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Threshold
Jason Derval has problems. He and his friends are failing through life, struggling with school, and barely surviving in their dying small town. Then a fracking company accidentally unleashes an ancient evil. Now they have new problems, and their only weapons are debt, good intentions, and a rebuilt Camaro.
This will not end well.
This will not end well.
351 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 27, 2018
14 people are currently reading
332 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Kaukola
5 books20 followersJ. M. Kaukola is the author of the scifi-horror-comedy hybrid "Threshold" and the military Scifi thriller series "The Sword".
He was born and raised in the midwest United States, and is currently weathering out the lockdown by binging terrible movies and obsessing over text files.
He was born and raised in the midwest United States, and is currently weathering out the lockdown by binging terrible movies and obsessing over text files.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 1, 2019
Threshold by J.M. Kaukola is a suspenseful tale about a group of friends in a relatively small town. Boredom allows them to stumble upon something that they would have been better off not seeing, and good intentions further drives them into an unbelievable situation that only gets more intense by the minute…
While reading this book, I had to fight myself to put it down.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
Oh my gosh, this book. I had so much fun reading it! It was a great mix of interesting and really well developed characters, humor, nerdiness, and horror.
The first half of the book was really all about the character development. I loved that we really got to know each of the characters and what their relationships with one another was like. I especially loved learning about each of the character’s hobbies! The main character’s LARPing was especially interesting to me as I have heard about this here and there, but didn’t know much about it. I loved learning more and these scenes were so much fun to read!
I have to say, when I first heard that the main character knew how to properly use a sword, I had my fingers crossed that we were really going to see him in action rather than holding back to make sure he didn’t actually hurt someone. I was not disappointed!
While the author gave me a heads up that the horror would come later, I found myself getting totally lost in the tale in the first half and kept forgetting my anticipation for the horror!
Now don’t get me wrong, there were certainly elements that were put in here and there that alluded to the horror that would come later. I especially loved the last sentences of many of the chapters that made it clear that something was going to happen. And boy, did the story take a turn around the 50% mark!
I struggled so hard to put this book down and get to work! I just had to know what was going to happen next!
When I arrived at the last page, I set my kindle down and had to take a deep breath.
Bravo, Mr. Kaukola! This what quite the tale!
My Favorite Passages:
If there were two things it was good at, it was wasting money and desecrating Indian burial grounds. They should put it on a postcard. ‘Historic Landen. We bulldozed two of these fuckers, and we ain’t haunted yet!’
The lack of poltergeists made sense. Even vengeful ghosts would take one look at Landen, remember they had standards, and fuck off upstate.
He drank in silence, his eyes locked on the cut-out hills. After a moment, he lowered his can and passed the half-empty to me. He said, “Hold my beer and watch this.”
That phrase was a hillbilly red flag. It meant that bad decisions were imminent. With Shane, that was double.
In the Old West, cowboys shot one-handed to keep the control of the reins of their horse. Shane shot one-handed so he could keep drinking.
He reached forward and turned on the radio. With the windows down and radio up, we sailed through the night and straight toward disaster.
I remembered coming here as a kid. At least, I think I did. The problem with “little kid memory” was that it got blurred and hiccuped; it was built from flashes of scenes, vague feelings, and single points of clarity.
If someone asked me a question, I was damn sure gonna answer. It was like when the doctor hit your knee with the mallet, except with words.
Say what you will about bravery, but there was a time and a place for running away, and that time was five minutes ago.
There was no way I was getting out of this ‘okay.’ It wasn’t in the cards. I was fucked. Doomed. College student number seven-thousand-seven-hundred-thirty-four was no goddamn match for this. My skills were pop culture and sarcasm. When the living dead came for me, what was I gonna do? Snark them to death?
My Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy the mix of humor and horror based around an awesome young adult cast with a lovely coming of age element, then I highly recommend this one to you!
Like I said above, I had so much fun reading this one! I just loved each of the characters and their realistic banter. Everything was so wonderfully organized, it felt like you were right there in the story with them!
While reading this book, I had to fight myself to put it down.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
Oh my gosh, this book. I had so much fun reading it! It was a great mix of interesting and really well developed characters, humor, nerdiness, and horror.
The first half of the book was really all about the character development. I loved that we really got to know each of the characters and what their relationships with one another was like. I especially loved learning about each of the character’s hobbies! The main character’s LARPing was especially interesting to me as I have heard about this here and there, but didn’t know much about it. I loved learning more and these scenes were so much fun to read!
I have to say, when I first heard that the main character knew how to properly use a sword, I had my fingers crossed that we were really going to see him in action rather than holding back to make sure he didn’t actually hurt someone. I was not disappointed!
While the author gave me a heads up that the horror would come later, I found myself getting totally lost in the tale in the first half and kept forgetting my anticipation for the horror!
Now don’t get me wrong, there were certainly elements that were put in here and there that alluded to the horror that would come later. I especially loved the last sentences of many of the chapters that made it clear that something was going to happen. And boy, did the story take a turn around the 50% mark!
I struggled so hard to put this book down and get to work! I just had to know what was going to happen next!
When I arrived at the last page, I set my kindle down and had to take a deep breath.
Bravo, Mr. Kaukola! This what quite the tale!
My Favorite Passages:
If there were two things it was good at, it was wasting money and desecrating Indian burial grounds. They should put it on a postcard. ‘Historic Landen. We bulldozed two of these fuckers, and we ain’t haunted yet!’
The lack of poltergeists made sense. Even vengeful ghosts would take one look at Landen, remember they had standards, and fuck off upstate.
He drank in silence, his eyes locked on the cut-out hills. After a moment, he lowered his can and passed the half-empty to me. He said, “Hold my beer and watch this.”
That phrase was a hillbilly red flag. It meant that bad decisions were imminent. With Shane, that was double.
In the Old West, cowboys shot one-handed to keep the control of the reins of their horse. Shane shot one-handed so he could keep drinking.
He reached forward and turned on the radio. With the windows down and radio up, we sailed through the night and straight toward disaster.
I remembered coming here as a kid. At least, I think I did. The problem with “little kid memory” was that it got blurred and hiccuped; it was built from flashes of scenes, vague feelings, and single points of clarity.
If someone asked me a question, I was damn sure gonna answer. It was like when the doctor hit your knee with the mallet, except with words.
Say what you will about bravery, but there was a time and a place for running away, and that time was five minutes ago.
There was no way I was getting out of this ‘okay.’ It wasn’t in the cards. I was fucked. Doomed. College student number seven-thousand-seven-hundred-thirty-four was no goddamn match for this. My skills were pop culture and sarcasm. When the living dead came for me, what was I gonna do? Snark them to death?
My Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy the mix of humor and horror based around an awesome young adult cast with a lovely coming of age element, then I highly recommend this one to you!
Like I said above, I had so much fun reading this one! I just loved each of the characters and their realistic banter. Everything was so wonderfully organized, it felt like you were right there in the story with them!
May 4, 2019
Initially I didn't write a review because I figured there were probably hundreds of glowing reviews for Threshhold from young people. I was wrong. So, here's my glowing old person review: the story is fascinating, weaving young adults and their sense of justice with environmental issues with sensitivity to indigenous peoples with what appears to be (spoiler alert?) aliens. The kids (late high school, early college age) are incredibly realistic; their dialog, their actions, their concern with adult problems -- it all rings true. I didn't read anything that I thought, "Oh, c'mon. No kid is going to say/think/do that!" Everything the characters did, no matter how stupid or foolhardy, was something I could see young adults I know doing in that situation.
If I have to criticize, here it is -- the climax is frenetic and the language gets difficult to follow. I got really tired of the the word "ichor". I was exhausted by the end of the book.
Bottom line? I'm glad I read the book. It was enjoyable. I say go ahead and read it. When I come across another book by Kaukola, I will read it.
If I have to criticize, here it is -- the climax is frenetic and the language gets difficult to follow. I got really tired of the the word "ichor". I was exhausted by the end of the book.
Bottom line? I'm glad I read the book. It was enjoyable. I say go ahead and read it. When I come across another book by Kaukola, I will read it.
April 10, 2019
Different than expected
Very well written with unexpected outcomes. I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it and won't write anything else since I don't want to spoil it.
Very well written with unexpected outcomes. I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it and won't write anything else since I don't want to spoil it.
July 12, 2019
DNF at 68%
I was curious about the premise, and enjoyed the author's sense of humor. However, the author's sleazeball heroes and progressive-mocking positions eventually got to be too much.
We've got a 'Murica hillbilly best friend.
We've got a mouth-breather internet troll, who's a gleefully awful shitstain online but "wore MLP t-shirts" and "had a gay best friend" so was "an alright guy in real life".
We've got a religious gay guy, who I think is mainly written gay to justify his being rejected from his youth group?
We've got a POV narrator who's got a smartyrdom complex. Quote unquote, "'Too smart' was the curse that followed me."
We've got a girl whose identity is basically "protester", portrayed as half-brainwashed and "possessed" by her concerns.
We've got a protest leader who's cast as the instantly-suspicious ringleader of manufactured outrage, vs the suit in charge of the fracking -- which by the way, per the Goodreads summary, "accidentally unleashes an ancient evil" -- vs the suit in charge of the fracking who is cast as preventing "American energy dependence on a hostile-at-best foreign power."
In the first chapter, the narrator bemoans:
So we're not gonna say "friendzone", but we're totally gonna wink and nod it.
I finally tapped out when the gay friend defends his love of wrestling on TV with:
Hilarious. Wrestling is gay; the gay guy teases his friend by calling him gay; and the friend is supremely pissed at being called gay.
Who the hell would use their own identity as an insult and have a "friend" who is genuinely pissed by the accusation?
Mainly I kept reading because I wanted to make sure I wasn't being prematurely dismissive. But I ended up highlighting half the book with "gimme a break" notes.
TL;DR -- when you hear "libtards" or "snowflakes", do you cheer or cringe? If you cringe, then probably best to avoid this book.
I was curious about the premise, and enjoyed the author's sense of humor. However, the author's sleazeball heroes and progressive-mocking positions eventually got to be too much.
We've got a 'Murica hillbilly best friend.
We've got a mouth-breather internet troll, who's a gleefully awful shitstain online but "wore MLP t-shirts" and "had a gay best friend" so was "an alright guy in real life".
We've got a religious gay guy, who I think is mainly written gay to justify his being rejected from his youth group?
We've got a POV narrator who's got a smartyrdom complex. Quote unquote, "'Too smart' was the curse that followed me."
We've got a girl whose identity is basically "protester", portrayed as half-brainwashed and "possessed" by her concerns.
We've got a protest leader who's cast as the instantly-suspicious ringleader of manufactured outrage, vs the suit in charge of the fracking -- which by the way, per the Goodreads summary, "accidentally unleashes an ancient evil" -- vs the suit in charge of the fracking who is cast as preventing "American energy dependence on a hostile-at-best foreign power."
In the first chapter, the narrator bemoans:
If I got a penny for each time I'd been told I was ‘like a brother' or a ‘real good friend', I think I'd be crushed under the weight of useless coins.
So we're not gonna say "friendzone", but we're totally gonna wink and nod it.
I finally tapped out when the gay friend defends his love of wrestling on TV with:
"Oh, I know why I like it. I think Chris just needs to accept some things about himself." Chris glared at him with the fury of a thousand suns.
Hilarious. Wrestling is gay; the gay guy teases his friend by calling him gay; and the friend is supremely pissed at being called gay.
Who the hell would use their own identity as an insult and have a "friend" who is genuinely pissed by the accusation?
Mainly I kept reading because I wanted to make sure I wasn't being prematurely dismissive. But I ended up highlighting half the book with "gimme a break" notes.
TL;DR -- when you hear "libtards" or "snowflakes", do you cheer or cringe? If you cringe, then probably best to avoid this book.
September 21, 2022
I received a free kindle copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
The premise of Threshold is bored teenagers, a dying small town and an ancient evil lying dormant at the bottom of an abandoned quarry waiting to be awakened. Add all this together and you get an exciting well paced thriller.
There is a lot of character development in the first half of the book that gets you invested in the characters and the town. Then in the second half of the book all Hell breaks loose leading to an exciting and unexpected conclusion.
I enjoyed this book a lot.
The premise of Threshold is bored teenagers, a dying small town and an ancient evil lying dormant at the bottom of an abandoned quarry waiting to be awakened. Add all this together and you get an exciting well paced thriller.
There is a lot of character development in the first half of the book that gets you invested in the characters and the town. Then in the second half of the book all Hell breaks loose leading to an exciting and unexpected conclusion.
I enjoyed this book a lot.
March 22, 2019
First off I must confess that I am a senior. This probably is why I did not finish this book. It has a lot of swearing in it and a lot of computer lingo that I am not familiar with. Ex: Man! I'm fucking Baitin.
I don't even have a clue to what that could be? So if you are into gaming and foul language then this book could be for you. I just could not continue.
I received this book free from Goodreads for a honest opinion.
I don't even have a clue to what that could be? So if you are into gaming and foul language then this book could be for you. I just could not continue.
I received this book free from Goodreads for a honest opinion.
January 8, 2019
Goodreads Kindle Win Copy
Small town boy barely surviving as the school system is failing him and his friends. Problems soon arise when a fracking company unleashes a new evil. With only mounting debt in sight and a rebuilt Camaro, the boys will have their work cut out for them despite their good intentions. It is a coming of age story.
Small town boy barely surviving as the school system is failing him and his friends. Problems soon arise when a fracking company unleashes a new evil. With only mounting debt in sight and a rebuilt Camaro, the boys will have their work cut out for them despite their good intentions. It is a coming of age story.
January 16, 2019
I received Threshold Kindle edition through the Goodreads Giveaways. Threshold is a clever twist on the coming-of-age/hometown heroes tale. While I liked the idea of the plot I believe this personally wasn’t my cup of tea.
September 25, 2021
Good combo
Looking for mysterious story with believable characters? You will find it here. To get a true understanding of the underlying antagonist, read Rachel Maddow's "Blowout" . The friendships are charming and the action at warp speed
Looking for mysterious story with believable characters? You will find it here. To get a true understanding of the underlying antagonist, read Rachel Maddow's "Blowout" . The friendships are charming and the action at warp speed
March 11, 2019
I really couldn't get into the writing style, or the characters. The story was okay, but overall, I just wasn't into it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews