The Troop

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

RichardX

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2006
1,737
4,434
King has provided a rousing endorsement for this upcoming book (Feb. 25) by "Neil Cutter." I hestitate to mention it only because it sounds like one of those written for the movies books. Hopefully I'm wrong on that, though, and it is as good as King suggests.

Stephen King: "THE TROOP scared the hell out of me, and I couldn't put it down. This is old-school horror at its best. Not for the faint-hearted, but for the rest of us sick puppies, it's a perfect gift for a winter night."


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 bonfre. The boys are a tight-knit crew. Tere’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there—which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier. But for some reason, he can’t shake the feeling that something strange is in the air this year. Something waiting in the darkness. Something wicked . . .

It comes to them in the night. An unexpected intruder, stumbling upon their campsite like a wild animal. He is shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry—a man in unspeakable torment who exposes Tim and the boys to something far more frightening than any ghost story. Within his body is a bioengineered nightmare, a horror that spreads faster than fear. One by one, the boys will do things no person could ever imagine.

And so it begins. An agonizing weekend in the wilderness. A harrowing struggle for survival. No possible escape from the elements, the infected . . . or one another.
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
Sounds like something Jack Ketchum would write.
-ish, yeah. This is his third name (not sure which ones are his pseudonyms), so he must be a pretty productive writer. I've not read any of his, but the film adaptation of his book RUST & BONE (under one of this other names) was gut wrenching. Not stomach turning (lol), but there was one part that caught me so off guard that it surprised me into loud, ugly-crying. The kind where the noises you make are horrifying even to you :p
 

addieprey

Well-Known Member
I was given an ARC of this book a few months ago. Once I started reading it I pretty much kept going for the whole day until I finished it. I suppose that means I liked it, and I did. I didn't know SK has praised it, but can see why he has.

In the acknowledgements section the author thanks SK ("who's not read this book and likely never will") and says Carrie was a big inspiration to him while writing The Troop.

As far as the authors name Nick Cutter goes, the back jacket does say it is a pseudonym for an acclaimed author of novels and short stories who lives in Toronto. The copyright is in the name of Craig Davidson (who is Canadian) and has written under the pseudonym Patrick Lestewka (according to Wikipedia, for what that's worth) so that wasn't kept too secret. But it is confusing. Maybe on purpose?
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
I was given an ARC of this book a few months ago. Once I started reading it I pretty much kept going for the whole day until I finished it. I suppose that means I liked it, and I did. I didn't know SK has praised it, but can see why he has.

In the acknowledgements section the author thanks SK ("who's not read this book and likely never will") and says Carrie was a big inspiration to him while writing The Troop.

As far as the authors name Nick Cutter goes, the back jacket does say it is a pseudonym for an acclaimed author of novels and short stories who lives in Toronto. The copyright is in the name of Craig Davidson (who is Canadian) and has written under the pseudonym Patrick Lestewka (according to Wikipedia, for what that's worth) so that wasn't kept too secret. But it is confusing. Maybe on purpose?

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that it was supposed to be a big secret--I just wasn't sure which one came first :)

I'll be watching for it, too :)
 

MadamMack

M e m b e r
Apr 11, 2006
17,958
45,138
UnParked, UnParked U.S.A.
-ish, yeah. This is his third name (not sure which ones are his pseudonyms), so he must be a pretty productive writer. I've not read any of his, but the film adaptation of his book RUST & BONE (under one of this other names) was gut wrenching. Not stomach turning (lol), but there was one part that caught me so off guard that it surprised me into loud, ugly-crying. The kind where the noises you make are horrifying even to you :p

I know those sounds.
 

MadamMack

M e m b e r
Apr 11, 2006
17,958
45,138
UnParked, UnParked U.S.A.
I was given an ARC of this book a few months ago. Once I started reading it I pretty much kept going for the whole day until I finished it. I suppose that means I liked it, and I did. I didn't know SK has praised it, but can see why he has.

In the acknowledgements section the author thanks SK ("who's not read this book and likely never will") and says Carrie was a big inspiration to him while writing The Troop.

As far as the authors name Nick Cutter goes, the back jacket does say it is a pseudonym for an acclaimed author of novels and short stories who lives in Toronto. The copyright is in the name of Craig Davidson (who is Canadian) and has written under the pseudonym Patrick Lestewka (according to Wikipedia, for what that's worth) so that wasn't kept too secret. But it is confusing. Maybe on purpose?


Maybe he's Richard Bachman . . .or Richard X
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
King has provided a rousing endorsement for this upcoming book (Feb. 25) by "Neil Cutter." I hestitate to mention it only because it sounds like one of those written for the movies books. Hopefully I'm wrong on that, though, and it is as good as King suggests.

Stephen King: "THE TROOP scared the hell out of me, and I couldn't put it down. This is old-school horror at its best. Not for the faint-hearted, but for the rest of us sick puppies, it's a perfect gift for a winter night."


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 bonfre. The boys are a tight-knit crew. Tere’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there—which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier. But for some reason, he can’t shake the feeling that something strange is in the air this year. Something waiting in the darkness. Something wicked . . .

It comes to them in the night. An unexpected intruder, stumbling upon their campsite like a wild animal. He is shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry—a man in unspeakable torment who exposes Tim and the boys to something far more frightening than any ghost story. Within his body is a bioengineered nightmare, a horror that spreads faster than fear. One by one, the boys will do things no person could ever imagine.

And so it begins. An agonizing weekend in the wilderness. A harrowing struggle for survival. No possible escape from the elements, the infected . . . or one another.
Wow
 

RichardX

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2006
1,737
4,434
I finished this one this week. It's not great and not horrible. Basically Lord of the Flies meets Dr. Mengele. The author has some fun laying on the gore.