Threshold [Mass Market Paperback]

Caitlin R. Kiernan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2009

Chance Matthews is drawn into a battle between angels and monsters because of something in her possession-a fossil of a creature that couldn't possibly have ever existed. But it did. And still does.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Silk (2001), Kiernan's first novel, established her as a leading exponent of the generation-X horror story. This ambitious sophomore effort is a bold step backward: a distinctively modern tale that invokes cosmic terrors redolent of past masters H.P. Lovecraft and Algernon Blackwood. Set in present-day Birmingham, Ala., the novel centers on Chance Matthews, a promising young paleontologist left bereft by the recent deaths of friends and family. Chance and ex-boyfriend Deke Silvey, a loser with latent psychic powers, wallow in self-destructive angst until they're sought out by Dancy Flammarion, a strange teenage girl who claims to be pursued by monsters. Details of Dancy's wild story inexplicably jibe with an anomaly Chance finds in the fossil record, and a pattern gradually emerges that points to an inconceivably ancient entity surviving from Earth's prehistory that is consciously shaping their lives and miseries to suit its inscrutable purposes. Kiernan rises to the challenge of evoking incomprehensible horrors by skillfully deploying symbols that suggest much more than they show. Her oblique and dreamy prose style slows the narrative to a torpid crawl in spots, but ultimately contributes to the thick atmosphere of dread that supports the novel's weird events and sustains its mood of inarticulable terror. A finale that veers unexpectedly from a seemingly inevitable display of supernatural fireworks to a subtly disarming denouement only underscores the intelligence behind this carefully crafted tale of awe-inspired nightmare.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Still trying to come to grips with the recent deaths of her grandparents and her best friend, paleontologist Chance Matthews encounters Dancy Flammarion, an albino girl who claims to see monsters. As Chance questions the mysteries of her tragic past, she begins to believe Dancy's outlandish stories and realizes that she must face a monster that is all too real and too deadly to defeat alone. The author of Silk creates an eerie and moving tale of ancient terror and modern-day angst that should appeal to mature young adults and adult fans of horror.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Roc (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 045146124X
• ISBN-13: 978-0451461247
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #888,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Caitlin R. Kiernan was born near Dublin, Ireland, but has spent most of her life in the southeastern United States. In college, she studied zoology, geology, and palaeontology, and has been employed as a vertebrate palaeontologist and college-level biology instructor. The results of her scientific research have been published in the JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALAEONTOLOGY, THE JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY and elsewhere. In 1992, she began writing her first novel, THE FIVE OF CUPS (it remained unpublished until 2003). Her first published novel, SILK (1998), earned her two awards and praise from critics and such luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, and Poppy Z. Brite. Her next novel, THRESHOLD (2001), was also an award-winner, and since then she has written LOW RED MOON (2003), MURDER OF ANGELS (2004), DAUGHTER OF HOUNDS (2007), and, forthcoming, THE RED TREE. She is a prolific short fiction author, and her award-winning short stories have been collected in TALES OF PAIN AND WONDER (2000), WRONG THINGS (with Poppy Z. Brite; 2001), FROM WEIRD AND DISTANT SHORES (2002), and TO CHARLES FORT, WITH LOVE (2005), ALABASTER (2006), FROG TOES AND TENTACLES (2005), TALES FROM THE WOEFUL PLATYPUS (2007), and, most recently, the sf collection, A IS FOR ALIEN (2009). She has also scripted comics for DC/Vertigo, including THE DREAMING ('97-'01), THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE DEATH ('98), and BAST: ETERNITY GAME ('03). Her short sf novel THE DRY SALVAGES was published in 2004, and has published numerous chapbooks since 2000. Caitlin also fronted the goth-rock band Death's Little Sister in 1996-1997, once skinned a lion, and likes sushi. She lives in Providence, RI with her partner, Kathryn, and her two cats, Hubero and Smeagol. Caitlin is represented by Writer's House (NYC) and United Talent Agency (LA).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but - huh?, June 20, 2007

By 

Jennifer L. Siegenthaler (Farmington, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Threshold (Mass Market Paperback)

Writing style is interesting, the mood is dark and scary and defininely Lovecraftian, but the characters were a little sparse. Maybe I'm too black and white, but the whole book left me thinking, "What just happened here?"

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something wonderful, November 13, 2001

By 

Tamara Edwards (Birmingham, AL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Threshold (Paperback)

As a longtime resident of Birmingham, AL, the setting of Caitlin Kiernan's new novel, I was delighted to visit, though her text, many places so familiar too me. Kiernan has a knack for taking the familiar (a park, a book, a street) and casting it in a new and sinister light. Fans of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Ramsey Campbell, and Clive Barker should give the book a try. Those of us who have been following her work since she first appeared in the early '90s are already familiar with her breathtaking prose and deft characterization, her plots that flow like poisonous honey, but Threshold is a marvelous opportunity for new readers to discover Kiernan's powerful, terrifying writing. This book is truly something wonderful.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Expecting more, August 26, 2007

By 

M. Coldwell "Reader" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Threshold (Paperback)

I suppose after all of the excellent reviews of this book, I was expecting it to knock my socks off. Well, it didn't. I will admit that the character development was very good, but at the expense of the story. After finishing, it seemed more of an incomplete mystery to me than a horror story. Sure, there were sort of vague references to possible horrific things, and suggestions of badness, but I was expecting a fully fleshed out ending after all of the build-up. There really wasn't any and I'm very disappointed. I think Kiernan has talent, but I doubt I'll ever read anything by her again.