The Troupe

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Our Favorite Trailers of the Week. Photos Add Image Add an image Do you have any images for this title? Learn more More Like This. Bennett do it for me: That you are trapped inside of yourself, a tiny dot insignificant in the face of everything that could ever be. Because the answer to the question on how we deal with the darkness is "We distract ourselves. Also touched on is the role of entertainment.

Once again, I turn to quoting: And that just scratches the surface of the metaphor that Bennett is able to build. And all this is done using a story that is entertaining, has well realized characters, and acts as a bit of a history lesson to the forgotten world of vaudeville. This book has elements that I believe would appeal to everyone, and I have a hard time imagining the person who would not like this book, even without the metaphorical subtext layered within it.

A novel for the information age. Although the plot, characters, and the appropriately ineffable mysteries of the supernatural all seem more or less in place here, I have never in my life experienced a more bland and workmanlike prose style. It's like looking at a black and white reproduction of a Van Gogh. If only a sportswriter had written this.

Don't know if I'll make it through. Didn't, in fact, make it through--around pages it started getting sillier and, well, what with the somnambulisti A novel for the information age. Didn't, in fact, make it through--around pages it started getting sillier and, well, what with the somnambulistic prose, I had to give up--rare for me, but I have too many books I want to read right now to dally with morphic first grade primers.

If one of my creative writing students wrote prose this bland I would personally escort them to an opium den, to a whorehouse, to a circus, for God's sake--anywhere that might wake them up to life and the beauty of language.

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I guess this is what we get from a generation raised on Stephen King, the man who lets his readers sleep through page after page without ever missing anything. Apr 11, Tudor Ciocarlie rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is by far the best horror book I've read in the last couple of years. What shines in it are the characters: Jun 16, Sarah rated it did not like it.

Didn't get good until the last 75 pages. Sep 20, Jeremy rated it it was amazing Shelves: This was a fantastic read, great atmosphere and plot. Highly recommend if horror and fantasy are your thing. That's how the light gets in. As of this review I've read his entire oeuvre, minus City of Blades, which I intend to get to soon. What strikes me is how different all these books are in setting and development; despite coming from the same author, there isn't the kind of overlap in character types and plot that can become tiresome.

Yet at the same time, by the third installment in RJB's bibl "There is a crack in everything.

Yet at the same time, by the third installment in RJB's bibliography the major themes he is concerned with are becoming clear: Those themes are definitely on display in The Troupe, a tale set against the backdrop of vaudeville about a teenage boy, George Carole, who suspects his father is the leader of the Silenus Troupe, a set of traveling acts deemed strange even in vaudeville, especially the last act, a mysterious song no one can quite remember seeing performed.

Without delving too far into the plot--it's worth discovering for yourself--the troupe is using touring as a cover to enact an ancient and important mission, one that has earned it the wrath of inhuman entities that take the guise of men, but are anything but. I kind of wish I'd read RJB's books in strict order of publication, not because they're a series--up until City of Stairs, each one stands alone--but because reading them in order really shows how RJB's ideas and characterizations develop and progress.

You've got the conniving, frustrated troupe master Harry Silenus; Franny, the strongwoman who seems lost in a world of her own; Colette, the Persian dancer who can switch between haughty royalty and hard-drinking pool hustler at the drop of a hat; Stanley, the mute cellist who brings calm wherever he goes; and that's just to name a few. Probably the only character I felt was a little flat was As protagonists go, he's not that interesting.

He's a teenage boy, and as such has teenage boy concerns that often seem petty in comparison to the bizarre and dangerous situations the troupe encounters. Like all teens, he's self-centered to a large degree, and while this is realistic, it sometimes made me long to see some of the novel's events from the perspectives of the older and wiser characters. Much later on in the book we do get a taste of alternate POVs within the troupe, and it's great.

The Troupe () - IMDb

Especially Stanley's--he's such a sweetheart, I love him. Overall, I really enjoyed The Troupe. It's a more than slightly spooky tale that despite all its darkness--and it does get very dark, at points--is fundamentally about hope, about not giving up when the light goes away, because you realize the light is actually inside you. A great read, especially for fall as the days get shorter and the darkness closes in Jul 11, Kaleb rated it really liked it Shelves: After finishing Bennett's most recent book, The City of Stairs, and being astounded by his haunting prose and captivating world, I told myself that I would read some of his earlier works to see if I could receive the same experience I did with City of Stairs.

COS was by far, the best book of and I went into the Troupe with high expectations. And I must say that I was deeply satisfied with this book. While Bennett's writing is still beautiful and atmospheric, he explores entirely different themes in this book. Here, he addresses the hardships that come with family and what we will do to attain love.

Prior to this novel, I had no idea what Vaudeville was. But after finishing this I've found myself yearning for more information on the nature of Vaudeville. In short, The Troupe is an enchanting read with complex characters, gripping adventure, and a perfect ending. This book has made mean even bigger fan of Robert Jackson Bennett.

Nov 30, Jess rated it really liked it. A fun, vibrant novel with a few flaws. The characters are fabulous and well drawn, and their interactions and relationships are what primarily had me turning the pages. The plot is good, if a bit meandering around the middle, but the aforesaid character interactions make up for that. The concept is fine - it's nothing tremendously new, but it works for this standalone book and is refreshingly simple compared to lots of fantastical set-ups in the genre.

I had a few quibbles with the internal cons A fun, vibrant novel with a few flaws. I had a few quibbles with the internal consistency of the worldbuilding, however. The author gave himself scope to use whatever magical beings he liked the four Shepherds, fairies, ghosts, his own invented 'wolves' which was fine - he did use them all with flair - but felt slightly slack as I wasn't certain of the limitations of the fantastical occurrences.

The novel also seemed to be terribly US-centric, seeing as what the characters were up to was supposed to effect the entirety of existence Perhaps I didn't understand correctly, but that's how it came across. But all in all, The Troupe was a highly enjoyable read with some fabulously magical moments. Apr 17, Terri Wino rated it liked it Shelves: I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. Part supernatural, part fantasy, a little horror, and a depth and sort of message I never expected going into it.

Yes, it's the story of a troupe of performers and the story of a boy trying to forge a relationship with his father, but I was surprised at more than one point in the story when things were not at all as they seemed. I did feel the story dragged a little too much and could have been shorter without changing the impact of the tale.

Overall I enjoyed this book and have to say that the last or so pages really stirred some emotions in me that I was not expecting at all. I recommend if you like epic journeys that are less about the destination and more about the road getting there. Feb 14, Tracey rated it it was amazing Shelves: I am in awe at how creative this was, but also the immense impression is has left on me. It tells an amazing tale that is relatable to the life questions we constantly pose, with characters that are neither perfect nor likable.

It was definitely different to what I expected it to be but I love the twists and turns, and the final outcome of the story. There are life lessons to take out of this read and I am so glad I got around to finishing it! Really liked the beginning and the end of this. The middle was a little weak for me. But the fairies were dang scary, for sure. Overall, I liked it, but I wasn't head over heels for it.

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May 17, Travis rated it it was amazing Shelves: What a truly fantastic story this was. Hop on over to Writing Ex Libris to see why I gave The Troupe 5 out of 5 something or others and why this should be one not to miss! Feb 19, Liviu Szoke rated it it was amazing Shelves: Another masterpiece from now I consider my favourite speculative fiction author.

What an absolutely amazing, magical book. I'm deeply enjoying reading Bennett's bibliography in order of publication, because he's honed and improved his style so much with each one. The Troupe is, so far, my favourite of the lot -- but just give me some time, and perhaps American Elsewhere will make me change my mind. Compared to the grizzled protagonists of the previous two books more like Silenus than anything else , George is very different as a lead -- but RJB's completely nailed his character, a frustrating teenaged boy with all his mistakes and shortsightedness and tantrums. You just want to shake George sometimes, but he's likeable despite that, and I came to love the rest of the troupe as family, too.

Also, there's a funny parallel here with Mechanique , considering it had Little George running around the circus, but that's just an amusing coincidence. His stubborn quest to find his father -- the wonderfully manipulative, cunning Harry Silenus -- is really resonant and one that we can really feel for. This has been mentioned elsewhere, but fans of Neil Gaiman will probably like this. Bennett writes far more adult fiction far more quickly than Mssr. A certain plot twist towards the end caught me completely off-guard, but seemed so obvious in hindsight, and its significance and ramifications made me burst into tears in public.

I always love it when a book manages to yank my heartstrings, and The Troupe definitely did it.

And the ending is beautiful. Had George recently been forced to eat or drink something he would not normally consume? Had he found any scars on himself that he could not explain, especially under the left armpit? Had he ever been to southern Ireland in midwinter? Had he recently experienced any dizzy spells or feelings of weightlessness, and in these moments of weightlessness had he actually levitated several inches off the ground?

Did he ever get the sensation that there was a small person forcing their way into the space behind his eyes? And did he have a curious predilection for shrimp that he had not displayed before? An idea seemed to come to him. Do you think I will?

The Troupe

I suppose I must I exist now, and everything that exists must end, one day. I wonder how I will die, and what it will be like. It will be most interesting, don't you think? Yes, I think it will," said the wolf. On the whole, I think it a very strange and terrifying thing, to exist. I really don't understand how you do it. Tell me--how do you deal with the fear? That fear that comes from the feeling that there is you, and then there is That you are trapped inside of yourself, a tiny dot insigfniciant in the face of every everything that could ever be.

How do you manage that? You are lost amid a wide, dark sea, with no shores in sight, and you all so rarely panic! Some days I can barely function , so how on Earth can you never think about it? With all kinds of things. The wolf in red waved happily. George frantically gestured to lower its voice. I've never whispered before. Am I whispering now? Is this a whisper? Ace McQueen Jai Shannon Katrina Quinn Gabriella Whited Brittany Starr Isabelle Maria Langford Tori Shaw Charli Mattes Penelope Westcott Austin Scott Brown Brad McCoy Holly Heck Brooke Babbler Charlie Jones Alex Walker Preston Wayne Bergstrom Felix Specter Sofia Guglielmelli Susie Clark Liam Arthur Walker

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