- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Roc (TRD) (Nov 9 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0451458583
- ISBN-13: 978-0451458582
- Product Dimensions: 15.4 x 1.7 x 22.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 290 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #765,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
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.
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.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
MORNING after the funeral, latest funeral in what seems to Chance Matthews to have become a litany of caskets and wreaths and frowning undertakers that might go on forever, if there were anyone left she cared about, anyone left to die. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
MORNING after the funeral, latest funeral in what seems to Chance Matthews to have become a litany of caskets and wreaths and frowning undertakers that might go on forever, if there were anyone left she cared about, anyone left to die. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very good, but not quite there.,
By
This review is from: Threshold (Mass Market Paperback)
The author's short stories were better. The long form requires better pacing, and as with most new novelists, the ending really did not come through as well as it might. Endings are very hard. But in general excellent overall writing, good characterization, and an interesting plot. I will certainly buy more from her.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Making time for Deep Time,
By
This review is from: Threshold (Mass Market Paperback)
A strongly-written and atmospheric novel, Lovecraftian in its theme, yet quite original and subtle in its approach. A book to be savored. The characters were also memorable: Dancy (who appears on the cover) in particular made a particularly strong impression, but all were well-drawn as (generally troubled) individuals. The second Kiernan novel I have read (after SILK, which was also excellent, but very different in tone), and shows the versatility of this fine writer. I look forward to reading her other works.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Closed Passages and Ancient Secrets,
By Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Threshold (Paperback)
I've remarked in at least one other review that Caitlin Kiernan has gone a long way to establishing herself as a bright light in the firmament of horror writers. Kiernan has four novels to her credit, the first of which has only appeared as a limited edition. Threshold, which is her second commercial novel (and the first involving Chance Matthews and Deacon Silvey), is one of those brilliant exercises that leaves the reader stunned and hungry for more.This is Chance's novel, as Red Moon Rising is Deacon's. A run of deaths among Chance's friends and family have left her numb and at sea. In the middle of the sorrow two things happen to her In searching through her house, she discovers a box of her grandmother's research materials - paleontological artifacts, a diary, and a vial with the preserved body of a curious insect that bears an uncanny resemblance to a trilobyte. All are drawn from the same local mine. The second event is the appearance of Dancy Flammarion a monster hunter who knows more than she possibly could. In between her explorations of the lives and relationships of Chance, her ex-boyfriend Deacon, his current lover Sadie Jasper, and Dancy, Kiernan lets us have glimpses of an ancient horror that has come to see them as a threat. It manifests in many forms - a fellow bus rider, the ghosts of friends, eerie animals that live in the darkest corners, and something thoughtlessly evil that lurks in the depths of the mines. Once touch at a time the horror builds subtly for the most part, until the reader experiences a sense of free form unease. Kiernan works with small crises rather than apocalypses, but the potential is always just under the surface. And then the writer finds a finish that is both intrnsely satisfying and deeply mysterious. This is a superbly crafted book. Kiernan's habit of choosing the lost and the hopeless as main characters will invite comparisons will Poppy Brite, but she is really a different sort of writer. And in my minds eye, possible the better of the two. She draws from sources as diverse as Lovecraft and Beowulf without a blink, and manages to keep the concoction marching to the satisfaction of the reader. Read it, and prepare for a nightmare or two.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
