Thursday, January 24, 2013

Threshold.

Title/Author: Threshold by Caitlin R. Kiernan.

Genre: Horror/Dark Fiction.

Publisher: Roc.

Source: Purchased.

Favorite character:  Chance.

Cool quote: "And the girl smiled for her like a polar night sky where every star had died."

All in all: Dark and surreal.

Synopsis: Chance Matthews has suffered enough tragedies. The latest—her grandfather’s death—has left her shaken, convinced that she will always be alone. What she needs now is time—time to recover, time to determine what her future will be. What she doesn’t need is a strange girl with alabaster skin who knows things about Chance she can’t possibly know.

This girl speaks of being charged by an angel to battle monsters and claims she cannot do it alone. She says she needs Chance’s help.

Chance doesn’t believe in angels. Or monsters. But among the artifacts left by her geologist grandparents, there lies a fossil of a creature that couldn’t possibly have ever existed.

But it did.

And still does…~Goodreads.com
My Thoughts:
"You weren't made for this world." the mans says. "But there are roads I could show you, night roads that wind forever between milk white trees, and the starlight would kiss your skin like ice. There are roads where nothing ever burns and the sun is only a fiary tale to frighten pale children to bed."

The above quote summizes the nature of Threshold.  It's a book about secrets and a truth that kills.  It's about an unseen world with unseen creatures that exist but aren't supposed to.  It's about enlightenment, but at a cost.

The characters in this book discover that truth.  With a warning from a young teen who believes she is sent by a higher power, Chance, Deacon and Sadie enter a world and situations that they are ill equipped to deal with.  The story is one you have to pay attention to.  This is not a light read.  I feel this is due to the plot itself which uses existential concepts and Kiernan's unique writing style. 

Kiernan is an incredible writer.  She weaves words together and they come from a place that inspiration is inspired by.  Her style is unique and if at times it's hard to read, I think it's because she writes outsides the lines.  Her unique use of vocabulary and the choices she made with her prose lent itself to the reading experience. 

Her detail in anthropology is specific and thorough.  The reader is right next to Chance as she researches fossils and makes discoveries.  It gives credence to the scientific illuminations, the timeline of the earth and what existed as shown by the fossil record.  There is also a rather large glossary at the end that defines many of the terms used if one is curious.  Although I didn't really understand all the science, I appreciated the meticulous details used to back up the concept.  Points also for the Beowulf references.

The book was strange and surreal and while the ending worked for me, I can see some readers being very dissatisfied with it.  As I said, it wasn't the easiest book to read, but it was strange and chilling and very dark.  Right up my alley.

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5 comments:

Kate @Midnight Book Girl said...

The quotes are lovely but that cover is creepy! I really need to read a horror novel soon, it's been too long!

Felicia the Geeky Blogger said...

That is an incredibly creepy cover but this sounds right up Wendy's alley.

Karen said...

This sounds cool. From the cover I was expecting your standard UF.

Midnyte Reader said...

@Kate - There are a *lot* of lovely and creepy quotes.

@Felicia - I like the cover, it does fit the book. Do you mean Wendy Darling?

@Karen - Yes, the cover is misleading but it does go with the book.

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