#Spooktober-‘The Troop’ by Nick Cutter

About the book….

Winner of the inaugural James Herbert Award, The Troop is a novel that will not fail to get under your skin…

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 Falstaff Island is as close as they’ll get to a proper holiday.

Which was when he saw it.

But when an emaciated figure stumbles into their camp asking 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 troop face a terror 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.

‘The Troop’ was published in 2014 by Headline, and is currently tapping it’s little feet, waiting to be turned into a box office behemoth. It’s a full on , gory, boy horror of a novel told in two narrative streams-one is what happened on the island, the other is the aftermath told in epistolary format, through newspapers, psychiatric reports and court documents.

I am not sure why it has taken me so long to read this book, which centers on a group of scouts who swiftly find themselves havign to grow up and take charge after a mysterious stranger lands in their encampment. As the adults fall foul to a monster which devours them from the inside out,they have harsh and mature decisions to make in this twisted take on a creature feature story.

It’s a tale of science gone wrong a la ‘Frankenstein’,-the whole notion of ‘just because we can , doesn’t mean we should’ takes on a whole new meaning in the way that a government created parasite is accidentally set loose.

Stomach churning (no pun intended) scenes pepper the story of these boys who are the last bastion between them and us. You are hereby warned not to read this if you are faint of heart or queasy of stomach. The themes of being consumed could be seen as metaphorical, as well as literal body horror as the old seek to con sume the strength and flesh of the young, whilst the boys , rushing to grow up are thrust into a situation they are not emotionally euqipped to deal with.

This is borne out in the psychiatric reports as well as the hysterical media headlines which in a panic driven state seek not only to make money from a scandalous trip gone wrong, but also trying to make some kind of sense of the survivors tales.

Is the fate of the world left in the hands of 14 year old boys?

In this case I would absolutely award them the following badges-

Dismemberment
Butchery
Leadership Skills
Apocalypse Survival
Anatomy and Physiology

It’s a great companion piece to novels like ‘The Rats’, and is a proper ‘old school’ horror of the kind that was produced in the early 80’s. Be warned, and take a Swiss Army knife with you as well as at least one flare if you fancy an outward bound trip with these lads and remember, every good scout is ‘always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty’.

About the author…

I’ve been asked to set this up by The Powers That Be, and I’m more than happy to, although I can’t really say much about myself seeing as Nick Cutter doesn’t exactly exist—he’s a pen name. A cool, tough pen name! Your mileage will vary on whether you agree, but that was the thinking. Horror writers should have crisp, punchy names. Stephen King. Clive Barker. Nick Cutter. Not that I’m putting myself in their league, no way no how, but I’m just saying that was the idea behind the name.

Personally, I wanted to be known as Lemondrop Pennyfeather, but that suggested nom de plume was cruelly stricken down.

Aaaanywhoo, I’ve written this book, The Troop. Do you like horror books? Do you like Boy Scouts (not in a weird, Canteen-Boyish way, but in a nostalgic way)? Do you like seeing said Boy Scouts confront a vicious enemy on an isolated Island off the coast of Prince Edward Island? If you said yes to one or more of these questions, you may enjoy this book.

Links-http://www.thetroopbook.com/