October 2014 Group Read: The Troop by Nick Cutter

[Timothy]

Tim wrote: "MiZzy wrote: "40 % in I dunno. .... in two minds about this polt I'm not going to discuss it until some of you are all in though."

I am about that same spot and so far i love it some pretty gross ..."

That's an absolutely accurate synopsis, Tim:) Heed the warning: If you are squeemish, enter at your own risk. There are many delightfully nasty, creepy, slimy, wiggly things afoot.

[Latasha]

I was going to start Monday but I'm hesitant. .

[Timothy]

Oh no Latasha, don't hesitate! I meant for my warning to be taken in jest. I prefer a character driven story over others, but horror comes in many forms. This one just happens to be in the form of a creature feature, infestation type. And there are some delightfully nasty creatures in this one.

[Taylor]

I'm about 20% through the book - it hasn't sucked me in yet, but so far it's been pretty entertaining so I have high hopes. Someone mentioned it's like a horror movie, and I like those, so hopefully I won't be disappointed!

[Latasha]

oh no Tim, I didn't mean just you. so far it seems very divided. I'm not very squeamish.

[C.J.]

I was going to post my thoughts, but I'll wait until more have finished it, too.

[Katy]

Catherine wrote: "Just started last night and so far I like it quite a lot! The fake newspaper clips and reports are a huuuge plus for me, make it easier to believe in the story.

Sean wrote: "Alright, Just picked ..."

I'm 1/3 or 1/2 the way in, and I agree about the newspaper clippings, etc. They work to make the story more real...

(view spoiler)[ Wondering about the clipping about how the pavement was being eaten. That will be fun to see... <\spoiler> And I may have felt like that at work on Friday. I was so ready to eat. Anything. Didn't matter. Then they put out lunch left-overs from a meeting in the kitchen...absolutely everything I had been denying myself in one place. I Ate It All. Well, not all, I left some for everybody else, but really. Cookies and chips, etc. Anybody know what I mean? (hide spoiler)]

[WendyB]

Just started reading the book. Only a few pages, but I like it so far.

[Timothy]

Katy, that's funny about the lunch leftovers at work. Happens almost everyday where I work. It's hard to not just snack until you are disgusted with yourself.

I'm also enjoying the little newspaper clippings and other interludes. Gives a nice context on what's going on.

Tally, it took me a good 50% in to the book to get sucked in. It was good enough to keep me going, but until I hit around the 1/2 way point I just wasn't engaged. The second half has sucked me in though.

[Rachel]

Just picked this up from the library today. I was a little hesitant about it, honestly, as I thought it sounded like a generic zombie novel, but I'm several chapters in. It's got me hooked now, wanting to know what's going on.

[(shan) Littlebookcove]

Well I have to say... After reading this book in full I was left with an feeling of Wow... Took a while for me to get into it and I did feel a bit queasy with some of the plots Heart breaking too. But most definitely was a very good read! :D

[Timothy]

MiZzy wrote: "Well I have to say... After reading this book in full I was left with an feeling of Wow... Took a while for me to get into it and I did feel a bit queasy with some of the plots Heart breaking too. ..."

Ditto for me MiZzy. Took me a bit to get into but the second half was very good.

[Ryan]

First group read, enjoyed the book overall but definitely took a bit to get into...mostly I hated the tone of the first article and it took a bit to shake that off. Delightfully nasty-gross!

[Tim]

I also agree with enjoying the news clippings and the trial hearings. I feel like they would give you a glimpse into what is to come then flash back which got me hooked. I really liked this read ill be looking for somthing similar as far as enjoyment goes now.

[Mario]

Definitely the best horror novel in recent memory! And a little "Hey there!" to everyone since I'm new here!

[Nate]

Holy heebie-jeebies! I'm around 2/3 done, and it's going to be awhile before I eat noodles or rice or anything of the type. This book is a ton of fun and I'm really glad it won the group read. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

[Kathy]

Half way through and this book is great for my diet! Sure hope something eats Shelley.

[Ken B]

I loved the foreshadowing throughout the book

My favorite was (DON'T READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE FINISHED THE BOOK!!!!!) (view spoiler)[at the end of one of the news clips or trial transcripts it said "sole survivor". Had me guessing until the end of the book!


Also, did it seem to you that Cutter left this one open-ended. With Max returning to the island at the end. You think he could get a second novel out of what he finds there?





(hide spoiler)]

[Catster]

I just realized what the books reminds me of! Lord of the Flies! :)

There's only one part that I'm not enjoying at all, small spoiler not crucial for the plot (view spoiler)[ whenever any animal, bug, creature is mentioned... you know it's gonna have a pretty bad time :( (hide spoiler)]

[Jon]

Catherine wrote: "I just realized what the books reminds me of! Lord of the Flies! :)"

Actually, in the blurb, I read a review quote that described this book as "Lord of the Flies meets Night of the Creeps", which pretty much sums it up perfectly, I think! :)

Having lots of fun with this one so far. Feeling perpetually itchy though - I wonder why?! :P

[Catster]

Jon wrote:
"Actually, in the blurb, I read a review quote that described this book as "Lord of the Flies meets Night of the Creeps", which pretty much sums it up perfectly, I think! :)"

That actually sounds like a perfect description! :D

Itchy? I forgot breakfast to work today and I feel something wriggling under my skin already!

[Greg]

I think I'll join I haven't done a group read since Let the Right One In last November ( it's been a bad reading year for me) and I am well over due. The comments had me at camping and gross out lets see if I enjoy it :)

[Nate]

Ken wrote: "I loved the foreshadowing throughout the book...

I thought that was very effective as well. In fact, I felt like I was playing host to the book, under the imperative READ READ READ

[Michael]

I'm going to be a little bit of a contrarian on this one since I liked the book all right, but ultimately didn't think it was anything all that special. It certainly wasn't The Ruins, the book I kept thinking about it as I read The Troop.

First off, I think Cutter is a very strong writer who kept his story moving along. I thought he wrote five mostly believable boys (though they were sometimes a little too self aware; would boys that young really understand why they picked on the misfit?) and he came up with some very genuinely creepy and disturbing passages worthy of a Stephen King novel.

My criticisms mostly boil down to the fact that I didn't think the book did anything particularly fresh and I read this with the sense I'd mostly seen this before. That includes the whole (view spoiler)[mad scientist creates a monster in a lab that gets out. And that scientist was sooooo evil and cliche he was practically twirling the ends of his mustache. Even the worm felt derivative and the ending of the story was pretty much what I expected with few surprises. (hide spoiler)]

I thought Cutter missed a real opportunity with (view spoiler)[ Shelley. As written, Shelley is kind of another cliche that we've seen a zillion times. He's a loner who loves to kill and torture things and is slowly working his way up toward killing people. Been there, done that. How much more interesting would it have been if Shelley had just been a regular kid who, when confronted by this situation, discovered he had a much darker side to himself and took advantage of this unique situation to explore it? Imagine how much more horrifying Shelley's actions with Ephraim would have been coming from someone who hadn't just stepped out Serial Killer 101. Evil doesn't always come wrapped in such neat little obvious packages. (hide spoiler)]

I think this is a book worth reading, but it won't be making any of my Best of... lists.

[Taylor]

This was actually my first group read :)

I agree with Michael. The book wasn't particularly mind-blowing, but I did still enjoy it. It felt kind of like watching a B-movie horror film. Not as satisfying as reading a really good, multilayered horror novel with strong characterization. I'm glad I read it, but I wouldn't consider it one of my favorites. This isn't the type of horror I normally go for though, so I'm glad I tried something different!

[Nate]

Michael wrote: "I'm going to be a little bit of a contrarian on this one..."

Good points. I just finished the book last night, and I really enjoyed it. Not to say it was perfect, as I found a few faults I'll be touching on in a later post. In regards to your thoughts (view spoiler)[I did feel Shelley was a cliched character type. However, I also thought it an interesting echo of the nature of parasites. In a way, the troop was already infected before they arrived at the island because Shelley was a part of their group. It was as if Shelley's evil were spores just waiting for the right environment to generate and take over. I also enjoyed how the worm was able to work with a sociopath as host. (hide spoiler)] I haven't read The Ruins yet, so that will be going on my TBR list.

[Michael]

Nate wrote: "Michael wrote: "I'm going to be a little bit of a contrarian on this one..."

Good points. I just finished the book last night, and I really enjoyed it. Not to say it was perfect, as I found a fe..."I hadn't thought of that, Nate. Interesting observation!

[C.J.]

Michael wrote: "I'm going to be a little bit of a contrarian on this one since I liked the book all right, but ultimately didn't think it was anything all that special..."

I liked it at the start but found reasons to dislike it as I went along. They accumulated. When I finally got to writing them down to reply here, I was a little embarrassed by how many more reasons I'd found to dislike it than others here so I just let it fly in my review of the book. If anyone's curious, here ya go: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Greg]

I'm 50 pages in and I'm enjoying it. Last year after the unfortunate passing of Rick Hautala we votes on and read The Wildman. I remember being quite disappointed in that selection. So far this is a much better read than that one. However I do need to go back and pick up some other Hautala novels.

[David]

I've been very busy recently and have only just seen this. Went to Amazon to buy it - £3.99 for the kindle edition. Really? This might be for a different thread, but no way am I paying more than a couple of quid for a file, no matter how good it is. I'll check the library this weekend.

[Nate]

Well, I just finished this morning and I gave The Troop 4 stars.

I found this book horrifying, intense, and slightly nauseating. Which is to say, I loved it. It's been awhile since I read a horror book that stuck with me so much throughout the day (and night) when I wasn't reading it. There were a few faults that kept this from being 5 starts, but this is a book I would recommend without hesitation to any horror fan.

Rest of my review is here: (tried not to have anything spoilerish)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Katy]

Tim wrote: "MiZzy wrote: "40 % in I dunno. .... in two minds about this polt I'm not going to discuss it until some of you are all in though."

I am about that same spot and so far i love it some pretty gross ..."

Definitely don't eat while reading this book.

I did finish it, and I liked it. Found the premise interesting, and I liked the reports and testimony interspersed with the narrative.

[C.J.]

Michael wrote: "I'm also going to read Dark Harvest as well."

I plan to read Dark Harvest but *after* I read Firelands by Michael Jensen. :D

[Michael]

C.J. wrote: "Michael wrote: "I'm also going to read Dark Harvest as well."

I plan to read Dark Harvest but *after* I read Firelands by Michael Jensen. :D"
Uh ohhhh.....

[Amanda]

Really didn't like this one. The gross out factor, the amount of physical suffering by humans and animals... Just thought it was horrible. I am extremely glad to be finished. However, I did like the writing style and structure of the book.

No offense to anyone who liked it. I just tend to go more for spooky, psychological horror.

[Kimberly]

Starting this one tonight! :)

[Natasa]

Ooooh I might join in on this one, wanted to read it a long time now :)

[Kimberly]

Natasa wrote: "Ooooh I might join in on this one, wanted to read it a long time now :)"

Same here :)

[Nate]

Amanda wrote: "Really didn't like this one. The gross out factor, the amount of physical suffering by humans and animals... Just thought it was horrible. I am extremely glad to be finished. However, I did like th..."

No worries. I hear ya, too. I have to be in the right mood for this kind of horror. Whereas I'm always in the mood for the paranormal, lol.

[Sarah]

I'm on chapter 7. I'm not too sucked in yet. After reading some of the comments, I might give up on it. I'm a bit squeamish, especially when it comes to animals. This one might not be the one for me!

[C.J.]

Sarah wrote: "I'm on chapter 7. I'm not too sucked in yet. After reading some of the comments, I might give up on it. I'm a bit squeamish, especially when it comes to animals. This one might not be the one for me!"

OH, I think you're going to hate this book then.

[Amanda]

C.J. wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I'm on chapter 7. I'm not too sucked in yet. After reading some of the comments, I might give up on it. I'm a bit squeamish, especially when it comes to animals. This one might not be..."

I'll have to second that

[Latasha]

I'm going to skip this book, then. I don't mind blood & gore & stuff but I don't like reading or seeing animals being tortured or hurt or anything like that.

[Ken B]

"The Troop" had its gory moments. But, I didn't find it all THAT intolerable. Not sure if I'm just desensitized to it or if maybe some in this thread are being overly squeamish.

[Marc-Antoine]

I definitely wouldn't read while eating a big bowl of spaghetti, but I also did not find over the top. Not like The Girl Next Door or The Summer I Died, both of wich made me gag several times during reading sessions.... But were still great reads, IMHO.

[Ken B]

It is horror. In order for horror to work it has to pull you out of your comfort zone a bit.

[Greg]

I'm about halfway through and while some of the scenes are a little intense it's nothing like some of the things I've read from Laymon, Lee, or Wrath White.

This reminds me a bit of Violet Eyes by John Everson which I read last year. That one is a spider creature feature kind of in the same style though that one was definitely a lot gorier.

I am enjoying this one the gore doesn't bother me and it ironically reminds me of a nightmare I had about earthworms a couple of months ago.

The cover which I think is awesome does not really prepare you for what you're going to find in the pages.

[C.J.]

Ken wrote: ""The Troop" had its gory moments. But, I didn't find it all THAT intolerable. Not sure if I'm just desensitized to it or if maybe some in this thread are being overly squeamish."

Judge the book, not the reader. :D

[Kimberly]

I'm enjoying it so far :)

[Timothy]

Latasha wrote: "I'm going to skip this book, then. I don't mind blood & gore & stuff but I don't like reading or seeing animals being tortured or hurt or anything like that."

There is one scene that was hard to read regarding your concern. I get why it was included though. I also get why you wouldn't want to continue. It's the one scene that garnered any emotional reaction from me.