The Troop
This horror novel borrows from Stephen King’s ‘It’, ‘Carrie’ and ‘The Stand’ as well as Mira Grant’s ‘Parasite’. In a remote part of Canada, the scouts of Troop 52 are camping out on Falstaff Island. A terribly ill, emaciated man with an avaricious hunger stumbles into their campsite. It is the start of a horrifying ordeal as the scouts try to survive the horror unleashed upon them. It’s board-up-the-windows time. This was a good, deeply disturbing tale as the scouts unravel in ‘Lord of the Flies’ fashion. Cue very angry, fatalistic machismo as the scouts deal with daunting, seemingly insurmountable odds.
Best Lines:
“If I’d had an inkling of what was to come I’d have burned that lab to cinders.”
“No doctor on earth had a cure.”
“I’d say that is somewhat of an understatement.”
“Setting ethics and humanity aside, of course?”
~
The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist
Veronika, Isobel, Caroline and Eleanor live on an island with their teachers. They live a mysterious, strange life then one day a shipwrecked girl is washed up on the island. It becomes clear that the island life is unnatural and something dark is going on. This was a deeply weird, completely irrational and illogical tale.
Best Lines:
“Robert went for a walk.”
“Who goes for a walk with a toolbox? He went to the aerial!”
“What can be on fire in a storm?”
“What kind of people? What did they swear to?”
~
Iron Night by M.L. Brennan
The sequel to ‘Generation V’ sees Fort Scott more vampire than he was before. This means his duties to his psychotic family have increased. His friend Matt is increasingly suspicious of him and a murder uncovers ugly secrets. This was very good and creepy. I look forward to book 3.
Best Lines:
“Made me look like I made a living Dumpster diving for recyclable bottles.”
“Chivalry completely lost it and threw a seventy-pound kettlebell through the screen halfway through the Justin Bieber movie.”
“For a man who killed all of his wives, it was always stunning how very much Chivalry loved them.”
“She’s got glamour caked on like a transvestite’s make up job, and she’s still barely passing for human.”
“An Ithaca 37 pump-action shotgun that I’d sawed down according to the instructions I’d found on a rather disturbing Web site.”
“This place looks like an invitation for hepatitis.”
~
Split Heirs by Lawrence Watt-Evans & Esther M. Friesner
This 1994 high fantasy parody is stupid, ignorant and full of ‘Blackadder’ rip-offs. I have utter contempt for this mess, treat is like it was a disease and shun it.
Best Lines:
“If a thought ever managed to crawl into his skull it would die of loneliness and despair.”
“It’s the best news I ever heard in my entire life!”
“Your father’s dead?”