Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Pocket Books (2014), Edition: Reissue, 528 pages
Description
Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip-a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around 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. A horror that spreads faster than fear. A harrowing struggle for survival with no escape from the elements, the infected�?�or one another. Part Lord of the Flies, part 28 Days Later-and all-consuming-this tightly written, edge-of-your-seat thriller takes you deep into the heart of darkness, where fear feeds on sanity�?�and terror hungers for… (more)
Media reviews
This predictable, carnage-filled thriller from the pseudonymous Cutter will appeal mainly to horror fans. On Falstaff Island, off Prince Edward Island, a troop of boy scouts encounters Thomas Henry Padgett, aka “the Hungry Man,” a victim of military research gone terribly wrong. An act of
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charity toward Padgett, who carries a deadly contagion, turns out to be a big mistake that leaves the scouts with no choice but to rely on their limited tools and rudimentary survival skills. Meanwhile, an alarmed military has quarantined Falstaff Island to protect the world from the evil released there. While the boys have many options, escape is not among them. Competent prose makes up in part for stock characters—the nerd, the popular kid, the quiet psychotic. Cutter’s appeal to modern-day disquiet over the ethical lapses of the military-industrial complex will strike many as pro forma rather than based in any authentic outrage over abuses real or imagined. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member wb4ever1
I picked up THE TROOP, by Nick Cutter, because it was highly recommended by Stephen King, my favorite author, and one who, I have found, usually knows a good story when he reads one. This goes double for the horror genre, as I will always be grateful to King for introducing me to Dan Simmons when
I am a sucker for a story where a sundry group of characters find themselves isolated and cut off from civilization, and facing a threat to their existence, a threat coming from outside the group, but also from within, as fear and tension cause members to turn against each other. Think of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE and BATTLE ROYALE. I would add THE TROOP to this list, but it is also a great piece of contagion fiction in the tradition of THE STAND and THE WALKING DEAD.
The basic plot is a simple one: a Scoutmaster and the five members of his troop, all fourteen year old boys, go to a small island off the coast of Prince Edward Island for a weekend filled with nature hikes, and enjoying the great outdoors. But they are soon joined by a fugitive in a stolen boat, an escapee from a medical research facility carrying a bioengineered tapeworm, a virulent parasite that devours its host from within, while reproducing itself by the hundreds, then thousands, each one hungry for a new host. Soon one member of the scout troop is infected, and the others are faced with a free for all for survival, as the military cordon off the island, letting no one get near it, and more ominously, letting no one leave. As the story unfolds, the reader is given excerpts from medical records and testimony from a board of inquiry that impart vital information, and back story, that the kids on the island don’t know. In this way, we know the horrible fate awaiting characters that they do not, ratcheting up the suspense, and creating classic situational irony. In his acknowledgment, Cutter sites CARRIE as an inspiration.
It helps that we quickly become invested in the boys, as Cutter creates a convincing dynamic among the over sized jock who gets his way through intimidation, the overweight nerd who is always deadly serious, the emotionally troubled kid from a badly broken home, and the budding psychopath hiding in plain sight. It is always a tricky thing to pull off when adults attempt to create believable teenagers in fiction, just read about any YA book, and if Cutter’s scout troop appears to be made up of tropes at first glance, he does a good job of fleshing them out.
To me, THE TROOP read like the script of a great unproduced 80’s horror film, the kind with plenty of gross out scenes. This book has plenty of moments that made me wince as it showed just how vulnerable our bodies really are to creatures too small to be seen, and it plays on the fear of bodily invasion, and the subsequent loss of control of our own flesh. This is Cronenberg level body horror, with a touch of Lucio Fulci; the only disappointment to me was an overly ambiguous final scene.
THE TROOP is not for the squeamish, but if you’re the type of reader who takes that statement as a challenge, then this book is for you.
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he praised THE TERROR in his much missed Entertainment Weekly column. And I must say, King has done it again, for THE TROOP delivers more than a few good scares, while building a palpable sense of dread, that builds and builds to a properly arrived at climax. I am a sucker for a story where a sundry group of characters find themselves isolated and cut off from civilization, and facing a threat to their existence, a threat coming from outside the group, but also from within, as fear and tension cause members to turn against each other. Think of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE and BATTLE ROYALE. I would add THE TROOP to this list, but it is also a great piece of contagion fiction in the tradition of THE STAND and THE WALKING DEAD.
The basic plot is a simple one: a Scoutmaster and the five members of his troop, all fourteen year old boys, go to a small island off the coast of Prince Edward Island for a weekend filled with nature hikes, and enjoying the great outdoors. But they are soon joined by a fugitive in a stolen boat, an escapee from a medical research facility carrying a bioengineered tapeworm, a virulent parasite that devours its host from within, while reproducing itself by the hundreds, then thousands, each one hungry for a new host. Soon one member of the scout troop is infected, and the others are faced with a free for all for survival, as the military cordon off the island, letting no one get near it, and more ominously, letting no one leave. As the story unfolds, the reader is given excerpts from medical records and testimony from a board of inquiry that impart vital information, and back story, that the kids on the island don’t know. In this way, we know the horrible fate awaiting characters that they do not, ratcheting up the suspense, and creating classic situational irony. In his acknowledgment, Cutter sites CARRIE as an inspiration.
It helps that we quickly become invested in the boys, as Cutter creates a convincing dynamic among the over sized jock who gets his way through intimidation, the overweight nerd who is always deadly serious, the emotionally troubled kid from a badly broken home, and the budding psychopath hiding in plain sight. It is always a tricky thing to pull off when adults attempt to create believable teenagers in fiction, just read about any YA book, and if Cutter’s scout troop appears to be made up of tropes at first glance, he does a good job of fleshing them out.
To me, THE TROOP read like the script of a great unproduced 80’s horror film, the kind with plenty of gross out scenes. This book has plenty of moments that made me wince as it showed just how vulnerable our bodies really are to creatures too small to be seen, and it plays on the fear of bodily invasion, and the subsequent loss of control of our own flesh. This is Cronenberg level body horror, with a touch of Lucio Fulci; the only disappointment to me was an overly ambiguous final scene.
THE TROOP is not for the squeamish, but if you’re the type of reader who takes that statement as a challenge, then this book is for you.
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LibraryThing member SharonMariaBidwell
I would have finished this book sooner had time allowed; I didn’t want to put it down. At first, I wasn’t sure of the narrative. Being that the plot involved teenage boys, much of the tone expressed that initially, but then as things progressed so did the style grow more lyrical and tighter,
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edging along the sense of well-constructed doom. Scary? Yes, owing to the subject alone, the sense that one day this or similar could happen under humankind’s egotistical restructuring of the natural world. This is an amazing book. I’ve seen negative reviews and understand the dislike of animal abuse portrayed, but sometimes it’s necessary to reflect reality. Even then the story is painfully sad, making the reader feel for these boys. Other negatives, I don’t understand as there’s little point moaning about extremes when reading horror, as long as it fits the story without be gratuitous. The various personalities build a rich tapestry of human nature, good and bad. For me, the book ends on a perfect note. Show Less
LibraryThing member basia9018
I devoured the book in a couple days. ( no pun intended ) It was gruesome, intriguing, shocking, and at times made me feel like leaving the lights on for the night. Other times, it brought tears to my eyes. One scene in particular was very heart-wrenching. Without spoiling it, let me just say that
Overall, I thought the story line and characters were well developed, and I'm hoping the book will be made into a movie some day. Quick warning though : Do not read this book when you're out camping.
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as the story progresses the boys will have to go to unbelievable lengths to try and obtain food. Try is the keyword here, since their attempts will fail miserably, and as a result an innocent creature dies in unimaginable pain. Other scenes were so full of gruesome details, I had to skim through the paragraphs, in order to keep my stomach from revolting. The experiments conducted by the scientists on the gorilla stand out to me as being the most disturbing, probably due to the fact they were documented in such a cold, unmoved voice. Overall, I thought the story line and characters were well developed, and I'm hoping the book will be made into a movie some day. Quick warning though : Do not read this book when you're out camping.
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LibraryThing member TobinElliott
I know this book is getting four and five stars, but I've got to go against type here. While I enjoyed the book at the beginning, I soon became disappointed with it. Let me explain. And yes, there's a bit of a spoiler ahead, but I'll clearly mark it.
At the beginning, we're quickly introduced to
Then came the next part.
S P O I L E R A L E R T
When Tim, a doctor, realizes Tom is infected, and still decides not only to operate on him (in a cabin, on an island, with very little in the way of medical tools and facilities), but to bring in one of the fourteen-year-old boys to assist, well that's when I began to lose a lot of respect for the book. It, quite simply, took a dumb turn.
E N D O F S P O I L E R
From there, I found myself becoming quickly disenchanted with the book.
Now, I've got to give credit where it's due. There was some very good character development early on, and some of the excerpt material that provided context to the medical issue was better than the main storyline.
However, three things really stood out for me and it's these, along with the issue contained in the spoiler above that, for me, earned this book a two-star rating.
The first was the insane overuse of metaphors and similies throughout the novel. Cutter (Craig Davidson) could not seem to mention anything without comparing it to something else. To paraphrase Stephen King's famous comment about J.K. Rowling "never having met an adverb she didn't like," one could say Cutter never met a simile he didn't like. An metaphor or simile here and there is an effective thing, but, just in a random sampling of three pages in the book, I counted nine metaphors and similies. Far too many.
The second was the actual voice. Throughout the narrative, whenever it was centered on one of the five boys, Cutter never changed the storytelling voice, so he would, while in the POV of a fourteen-year-old--and it didn't matter if it was the smartest of them, or the dumbest--he used particular words and phrases well beyond their years. I found myself thinking again and again, this is not what a kid sounds like. Maybe if he had used that voice for Newton and dropped it down for some of the others, but for me, and again, this is just my opinion, the voice didn't work.
Finally, there was the horror itself. Quoting King for another moment here, he once famously said, “I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud.”
Initially, Cutter seems to go for the terror, and there are spots interspersed through the book that go for that. There are also some spots that try to horrify as well. And in each case, I truly enjoyed and appreciated what Cutter was aiming for.
But sadly, for the vast majority of the book, he chose to go for the gross-out. While I'll accept a little of that, I don't want a lot of it. It's one of the reasons King's Dreamcatcher failed to resonate--it was more gross-out than terrifying or horrifying. And it's the problem here as well.
Ian Rogers (an author I really enjoy) mentioned in some comments about this novel that it's got some Lord of the Flies and some of Scott Smith's The Ruins and he's not wrong. It definitely does. And it's what initially attracted me to this book. It could have been so much more. It could have been something that stood alongside The Stand for the disease aspect. It could have been an important work of horror.
I really wanted to like this book. I really did. But I was disappointed by it in the end.
At the beginning, we're quickly introduced to
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both Tom, the infected man, or patient zero, as well as Scoutmaster Tim and his troop of five boys. And to be honest, there's some excellent scenes that made me squirm at the beginning involving Tom.Then came the next part.
S P O I L E R A L E R T
E N D O F S P O I L E R
From there, I found myself becoming quickly disenchanted with the book.
Now, I've got to give credit where it's due. There was some very good character development early on, and some of the excerpt material that provided context to the medical issue was better than the main storyline.
However, three things really stood out for me and it's these, along with the issue contained in the spoiler above that, for me, earned this book a two-star rating.
The first was the insane overuse of metaphors and similies throughout the novel. Cutter (Craig Davidson) could not seem to mention anything without comparing it to something else. To paraphrase Stephen King's famous comment about J.K. Rowling "never having met an adverb she didn't like," one could say Cutter never met a simile he didn't like. An metaphor or simile here and there is an effective thing, but, just in a random sampling of three pages in the book, I counted nine metaphors and similies. Far too many.
The second was the actual voice. Throughout the narrative, whenever it was centered on one of the five boys, Cutter never changed the storytelling voice, so he would, while in the POV of a fourteen-year-old--and it didn't matter if it was the smartest of them, or the dumbest--he used particular words and phrases well beyond their years. I found myself thinking again and again, this is not what a kid sounds like. Maybe if he had used that voice for Newton and dropped it down for some of the others, but for me, and again, this is just my opinion, the voice didn't work.
Finally, there was the horror itself. Quoting King for another moment here, he once famously said, “I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud.”
Initially, Cutter seems to go for the terror, and there are spots interspersed through the book that go for that. There are also some spots that try to horrify as well. And in each case, I truly enjoyed and appreciated what Cutter was aiming for.
But sadly, for the vast majority of the book, he chose to go for the gross-out. While I'll accept a little of that, I don't want a lot of it. It's one of the reasons King's Dreamcatcher failed to resonate--it was more gross-out than terrifying or horrifying. And it's the problem here as well.
Ian Rogers (an author I really enjoy) mentioned in some comments about this novel that it's got some Lord of the Flies and some of Scott Smith's The Ruins and he's not wrong. It definitely does. And it's what initially attracted me to this book. It could have been so much more. It could have been something that stood alongside The Stand for the disease aspect. It could have been an important work of horror.
I really wanted to like this book. I really did. But I was disappointed by it in the end.
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LibraryThing member stephanie_M
"The Troop" is a highly intelligent and polished horror novel written in the style and quality of literary prose in some ways while at the same time being entertaining and engaging. What started out as a great story, with A character development & progression, quickly spiraled into a horrific
There are five boys and one scoutmaster on a small part of Prince Edward Island in Canada. A very sick man comes to the island. It's not difficult to see where this is going. However, each character has complex sub layers beneath the surface. Each of them is distinct and unique and your emotions will be played with by each of them. Also, not all of the boys are good. Shelly is downright creepy–let’s just say he could give the Joker a run for his money. He defines the term ‘twisted’. Despite the fact that the reader knows from the outset that every single one of these people is doomed, the question becomes who’s the first to go, under what circumstances, and of course, who survives? Does anyone make it out alive?
I can say without any exaggeration that every horror fan must read this book even if they’re not really fans of science-related horror or they think it won’t be their thing. It’s a gripping story that will win over even the most reluctant reader. This is the kind of book that will make horror fans say, “This is what I’ve been waiting for.”
The best book I have read in a long time (from an author I has previously been unaware of). I am a huge Stephen King fan, and Nick Cutter rivals early writing from many of the authors from his early era of writing. And yes, I know that Nick Cutter is a pseudonym for a well known author. I will have to read more of his novels, and quite a few are now on my to-read list, in his other pseudonym and his real name.
5 stars. Enjoy!
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nightmare of a book. This is old school, grimy, 1980's freak show style horror at it's best. NOT for the faint of heart of squeamish...this is a relentlessly horrible story that just gets worse and worse. There are five boys and one scoutmaster on a small part of Prince Edward Island in Canada. A very sick man comes to the island. It's not difficult to see where this is going. However, each character has complex sub layers beneath the surface. Each of them is distinct and unique and your emotions will be played with by each of them. Also, not all of the boys are good. Shelly is downright creepy–let’s just say he could give the Joker a run for his money. He defines the term ‘twisted’. Despite the fact that the reader knows from the outset that every single one of these people is doomed, the question becomes who’s the first to go, under what circumstances, and of course, who survives? Does anyone make it out alive?
I can say without any exaggeration that every horror fan must read this book even if they’re not really fans of science-related horror or they think it won’t be their thing. It’s a gripping story that will win over even the most reluctant reader. This is the kind of book that will make horror fans say, “This is what I’ve been waiting for.”
The best book I have read in a long time (from an author I has previously been unaware of). I am a huge Stephen King fan, and Nick Cutter rivals early writing from many of the authors from his early era of writing. And yes, I know that Nick Cutter is a pseudonym for a well known author. I will have to read more of his novels, and quite a few are now on my to-read list, in his other pseudonym and his real name.
5 stars. Enjoy!
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LibraryThing member jwood652
A bioengineered virus is out of control! A troop of Boy Scouts is exposed to a dying man who was infected with the disease! Who, if any, of the scouts will survive? Will any of them ever see their families again? How far will this disease spread? How many people will die? The book was compelling
I received this book free from Netgallery
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and not totally predictable, as many of this genre are. I really enjoyed the mix of characters including the "typical kids" in the scout troop. Trying to guess who would survive was great fun! Yes Mr. Cutter, I do believe that you have something here and also bet that Stephen King, who you were inspired by, would like your book! I know I did!I received this book free from Netgallery
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LibraryThing member Jennifer35k
Wow! Is about the best word I can choose for this book. I have never experienced so many emotions with one story that brought both fascination and revulsion all in one setting. It became so real for me that I became psychically ill at some of the heavier parts of the book. This was an amazing read
The first thing I want to say is this book was an insane read that found me having to take a break at some points in the book. It became so descriptive that I was able to envision it my mind and the scenes played out like a movie in my head. That was both disturbing and awesome at the same time! I was surprised time after time on how the author chose to grow the story. In some way it was similar to the book, ‘Lord of the Flies’, but in my personal opinion it was better. It was more realistic in its graphic details and gave wonderful examples of how fear can change a person. Emotions affect all human beings and some of the cruelest creatures on this planet are children. As both a mother to three children and a past Girl Scout member I easily got wrapped up in this book. I could see this being an awesome, yet horrific movie in the future. Nick Cutter really gives Stephen King some competition and Nick’s work is both refreshing and new to me. I see much success in this author’s future works and I will be keeping my eyes open for his books! I must give a quick thanks to both the author and goodreads for sending me a copy to review. It was much appreciated and I had a great time. I highly recommend this book to all avid lovers of both the horror and thriller genre.
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for me because it told the story of a small group of boys and their scoutmaster. It told of their ungodly experiences on an isolated island. While on the island a stranger washes ashore and seeks help. There scout leader, being a doctor by trade, attempts to help the stranger. When it is obvious the man is very ill the scout master tells the boys to leave. Quickly the disease that inflicts the stranger begins to infect the scouts and their leader. Fighting for their lives the boys are faced with a terrifying entity that will stop at nothing to quench its hunger. It hunts down each and every person as it devours everything in sight. Will anyone survive this horrible illness? Will this frightening disease spread throughout the rest of the world?The first thing I want to say is this book was an insane read that found me having to take a break at some points in the book. It became so descriptive that I was able to envision it my mind and the scenes played out like a movie in my head. That was both disturbing and awesome at the same time! I was surprised time after time on how the author chose to grow the story. In some way it was similar to the book, ‘Lord of the Flies’, but in my personal opinion it was better. It was more realistic in its graphic details and gave wonderful examples of how fear can change a person. Emotions affect all human beings and some of the cruelest creatures on this planet are children. As both a mother to three children and a past Girl Scout member I easily got wrapped up in this book. I could see this being an awesome, yet horrific movie in the future. Nick Cutter really gives Stephen King some competition and Nick’s work is both refreshing and new to me. I see much success in this author’s future works and I will be keeping my eyes open for his books! I must give a quick thanks to both the author and goodreads for sending me a copy to review. It was much appreciated and I had a great time. I highly recommend this book to all avid lovers of both the horror and thriller genre.
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LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
Scary, tense, and sometimes a bit grizzly! The blurb on the back cover is right - it is part "Lord of the Flies" and part "28 Days Later"! At first I was grumpy that I had read that, but as the story unfolded, it didn't matter! A scoutmaster and five scouts go out to camp on a Canadian island and
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their adventure is disturbed by a sick looking man who is hungry, very, very hungry! When they discover why, the horror begins! Toward the end, I was super enthralled, and super grossed out, so yeah, I really liked it! Show Less
LibraryThing member JJbooklvr
Creepy, twisted with just enough humor to lighten things up. Horror fans put this on your to read list now!
LibraryThing member jpporter
The Troop has been likened to a blend of The Ruins and The Lord of the Flies. The Ruins is perhaps one of the better contemporary horror stories, and The Lord of the Flies will always be considered one of the best pieces of allegorical literature to be written. The Troop may try to be both, but.
The basic story, about a group of scouts on a camping trip on an unpopulated island who are confronted by exposure to a deadly contagion, is promising. The author, Nick Cutter, provides us with character sketches of the five boys, interspersing the story with flash-forwards of media discussions of the events that took place and their aftermath.
As a horror/suspense story the book shows promise. It may start off a bit slow, but as the reader progresses, the story becomes quite interesting. As an allegory, however, the book doesn't quite make it, as contrivances get in the way of making a coherent whole of various threads that are woven through the story. The Lord of the Flies this isn't.
All in all, however, this is an interesting tale, and one that could make for a very good movie.
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...The basic story, about a group of scouts on a camping trip on an unpopulated island who are confronted by exposure to a deadly contagion, is promising. The author, Nick Cutter, provides us with character sketches of the five boys, interspersing the story with flash-forwards of media discussions of the events that took place and their aftermath.
As a horror/suspense story the book shows promise. It may start off a bit slow, but as the reader progresses, the story becomes quite interesting. As an allegory, however, the book doesn't quite make it, as contrivances get in the way of making a coherent whole of various threads that are woven through the story. The Lord of the Flies this isn't.
All in all, however, this is an interesting tale, and one that could make for a very good movie.
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LibraryThing member DanaBurgess
Wow! Talk about your creepy coincidence. I had just posted on facebook for recommendations for a creepy thriller/horror novel and then I checked the mail. A package! A package containing the creepy thriller/horror novel, The Troop by Nick Cutter. And did it ever fill the bill!
This is no slashy
It is amazing to me that authors can create an entire cast of characters, that are fundamentally different from each other, complete with believable back stories, and then weave them together in seamless ways. The scouts in this book are true teenage boys complete with angst and peer pressure. They are friends but, as a group, likely wouldn’t have come together without scouting. They interact in predictable teenage boy ways but, given the unpredictable circumstances they find themselves in, the results are anything but cookie cutter.
Mr. Cutter has woven together a solid story that is shocking and shiver inspiring without resorting to sensationalism, gore and crude-ness (? Cruditity? Being crude… You get the picture.) There was a moment at the start when I feared he was going to go the zombie route but, put your minds to rest, this wasn’t the case. Instead, the author hit upon the perfect formula for a truly scary story: he has taken a normal problem experienced by hundreds of people every year and amped it up until it becomes fodder for the dark side of our imaginations. Just the book I was hoping for when I opened that package!
Of course many a great story with good characters has been sunk by poor writing. No fear of that with Nick Cutter! His writing style pulls the reader in until you forget you are reading; instead you are viewing the story like the proverbial fly on the wall. Time passing and pages turning both fade away. The only negative I can come up with is that I could only read a few chapters at a time before I was on overload and had to take a break to lower my blood pressure. Not really a negative when you are talking about this genre.
So, if anyone out there is looking for a horror/thriller recommendation – The Troop would be my pick.
This is no slashy
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gorefest with some half naked teenage girl wandering into the attic, by herself, to confront the axe wielding monster with predictable results. Instead it is a true thriller – just a little bit of gore but mostly a solid story with great characters and an author that knows how to write a tale that plays on your mind and (in this case) has you committing to a food free diet.It is amazing to me that authors can create an entire cast of characters, that are fundamentally different from each other, complete with believable back stories, and then weave them together in seamless ways. The scouts in this book are true teenage boys complete with angst and peer pressure. They are friends but, as a group, likely wouldn’t have come together without scouting. They interact in predictable teenage boy ways but, given the unpredictable circumstances they find themselves in, the results are anything but cookie cutter.
Mr. Cutter has woven together a solid story that is shocking and shiver inspiring without resorting to sensationalism, gore and crude-ness (? Cruditity? Being crude… You get the picture.) There was a moment at the start when I feared he was going to go the zombie route but, put your minds to rest, this wasn’t the case. Instead, the author hit upon the perfect formula for a truly scary story: he has taken a normal problem experienced by hundreds of people every year and amped it up until it becomes fodder for the dark side of our imaginations. Just the book I was hoping for when I opened that package!
Of course many a great story with good characters has been sunk by poor writing. No fear of that with Nick Cutter! His writing style pulls the reader in until you forget you are reading; instead you are viewing the story like the proverbial fly on the wall. Time passing and pages turning both fade away. The only negative I can come up with is that I could only read a few chapters at a time before I was on overload and had to take a break to lower my blood pressure. Not really a negative when you are talking about this genre.
So, if anyone out there is looking for a horror/thriller recommendation – The Troop would be my pick.
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LibraryThing member dmclane
I understand why they say this scared Stephen King, it also reminded me of "Lord of the Flies" a popular, scary, fiction when I was younger. The novel features lots of disturbing stuff, others will explain in detail doubtlessly and no doubt some will claim the read was so disturbing that they could
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not finish it, and feel it should be banned from the library's shelf. If, like me, you occasionally need to be disturbed to prove you're still among the living this is a great read for you as it was for me. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for making it available. Show Less
LibraryThing member grumpydan
Boy Scouts and their scoutmaster camp on an island where the boys are to hone their skills in survival techniques and earn their merit badges. But when an emancipated man shows up; things go from bad to worse. Will what they’ve learned help them survive and will they ever get home?
This is a
This is a
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horror story at its best. Touted as “Lord of the Flies” meets “The Ruins” is no exaggeration. Once the terror begins it doesn’t stop; and the reader is either terrified and/or disgusted. The descriptive narrative goes all out to the grotesque and one needs to have a strong stomach. The characters are well developed and the boys act as fourteen year olds act. There are also chapters outside of the island story to let the reader know what is happening since the troop hasn’t the slightest. I found this story to be very entertaining in a ghastly sort of way. Move over Stephen King. Show Less
LibraryThing member judylou
When reading The Troop, you can’t help but make comparisons to the classic Lord of the Flies. A group of young boys are alone on an island off the coast of Canada with only their rudimentary survival skills keeping them alive. The boys are Boy Scouts, on an isolated island with their troop
On their first night a stranger staggers into the campsite. He is hungry, very hungry. He is obviously dying from an unknown illness which has the Scout Leader perplexed. The boys remain quarantined from the stranger for the night, but when they wake in the morning, things have changed for the worse.
Each of the boys has their own distinct personality. There is the leader, the nerd, the fixer, the angry boy and the creepy one. Perhaps a little stereotyped, but still, each character was well developed and believable. As the social order breaks down, they have choices to make, conflicts to resolve and deeds to accomplish all in light of their own strengths and weaknesses.
Providing some interest, between the chapters were excerpts from a future court case, diary passages and newspaper articles which provided both background and a glimpse of what was to become of the boys.
Beware, there are some gruesome scenes in this book. Scientific animal experimentation and cruelty perpetrated against animals by one of the boys makes for some uncomfortable reading. But the overall pace, the unexpected touches of humour and the general creepiness of this story will definitely keep you reading.
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leader, the local doctor, camping and attempting to gain more merit badges.On their first night a stranger staggers into the campsite. He is hungry, very hungry. He is obviously dying from an unknown illness which has the Scout Leader perplexed. The boys remain quarantined from the stranger for the night, but when they wake in the morning, things have changed for the worse.
Each of the boys has their own distinct personality. There is the leader, the nerd, the fixer, the angry boy and the creepy one. Perhaps a little stereotyped, but still, each character was well developed and believable. As the social order breaks down, they have choices to make, conflicts to resolve and deeds to accomplish all in light of their own strengths and weaknesses.
Providing some interest, between the chapters were excerpts from a future court case, diary passages and newspaper articles which provided both background and a glimpse of what was to become of the boys.
Beware, there are some gruesome scenes in this book. Scientific animal experimentation and cruelty perpetrated against animals by one of the boys makes for some uncomfortable reading. But the overall pace, the unexpected touches of humour and the general creepiness of this story will definitely keep you reading.
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
The Troop should come with a warning label: “Read at your own risk. Some scenes are so disgusting they may make you sick to your stomach.” However, that type of warning label might detract some readers from picking up this thrilling and terrifying story. To avoid the novel because of a few
The action starts immediately with the newspaper articles about the Hungry Man and his strange antics. The palpable sense of foreboding hits the reader full force when the scene moves to the Hungry Man’s point of view, and readers instinctively know that whatever answers await to be uncovered are not going to be good. Tension continues to build through each shift in point of view and each jump in time. The imaginative use of interview transcripts and news articles published after the events on Falstaff Island provide readers with important clues as to the scope of the issue and its origins. They also add to the ongoing horror as readers understand just what faces the boys on the island. Indeed, what the boys must face is the stuff of which the worst nightmares are made.
The Troop is the type of story during which there is no respite from the terror or the suspense. Readers hoping to catch a break during one of the shifts in narrator find themselves sucked into a different type of horror than the recently departed scene. Mr. Cutter draws on man’s ability to do unimaginable harm in the name of “the collective good” to add depth to his old-fashioned monster story and does so with aplomb. In the end, determining who or what exactly is the monster is the question that will haunt readers for days, if not weeks, upon finishing the novel.
The Troop follows a fascinating trend in apocalyptic pandemics wherein the origins are something innocuous that falls prey to the machinations of businesses and/or governments. Mr. Cutter brings together this trend with an acerbic commentary on the greed which drives such genetic manipulations. His brilliant portrayal of fear, the unspeakable actions of the infected, and many gruesomely realistic descriptions create an unforgettable novel that grips and haunts readers.
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nauseating scenes would mean missing out on a compelling story about greed, survival, and the depths to which people will sink to achieve both.The action starts immediately with the newspaper articles about the Hungry Man and his strange antics. The palpable sense of foreboding hits the reader full force when the scene moves to the Hungry Man’s point of view, and readers instinctively know that whatever answers await to be uncovered are not going to be good. Tension continues to build through each shift in point of view and each jump in time. The imaginative use of interview transcripts and news articles published after the events on Falstaff Island provide readers with important clues as to the scope of the issue and its origins. They also add to the ongoing horror as readers understand just what faces the boys on the island. Indeed, what the boys must face is the stuff of which the worst nightmares are made.
The Troop is the type of story during which there is no respite from the terror or the suspense. Readers hoping to catch a break during one of the shifts in narrator find themselves sucked into a different type of horror than the recently departed scene. Mr. Cutter draws on man’s ability to do unimaginable harm in the name of “the collective good” to add depth to his old-fashioned monster story and does so with aplomb. In the end, determining who or what exactly is the monster is the question that will haunt readers for days, if not weeks, upon finishing the novel.
The Troop follows a fascinating trend in apocalyptic pandemics wherein the origins are something innocuous that falls prey to the machinations of businesses and/or governments. Mr. Cutter brings together this trend with an acerbic commentary on the greed which drives such genetic manipulations. His brilliant portrayal of fear, the unspeakable actions of the infected, and many gruesomely realistic descriptions create an unforgettable novel that grips and haunts readers.
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LibraryThing member LITERALADDICTION
Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:
*eARC Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
The Troop was a deeply disturbing psychological thriller, pairing the absolute terror of biological weaponry with the deviancy of human nature.
I'm a horror fan, and I
The brilliance of the tale was its storyline simplicity - an older Boy Scout troop on a retreat get stranded on their deserted island when patient 0 from a biological research project escapes from his laboratory confines and ends up on shore. The tight box that it was all confined in allowed Cutter to focus the reader's mind on the true meat of the story - the basest instinct of human nature when faced with something so awful that most everything you've been taught flies out the window, and the psychology behind the choices we would make when forced with such a decision.
Oh yes, in-your-face death and destruction (in horrific fashion) is rampant throughout the tale, and the basis of the evil is enough to give you the willies even without the added element of necrosis, but the more disturbing parts of the story were actually the subtleties that Cutter used, and the seamless and gradual devolution and ultimate breakdown of each of the characters as the epidemic progressed.
So, from a horror junkies perspective, I have to say that I was impressed by Cutter's debut novel. It's been awhile since I read a horror that evoked a truly visceral reaction, weirded me out, and yet kept me utterly enthralled. My only complaint was that it was a bit slow. With everything that I just said above you'd think it was an epic page-turner that was over much too fast. Unfortunately it wasn't. It was timidly paced, but written well enough, and with enough induction of anticipation, that you never think to give up.
I would definitely recommend it for true horror fans who like both the revolting horror and the disturbing psychology of macabre thrillers.
*eARC Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
The Troop was a deeply disturbing psychological thriller, pairing the absolute terror of biological weaponry with the deviancy of human nature.
I'm a horror fan, and I
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didn't love The Ruins, I'll be honest. While The Troop is touted as being similar, it is, only in the sense that something MORE than natural in nature becomes the evil that our characters must face. With that said, where The Ruins let me down, The Troop most certainly did not; it's as frightful, ghastly, disturbing and macabre as I had hoped it would be.The brilliance of the tale was its storyline simplicity - an older Boy Scout troop on a retreat get stranded on their deserted island when patient 0 from a biological research project escapes from his laboratory confines and ends up on shore. The tight box that it was all confined in allowed Cutter to focus the reader's mind on the true meat of the story - the basest instinct of human nature when faced with something so awful that most everything you've been taught flies out the window, and the psychology behind the choices we would make when forced with such a decision.
Oh yes, in-your-face death and destruction (in horrific fashion) is rampant throughout the tale, and the basis of the evil is enough to give you the willies even without the added element of necrosis, but the more disturbing parts of the story were actually the subtleties that Cutter used, and the seamless and gradual devolution and ultimate breakdown of each of the characters as the epidemic progressed.
So, from a horror junkies perspective, I have to say that I was impressed by Cutter's debut novel. It's been awhile since I read a horror that evoked a truly visceral reaction, weirded me out, and yet kept me utterly enthralled. My only complaint was that it was a bit slow. With everything that I just said above you'd think it was an epic page-turner that was over much too fast. Unfortunately it wasn't. It was timidly paced, but written well enough, and with enough induction of anticipation, that you never think to give up.
I would definitely recommend it for true horror fans who like both the revolting horror and the disturbing psychology of macabre thrillers.
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LibraryThing member KerryMarsh
Well what can I say - this book is not for the squeamish! The story line is about a group of boy scouts on a deserted island for a couple of days, doing the Scout thing. Things go really wrong when an unknown man arrives on the island - infected with a hybrid worm that eats you from the inside out.
The characters are very real and all interesting in their own right from the Scout leader who is the towns doctor to each of the boys and those held accountable for the ensuing disaster. Disaster? No horror! The boys are so real, and the story is told from their perspective mostly. Shelley's sociopathic side, Ephraim's insanity, the braggart Kent, Max and Newton the weakest links. You don't know who will survive until the dying moments of the book.
This book is well written, suspense driven, and addictive. You just have to keep reading. I love how the Court Case and the News articles are interwoven through the story, adding depth and intrigue. I felt incredibly sad when reading the final pages telling of the aftermath. I was given an advance copy of this book to provide my honest opinion - I loved it.
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This gore is really heavily descriptive, and will have your skin crawling (or is that the worms beneath your skin???).The characters are very real and all interesting in their own right from the Scout leader who is the towns doctor to each of the boys and those held accountable for the ensuing disaster. Disaster? No horror! The boys are so real, and the story is told from their perspective mostly. Shelley's sociopathic side, Ephraim's insanity, the braggart Kent, Max and Newton the weakest links. You don't know who will survive until the dying moments of the book.
This book is well written, suspense driven, and addictive. You just have to keep reading. I love how the Court Case and the News articles are interwoven through the story, adding depth and intrigue. I felt incredibly sad when reading the final pages telling of the aftermath. I was given an advance copy of this book to provide my honest opinion - I loved it.
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LibraryThing member TheGrandWorldofBooks
I think if you like Stephen King's books, you will like The Troop. This book has some very dark threads running through it that are very reminiscent of Stephen King and the way he writes. Not to mention the thrills and chills factor to the book. Very creepy at times, but also I couldn't stop
I can speak from personal experience when I recommend not reading this book while eating, though. It will make you lose your appetite for just about anything!
I am really big on characters being believable, and in this book, Mr. Cutter perfectly captured a group of 15-year-old boys. That awkward age between young and trying to be grown up. And he have them each such varied and distinct personalities. One I despised, and the others I liked more, to varying degrees. The ones I liked, I cheered for the whole time, of course.
The story itself also came across as believable, though freaky. But not so freaky that I wouldn't believe it's not possible for real, either. Books like this always make me wonder what is really going on out there in the world of science that we don't have a clue about.
I definitely think this is an author to watch! This is quite a book, and it definitely lived up to my expectations, which were high for this one.
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I am never compensated for my reviews.
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turning the pages!I can speak from personal experience when I recommend not reading this book while eating, though. It will make you lose your appetite for just about anything!
I am really big on characters being believable, and in this book, Mr. Cutter perfectly captured a group of 15-year-old boys. That awkward age between young and trying to be grown up. And he have them each such varied and distinct personalities. One I despised, and the others I liked more, to varying degrees. The ones I liked, I cheered for the whole time, of course.
The story itself also came across as believable, though freaky. But not so freaky that I wouldn't believe it's not possible for real, either. Books like this always make me wonder what is really going on out there in the world of science that we don't have a clue about.
I definitely think this is an author to watch! This is quite a book, and it definitely lived up to my expectations, which were high for this one.
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I am never compensated for my reviews.
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LibraryThing member Lschwarzman
I don't usually read the horror genre, and now I remember why. This book is just creepy! But it was awesome at the same time. I found myself reading late into the night because I couldn't put it down in spite of myself. It's the story of a scout troop that goes on their annual camping trip only to
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be attacked by a worm. Sounds crazy, but this was no ordinary worm! It was a genetically engineered species of tapeworm that ate it's victims from the inside out. That's all the plot I will share. If you are fans of horror, this is the book for you! Show Less
LibraryThing member LelandGaunt
THE TROOP by Nick Cutter
As someone who has not only been a huge lover of the horror genre since my early teens I have read my share of not only what I consider to be ‘the greats’ but also so many floundering novels that go absolutely nowhere. It amazed me that an author will take any subject
My top 5 favorite horror novels of all time, in my opinion are
CARRION COMFORT by Dan Simmons
SUMMER OF NIGHT by Dan Simmons
IT by Stephen King
THE RISING by Brian Keene
And SURVIVOR aka MOTHER’S MILK by J. F. Gonzales.
Finally, I can add another nasty little piece of horror fiction to the fray.
THE TROOP by Nick Cutter which is a pseudonym for a bestselling author of novels and short stories, according to the back flap of the book cover.
There are very few dark roads or avenues not already taken by other authors in the genre but Mr. Cutter found a detour right to that place at the base of your spine. That chill. That moment when you gasp at a scene you just witnessed play out in your head by words of sheer talent.
Scoutmaster Tim Riggs who is the local town doctor volunteers to lead a troop of boys, five in all on a camping trip to an island off the coast of Canada. On their first night there a man so thin ‘one could almost see through him’ stumbles into their campsite and onto the cabin they all share. Being man swore to heal the sick, Tim attends to care for this man. He is ravenous and begins to not only eat the furniture but also any insect or bug that he comes into contact with.
Imagine this man as a weak domino and what effect he will have on this weekend which quickly turns into an event of pure survival. Mr. Cutter takes the best of intentions not only by the doctor but also a few of the boys and creates such scenes of horror and mayhem, as sick as it is, I was in awe!!!!
At the center of this novel lies science gone badly awry. There is such a nasty but highly entertaining premise behind what caused this domino effect and how it might actually happen one day if science has its way.
Think, in many ways, Sam Raimi’s EVIL DEAD, 1930’s rendition of THE THING and Stephen King’s IT. Maybe with a splash of LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding and the schockly film from the early 70’s CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS all rolled into one fine, scary read.
In the acknowledgements Mr. Cutter pays homage to Mr. King and states that he doesn’t believe Mr. King will ever read his book. READ THIS Mr. King!
Jim Munchel
As someone who has not only been a huge lover of the horror genre since my early teens I have read my share of not only what I consider to be ‘the greats’ but also so many floundering novels that go absolutely nowhere. It amazed me that an author will take any subject
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and create a flimsy horror novel around it. My top 5 favorite horror novels of all time, in my opinion are
CARRION COMFORT by Dan Simmons
SUMMER OF NIGHT by Dan Simmons
IT by Stephen King
THE RISING by Brian Keene
And SURVIVOR aka MOTHER’S MILK by J. F. Gonzales.
Finally, I can add another nasty little piece of horror fiction to the fray.
THE TROOP by Nick Cutter which is a pseudonym for a bestselling author of novels and short stories, according to the back flap of the book cover.
There are very few dark roads or avenues not already taken by other authors in the genre but Mr. Cutter found a detour right to that place at the base of your spine. That chill. That moment when you gasp at a scene you just witnessed play out in your head by words of sheer talent.
Scoutmaster Tim Riggs who is the local town doctor volunteers to lead a troop of boys, five in all on a camping trip to an island off the coast of Canada. On their first night there a man so thin ‘one could almost see through him’ stumbles into their campsite and onto the cabin they all share. Being man swore to heal the sick, Tim attends to care for this man. He is ravenous and begins to not only eat the furniture but also any insect or bug that he comes into contact with.
Imagine this man as a weak domino and what effect he will have on this weekend which quickly turns into an event of pure survival. Mr. Cutter takes the best of intentions not only by the doctor but also a few of the boys and creates such scenes of horror and mayhem, as sick as it is, I was in awe!!!!
At the center of this novel lies science gone badly awry. There is such a nasty but highly entertaining premise behind what caused this domino effect and how it might actually happen one day if science has its way.
Think, in many ways, Sam Raimi’s EVIL DEAD, 1930’s rendition of THE THING and Stephen King’s IT. Maybe with a splash of LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding and the schockly film from the early 70’s CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS all rolled into one fine, scary read.
In the acknowledgements Mr. Cutter pays homage to Mr. King and states that he doesn’t believe Mr. King will ever read his book. READ THIS Mr. King!
Jim Munchel
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LibraryThing member nfmgirl2
Simple premise. A boy scout troop on an isolated island off Prince Edward Island. A contagion spreads rampant across the island.
I'd initially wondered whether this was going to turn out to be a story for pre-teens. Uh, no. While it was mainly about kids, it was vulgar and violent at times, and
My final word: Creepy and gross with a Dean Koontz-esque kind of feel, I really enjoyed this story. It's a quick read, fun and will make your skin crawl! It's rare that you find a horror novel that not only has a good plot, but is so well executed and written.
I'd initially wondered whether this was going to turn out to be a story for pre-teens. Uh, no. While it was mainly about kids, it was vulgar and violent at times, and
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definitely not geared toward kids.My final word: Creepy and gross with a Dean Koontz-esque kind of feel, I really enjoyed this story. It's a quick read, fun and will make your skin crawl! It's rare that you find a horror novel that not only has a good plot, but is so well executed and written.
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LibraryThing member trigstarom
Received as an ARC from Simon & Schuster for an unbiased review via NetGalley 08/06/2013.
The Troop is not made for the faint of heart. Cutter skilfully develops a plot which not only creates emotional connections with Max, Ephraim, Shelley, Kent and Newton, but also describes with disturbing
The story begins by introducing you to Tim, the scoutmaster and the boys’ reason for visiting Flagstaff Island, PEI. Scout Troop 52 is your typical fun loving, boyishly aggressive group that’s perhaps on their last summer outing before the summers on Flagstaff Island are memories far in the past. Tim is a forty-something single man, who the locals think is gay but a proficient doctor. It is he who arranges the yearly trips like clockwork, and teaches the boys about wilderness survival. Each year is very much the same, until this year when a man stumbles into their camp, and hell breaks loose (literally?).
Although fantastically written, well researched and extremely scary, it’s unsettling how candid the author can be about subjects that are perhaps socially unaccepted homicidal tendencies. I had a hard time putting this one down, but also had to leave the lights on when I went to bed. Unlike most books we see today in any theme, Cutter lives up to his name by cutting out all the unnecessary details and developing a story that is both frightening, heart breaking and revolting. The story had some very touchy subjects, as well as shockingly well described animal abuse, homicidal behaviours and unsavoury decision making on the part of both a major character and some minor characters.
The Troop is not made for the faint of heart. Cutter skilfully develops a plot which not only creates emotional connections with Max, Ephraim, Shelley, Kent and Newton, but also describes with disturbing
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realism the gore, bloodletting and violence each boy experiences. I would not suggest this in any way to younger readers, and most certainly not to anyone who dislikes books centered around genetically modified parasites developed to be both aggressive and massive.The story begins by introducing you to Tim, the scoutmaster and the boys’ reason for visiting Flagstaff Island, PEI. Scout Troop 52 is your typical fun loving, boyishly aggressive group that’s perhaps on their last summer outing before the summers on Flagstaff Island are memories far in the past. Tim is a forty-something single man, who the locals think is gay but a proficient doctor. It is he who arranges the yearly trips like clockwork, and teaches the boys about wilderness survival. Each year is very much the same, until this year when a man stumbles into their camp, and hell breaks loose (literally?).
Although fantastically written, well researched and extremely scary, it’s unsettling how candid the author can be about subjects that are perhaps socially unaccepted homicidal tendencies. I had a hard time putting this one down, but also had to leave the lights on when I went to bed. Unlike most books we see today in any theme, Cutter lives up to his name by cutting out all the unnecessary details and developing a story that is both frightening, heart breaking and revolting. The story had some very touchy subjects, as well as shockingly well described animal abuse, homicidal behaviours and unsavoury decision making on the part of both a major character and some minor characters.
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LibraryThing member Edward.Lorn
We're talking a very, very high four-star read here. What keeps it from being a 4.5 or 5 is the simple fact that I will never, ever, everevereverever read this fucking book again. I like being scared, love the thrill of it. I even love being disturbed, but this one tested all my boundaries. Naw,
What makes this book so disturbing isn't only the subject matter but the people who suffer through said subject matter. Through various flashbacks and interactions with the boys during their fight to survive an unspeakable horror, we're given plenty of reasons to either love or hate each of them. So, when the bad shit starts going down, we're invested in the characters.
I truly connected with Newton, the chubby nerd of the group, and the chapter wherein he reflects on creating a fake Facebook account to garner friends broke my heart. To compound matters, there's a Facebook message within the final pages of the book that pretty much sums up the tragedy of that boy's fate.
In summation: This is one of the best horror novels I've read since NOS4A2, yet not quite as good as James Newman's ANIMOSITY. That's not totally fair though, as THE TROOP is a far different type of horror novel than the two I just mentioned. I'd give it a five, but I reserve that for books I believe I can read over and over, and I'm not putting myself through this again. Highly recommended for fans of gross out horror with amazing characters you can become emotionally connected to. Keep in mind though, this is a tragedy. A dark and unsettling tragedy.
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that's not good enough. It nuked my boundaries. Blew the doors right off my threshold for nasty, and then proceeded to fornication with my emotions. What makes this book so disturbing isn't only the subject matter but the people who suffer through said subject matter. Through various flashbacks and interactions with the boys during their fight to survive an unspeakable horror, we're given plenty of reasons to either love or hate each of them. So, when the bad shit starts going down, we're invested in the characters.
I truly connected with Newton, the chubby nerd of the group, and the chapter wherein he reflects on creating a fake Facebook account to garner friends broke my heart. To compound matters, there's a Facebook message within the final pages of the book that pretty much sums up the tragedy of that boy's fate.
In summation: This is one of the best horror novels I've read since NOS4A2, yet not quite as good as James Newman's ANIMOSITY. That's not totally fair though, as THE TROOP is a far different type of horror novel than the two I just mentioned. I'd give it a five, but I reserve that for books I believe I can read over and over, and I'm not putting myself through this again. Highly recommended for fans of gross out horror with amazing characters you can become emotionally connected to. Keep in mind though, this is a tragedy. A dark and unsettling tragedy.
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LibraryThing member grigoro
Read this book after seeing blurb by Stephen King. Its a cross between Lord of the Flies and Walking Dead. Reason I only give it two stars is the pair of descriptions of animal torture which I refused to read. Had to skip ahead. That disturbed me WAY more than the descriptions of what happened to
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the humans. Nick Cutter, please don't in include animal torture in future books. It leaves me with a very negative feeling for the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member MaggieFlo
This story is stomach turning but really hard to put down. It involves a group of five 14 year old Scouts with their Troop Master, who are dropped off on an island offshore Prince Edward Island. It is October and they are there for a weekend of hiking and honing their survival skills under Tim
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Riggs, who also happens to be the town's family doctor. The five boys range from the nerdy Newton to the jock Kent, best friends, Ephraim and Max and the solitary, creepy Shelley. Very early into the story the "hungry man" shows up in a boat and the fun begins. There are some passages that I could not read because they were skin crawling, but overall this is a very compelling story. I especially liked the technique of interspersing the story with news accounts or post investigation transcripts. Highly recommended. Nick Cutter is a pseudonym for Craig Davidson. Show Less
Awards
Sunburst Award (Shortlist — Adult — 2015)
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — Horror — 2015)
Quill and Quire Book of the Year (Fiction — 2014)
CBC Bookie Awards (Nominee — 2015)
White Pine Award (Nominee — 2016)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2014-02-25
Physical description
528 p.; 4.13 inches
ISBN
1476717729 / 9781476717722