August 2016 Group Read Runner Up - The Troop by Nick Cutter

[Jon Recluse]

Here the thread for this month's runner up, The Troop by Nick Cutter.
Please use spoilers.
Enjoy!

[Alissa]

I've had this in my TBR for awhile. I think I'll join :)

[Mixofsunandcloud]

I'm all set to go. Introductory quotes from Dr Seuss and Lord of the Flies. Should be interesting.

[Sean]

I really enjoyed this book. I don't know what genre of horror this falls into but I'd love to read more books like this. A group of people, kids in this case, isolated and up against some kind of evil foe. Island by Laymon... that kind of book is what I love to read.

[Latoya]

Oooh New York Public Library comes through for me again LOL. audiobook is available and it sounds alot like Fall of NightJonathan Maberry

And that was gooood!

[Kelly B]

I plan on starting this tomorrow, or Tuesday at the latest. I need to finish my current read first.

[Tad]

I read this when it came it. It's one of the worst books I've ever read. Gross out instead of scary. It turned me off his books and further cemented my distrust of anything Stephen King blurbs.

[Kev]

I plan to start this sometime mid month. look fwd to joining in.

[E.]

I'm looking forward to joining in also. This will only be my second BOTM read I've joined in with this group, but I wasn't very active with the last one. This time I will be!

[Latoya]

Tad wrote: "I read this when it came it. It's one of the worst books I've ever read. Gross out instead of scary. It turned me off his books and further cemented my distrust of anything Stephen King blurbs."

oh no I hope I like it.

[Kelly B]

Tad wrote: "I read this when it came it. It's one of the worst books I've ever read. Gross out instead of scary. It turned me off his books and further cemented my distrust of anything Stephen King blurbs."

I quit trusting King years ago with book recommendations; I think he'll slap his name on pretty much anything. I often wonder if he even reads the books he endorses.

This book has been on my TBR list a long time, I do hope I find it at least worth the read. The premise and the setting seem like it would make this a good book. I'll go into it expecting little; that way maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Joe]

Just finished this last night, coincidentally. I quite enjoyed it. It offered some authentic heebie jeebies.

[WendyB]

Tad wrote: "I read this when it came it. It's one of the worst books I've ever read. Gross out instead of scary. It turned me off his books and further cemented my distrust of anything Stephen King blurbs."

I don't like it either. Seems to have been written to see how gross it could be rather than giving some legitimate scares.

[The]

I'm in - finally gives me an excuse to crack this one open.

[Kimberly]

I thought it was a "fun" read....but then, my idea of "fun" is questionable. ;) I'll probably jump in here just to see how people are liking it (or not). Intending to read the new Tremblay--mixed reviews there, too.

[Leslie]

I read this last year and though it was pretty good. It is not for the Squimmish. I say that because occasionally I like to snack on something while reading and from reading the first couple of chapters of the troop I knew I would not be doing that. I really liked the group of kids in this and was rooting for them.

[Latoya]

I don't like gross out horror. Also what is the deal with him "smelling his nerdiness." WTF and you are not a 19th century poet, I dislike that type of writing from modern writers.

I'm barely past the first part.

[Kelly B]

I just finished chapter 8. So far, I don't think it's that gross, but it's early days yet:-). I do really like it so far.

My one complaint is the newspaper articles in the beginning, that reveal so much. Ditto for that first chapter with (view spoiler)[Tom, the creepy/skinny man (hide spoiler)]. I would have preferred it all to be a mystery, until closer to the end. Now I'm only 8 short chapters in and I already know that (view spoiler)[Tom has been part of some experiment that has gone horribly wrong, and that he dies. It also appears that this outbreak will be confined to the island (hide spoiler)].

I like the humor, I got a kick out of the smelling his nerdiness part, and (view spoiler)[ the conflicts between Kent and Scoutmaster Tim. Kent is that annoying type of know-it-all character that you almost hope has something bad happen to him;-). I have a feeling Newton will end up really helping the troop survive, and ultimately end up the leader. Or maybe Shelley, who seems like an interesting kid. (hide spoiler)].

[Kelly B]

Anastacia wrote: "I read this book recently, I loved it! The "monster" was really gross and I cringed when they did the chimp experiment. That kid was so creepy and evil LOL. A great book, and Cutter's other book, T..."

Ack! Remember to use spoilers, please!

[Kelly B]

Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as a total nag, LOL! I'm very anti-spoiler, and like everything to be a surprise, if possible.

I'll have to check out The Deep; I really am enjoying (if that's the right word, ha ha!) The Troop.

[Philip]

Jon Recluse wrote: "Here the thread for this month's runner up, The Troop by Nick Cutter.
Please use spoilers.
Enjoy!"

I voted for it, it's sitting on a shelf right next to me, I heard it was good… what the hell. I'm in!

[Shannon]

I really enjoyed this book! It was very creepy and gross at moments, but it was a great book!

[Kimberly]

Shannon wrote: "I really enjoyed this book! It was very creepy and gross at moments, but it was a great book!"

I felt there were some very "unique" moments in it. Besides that, creepy and gross are common fare in the horror genre. :)

[Shannon]

Kimberly wrote: "Shannon wrote: "I really enjoyed this book! It was very creepy and gross at moments, but it was a great book!"

I felt there were some very "unique" moments in it. Besides that, creepy and gross ar..."

Oh yes some very "unique" moments for sure! I just LOVE horror I seriously hardly read any other genre lol :)

[Kimberly]

Shannon wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Shannon wrote: "I really enjoyed this book! It was very creepy and gross at moments, but it was a great book!"

I felt there were some very "unique" moments in it. Besides that, cr..."
Same here! :)

[Michelle]

I read this book and absolutely loved it. It was much more creepy to me than gross, but it DID freak me out. And that's a rare thing. I thought it was much more psychologically scary than anything else. I think Lord of the Flies was an obvious influence but this story had its own style. It made me really happy to NOT be a Boy Scout. Or a boy, for that matter. LOL I also enjoyed The Deep but liked this story a bit more, with all of the different characters and interactions happening. This book was scarier to me.

[Kimberly]

Michelle wrote: "I read this book and absolutely loved it. It was much more creepy to me than gross, but it DID freak me out. And that's a rare thing. I thought it was much more psychologically scary than anything ..."

I felt much the same--and definitely enjoyed it more than THE DEEP. I think the fact that we're dealing with kids has a LOT to do with "upping" that creepy factor...

[Marc-Antoine]

I'm a huge Nick Cutter fan! I actually have a signed copy of the book, got to meet the author and he was really great and down to earth. His actual name is Craig Davidson and if your looking for a great non fiction book, try Precious Cargo, it's about his year of driving a bus for children with special needs. It's funny and touching, and very well written!

[Kelly B]

I'm almost to the half-way point, and I'm still really enjoying it.

A few gross out moments, especially (view spoiler)[ the poor chimp! That part was really horrific (hide spoiler)].

It really adds another element to the story, having (view spoiler)[ the boys start turning on each other, and having Shelley be such a disturbed kid. I'm really anxious for Max and Newton, who have quickly become my favorite characters. I have a sinking feeling that no one will be getting off this island alive. (hide spoiler)]. I hope I'm proven wrong!

[Lena]

When you say it's gross do you mean like Dreamcatcher gross or like this:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
'Cause I never want to read one of those again. Male authors need to chill.

[[deleted user]]

Lord of the Flies+Dr.Seuss...sounds interesting. I've ordered this but may not see it until the last week of the month. If it's good, I'll finish it before September anyway!

[Alissa]

Starting today!

[Kelly B]

I just finished it, and really liked it. I rated it 4 stars.

Definitely some gross parts, but I didn't find it too extreme compared to most other horror novels I've read.

The thing that did really bother me was (view spoiler)[ the torture descriptions, such as what Shelley did to the kitten. I had a hard time reading that. Ditto with the turtle scene, and the chimp. I would not recommend this book to people who are easily upset by animal cruelty. That being said, I think the descriptions with Shelley helped cement how horribly messed up he was (hide spoiler)].

The ending was pretty good. I was (view spoiler)[happy to see that Max survived, but I wish Newt would have too. I was so glad that Shelley wasn't the survivor (hide spoiler)]!

[Kelly B]

I see that Nick Cutter has a new book coming out in 2017: Little Heaven: A Novel. I think it looks like it would be really good. Creepy backwoods settlement? I'm in!

[Kelly B]

Lena wrote: "When you say it's gross do you mean like Dreamcatcher gross or like this:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
'Cause I never want to read one of those again. Mal..."

I haven't read Dreamcatcher, so I can't compare. But, it does have some gross parts such as (minor spoilers, read at your own risk): (view spoiler)[ graphic, detailed descriptions of surgery, body cavities, knife cuts, parasitic worms (hide spoiler)].

Also, disturbing scenes such as (minor spoilers, read at your own risk): (view spoiler)[ detailed kitten torture, bugs being pulled apart, a sea turtle gruesomely killed (hide spoiler)].

[Lena]

Kelly thank you for the clarification it's the (view spoiler)[animal torture (hide spoiler)] in this case that I don't want to read.

[Kelly B]

Lena wrote: "Kelly thank you for the clarification it's the [spoilers removed] in this case that I don't want to read."

I don't blame you. It's hard to read.

[Tad]

I didn't find the book scary at all. Mainly because I didn't care about any of the characters. All of the character development stopped about 100 pages in. Soon after that, I just started hoping all the kids would die.

The only things I found a little interesting were the interludes between scenes on the island. If that had been the main story, maybe the book would have worked better for me. The book was just gross instead of scary. That can work if there are better characters or tension in the story, but there wasn't any here.

[[deleted user]]

This book is fantastic, one of my favourites and I think it is Nick Cutter's best. I thought it was well paced and he writes gore so well. There were a couple of scenes that were so well written, I had to put the book down for a minute.
I didn't much care for his book The Deep, but The Acolyte has some really fantastic scenes in it as well.

[Philip]

I only got 22 pages in and couldn't think of any reason to go on. Hated the newspaper clippings--why not SHOW that first scene at the diner? The boys introduced "off screen" with that weird "smell" device. Wake me when it's over. Comments here aren't giving me any hope that it gets better. I'm out!

[Alissa]

I'm about 20% in, and I'm not sure yet. I don't care for the dynamics of the kids so far, and I'm incredibly squeamish, especially when it comes to smells. I may have made a mistake with this one, but I'll continue reading until I feel I can't.

[Kelly B]

Philip wrote: "I only got 22 pages in and couldn't think of any reason to go on. Hated the newspaper clippings--why not SHOW that first scene at the diner? The boys introduced "off screen" with that weird "smell"..."

I wasn't a big fan of the newspaper clippings either...mostly since they'd often reveal things that would happen in the future, and hadn't happened yet. I think they revealed too much.

That being said, I still really enjoyed this book. I totally get that it's not for everyone though (what book is?).

[The]

Have just started it, only 6 chapters in, but loving the writing style. Very fresh prose and interesting choices in the way the novel's starting and being presented. Hope it continues with more of the same.

[Mixofsunandcloud]

I actually find the newspaper bits remind me of Dracula and some other older stories

[Sidney]

Could not finish this book and I'm ashamed. It was so irritating and none of the characters were likeable in any way. I totally understand what the author was going for but it wasn't for me. I was rooting for it though!

[Amanda]

This is hands down one of the worst books I've ever read. I'm not squeamish... Even wrote my thesis on the grotesque, but damn it is so disgusting.

[Tiffany]

I made this my cafeteria/lunch break read earlier this year. Even though I enjoyed the book, that setting was...not ideal.

[Mixofsunandcloud]

It's a bit fun that it takes place on PEI, since almost every other book set there is written by Lucy Maude Montgomery

[Crowinator]

It's so fun to see what people are saying about this one versus The Deep. I loved The Deep and thought it was scary and claustrophobic and ambiguous and psychological (as well as gory), but I didn't like The Troop at all. I think the relationship dynamic of the boys in the troop was something I've seen zillions of times before, and that made the character beats of the story predictable for me. There wasn't a whole lot of plot otherwise. I thought the gross factor in The Troop was stronger than in The Deep, too, though maybe that's just me?

[Michael]

Count me in the group that liked The Troop, but hated The Deep. I liked the characters and believed the story in The Troop and hated pretty much everything about The Deep down to the font.