I’m sure we’ve all had that random musing of a thought, a question, about what would we do if we were left stranded on an island. Just me? Surely not. Maybe it’s all the documentaries and thrillers, but I’ve thought about it a good deal.
Now, what I hadn’t considered was someone else showing up on this island with me. And that person being violently ill.
I don’t think it’s anything Scoutmaster Tim Riggs and his troop of five boys had considered either.
What ensues in The Troop by Nick Cutter, is a series of horrifying events that will leave you looking at food in a whole new light. So prepare yourself, and be careful when helping sick strangers that show up on on the shore.
The Blurb
Once a year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip – a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfire. But when an unexpected intruder stumbles upon their campsite – shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry – Tim and the boys are exposed to something far more frightening than any tale of terror. The human carrier of a bioengineered nightmare. A horror that spreads faster than fear. A harrowing struggle for survival with no escape from the elements, the infected…or one another.
The Troop by Nick Cutter
What I Enjoyed
Pacing
This novel doesn’t hesitate to throw us into the problem at hand. Chapter one we are in the perspective of the infected individual. In their already deteriorated humanity. And it’s chilling.
The first few chapters alternate perspectives, and the novel as a whole will let us share the viewpoints of not only Tim Riggs but all five boys in the troop. And in between those alternating perspectives we get news clippings, interviews, court transcripts and proceedings of the incident that takes place throughout the book.
It builds the suspense, incredibly well.
You’re already chomping at the bit to get to the next chapter, but the author is making you slow down. Read this related thing that only builds that ominous feelings and foreboding, before letting you continue on with the story. It’s a cruel and genius tactic.
At first I was annoyed honestly. I understood the relevance of the information but I just wanted the story, but as the chapters kept on and I realized what was happening, I had to give a golf clap of appreciation.
Imagery & Descriptions
I first heard about this novel while listening to one of the bookish podcasts I listen to, called Books N Betches. Their review of the book, combined with learning a personal friend also read and loved it, made it jump the line in my TBR pile.
Because one thing was unanimous. You’ll never look at food the same way, especially spaghetti…
Cutter has incredible imagery throughout this book. How the infected look, how food tastes and feels as it is torn and devoured. How things and people smell. Some of the most unappealing things I’ve ever read, but it was bloody fascinating.
I feel like it’s one of those books where you hardly blink as you’re reading it, but your mouth and facial expressions are always changing unbeknownst to you.
To avoid spoilers I can’t tell you my favorite grotesque scene, but just know it takes place in a cave.
If you know, you know.
The Conflict(s)
I don’t feel like good novels have just one villain or conflict. Now, I’m not saying it’s not possible. And I’m not saying it can’t be done very very well. But I personally love it when a novel has villains and conflicts of multiple mediums.
The Troop definitely has such villains/antagonist/situtations.
Firstly, just from the blurb we know that there is a bioengineered “thing” as a force to go against. So we have an unknown entity that everyone has to face. Character vs. Technology.
We have this group of boys and their scoutmaster on a secluded island. So the island and the weather also play opposition to our protagonists. Character vs. Nature.
And, as a group of boys facing a horrifying force, one can assume we’re going to see a little turmoil amongst our troop. Character vs. Character.
As a group of boys, facing a horrifying force, alone on an island, you may safely assume we’re going to see a coming to terms with what’s probably going to happen to everyone. Character vs. Fate.
Finally, as we get to share perspectives with all players in the story, we most assuredly get to see a little, Character vs. Self.
In the conflict arena, The Troop hit it in spades. It added to the tension throughout the novel, and it certainly added to the layers of emotion and desperation we feel as the reader watching these boys go through these horrifying series of events.
What I Didn’t Enjoy
There wasn’t much in this field, but there were a couple of things I wish had been done differently. Again, this is just my personal take.
Knowing the Ending
Now, I don’t mean I actually knew how the ending was going to wrap up. I didn’t. But early on I definitely got the sense that something/someone was going to survive this whole ordeal.
So many horror/thrillers end with the big bad not totally being gone am I right?? You’re left muttering an, “Oh sh*t…” to yourself.
But I just had a few clues early on, and was right at the end. And I wish I hadn’t been if that makes sense. I wanted to be wrong. I wanted a huge curveball to my theory.
Don’t get me wrong, it was still a super solid and great ending. You’re going to enjoy it. I just was wanting something a touch different.
King-ish Flashbacks
What do I mean by King-ish? Well, Stephen King. And his infamous paragraphs and pages about random facts and places and people that have no bearing on the story at hand. A lot of fat in a story that I’m not sure how he gets away with it.
Though The Troop doesn’t go into quite the depth that King does in his novels–I mean it’s only roughly 355 pages–there are several instances where we get to see one kid’s past in particular. And I got the message after one round of memories, but we get a couple more and I just didn’t care at that point. Because they were just rehashing what I already knew.
I understand have them to give character backgrounds and situational backgrounds, but when it doesn’t give me new information I lose interest.
In Conclusion
If you are fans of Stephen King, but want a shorter book with not a whole lot of extra fluff, I think you will thoroughly enjoy The Troop by Nick Cutter.
It brings the creepiness, the grotesque, and the horror of being trapped on an island with something you don’t know how to fight. All the while we are seeing this experience through a variety of perspectives from the top-notch scout to the creepiest kid you keep your animals away from, and the infected themselves.
The Troop was riveting, and like a rollercoaster at the top of the climb, there is only one way to go and it’s not going to be pretty but it is going to be a thrilling ride.
I gave The Troop by Nick Cutter
Until Next Time,
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