Absolutely adore this author and will read anything they have written or will write. The Troop is still favorite. Will purchase for libraries.

The New York Times Review nailed it a few weeks ago when they said The Queen by Nick Cutter was one of the best horror books of the year. I have to say it was totally gross and over the top more so than any other horror writer I have read. Be ready for that as you read this. There are so many pictures in my head from this book.....human eating ants (blech!) and incredibly descriptive...A teenage girl who becomes a huge insect (yes!) and Wasps...lots of Wasps. With that said it is really fun to read...just know it's gross!

The Queen rocked my world. Maybe not *the best* book to read when you’re nauseous as hell, because this book is artfully gory. BUT. It was amazing. Even though my stomach was doing flips the entire time lol. I have never read such deceptive gore scenes in my life and it was gnarly.

This was my first experience with Nick Cutter, and wow, his writing is crisp. He nailed what it feels like to be in a teenage girlship- which is weird, because he’s a guy. But it brought me back to my own years with my girlfriends. The bond, the loyalty, the deep and unconditional love. It was cool to experience in a horror book.

That said, I hope I’m brave enough to read the rest of his works lol.

I am such a fan of Nick Cutter’s work. This one was probably my favorite due to the amount of body horror and imagery. Good lord it was so gross in the best way possible!

As a fan of Cutter's previous work, I knew exactly what I was getting into and it works just as well as his previous shocking body horror novels. The character building was great and the body-horror was as meticulously written as always. What I most appreciated here were the characters created and most of all the very unique take on this specific sub-genre with very clever use of aspects of insect biology which I do not want to spoil here.

Classic creature feature vibes in this one. If you love Cutter you will definitely love his newest book.

This was a strange one, and maybe a case of just not for me? At first I was really loving the graphic horror and weird mystery of the story. But the further I got into it, the more I just really didn't like the characters' tone/voice. Everything felt a little too obvious from the start and I just wasn't invested or engaged enough. I ended up DNFing around 60%.

Ooo Nick Cutter, you gross me out so bad and I love it. I’ve always hated real life bees and let’s just say now…I’m gonna freak out more 😂 This one definitely got more sci-fi-y (is that a word?) than his others but I was here for it. Our scientist POV also made me very wary of ants…so that’s cool Nick 🫠 This is definitely not for the faint of heart because it’s gets very gory, but I loved seeing all the storylines come together for a wild ending. Check this one out if you aren’t squeamish around creepy crawlies

Nick Cutter is horror genre royalty. His stories are always unique....not sure what that says about his imagination....and always leave you with goosebumps and nightmares.

As with any Cutter book, don't read this if you can not read body horror. If you have triggers regarding animals, it's better to just stay away from any Cutter books, though I feel this one isn't as bad as others.

Are there moments where the voice of a teenage girl seems awkward coming from a late 40s male author? Yes, it does, and it would be silly to pretend it doesn't. However, I could forgive it because the story was just addictive. I also am a Cutter fan, so may have a bias.

Unlike his other books, this one is firmly based around teen female friendships, and how they can evolve and devolve. Sometimes in ugly monstrous ways. The way he formed the ending to the story had me a bit uneasy on if it would work, but having finished it, I don't know if there could have been a different way to go about it as it fit so right to when it was set in modern(ish) day.

That last line....

I wanted to like this one, but sadly it just wasn't for me. It's me not you book :(

Thank you for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

THE QUEEN by Nick Cutter

I gave this one two chances. I received the ARC a couple months ago, started reading it then set it aside. I figured maybe the audiobook would be better. While I did manage to finish reading it, the story just wasn’t my vibe.

The dialogue was cringey. The characters were underdeveloped. The timeline was all over the place. The insect scenes seemed to be there for shock value rather than adding to or advancing the plot…

In short, this wasn’t for me, but don’t let my review deter you. If you’re into SciFi, body, bug/insect gore and horror there is a lot of it in this book.


Rating: 2.5/5 ⭐️

This one just wasn't for me. I am sure that some readers will like it, but I couldn't even get into it. The characters didn't grab my attention, and I typically have a hard time connecting to books without a character that I love. The plot was fine, but it didn't blow me away. I don't know - this one just didn't grab me like I hoped it would.

Plum and Cherry have been best friends ever since growing up in the same Canadian trailer park together, even giving each other nicknames after the streets they lived on. But then Cherr’s dad hit the patent jackpot and moved her family away to a wealthier part of Port Dalhousie. Perhaps more fatally for the girls’ friendship, high school drama ensued. After one bizarre night at an outdoor party, Plum disappeared, leaving only the tatters of her reputation behind her.

After months pass with no sign of Plum, even Cherr has to concede that her best friend is probably dead. Cherr has been quietly grieving, locking herself in her bedroom and isolating herself from pretty much everyone except her parents, when an unexpected package lands on her doorstep. It contains a phone, allegedly from Plum, who has very definite ideas as to what Cherr needs to do next in order to find her.

Cherr is conflicted, even before she begins following the strange trail of clues Plum has constructed. Her unease only grows as she unravels the truth behind Plum’s disturbing fate, finally admitting to herself:

QUOTE
I wish that she’d stayed gone. I didn’t want her to be hurt or tortured, to feel any pain at all. More that she’d just evaporate painlessly and stay away for good this time. I couldn’t fix what I’d done to her. What we all had done. The past was inflexible that way. It stubbornly resisted alteration. But if she wasn’t around then at least I could begin the hard work of recontextualizing our past, erasing the worst bits, reframing things in an effort to remember them how I needed to, and forgive myself just a little. I could go back to accepting that Plum really was gone (and I already had in the most honest chambers of my heart), and oh god what a piece of shit I am, what a bad friend, a bad person, a fucking ghoul–
END QUOTE

Over the course of a single nightmarish day, Cherr must grapple not only with her warring feelings but also with the horrors that Plum is leading her through. For Plum has become something different, something terrifying, something that transcends their town. Is she intent now on revenge for what Cherr did to her before she disappeared? Or is their bond truly as strong and unyielding as the girls had once believed?

Just as hot on Plum’s trail is a mysterious billionaire with his own agenda. Rudyard Crate suffered an unimaginable tragedy as a child, one that marked him both physically and mentally, and drove him to unthinkable acts. To his credit, he’s not completely lacking in self-awareness:

QUOTE
In that crushing moment so long ago, Rudyard Crate had discovered his life’s purpose.

He was intelligent enough to realize it was wrong. Also clear-sighted enough to see that his experience had left him with significant mental instability. Hell, he may even be full-on demented! But who gave a ripe shit? Of every benefit conferred by obscene wealth, the best was that people treated you as they would a toddler waddling around with a load of shit in his diaper: everyone smiled pleasantly and plugged their noses, so long as the check cleared.
END QUOTE

As Cherr and Rudyard’s paths converge, the lines between hunter and prey will blur, with Plum reeling them in alongside everyone else who has ever wronged her. As allegiances shift, who will survive the nightmare lurking inside their quiet Canadian town, and who will be utterly consumed?

This was a deeply creepy and disturbingly, but never gratuitously, graphic look at science and industry gone mad, and the traumas that orbit these events. Plum is a tragic figure, a manufactured villain who finds agency in power, even as it leaves her deeply isolated. Cherr is your more traditional heroine, fighting tooth and nail to escape a grotesque fate. In a deadly allegory for the social life of young North American women – if not young women worldwide – the two are pitted against each other by circumstances outside of their control, and must fight just as much to keep from harming each other as to save themselves.

And therein lies the surprising heart of this novel: the complicated relationship between Cherr and Plum, brought so vividly yet sensitively to life by Nick Cutter. It honestly felt like he’d ripped out parts of my teenage diary for his book, as I, like Cherr, once agonized over various friendships that felt as vital to me as oxygen. The grace that he shows with his plot choices is exemplary, even as his plausible depiction of what happens when humanity meddles too far with biology leaves long-lasting chills.

This book is between 3-4 stars for me. If it had ended with the main character getting out of the nest, it would have been a solid 4 stars. I felt the multiple endings and new perspectives (tourist’s perspective, main character’s writing sample, and nest-diver’s perspective) took away from the powerful ending and I found myself wanting them to be over. I think maybe just the writing sample and the subtle indication that there was controversy surrounding the sole survivor (mentioning they should reject her) would have been enough to make the reader think what happens after the action ends. Over I felt the middle of the book was the strongest part, I was really engaged in the story. The author did a great job with descriptive language and imagery.

Nick Cutter’s The Queen is a chilling dive into body horror and psychological dread. Set in a remote, desolate location, the novel explores themes of isolation, scientific hubris, and the fragility of the human mind and body. Cutter masterfully combines vivid, grotesque imagery with a sense of claustrophobic suspense, forcing readers to confront the depths of human depravity and fear. The story unfolds with relentless pacing, driven by well-drawn characters whose inner turmoil adds emotional weight to the unfolding horrors. True to Cutter’s style, The Queen is not for the faint of heart, delivering visceral shocks and moments of profound unease.

The novel shares thematic parallels with The Fly and John Carpenter’s The Thing, especially in its exploration of the monstrous transformations that blur the lines between humanity and abomination. Like The Fly, The Queen uses physical mutation as a metaphor for deeper existential anxieties, exploring the loss of identity and autonomy in the face of uncontrollable forces. Similarly, the paranoia and distrust that permeate The Thing are echoed in Cutter’s portrayal of relationships strained by isolation and fear. Cutter taps into primal fears of infection and contamination, weaving a story that feels deeply rooted in the tradition of body horror yet distinct in its execution.

Fans of Cutter’s earlier work, such as The Troop, will recognize his trademark blend of harrowing violence and psychological tension. However, The Queen leans even further into philosophical dread, delving into questions of what it truly means to survive when one’s humanity is at stake. While The Troop focuses more on youthful innocence lost amidst carnage, The Queen opts for a darker, more reflective tone. For readers who relish a blend of visceral horror and thought-provoking themes, The Queen stands as a gripping addition to Cutter’s oeuvre and a worthy companion to classics like The Fly and The Thing.

I really enjoy Nick's work and this is no exception. If you like anything else he has written you will love this.

Well, this book, as many others have said, gets an A+ for having the most graphic, horrific, gory scenes. What Cutter does with ants and wasps is ... ugh!! It creeped me the f%*k out. This book is full on gory horror, so be prepared. What I didn't love was, the plot and the ending.

The 2 kids are running all over town because their possibly dead friend is sending them messages - this got a bit stale after a while. And when they finally catch up with their friend turned human-insect-new species, and shit goes down ... the government just lets everything be?! And this new species, instead of going scorched Earth on the World, just digs underground?! Like, this new-species-thing killed a whole bunch of people, but then left the rest of the World alone? I just don't get it.

Nick Cutter but somehow it's more Nick Cutter-y than ever? A book that will crawl and burrow under your skin with its gruesome insectile body horror and unsettling narrative, themes of friendship, love and revenge make this a coming of age with a disturbing twist, gripping, smart, visceral and gross this was everything you'd expect from Cutter plus a bit more.

Another amazing horror novel from Nick Cutter! I'm always excited when it's announced that he has a new book coming out because each one of them is epic! Just like this one. It's so original and I couldn't put it down