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A review by kaora4
Shutter by Courtney Alameda
4.0
Call it reaper's insomnia, but the dead wouldn't let me sleep at night. Every time the sun went down, I swore I sensed them stirring, starving.
With that we are introduced to Courtney Alameda's Shutter, a horror novel about Micheline Helsing, a descendent of Van Helsing, who is known as a tetrachromat, allowing her to see and classify ghosts by the color of their auras. She is a member of Helsing Corps, the 611 number you call when the dead just won't stay dead.
I have a duty to do, a duty to others, a duty to you, a duty to the dead, and by God, I shall do it.
I did really like how this book was woven with the story of Van Helsing, and many of the names in the book were taken from other sources, including X-Files (Mulder, Skully, Skinner are a few of the last names I noticed). Being a huge fan of the X-Files it was an easter egg I really enjoyed.
The main character was well developed and kicked some major ass although I did find her a tad bit aggressive to other females and over dramatic at times. I'm also not sure how much I bought into the "forbidden love".
I swore I heard the empty click of a revolver barrel whenever we touched. How many clicks did we get until we hit the live round, until life as we knew it lost and ended up blasted all over the wall?
My favorite thing about this book however was the creepiness.
One larval sac hung over the panels, clinging to the basement catwalk. Though I couldn't see the sac's contents, an eight-fingered hand pressed up against the membrane and flexed, as if reaching for me.
The sheer gore.
When the shutter opened, the corpse sagged. Her skin split, unzipping the crown of her head and rupturing the base of her neck. Black veins laced her flesh. An oil-dark mist gushed from the wounds, drawing a dark line where her spine pressed against her shirt.
Alameda is a very talented writer, and while some of the descriptions didn't work (anemic light? anemic night?), she could do creepy like nobody's business.
This was a book that kept me up late at night and made me check under my bed twice before turning out the lights.
Recommended for anyone who loves a bit of horror. This author is definitely one to watch.
Cross posted at Kaora's Corner.
With that we are introduced to Courtney Alameda's Shutter, a horror novel about Micheline Helsing, a descendent of Van Helsing, who is known as a tetrachromat, allowing her to see and classify ghosts by the color of their auras. She is a member of Helsing Corps, the 611 number you call when the dead just won't stay dead.
I have a duty to do, a duty to others, a duty to you, a duty to the dead, and by God, I shall do it.
I did really like how this book was woven with the story of Van Helsing, and many of the names in the book were taken from other sources, including X-Files (Mulder, Skully, Skinner are a few of the last names I noticed). Being a huge fan of the X-Files it was an easter egg I really enjoyed.
The main character was well developed and kicked some major ass although I did find her a tad bit aggressive to other females and over dramatic at times. I'm also not sure how much I bought into the "forbidden love".
I swore I heard the empty click of a revolver barrel whenever we touched. How many clicks did we get until we hit the live round, until life as we knew it lost and ended up blasted all over the wall?
My favorite thing about this book however was the creepiness.
One larval sac hung over the panels, clinging to the basement catwalk. Though I couldn't see the sac's contents, an eight-fingered hand pressed up against the membrane and flexed, as if reaching for me.
The sheer gore.
When the shutter opened, the corpse sagged. Her skin split, unzipping the crown of her head and rupturing the base of her neck. Black veins laced her flesh. An oil-dark mist gushed from the wounds, drawing a dark line where her spine pressed against her shirt.
Alameda is a very talented writer, and while some of the descriptions didn't work (anemic light? anemic night?), she could do creepy like nobody's business.
This was a book that kept me up late at night and made me check under my bed twice before turning out the lights.
Recommended for anyone who loves a bit of horror. This author is definitely one to watch.
Cross posted at Kaora's Corner.