Winner of the 2015 James Herbert Award for horror writing
He felt something touch his hand...which is when he looked down...For the scouts of Troop 52, three days of camping, hiking and survival lessons on the remote shores of Falstaff Island will be the closest thing they'll get to a proper holiday this year. Which was when he saw it...But when an emaciated figure unexpectedly stumbles into their camp begging for food, the trip takes a horrifying turn. The man is not just hungry, he's sick. Sick in a way they have never seen before. Which was when he screamed...Cut off from the mainland, the scouts of Troop 52 face a nightmare far worse than anything they could have made up around a campfire. To survive they will have to fight their fears, the elements...and eventually each other.
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I loved this book and thought the Audible narration was creepy in all the best ways. Unfortunately I found that I didn't care for any of the characters and would have been just as happy if nobody made it out alive at the end of the story. Probably the only book to actually get under my skin in years - so that's a major positive.
We all have our own ways of dealing with anxiety and depression. One of mine for the former is to kick back with an audiobook and lose myself in World of Warcraft. This week, my audiobook of choice was Nick Cutter’s The Troop. I first discovered Cutter last year after receiving an arc of Little Heaven, which I enjoyed immensely. Naturally, I was not let down with this title.
It’s a fairly short listen, coming in at just over eleven hours. Narrated by Corey Brill, the book tells the story of a bunch of kids and their mentor after a strange encounter with an emaciated man. From there, things spiral downward in a rather interesting turn of events and readers watch the usual trope that comes into play when the threat of apocalypse hangs over a town – or in this case, island. The fact that the cast is mostly teenage boys? That’s of no consequence.
The Troop is what I call a “last man standing” story. I suppose that’s comparable to “final girls” when you think about it. These kids, because that’s all they are, find themselves facing a horror they cannot truly comprehend, and with the military working in favor of the greater good, are on their own. Naturally, that means we’ve got some deep psychological stuff that’s going to go on, as well as several scenes of last minute survival habits – such as harming animals. And, of course, there’s madness tinting this books periphery.
I really enjoyed this approach to a horror story born of what originally begins as a good deed (though clearly is not toward its end). The characters had their own flaws and represented the different types of kids we’re likely to find in a high school class – only, of course, without the presence of any females.
Once again, Cutter has impressed me with his ability to make me cringe, among other things. I definitely look forward to getting my hands on more of his work in the future. Also, the audiobook is worth it. Corey Brill has a gorgeous voice.
I was looking for something a little less serious-minded to read when I this new release came to my attention. It felt like I hadn't read any horror for a while so it seemed a perfect selection, and boy was it. Following 5 boys on a scout camping trip on a remote island does provide the author some chances to delve into what it's like being a teenage male right now, and he does so very well, fully fleshing out each of the characters. But once a strange, emaciated man arrives on the island looking for food, things take a turn for the worse, and rapidly spiral further and further downward from there. Interspersed throughout are clippings from news reports and court transcripts that help to fill in some of the backstory of exactly what lead to the events on the island, which also help to give the proceedings a feeling of being more real. And thinking what happens out there could be real only lends the proceedings that much more horror. I don't want to give away anything about what transpires, but I will say that if you are faint of heart or, perhaps more importantly, weak of stomach, then this book is not for you. If you are looking for something that will leave you genuinely creeped out however, then you should pick up a copy right away.
Nick Cutter
(Author)
