Book review - The Trolls Will Feast

Title: The Creeps #2: The Trolls Will Feast
Author: Chris Schweizer
Genre: humor/horror/graphic novel
Similar books: Camp Midnight by Steven T. Seagle
                     Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson
Rating:

a fun adventure

Summary (provided by publisher): In Pumpkins County, monster attacks are a common enough occurrence, but when Jarvis is attacked by an invisible monster, the Creeps know they've found their next case. Through Mitchell's extensive monster expertise, the gang identifies the culprit: a Troll. Unfortunately, Trolls travel in packs. They hibernate together, and they feast on humans together. The tastiest type of human? Those who have been marinating in their own stress hormones. And there's an awful lot of stress to go around these days, what with the town's gossip site spewing out nonstop misinformation and alarmist messages. Could the Trolls be behind the county-wide breakdown in communication? With the town's anxiety levels soaring off the charts, it's up to the Creeps to find out—before the Trolls' big feast.
This hilarious graphic-novel series celebrates the power of underdogs and the importance of finding your tribe—even if your tribe is weird and just, well . . . creepy.

My opinion: When I read the first Creeps book last year, I was somewhat underwhelmed. While it was entertaining, it didn't blow me away as I had expected from a Chris Schweizer book. This book is much stronger. While still odd, it is more endearing. Perhaps that's because we are expecting something strange or because we are familiar with the characters so there is less emphasis on introduction. Either way, we have a quirky humorous horror plot with subtle messages about social media, bullying, and societal stress. There's certainly no sophomore slump here. If Schweizer continues on this arc, each successive book in the series should reach an increasing level of awesome.

More information: The Trolls Will Feast releases March 8.
Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.