In his endnotes to this excellent horror novel, Nick Cutter acknowledges a debt to the structure of Stephen King’s Carrie, although The Troop (Gallery Books) bears no resemblance to that book. What it does have in common with Carrie is the use of counterpoint narrative in the form of courtroom interviews, scientific accounts and magazine stories to explain not only the “facts” in the case of a biohazard which affects a troop of boy scouts on an isolated island off the coast of Canada, but how and why the nightmarish events there unfolded as they did. It’s actually a great device, which Cutter uses with surgical precision and to powerful effect, like flashes of lightning on a grisly murder in process.

Allowing for some minor lack of originality here and there – the Cronenbergian wormlike creatures inside their human hosts are not completely new, and one set piece felt to me a little like Gollum protecting the Lord of the Rings in his cave, albeit an infinitely more horrific version – I can highly recommend the novel. It’s fast paced, full of scares, humor and pathos, and the plight of the scoutmaster and the troop of five boys on their weekend island excursion feels very realistic. What’s more, the insights into how the worms were developed – dietary aid or biological weapon, as the debate goes – gives it a plausible science fiction edge.

Two things are great about The Troop. First, the writing. Cutter has a precise, but genuinely original style. He never over-writes, but his prose positively sings. When he describes anything, you can see, feel and hear it – and, in some cases, smell it! Second, is the way he draws real human emotion out in response to the nightmares played out on the island. Unlike too many horror novels and thrillers these days, there is moral complexity here; when something bad happens to one of the characters, you truly feel for them. Even the most unpleasant creature in the book (not the worms, you may be interested to know) has an element of pathos and a dreadful humanity to him.

But, to the story itself. As he does annually, scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a three-day camping trip—a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story and 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. An inexplicable horror that spreads faster than fear. A harrowing struggle for survival pits the troop against the elements, the infected … and one another.

Some of the most harrowing moments of The Troop, however, don’t involve the awful evolution of the worms and what they do to their hosts, but rather the fear and distress the boys experience. One scene, in particular, brought me close to tears when two of the boys, desperately hungry, try to kill a turtle they find on the beach. The protracted killing, and both the turtle’s and the boy’s torture throughout is truly distressing. Upsetting as the scene was I wanted to applaud Cutter for what he had achieved here: an illustration of humanity reduced to desperation yet being profoundly affected by an almost spiritual pain at what they are forced to do. Bravo, Mr Cutter!

And the master Stephen King himself has given Nick Cutter an accolade of his own. He says: “The Troop scared the hell out of me, and I couldn’t put it down. This is old-school horror at its best.”

As the old Mowtown song goes, I second that emotion.

And if that isn’t recommendation isn’t enough, what is?

I held high hopes for this book as the synopsis really grabbed my attention, unfortunately the book did not hold my attention as well as its synopsis did. I found the first part of the book to be really long-winded and honestly slightly boring. It just didn't hold my attention and it wasn't for me.

The Troop is about a group of boy scouts that set off on a camping trip to an island with their scoutmaster Tim. While they're there, a disturbed visitor comes across their campsite. It turns out this visitor is carrying something deadly that's spreading faster than anyone can imagine. Will the troop survive?!

I've been meaning to read this book since 2013 when I got approved for an e-arc...WHOOPS! I honestly can't believe I put it off for so long, and I wish I had read it sooner! Anyways, this book reminds me of Lord of the Flies except this one involves way more blood, death, torture, gore, etc. basically all the horror. I also have to say that if you're not a fan of horror or you're sensitive/triggered by torture scenes, detailed gory scenes...then this is definitely not for you, you won't like it one bit.

I really enjoyed how they had mixed media in this book and they included interviews, clippings of newspaper articles, etc. They fit perfectly with the story and were nice breaks in between the gross, crazy scenes! Which reminds me if you're grossed out easily, this is also not for you as the scenes are very descriptive (you might not want to be reading this around meal times if you get grossed out easily too). 

As far as the characters go, I usually get lost on who's who but these characters were so well done! I knew who was who right away which made this book hard to put down. I was so invested in the characters and who would live and die. I won't say anything else other than SHELLEY IS WHAT NIGHTMARES ARE MADE OF.

Again, I recommend this if you already like horror and don't mind gore! This book definitely exceeded my expectations and I'll definitely be checking out Nick Cutter's other books! Also, can they please make this a movie?!! I saw the entire book play out like a movie in my head and I NEED THE MOVIE TO BE MADE NOW.

I have attempted to read this multiple times since I first requested this - but have been unsuccessful each time. I just cannot get into the story. I only made it about 20% each time, but may pick up via audio book to try again as I see many of my favourite book bloggers enjoyed it. I'm not sure if the setting wasn't grabbing me enough or if I just didn't read far enough into the story for it to really grab me. Mood reader right here, so there's also that.

Very creepy and gory!! Stephen King endorsed it so I decided to give it a try...but this is NOT to be read while y eating. However, this is great if you are trying to diet.

I recommend this book.

I could not give a proper feedback on this book after I read it as it actually creeped me out but I guess that THAT is the ultimate feedback on a book of horror. Very scary book.

I loved this one!!! Nick Cutter has always been one of my favorites!

A very exciting book..   once you start reading you are hooked!

Due to technical issues, I was unable to read this title.

Thrilling and a little bit disturbing, this was a perfectly spooky read.

Read a long time ago.  Do not remember it at all. It was probably pretty good.

Strikingly horrific, this book was far more scary than I went into it thinking it would be! Since it's publication, I find myself recommending it more to adult than to young readers, which I think serves as a testament of the book's deeply horrifying premise!

I found this book Inappropriate for a young audience.  The nonsense about this strange creature that the clueless troop leader tries to save at the expense of the boys troop for which he is responsible, is beyond foolish. This is the message that the author is trying to send about so-called leaders?