The Trigger Mechanism

Scott McEwen, Hof Williams — 2020

The Trigger Mechanism is the second book in the Camp Valor series by the #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of American Sniper, Scott McEwen. When, Jalen, a young gamer, puts on a set of VR goggles and logs into an online video game, he enters a digital world where, as in most games, points are awarded for kills. Only this time, unbeknownst to Jalen, the game has been reengineered by a cyberterrorist known as Encyte so that real human lives are taken with the click of a button. When Jalen logs off, he learns he’s just killed fifty-three innocent people. Wyatt Brewer, Camp Valor’s top camper, is tapped to investigate and see if a link exists between Encyte and The Glowworm Gaming Network, which Wyatt helped dismantle the previous summer. Wyatt is still reeling from the losses inflicted by Glowworm and by the betrayal of his mentor, Sargent Halsey. When Wyatt meets Jalen, he finds a clue, and Julie Chen, a teenage prodigy and gaming superstar known as Hi_Kyto becomes the leading suspect. Wyatt knows he’ll need Jalen’s help if he has any chance of penetrating the gaming world and getting close to Hi_Kyto. And Jalen will need Camp Valor if he’s going to have any chance of rebuilding his life and finding redemption. But as the summer season starts at Valor, the Department of Defense threatens to shut the secret program down. A reclusive billionaire and Camp Valor alum offers a way forward—funded by him but without Valor for protection. Jalen and Wyatt are forced to consider going out on their own if they want bring Halsey to justice and to stop Encyte.

Reviews

Lynn Braden@ftbooklover

Oct 8, 2021

Wyatt is back at Camp Valor, but this time his formerly missing father is now in charge of the camp and his brother, Cody has come back with him to train. Wyatt burns with the need for revenge against Hallsy who killed his friend Dolly and The Old Man in the aftermath of destruction of the Glowworm Gaming Network, but he must put those desires aside as a cyberterrorist named Encyte has found a way to use technology to trick people into performing acts of terrorism. Once such victim is Jalen who unknowingly kills hundreds of people while he believes he is playing a video game. Wyatt finds a way to get Jalen into Camp Valor so that he can use his skills to make up for what he has done. All of this will depend on the new Secretary of Defense who may decide that Camp Valor is too dangerous to remain in operation. The ending of The Trigger Mechanism is fairly predictable and suffers from too many conflicts and relationships to be satisfactorily addressed in one book. Several intriguing issues are raised and solved, but without delving into the emotional impact that they have on the main characters. Overall, The Trigger Mechanism is an action packed story that ties up the loose ends left at the end of Camp Valor.