The Troop by Nick Cutter

The Troop 

By Nick cutter 

Rating : 3.5/5 

Genres : Horror, suspense, 2021-read, virus, worms, epidemic, self immolation, investigation.

So, its more creepy and filled with literally creeping things- worms - than horror. I guess the plot could have been written better- making it more raw and intense.  At no point during the read did I feel really worried for the boys even though I guessed right of the bat that none of them are going to escape. And the unnecessary animal cruelty and violence felt like an attempt made by the author to make it more horrid but I only felt empty queasiness and skipped parts of the plot where its there. 

Its a hard book to finish in one go. I had to take breaks in between and tried to get away from the horror but I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I tried to sleep it off but my dreams are filled with images of crawling multitude of worms. Its an understatement in the least to say this is a disturbing book. 

Getting into the story a bit. A scoutmaster Tim Riggs with five boys go on an annual trip to Falstaff Island. A thin and cadaverous looking man comes seeking help and food but Tim being a doctor could tell something is off with the man. He admits him into the cabin and provides food and shelter. The man's hunger is relentless and is only quelled for short periods of time. He eats enormous quantities which his stomach cannot hold. Tim, with a boy scout Max, understands that the man is not well and performs an incision across the man's stomach. From it a horde of worms - white, small,wriggly and glue - come out. Soon the other boys learn that this is a contagious virus type situation and the worms could spread through air, contact or water. Tim becomes infected and the boys ruthlessly leave him locked in a closet without food. The others also fall prey to the worms and are abandoned one by one. One of the boys cuts himself open and self immolates in fear and desire to expunge the worms from him body. Two boys make a escape but are captured and one of them who is infected is shot by the military. The other though makes it out to the world tries to return and gets infected at the end. 

So what are these worms? A research scientist- who might be working for a hostile country - develops a pill that makes for a perfect killer. It sets up these worms in the host's body which multiply uncontrollably and create constant hunger. They are contagious and the host eventually dies unable to feed the parasites. The writer leaves it to the imagination if this catastrophe is completely controlled with the detoxification of the island or finds a means to spread..