Customer Reviews

Threshold of Consciousness

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I suspect many people will identify with Clay Zerner, the protagonist of Joe Vojt's *Threshold of Consciousness* (Outskirts Press, 2008). In many ways, Clay is a typical man in his forties. Ever since he lost his wife, Renee, Clay's life seems to be happening in slow motion. He works an unexciting job as middle management in a factory. Quality control issues and an increasingly shaky economy mean his job is not as secure as it once was.

Adding to the turmoil in his personal and professional lives, Clay is balancing three unsatisfactory relationships with the women at the factory. Chealse Emark is gorgeous, attracted to Clay...and married. He's strongly attracted to Shara, but Shara's record of bad relationships has driven her away from all men who aren't in the Bible. Then there's Bray Durek, who desperately wants to be more than friends with Clay, if only her strong personality doesn't drive him away.

Clay's lonely life of tedium and confusion is relieved, occasionally, by Mother Nature. The changing seasons, birds in the air, and walks on the beach comfort him for short periods of time. The outdoors becomes Clay's way of escaping the harsh demands of reality. It is during one of these "breaks" that Clay meets Dawn, a young, sun-kissed artist who seems to be everything he's looking for. But is Clay truly ready to move on from the love he had with Renee?

*Threshold of Consciousness* is, at heart, an old-fashioned romance, told from an ordinary guy's point of view. Clay Zerner is likeable enough. He can be a bit of a male chauvinist, but the story is set in 1979, after all.

At times, the dialogue tends to be stilted and unnatural. Vojt's characters begin sentences with "I will...," when real human beings would say "I'll," for example. Vojt is better at capturing what goes on inside Clay's mind than at what comes out of Clay's mouth. Occasionally, passages about work at the factory go on too long.

Aside from some stiff dialogue and copy editing issues, though, the story of Clay Zerner is an enjoyable one. The ending is unpredictable, with none of the cliches of a typical "romance novel." *Threshold of Consciousness* is a novel of emotional suspense.

Joe Vojt's THRESHOLD OF CONSCIOUSNESS is a remarkable realistic journey into the mind of a successful Quality Manager who has experience a tragic loss. This powerful, gripping, emotional read will show how one man survived and coped when death unexpectedly entered into his life.

Clay Zerner is devastated over the loss of his beloved wife Renee. He finds himself wondering aimlessly without any purpose in trying to go on with his shattered life. He throws himself into his job and tries to solve the financial difficulties his company is currently facing. He is unprepared when he meets up with Dawn, a young inspiring artist. In Dawn he sees a way to accept and move forward with his life. With Dawn's soothing comforting touch, will he have the courage to put the past to rest and live for the future?

Joe Vojt does an excellent job in allowing readers to experience the pain, suffering, and difficulties of the main character Clay. With an outstanding cast of secondary characters, smoothly created plot and dialogue, THRESHOLD OF CONSCIOUSNESS is not to be missed.