Thursday, October 1, 2015

Trigger, by Courtney Alameda

Tor.com, June 3, 2015; 9,038 words
Rating: 1, Needs improvement

Micheline, a 15-year-old monster-fighter, wants to prove herself by taking down a scissorclaw that has already killed more senior fighters.

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: Well, she did kill the monster.

Con: Micheline is a "mary sue," an all-powerful character who never makes any actual mistakes. She's great with guns, she's got a special ability to see the undead, and even though no one studies both monster hunting and exorcism, she's so good at the latter that she outshines her classmates--despite skipping class. Dogs trained to work with a specific person are automatically tuned to work with her too. Etc. ad nauseam.

Even beyond that, this tale challenges suspension of disbelief at every turn. Just to name the most egregious, her father takes her out of school to help hunt a monster that's already killed one of his most experienced associates. Takes her and her boyfriend, in fact. In the final confrontation, she precipitates a catastrophe on the Bay Bridge, involving at least a dozen casualties--if not hundreds--and yet this is accounted as a great success. So great that this super-rich, hereditary organization that apparently out-ranks the police decides to name her it's next leader.


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