January 2022 Group Read #1 The Troop

[Willow]

Hi everyone, nice to meet you all! This is my first comment on a GR Discussion :)

I just finished reading this one about a week ago, and I really enjoyed it! There were definitely some uncomfortable parts, but they worked well with the overall narrative, I thought, and made sense within the plot and theme of the book.

The ONLY part about The Troop I didn't like was the excessive detail. I thought Nick Cutter went waaaaaay too hard on the metaphors and purple prose. He goes overboard when painting a scene, and ends up smudging it together in the end with all the little, unnecessary details, if that makes sense.

Just because I saw the comparison earlier in the thread- between this and The Ruins, I definitely prefer The Troop. The Ruins* was just a bit too dry for me (also the sheer disappointment between what I was expecting from the title VS what I got could have factored into that).

*Accidentally said The Troop instead of The Ruins, this is why I should proofread before I hit send.

[Sally]

@Gloomy, nice to meet you! Glad you enjoyed the book. So many people are mentioning The Ruins, definitely going to have to check it out.

[Badseedgirl]

Welcome to the discussion Gloomy.

[sonya]

I’m joining in. I found the audiobook on scribd.

[Anja]

Do we have to write spoiler alarm in the group read thread? if so...spoiler alarm, can't use the function in the app.
ok...now I've finally finished...had to speed up the pace more and more to even be able to get through it.
this has been one of the baddest books I've read.
It's as generic as it gets, but even a generic horror can be great, this one is completely ruined with the abuse of metaphors/memories which no one would recall in a life or death situation/show off of being a verbally sophisticated writer (which kinda make me get the opposite impression when it's used from 14 year old boys perspective, and used in all the different places with all the different details).
details can be great. when the setting is urgency, fight for one's own life, I do not want to hear over and over and over, 2 pages of describtion of how the dark is dark, the oily dark like the deep sea with creatures with nightmarish anatomies, etc... seriously... it's two teenage boys trying to walk and survive the night on the dark island! They do not survive the threats, if they lose themselves in these pocket philosophical wonderings ALL THE TIME.
the Gore...I like gory books...parasites is probably one of the things I find most disgusting...and I still was completely unfazed by this story....it was like listening to my 10 year old trying to convince me of something someone have heard from someone else, but is really true, it really is mom it is...and I'm just rolling my eyes because it's so obviously not true...that was how it felt reading/listening to this book.

I do have one positive thing to say about it. The base idea with engineered worms, the tests, etc. could end up with a great movie! Then the director could take the big sissor and cut the 90% irrelevant stuff, and make a fine gory horror movie!

[Emilie]

Spoilers ahead as I’ve finished this book. I went into this with zero expectations. Honestly I was thinking it was going to be the members of the troop who end up turning on each other. And while one character did, I wasn’t expecting the worm element. It was a nice surprise. Overall I enjoyed it.

[Mona]

Just finished. I gave it 5 stars for delivering on exactly what it said it would and more. Writing was really great. But I have to say, I am relieved its over. It was fun reading it with all of you.

[Thia]

@ Yolonda
Shelley is creeping me out! Just got to THAT part!

[sonya]

I’m on chapter eight. So good.

[Shari]

Ended up being a DNF at 20% 🙈 I was intrigued in the beginning, but it went downhill so quickly for me. Part of it was the way the other boys were treating Newt, but there was something else that kept me from picking it back up. Not entirely sure what that is yet though lol. Just not for me in the end.

[Monica]

I enjoyed it a lot when I read it. I can see what you mean about THe ruins, it is one of my favorites and I enjoyed it a little bit more than this one. Even though, it's been some time now and I have to re read it. The movie disappointed me though, because there was so much they changed.
It also reminded me of Carrie because of the format (indeed the author said it inspired him). I don't usually mind the violence and animal abuse, as long as it is purposefull, or makes sense for the characters that perpetrate it. I don't know if I explained myself.

[Kristen]

I just started the other day. Only up to chapter 4, but hopefully will have some time during my snow day ❄️ today to get some reading in. Looking forward to getting in on the discussion.

[[deleted user]]

Started this one last night, looking forward to jumping in with the discussion. It has been great to see everyone’s thoughts and the different experiences people have with it. Hope everyone has a great day!

[Jennifer]

I'm a bit late to starting but hope to get a good chunk read today. I'm not sure if I like the media reports mixed in. They're interesting but I think they spoil the story a bit, we basically know what the 'monster' is already.

I do like some of the descriptions though. A smell was described as the syrupy foulness at the bottom of an amusement park trash can. I immediately knew that smell, bleurgh.

And a big, strong guy driving a car being described as an orangutan squashed into a kitchen cupboard. I can see that, and it made me laugh.

[Ahana]

I like the fact that the book, especially in the last 1/3rd, adds this other angle, which was a nice payoff to me for sitting through the earlier stomach-churning descriptions.

It's not a book I'd have picked by myself, since I'm not a fan of body-horror. But hey, what's the fun in reading only one kind of thing, right :D

[Yolanda]

OMG....I can't, the cave scene trying to get the spark plugs. This book!

[Elizabeth]

OOOO. I LOVED this one. This is the book I recommend everyone read! This was the only book so far that has made me lose my appetite. Happy reading everyone!

[October]

I just started last night and stopped around the 100 page mark, so I'm avoiding the spoilers. So far I'm enjoying the pace and the writing style. The news articles and information between chapters is a plus to me in this book, which surprised me because I read A head full of ghosts by Paul Tremblay last week and the blog post chapters took me out of the story for some reason. Luckily , at least so far I haven't felt that with this book.
I'm looking forward to adding more to the discussion when I've read more.

[sonya]

I just won’t read it before bed.

[LTJ]

I just started this last night and wow, talk about an intro! Enjoying it so far...

[Jennifer]

Wow, I flew through that quickly!

I quite enjoyed it. It was a solid 3.5/5 until I was near the end and it managed to do something I never expected. A paragraph actually made me cry, oof. So 4/5 it gets.

Looking forward to the discussions.

For now, my thoughts:
(view spoiler)[
- Poor Eef!
-Anyone find Shelley a bit OTT? (hide spoiler)]

[Kandice]

Jennifer wrote: "Wow, I flew through that quickly!

I quite enjoyed it. It was a solid 3.5/5 until I was near the end and it managed to do something I never expected. A paragraph actually made me cry, oof. So 4/5 i..."

I think EVERYONE felt your spoiler!

[Victor]

Kandice wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Wow, I flew through that quickly!

I quite enjoyed it. It was a solid 3.5/5 until I was near the end and it managed to do something I never expected. A paragraph actually made me c..."

I also may have had something in my eye - did anyone else's "allergies" act up just a little for Max, Newt, and the turtle? I thought that whole chapter was brilliant, went a long way to humanizing all the kids in my opinion. With one notable exception, of course ;-).

4/5 for me: I thought the writing was good, and the style brought me back to some of the first horror books I ever read, Stephen King's chief among them. Glad I finally got around to reading this.

[October]

Finished this book and almost wanted to throw it across the room. I also seem to have a new phobia, and have decided to never let my kids go camping. I did run to Amazon and order The deep by the same author, so I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. Ha.

[LTJ]

About to hit 30% and wow, I'm loving this so far. LoL it feels like an old-school horror style of a novel but with some pretty wild situations... wow!

[Warren]

I’m really enjoying this book so far. It reminds me of an old Leisure horror paperback, the ones I used to buy at the drugstore as a teenager.

[LTJ]

@Warren: Same here, I love the little mini-stories in between to add even more depth to the characters and immersion to the main story. Really enjoying this writing style and execution...

[Kristen]

I’m close to halfway through and I agree!

[LTJ]

@Kristen: Awesome! I'm trying to get to 50% or even finish this by tonight. LoL my Kindle "reading speed" is saying I have about 7 hours and 20 minutes to go...

[Kandice]

@LTJ and @Warren. like pulp fiction, the kind found on those spinning wire racks in old drugstores and bus stations, right?

[LTJ]

@Kandice: YES! This definitely brought me back to those kinds of books you'd find in drugstores, bus stations, and even airports. Good enough to last an entire trip or a weekend at home during a storm!

[sonya]

I’m going to try to finish this in two days. I’ll let you know.

[LTJ]

Go Sonya Go! I shall try to do the same, happy reading :-)

[Daniel]

I’m about 10% in and finding the purplish prose entertaining and that the interjected reports/news items add to the story. It’s a pretty easy read and hope to finish this weekend!

[M]

I was on one of the other group reads for this month and was ONLY going to do that one bc I have some reading challenges I need to start BUT I saw these group reads and here I am 🤦🏻‍♀️😂🙇🏻‍♀️

[Jennifer]

Victor wrote: "Kandice wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Wow, I flew through that quickly!

I quite enjoyed it. It was a solid 3.5/5 until I was near the end and it managed to do something I never expected. A paragraph ac..."

Oh gosh yes. I'd heard that the books was gross so I never, ever expected it to make tears occur, but it really did.

My partner thought it was really odd as I'm always the stone-hearted one whenever we watch something that makes him cry

[Ahana]

I'm still thinking about this book, a week after finishing. It'll be on my mind for a long time.

(view spoiler)[
In my mind, I justify the Shelley character as an embodiment of the psychopath `type', so to say. In the beginning, the scoutmaster identifies human character by assigning a type to each boy, i.e. the jock/ the nerd etc. Like, all of human goodness, pettiness, evil in neat little boxes. And then, he contrasts it with the big evil, the worm, that doesn't discriminate. Is Shelley OTT? Absolutely is. But so is everything else in this book! (hide spoiler)]

[LTJ]

@M: YES! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one... it's a WILD one for sure

[LTJ]

@Daniel: Oh for sure, I'm loving those little reports/info as I progress in this one, a brilliant way to fill in the gaps!

[LTJ]

@Jennifer: Oh wow, that's very interesting. Yeah, this book is VERY gross and horrific considering the setting it takes place in. I'm hoping to finish it over my long 3-day weekend :-)

[LTJ]

@Ahana: That's awesome and glad you gave it 5 stars! Looking forward to finishing it because as it stands now, a little over 40% done, it's a strong 4 so far :-)

[Hayley]

I am about halfway through. Eeeeeeeee.

[LTJ]

@Hayley: LoL it um, sure is something, eh? The level of detail to those certain scenes is pretty intense...

[Hayley]

Oh man, yes. And I have to say, it's not the worms that I find most upsetting. I'm really enjoying the writing too. Can't put it down. Also NEED to finish it so I can stop thinking about it for a bit.

[Hayley]

Wow. Just finished it. I have to say, despite being extremely disturbed, I really enjoyed it. I liked the writing a lot, the pacing was good. Like a lot of people have said, it put me a lot in mind of The Ruins (and I noticed that in the acknowledgements, Cutter says that Scott Smith read the book and gave him suggestions!), except that I don't remember feeling as attached to the characters in The Ruins.

I, too, teared up near the end.

Now for my spoilery comments:
(view spoiler)[
1. I think I'm going to see the words "prolapsed anus" plastered across my eyelids every time I close my eyes for the next two weeks.
2. I did not expect the amount of animal abuse. The turtle didn't bother me as much because the boys were trying to eat, they felt horrible about what they'd done, and they did their best to help the babies/pay the turtle respect.
3. The kitten thing was unreadable for me. I had to skim it, and then I had to have a little cry and hug my cats.
4. Ephraim. As a fellow hypochondriac, I could totally see myself being him in this situation, and I think that's what made his death so much worse for me than the worms.
(hide spoiler)]

[Jennifer]

Ahana wrote: "I'm still thinking about this book, a week after finishing. It'll be on my mind for a long time.


In my mind, I justify the Shelley character as an embodiment of the psychopath `type', so to say. ..."

I never really noticed that Ahana, but you're totally right. All of the boys are character traits, to the extreme so why shouldn't Shelley be OTT!

[Jennifer]

Hayley wrote: "Wow. Just finished it. I have to say, despite being extremely disturbed, I really enjoyed it. I liked the writing a lot, the pacing was good. Like a lot of people have said, it put me a lot in mind..."

Oh gosh yes, Ephraim! What a poor boy :(

[Daniel]

Done! I enjoyed it except the animal stuff. (view spoiler)[Even the insect cruelty was too explicit. The turtle scene was awful to me, though I respected the way the kids felt after and how they responded when they found the babies. I did feel like it was a tad formulaic, but I wasn’t really expecting anything else. (hide spoiler)]

[Pauline]

Finally received my copy of The Troop, so I'll be joining in if it's no too late. Wish me luck on facing my fear of parasites.

[sonya]

This book is so gross but I’m going to finish it.