The Troop

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About The Troop

Product Description WINNER OF THE JAMES HERBERT AWARD FOR HORROR WRITING “The Troop scared the hell out of me, and I couldn’t put it down. This is old-school horror at its best.” —Stephen KingOnce 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. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’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. 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. Review "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." (Stephen King)"Lean and crisp and over-the-top....Disquieting, disturbing." (Scott Smith, author of The Ruins and A Simple Plan)"Nick Cutter brings a bone-chilling spin to a classic horror scenario in The Troop. It's Lord of the Flies meets Night of the Creeps, and I enjoyed it immensely." (Mira Grant, New York Times bestselling author)"A grim microcosm of terror and desperation…haunting." (Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author)"Nick Cutter pulls out all the stops in The Troop. This is a brilliant and deeply disturbing novel that you absolutely cannot put down. Highly recommended." (Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Code Zero and Dead of Night)"Brilliant, and dialed to eleven on the creepy meter – an absolute blast." (Robert Pobi, author of Eye of the Storm)"Some thrillers produce shivers, others trigger goose bumps; Cutter's graphic offering will have readers jumping out of their skin…intense…packs a powerful punch….Readers may wish to tackle this heart-pounding novel in highly-populated, well-lit areas—snacks  optional." (Kirkus Reviews)"Suspenseful….sinister….horrifying." (Library Journal) About the Author Nick Cutter is a pseudonym for an acclaimed author of novels and short stories. He lives in Toronto, Canada. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The Troop 1EAT EAT EAT EAT The boat skipped over the waves, the drone of its motor trailing across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The moon was a bone fishhook in the clear October sky. The man was wet from the spray that kicked over the gunwale. The outline of his body was visible under his drenched clothes. He easily could have been mistaken for a scarecrow left carelessly unattended in a farmer’s field, stuffing torn out by scavenging animals. He’d stolen the boat from a dock at North Point, at the farthest tip of Prince Edward Island, reaching the dock in a truck he’d hotwired in a diner parking lot. Christ, he was hungry. He’d eaten so much at that roadside diner that he’d ruptured his stomach lining—the contents of his guts were right now leaking thr