Trigger by Courtney Alameda

A short story prequel to the young adult novel, Shutter, Trigger introduces readers to Micheline Helsing and the hunters of the undead.

15 year old Micheline inherited her Tetrachromatic eyes from her mother, allowing her to see ghosts and trap them in mirrors. She’s also being trained to take over from her commander father, and lead an army of soldiers against the undead.

This story is full of action as Micheline helps her father hunt for an undead monster that’s been killing people. It also introduces the characters and the world they inhabit.

I enjoyed this short story, and I look forward to seeing the world further expanded in Shutter. The use of the Helsing name, the army of Harkers and the mention of a Stoker were all nice nods to Dracula.

Micheline was likable, although there was nothing in this short story that set her apart from other feisty young woman of her kind.

The writing was good, the pacing fast, and there was lots of action from the very start that let me know exactly what kind of story I could expect.

The hunters reminded me more of Garth Nix’s Abhorsen than the Van Helsings, but in a contemporary setting and without their lovely bells. I hope the book explains how ordinary bullets work against undead creatures, and where the creatures come from.

From the description of the novel, I was expecting the world to be more like the horror game, Project Zero (aka Fatal Frame), so I was very surprised at how the short story was so action orientated.

I award Trigger…