The Troop - Shallow Archetypes, Reduced Horror
The Troop is a 2014 horror novel by Nick Cutter. Often compared to Stephen King and even lauded by King himself, I was curious to tackle this book. I had previously devoured Cutter's "Little Heaven" which I loved. You can view my extremely timely thoughts on Little Heaven and Fatherhood here shortly.
Characters drive the story. They are the story. Understanding the human dynamic is often why we, as readers, journey into an author's world. Plot devices and archetypes may hold true and necessary but it is the characters themselves that carry us along as silent passengers. Cutter is often compared to Stephen King a man who knows how to write characters. With The Troop though it was difficult to see these similarities others have touted. We're confronted with a good brisk horrifying concept. Lord of the Flies but make it body horror. Fantastic for a horror novel. Straight to the disgusting shut your eyes point.
Let's take a quick walk away from this thought for a moment. We're going to zoom into a drive-in theater. Hot July weather still a whisper of that cloying humidity even after sunset. Long rows of cars lined up in a drunken fashion. Lights punching off of the car windshields as the projector flashes snippets of a bloodied woman stumbling through the woods. Light interspersed with a scream splashes across the grassy lot. A spattering of fogged up cars can be seen quickly followed by the darkening of the projector. Is this fun? To me it sounds like fun but it's different than the book horror I like. It's fun and we know or care little for the death of that woman likely as the body count grows on screen. It's fast and carefree and exciting. A horror roller coaster. I was looking for a horror wake. That's what King provides and perhaps it's an unkind comparison that Cutter possibly never intended despite the commonalities, or attempts, at similar writing styles.
So we're left with an island, four boys, a scoutmaster, and the start of a very bad time. The Troop is a book over a decade old so I don't feel horrible ruining some of the surprises but hold back now lest ye wish to peer behind the mask. One would think that the navigation of adolescence is horrific enough but perhaps Cutter wishes to spare his readers the jagged little pills of pain that would be possible if taken from reality and inserted into The Troop. Instead we get a cast akin to that of the slasher film example above. The boys are sparsely filled out like a rushed character sheet and we're right into the action. The action is quick and the horror pulpy and revolting yet it's hard to care about the loss and story of these boys. Wooden little figures that are tracked on the plot with the inevitable sadness of knowing they're walking towards doom and death. There are redeeming qualities of the book that make it a recommendation albeit cautiously. It is always the most disappointing when looking at the sculptor and thinking you see what the stone could have been.
Mini Essay's are quick writings that help me to tackle themes on books I've read. I read a lot and wish to be less passive in my reading journey. As these grow I hope to link commonality of themes for larger long form writings.