The Trigger Mechanism

December 1, 2019
With help from a reclusive billionaire, teen supersoldiers tackle a cyberterrorist in this sequel to Camp Valor (2018). The main suspense comes from wondering when the chases and firefights are finally going to start. Traumatized by the discovery that he's been duped into mowing down a crowd of real pedestrians in what he thought was a virtual truck, online gamer Jalen Rose is recruited by Valorian agent and co-protagonist Wyatt to join him in an unauthorized mission to find the instigator, Encyte. There are suspects aplenty. Their patron, tech tycoon John Darsie, points them toward one possibility: his own employee Julie Chen, a brilliant (not to mention "tough and a little boyish, but cute") 14-year-old gamer and software designer. Despite a series of cyber exploits, including a high-casualty riot fueled by pheromones, there are so many distracting subplots--notably the hunt for a traitor from the first volume, the arrival of a government official who orders the camp shut down because she can't see the value of a cadre of secretly trained child warriors (go figure), and a developing relationship between Jalen and Julie--that the pedal doesn't really hit the metal until some time after the real villain makes a tardy first entrance. Jalen is African American and Wyatt is white. Slow off the mark and gratuitously violent but cooking with (nerve) gas by the end. (Paramilitary thriller. 12-16)

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December 13, 2019

Gr 9 Up-In this intense sequel to Camp Valor, Jalen, a young teen, gets tricked into killing 53 people via a hacked virtual reality setup. The action and violence do not slow down from that inciting incident, with Wyatt from the first book stepping in to help Jalen navigate this new world of government secrets. The two of them must track down a famous gamer, a teen girl who goes by Hi Kyto, and prevent Encyte, the cyberterrorist, from taking over smart devices all over the world. Jalen must attend Camp Valor, a secret summer camp to train teenagers in covert operations, though the Secretary of Defense wants to shut it down. Too many side plots and minor characters keep the book from moving along quickly, which is a downside for any striving readers who may be inclined to pick it up. The fantasy of teens playing a major role in a government agency and receiving help from a reclusive billionaire is appealing, though, and the video game themes are explored fairly well. Unfortunately, stilted dialogue and over-exposition keep this book from advancing to the next level. VERDICT This overstuffed action novel is all flash and no substance. Purchase only if the first book is well-circulated.-Gretchen Hardin, Bee Cave Public Library, TX

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