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A review of Threshold: A Novel of Deep Time

by Caitlin R. Kiernan

A glimpse past the veil of reality, a step across the threshold of time into darker realms.

Reviewed by: April Dawn Duncan
About April Dawn Duncan

Threshold: A Novel of Deep Time Time. Such a little word for such an enigmatic and vast concept. Add to it the word deep. As if the concept of time didn't already have endless depths, this book wants us to go deeper. Is time really a one-way street? And so the author takes us across the threshold between the present and the past, spiraling through a mind-bending ride of ancient secrets and horrifying revelations.

Meet Chance. Down-to-earth, practical, no-nonsense Chance, who is trying her best to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and carry on. But there are things lurking in her past, in her family's past, things as old as the rocks she studies. They will make her pay for what she and her friends saw down under the mountain in the old water works tunnel.

"Threshold", by Caitlin R. Kiernan, falls into the general genres of dark fantasy and/or horror. When I read the first few paragraphs, I felt myself drawn in by the ebb and flow of the rich language. Like time, fluid and moving, unafraid to express itself through colorful simile and metaphor. Kiernan made me want both to devour her words wantonly and to pace myself so that I didn't miss a single detail. She keeps almost the entire novel in present tense, no barrier to help the reader stay distant. As I read, it was like I was in the moment with the characters, my heart racing right along with theirs. Subtly she uses the past tense to slip in memories. Memories as an anchor, a constant for us to keep up with her as time passes both forwards and backwards, flowing from her pen unrelentingly.

Another part of Kiernan's novel that captivated me was the characters themselves. She spins an interesting character dynamic that once started continues all on it's own, driving the characters to seek out answers and reach for more. And though Chance is the main protagonist, her supporting cast is as well developed as she is. At first, Kiernan clearly describes the characters from an outside view. However, as time moves, she gives us glimpses in just the right places of each character, so we stop judging them for their flaws and start understanding them for what they've lived through and where they want to go from there. I felt for each and every one of them, wished I could help them or at least say something to them. But there I was, gripping the novel in my hands only able to watch.

My favorite part about "Threshold" is Kiernan's delivery of the surreal and the supernatural through an anomalous mixture of science and mythology. Kiernan uses her own knowledge of paleontology, geology, mathematics, and mythology--more specifically of "Beowulf"-- to create a terrifying legend of her own. Couple her poetic language and her esoteric style with her fiery characters and ingenious storyline, and you have an absolutely fantastic book.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Threshold: A Novel of Deep Time

Copyright © by April Dawn Duncan, 2002

Reviewed by April Dawn Duncan:
--Threshold: A Novel of Deep Time - by Caitlin R. Kiernan
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--Tigana - by Guy Gavriel Kay
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--Circus of the Damned - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--The Lunatic Cafe - by Laurell K. Hamilton
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--Burnt Offerings - by Laurell K. Hamilton
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