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Threshold Shift
I will hurt you more than you hurt me. Death will be a long time coming.
On the frontier planet of Threshold a hard won truce exists between the native inhabitants and the human settlers. When a murder puts this truce in jeopardy, Marshal Jacob Klein must try to see justice done, whatever the cost.
But Klein has his own problems - an addiction to a fatal narcotic, a disenfranchised son, and a dark secret he has been hiding for over two decades.
For there is a greater threat to Threshold than just a petty civil war. An ancient presence has invaded the planet for its own purposes and Jacob Klein is in no shape to stop it.
On the frontier planet of Threshold a hard won truce exists between the native inhabitants and the human settlers. When a murder puts this truce in jeopardy, Marshal Jacob Klein must try to see justice done, whatever the cost.
But Klein has his own problems - an addiction to a fatal narcotic, a disenfranchised son, and a dark secret he has been hiding for over two decades.
For there is a greater threat to Threshold than just a petty civil war. An ancient presence has invaded the planet for its own purposes and Jacob Klein is in no shape to stop it.
207 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 17, 2012
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About the author
G.D. Tinnams
9 books11 followersGary Tinnams has worked as a barman, a call centre operator, an IT support analyst, and a software tester. But during all this time he was also an insatiable reader of science fiction and fantasy books like Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising Sequence, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, Robert Charles Wilson's Blind Lake and Greg Egan's Permutation City. He is very fond of weird, mind-bending stories and decided quite early on to try writing some. In 2006 and 2007, he was in the top 50 shortlist for SFX magazine's Pulp Idol and continues to write to this day.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 22, 2014
Threshold Shift begins with an engaging and exciting prologue; a young boy narrowly escaping death after his home is destroyed and his mother killed. The opening also serves to introduce “Wun” at this point merely a mysterious voice in the young Jon’s mind but a character that will be of central importance later on, although in ways we could not possibly imagine.
The novel resumes a decade later and is initially a western, a parochial tale with a hint of High Noon with an ageing marshal of a dust ball backwater town Argon, disgraced and humiliated. The initial nemesis character Hassan remarks of Marshal Jacob, “I’m surprised you’ve lasted as long as you have.” Yet there is also steel in the lawman’s soul and an integrity which allows him, with the help of his son Jon, to redeem himself.
Despite the strong western element the author avoids writing a simple morality tale of good versus bad. In fact it is the humans who are the interlopers here, colonising and dominating the native Threshian inhabitants. One rages that humans “enslave and steal from us,” whilst Michael, a messiah type figure in brown monkish robes asks, “will you bring them to justice as well?”
The western element is so strong initially that I wondered if the tale actually needed to be a science fiction at all. That question however was soon answered with a resounding yes. As the story progresses the literary canvas widens to incorporate a thousand year back-story, superhuman abilities, multiple identities and a deeply unsettling existential angst.
Well written, superbly paced and skillfully plotted Threshold Shift is a very enjoyable read, not just engaging but though provoking as well.
The novel resumes a decade later and is initially a western, a parochial tale with a hint of High Noon with an ageing marshal of a dust ball backwater town Argon, disgraced and humiliated. The initial nemesis character Hassan remarks of Marshal Jacob, “I’m surprised you’ve lasted as long as you have.” Yet there is also steel in the lawman’s soul and an integrity which allows him, with the help of his son Jon, to redeem himself.
Despite the strong western element the author avoids writing a simple morality tale of good versus bad. In fact it is the humans who are the interlopers here, colonising and dominating the native Threshian inhabitants. One rages that humans “enslave and steal from us,” whilst Michael, a messiah type figure in brown monkish robes asks, “will you bring them to justice as well?”
The western element is so strong initially that I wondered if the tale actually needed to be a science fiction at all. That question however was soon answered with a resounding yes. As the story progresses the literary canvas widens to incorporate a thousand year back-story, superhuman abilities, multiple identities and a deeply unsettling existential angst.
Well written, superbly paced and skillfully plotted Threshold Shift is a very enjoyable read, not just engaging but though provoking as well.
August 4, 2013
A surprising book, not long enough to give deep character development but at almost every chapter change a plot twist that makes you reassess your opinion of the book.
Loses a star only because I can't give it 5 stars - it's not as polished as it should be, both in terms of the proof-reading and length of book, and I think that this author with the right guidance could be a bestseller. 4.5 stars would be my preferred choice!
Loses a star only because I can't give it 5 stars - it's not as polished as it should be, both in terms of the proof-reading and length of book, and I think that this author with the right guidance could be a bestseller. 4.5 stars would be my preferred choice!
September 20, 2012
To be totally honest Sci-Fi is not exactly my favorite genre, mostly because every time I read one it feels derivative and unoriginal – as if every scifi writer had to follow a certain “handbook” of tropes and themes to cover. I was pleasantly surprised to read “Threshold Shift” and see that not only was this story inventive and creative, it felt wholly original in its execution. Of course there were certain elements that are familiar to everyone (settlers on a foreign planet; tensions between natives and newcomers; power struggle for dominance, etc…) but the way it was carried out was so unique and intelligent, I was captivated throughout the whole book. Definitely recommend for fiction readers who might be looking for something a little different.
October 5, 2012
For me, a book like this is exactly what it is supposed to be…entertaining, a little addicting, hard to put down, and takes me to another time and place where anything and everything is possible. Was it perfect? No, few books (if any) are. What it did do was keep me interested and I genuinely cared about each of the characters, including, strangely enough, the sim Jake, who I think I liked the most. I don’t know why, but I got a real kick out of how totally ordinary all of the names in this book were…Michael, Paul, Jacob, Jon, Daniel, etc…it just struck me as a bit funny to picture some big strong lizard alien being named “Michael”. This is definitely being filed under the “books I liked” category, and the writing was surprisingly strong.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews