belongs in gutter torture p*rn.

Also, Chapter 50 was completely unnecessary. It put a real dampener on the conclusion of the book and defied sense.

Overall, it’s a strong descriptive story which falters with too many flashbacks, a cluster bomb of overdone interviews and a strong then immediately weak ending.