Courtney AlamedaBesprekingen
Auteur van Shutter
Besprekingen
I was a massive fan of teen wolf back in the day and this book screamed that to me and I really loved the characters in this read. This book combined two of my favorites troups including found family and a quest and also good vs evil. I also really liked the plot of the story and the setting of modern day Japan was a great world. I really enjoyed this book and would love to see more books by this author duo in the future.
This is a delightful romping adventure through a supernatural San Francisco with a (mildly annoying) teenage girl protagonist -- but the thing that got me most was
3.5 stars
This took me too long to finish, but it was decent. I got a bit frustrated when Micheline talked about telling the truth but kept lying by omission to her friends.
OK. OK. "Shutter" is really amazing. I can't believe this is Alameda's first book, etc etc etc. WOW.
The writing is solid and atmospheric and the main group of protagonists is extremely likeable. Micheline, our narrator, is both a bad-ass slayer of the undead and an emotionally complex, PTSD-suffering teenage girl. I had one issue with her,
OK, so the atmosphere and world-building was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I admit, I became wary of this book when I noticed the "Van Helsing" connection in the blurb (big shoes to fill, etc). It could have gone so wrong, but instead it went so right and HOORAH for including THE SEWARDS. Loved the almost immediate classification of the levels of necrotics. (WHAT IS A GLASGOW GIRL IN THIS WORLD BTW PLEASE BE IN FUTURE BOOKS). Though with the inclusion of vampires, and the disturbing/horrifying/bloodcurdling descriptions of every other necrotic in the story, I was hoping
The hospital portion at the beginning really set the atmosphere for the rest of book. Gore, jump scares, AND creep-up-on-you-slow-horror. The poem *shudder*. The ghost RIPPING OUT OF A CORPSE *screams*. And then Micheline's back story *ugly crying/more screaming*. Everything was so well-described and the atmosphere so fully-realized that I felt like I was playing through a top-level survival horror game.
In summary: *standing ovation*
At the start, the story already brought me action – how most anime that I had watched started. I also loved the unfamiliar myth characters, and I’ll repeat it, the anime vibe atmosphere it is giving off since the start. The scenes are never dull for me because I learned a lot about the story in each chapter, and also, I love learning something about our characters.
I also liked the characters that were introduced in the story. Though I only didn’t like the romance since I already find it predictable. But, it is still sweet and nice that it didn’t really affect my enjoyment of reading the book.
The plot and world-building are wonderful, but since I already watched A LOT of anime and have read A LOT of manga, I find the story predictable. But, as I said, I still enjoyed reading it.
Overall, I recommend this book with an enjoyable ride in Japanese culture and mythology to the readers who would like to experience it. If you are also interested in why I said it has an anime vibe in it, then you better read this too.
Disclaimer: I received an advance reading copy via The Fantastic Flying Book Club.
And they lived happily ever after...
Had my life been a movie, like I often wish it was, that would have scrolled across the screen as I flipped the last few pages of this book. Shutter and I started out on rocky terrain. I just wasn't sure we were compatible, and worried we wouldn't go the distance. Then, about halfway through, something magical happened. My eyes were glued to the page. My heart was beating a mile a minute. I was hooked. Redemption!
If you want to know why I chose this book, look no further than the fact that the Helsings and Stokers are involved. Descendants of the vampire elite? Yes please, and thank you. I had visions of stakes flying, havoc being wrought and all manner of creepy baddies appearing as I turned the first page of this book. As it turns out, I was right on all accounts! I'll simply say this: don't give up on this story. The beginning does start out a bit slow, but once things pick up? You'll be holding on for dear life.
I think my favorite piece was that Shutter is a "girl saves the boy" type story. Micheline isn't afraid of things that go bump in the night. She doesn't need anyone to save her, except herself. She does, however, appreciate the way a perfectly synchronized team works. I loved her fire. I was attracted to her strength. What sold me indefinitely though was her willingness to admit when she'd been bested, although not by the creatures she'd assume would ultimately take her down. Cryptic you say? Yes, intentionally. I won't spoil a minute for you.
Although this started slow, I can't give it any less than four stars. The middle, and the ending, were completely brilliant. They caught me up, covered me in necrotic gore, and left me breathless. I'm so happy, I could cry.
Characterization: Good
Recommended: Yes
Level: High school
Summary:
I enjoyed the majority of this book, though it did tackle an almost unmanageable number of plots: it jumps in at some point 400+ years in the future, when humanity has had to evacuate Earth. Tuck is one of a group aboard the John Muir, a ship that has kept its crew in some kind of stasis for hundreds of years. The novel somewhat explains why they were in this situation, but it’s not entirely clear. However, it IS clear that the John Muir is full of monsters that somehow evolved from crew members and move based on sound. I did like how Alameda created an incredibly eerie environment aboard this ship, with well-described, vile creatures and a world where the crew has to be incredibly silent or face death.
Along with this complicated plot line, the novel jumps to Laura Cruz, who is of the current time and aboard the Conquistador, a ship traveling through space to find humanity’s history. I truly enjoyed Laura’s character, as she is strong, sassy, and independent. While Laura and her family search through space, she is somehow being controlled by her ex-boyfriend and his mother with a device implanted in her throat. This gets a bit confusing, and is one of the many side-plots pulled in that felt like a bit much. The ex’s family serves as a villain, but there are enough of those in this story between the monsters on the John Muir and the radical group (“Pitch Dark”) that thinks humanity had its chance and plots to destroy everyone on both ships before they can use the John Muir’s cargo to start a new “Earth.”
Once the two ships collide and the storylines weave together, the book really moves with suspense and action that would be a bit gory for anyone younger than a high school age. The writing felt a bit forced at times, especially when Alameda brings in Tuck’s “old school” language (words like “bruh”). However, overall, I found the story unique and generally recommend it!
Micheline and her father are both still reeling from the deaths of her mother and brothers. Her father handles his grief by completely ignoring her and immersing himself in his job as a reaper and Micheline does everything she can to please her father in the hopes that he will actually notice her. When an unusually vengeful ghost sets its sights on Micheline and her group of reapers, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to gain her father's respect once and for all but she soon finds that she's in way over her head and she's once again in a position to lose everyone she loves.
I'm only mad about 1 thing...where oh where is book 2??!! This isn't a scary story but it is definitely a gory, action-packed, creepy thriller that will keep you guessing, engaged, and hanging on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Book Grade Level: 9th+
Library Merit: Mediocre
Characterization: Mediocre
When a dangerous and anonymous hacker crashes the Conquistador and USS John Muir starships together, our main characters, Tuck and Laura’s worlds literally crash into each other. These two young and quick-witted teenagers must work together to fend off enemies such as the hacker that got them into this mess, the Smithsons, and the dangerous creatures known as mourners that use their voices as weapons of mass destruction. Even though they fear for their lives and safety, our main protagonists are willing to put up with these horrifying dangers to not only save their families but also to save all of humanity.
I feel as though I may have been too picky with this book, but a lot of things were just too unrealistic and fast-paced for me. First of all, the events that happened in this book all occurred in about 2-3 days. There was too much going on in this book for it all to take only a few days to resolve. Maybe I’m just being a stick in the mud, but I think it should take at least more than a week to possibly save all of humanity. This brings me to my next point, which would be the romance between Tuck and Laura. Contrary to popular belief, I actually do not hate romance novels. In fact, I can be a sucker for romance, that is, if it’s done right. The romance in this book--while not being the worst that I’ve read--was just too rushed. Literally within a few minutes of encountering each other, Tuck is practically proclaiming his love for Laura and talks about how much he cares about her. There’s nothing wrong with caring about someone, especially in a time of danger, but this was just ridiculous. They could literally be killed at any time by a crazy monster and all Tuck could think about was how beautiful some chick he just met a few seconds was. Before this turns into a full-on rant, I would also like to discuss the description of the book’s setting. I honestly could not picture what the starships looked like from the way it was described in the book, and this made it a little difficult for me to fully immerse myself into the story. The John Muir is supposed to have a piece of Earth with it but it was difficult to conjure up an image of a starship with Earth on it or something. Although, to try to end this review on a lighter note, I liked some of the banter/interactions that the characters had with each other. Sarcasm is practically a second language for me, so it’s refreshing to see other characters that are almost as fluent as I am.
My original Shutter audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
Micheline and her team are a group of ghost hunters. They have been trained since they were young teens, to attack and remove paranormal entities. At the beginning of the story, Micheline decides to dive in and catch this new ghost on her own. The idea is there, she doesn’t want it killing anymore, but the technique is not. She rushes in purposefully, knowing full well she’s leaving her team behind, even though they’ve been trained to do the opposite. It’s frustrating because when it goes wrong she blames herself and starts whining about it.
The narration by Pamela Lorence is amazing but also picked up on Micheline's whine and the first portion of this was difficult to listen to. The narrator and narration were fantastic, as audios go this is top notch, but the character herself was driving me nuts. I blame the main character for this, not the narrator! The first portion of the book was extremely difficult to get through. Every time she whined about something else, I just wanted to stop! It drove me crazy. Especially since it was all her own doing.
Admittedly, the girl is going through a lot but in the first few pages, I didn’t know that. Still, it drove me nuts just trying to get past her constant worry. Much like Bella Swan. It’s a weird comparison, but this is exactly how Micheline Helsing acts in the first few chapters. If this were just Kindle Unlimited and not something for another website, I probably would have put off reading it even longer!
This is page 60. Ok, again, Micheline is going through quite a bit, and the backstory is starting to come out, although it’s slow. I think the second biggest reason the first part failed, for me, is that there is a lot of explanation about how to capture these entity's. Too much information. Later in the book, Micheline has a succinct explanation that was much better, easier to understand, and easier to read than the first half of the book.
That said, once I got to Night two, I started getting more interested. There are still some cliche moments, getting better though. Micheline is starting to come into her own and is willing to risk her own skin to save her friends. This is where her strength really shows. It takes nearly half the book to get there, but once she does, not only is the plot getting better, but her characterization, and the girl I thought was in there, is surfacing. She is kick ass. Still vulnerable, like all characters are to a point, but not so vulnerable that she’s going around whining about it, even when it is completely acceptable to do so!
The other characters had decent characterization but the blended too easily together. I needed something a bit more to make their voices shine. There are four guys on her main team and they are all contaminated with this soulchain. I would imagine they would all react differently, but for the most part, they blindly follow Micheline. They are also sort of ordered to do so, but still, having a chain of command does not mean you cannot fully voice your opinion on how screwed up a situation is. I think having their voices heard, even a little bit more, would have gone a long way into creating a memory of these guys and what they would do for Micheline.
What I loved was as Micheline digs deeper into this mystery ghost, Courtney Alameda’s imagination shines! The horrific portions of this, and what Micheline’s team is up against, is fantastically imaginative and on the edge of horror. Much like Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. It’s unique in the ability of catching the ghosts, but also in the ghosts themselves. They come up with a myriad of ways to freak the team out, and in turn will freak out many readers!
What frustrated me in the beginning with Micheline, was forgotten as the story went along. The narration by Pamela Lorence did help, although Micheline still sounded a bit wounded (ALL THE TIME), but there were plenty of pauses and the tempo was perfect for listening. I did like Ryder's voice. I think he sounds more confident, even though Micheline was the team leader. The audio itself was perfect, no background noises or anything that took away from the story.
As a lover of horror, this doesn’t quite hit the horrific mark as much as I would like, but I had some moments where I was cheering. Not only for Micheline but also just for the imagination of all of this.
In short: I’m glad I finally got to this. It was an interesting story. A bit long winded at points, but that is before it really gets going. Once it does, it’s a great ride!
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
As a horror buff, I don't understand why I haven't heard of Courtney Alameda until now but I certainly will not forget her after reading this book. The entire time that I was reading this book, I visualized the scenes playing in my head as if I was watching a movie. That doesn't happen very often and that's how you can tell when you get your hands on a great book. That and the fact that I had to read this book in one sitting because I absolutely could not put this book down.
With two strong, and equally likable (you won't be able to pick a favorite) main characters, killer aliens, suspense, betrayal, and an action-filled plot that keeps you guessing from start to finish, "Pitch Dark" is an outstanding read!
It takes a wary meeting between Tuck and Laura after everything has become utter chaos, in order for anyone to have a chance of surviving. The world building, character chemistry and challenges they face make of one great space tale. I got the book at 3 yesterday and was done six hours later. Definitely a great addition to any library where teen readers like good science fiction.
Wow. Just...wow.
A gripping thriller complete with ghost hunters, exorcists, and some science too. To be read with the lights on! Excellent!
Fast-paced, gory and pretty darn scary! A great read for those who love the TV show Supernatural, or any of the Ghost Hunter shows.
So the story is on the Van Helsing bloodline. His grand-daughter and a set of teens that go ghost busting and vamp-hunting. I understand, so much is expected of these kids; they are not your normal, run of the mill teens. They were raised for training and meant for more than boyfriends, X-Box's and pizza, but they were automatons. Micheline was a terrible bore and not a cool representation of a female hero. Her boys, which are practically the same age as her, were supposedly top on her list, but she was selfish and she kept secrets that could have gotten them killed. And then there are others, outside of their clique, who are belittled because they don't fight. It was unreal. The attitude shifting, needless belittling, acting tough but calling the guys 'macho' and more was just too much for me.
The mission was to go hunting for an entity that left the team with a countdown on life. Running about with glowing, spiritual lights within their guts, a soulchain, they have to find it and destroy it before the end of the seventh day. What's the deal with ghosts killing people in a week's time? Anyway, there was action and outside of the dull monologues and Micheline behaving like Rambo one minute and moody like Batman the next... it simply didn't hold me. I felt let down.
The story was not horror to me, but more YA thriller. Also, Courtney Alameda, the author didn't write in a way that made the story easy for me to enjoy. It read almost like a study manuel, though I understand she was just trying to explain the techy side of their equipment and history. The wording was just stagnant and don't get me started on the conversations that felt forced. It was like watching a B-grade 80's movie. I coulda gagged myself with a spoon!
*For the full review: http://www.areneehunt.com
**Shutter
Courtney Alameda
Square Fish
June 21, 2016
I'm simply amazed how an author can throw so many legends and paranormal myths all into one book and make it work. All of the descendants of the men who fought and documented about Dracula – The Helsings, Harker's, Stoker and Seward's are the main characters. Now that all of the vampires have been all but defeated Helsing runs a school to train the young descendants who to fight all the other evil in the world. Ghost and demons and necros and human scorpions – and how do they do this – with a special camera that traps the entities on the film.
I know this book is labeled Young Adult but none of these characters seem young nor the gruesome situations they find themselves in trying to defeat evil. If you like paranormal with the addition of horror give this book a try.
Non-stop action and fresh ideas, lots of gore and man-eating monsters. But it's a little too long. Not bad for a debut.
This novel is part of the horror genre, which as you know I don’t care for, but I found this novel quite entertaining.
Micheline is a Van Helsing of the famous Van Helsing line who fought Dracula. In this world, creatures exist that their organization fight. The people of the world rely on them. Micheline has been training her entire life and has a crew--Oliver (handles technical issues), Jude (sees death), and Ryder (fights/defends). At the beginning of the novel, the four enter a hospital where an entity has already killed people. As teens, they are supposed to wait for an adult, but Micheline fears that the entity will escape. Chaos ensues. This is no normal entity. They barely escape alive.
Returning to the training compound, Micheline is admonished by her father, and he hits her. They haven’t been close since her mother died. She was turned and she killed Micheline’s brothers before Micheline could stop her. Feeling that her father blames her for not saving the family, Micheline keeps a distance from him. He expects her to agree to an arranged marriage to keep the bloodline strong, as she is the only one left. She would like to date Ryder, whom she has always loved. She keeps her relationship as friends with Ryder for fear her father will remove Ryder from her team. The other unfortunate consequence of going into the hospital without backup is that they are all exposed to the entity and now have soul chains. Unless they break them in seven days, they will not survive. Sneaking out of the compound, the crew are determined to conquer the entity in order to live more than seven days. The rest of the novel is about the hunt.
I liked the novel, finding it quite entertaining. I, however, couldn’t possibly explain the entities or how Micheline fights them. It seemed a little ridiculous to me, honestly. She fights with a camera--she captures the ghosts in the light. Okay, so I don’t care for science and skipped over all of the explanations--I confess! I still found the novel fun and the romance very appropriate and sweet. I think you will like the novel.
Micheline Helsing, descendant of the famed Van Helsing lineage, isn't your normal teen, nor does she come from a family most would call that either. First off, she's a tetrachromat, someone who sees auras of the undead. As a result of that ability, coupled with her father being in charge of the hunting and destruction of ghosts and other undead creatures, she's on the supernatural firing line a lot. It's a pretty scary and violent place, made more so because of her personal history which plays a big part in this book. Dad is rigid and unforgiving and that has built a couple walls, one between him and Micheline, the other between her and Ryder, another ghost hunter and the guy she's loved for as long as she can remember.
When an unusually evil and powerful spirit wreaks havoc in a hospital, it's the beginning of a frantic mission, not only to stop it, but to find a cure for the curse known as a Soulchain, affecting her, Ryder and their friend and fellow team mate Jude. Finding answers while disobeying her father and trying to stay alive ramps up the action in this book to a fever pitch. This is not for the squeamish or faint of heart. There's abundant gore and violence, but the story is a dandy one. Despite the blood, guts and ghosts, it's a worthy addition to school and public libraries.
Wow, this book is amazing! It is confusing in the beginning at the situation is set up, but stick with it and take it slow--the payoff is great. I will warn you that there are some extremely morbid and...grotesque elements in this book, so if you have a weak stomach, you might want to avoid.
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I was a massive fan of teen wolf back in the day and this book screamed that to me and I really loved the characters in this read. This book combined two of my favorites troups including found family and a quest and also good vs evil. I also really liked the plot of the story and the setting of modern day Japan was a great world. I really enjoyed this book and would love to see more books by this author duo in the future.