Terminus

De: Peter Clines

Narrado por: Ray Porter

Murdoch’s past has finally come crashing down on him. His former girlfriend. His Family. He’s been happily avoiding them for ages, trying to live something close to a normal life. But now he’s been drawn back into another one of their ludicrous attempts to bring about the end of all things.

Chase has spent the past year just trying to get away. Trying to escape the memories that won’t stop following him, the moment when his life collapsed. He’s traveled around the world trying to stay ahead of it all, but those final moments may be catching up with him at last.

Anne is tired of living in the past. She’s finally looking to the future and embracing her destiny. She’s going to lead the Family forward on their greatest, final crusade to destroy the hated Machine of their long-time adversary.

Their paths will intersect in the middle of nowhere, on an uncharted island where the walls of reality are thin...and an apocalyptic threat is tearing its way through.

©2020 Peter Clines (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

Finally continuation

Within minutes I was hooked. Characters were coming back and plots were coming together. It’s the first book that needs you to read anything from before but I’m glad we’re pushing the story forward.

Fun, but not quite on the same level as the last 2

I count the first two "Threshold" books (14 and The Fold) among the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. I absolutely love them. So I may have come into this with my hopes a bit too high. But I've enjoyed Mr Clines's other work as well, so I was very excited to get a nice proper Threshold novel again.

But the story was a lot less compelling to me this time. None of the main characters really clicked with me, and the ending was a bit too predictable. The story didn't quite grab me, and the sense of mysterious foreboding that permeated the others was almost entirely absent. I can't say I'm disappointed - I finished the book happy and it was a worthwhile listen, especially with the always-excellent Ray Porter on the job. But this one didn't rise to the extraordinary level of the others.

More green cockroaches

I found this book entertaining. Many Peter Clines books I've listened to have a tie in with the Cthulhu Mythos. That's not a negative ... it's an expectation, it's part of the draw. The book has a lot of characters and a number of them don't make it to the end. However, rarely have I really cared about his characters, so their deaths aren't really noteworthy. You don't come to one of these books looking for masterful writing or in-depth character development. Most of these characters are here to get killed. That said there is a rather well described grizzly death early in the book that was modestly disturbing to me, as in "got it, bad way to die", you don't have to describe every detail for five mins. Clines writes a story that holds together, the characters are mostly believable and the ideas are imaginative and fun. Ray Porter is a great narrator and does an excellent job with voicing the characters.

Meta-commentary on other reviews. There is at least one review for this book that thinks it's "overboard on politics". I actually read that review before buying the book. Having read other books by Clines I was really puzzled. In that review there was a complaint that "Trump" was insulted. There was one throw away line, that didn't use a name, and no indication the story took place in this "reality/timeline". I'm truly puzzled at what sort of person is attracted to the Science Fiction and Fantasy category while also expecting to never encounter an idea incompatible with a clearly narrow world view. I truly can't figure out if it's genuine, trolling or some reverse psychology sales trick. Other complaints in that review indicate someone so easily triggered it made me laugh and shake my head. A twisted part of me wanted to title my review "Snowflake incensed by imagined insult, made by imagined character, in imagined universe, attempts to cancel book." ... the real kicker is 76 people found that review "helpful" ... that small enough to be affected by a small group or determined individual, but large enough to ensure it appears in the top 10 reviews. A 1 star review that says nothing about the story or performance, just basically complains it's "too woke", is a "top 10" review?. The problem is it isn't just this book, I've seen exactly the same review pattern in a bunch of other books showing up for months. It's both funny and makes me sad, especially when in the US, fear of truth, love of hate and banning of books seems to be trending.

(Yes, I know virtually no-one will read this review, but I feel better)

Same Old, Same Old zzzzzzzzz

Ray Porter was surprisingly subpar. He didn’t narrate with his typical energy. He sounded bored. But I can’t blame him. This book was boring, a little ridiculous, and plain lazy. I guess Clines has reached the point in his career where he’s putting out crap just to put something out (see e.g., James Patterson).

This doesn’t compare to “14,” although it tries. There’s little action, a TON of boring filler, and it’s hard to root for any of the characters. Even the one character from “14” was hard to care about.

The book carries on the theme of “14,” but it takes it in a stupid direction. Clines was lazy with this one. There was very little new material, no new storylines, and the action was brief and uninteresting. It was just plain boring and unimaginative.

The one good part was the reference to Saint Germaine aka Church, from the Joe Ledger series.

Not worth a credit unless you’re simply desperate for something to listen to.

not as good as the first two

it's been awhile since I listened to the first two books but this one did not feel nearly as engaging as I remember the others. it also felt difficult and convoluted trying to follow the multiverse aspects; it seemed like it was just happening however the story needed it to happen and there wasn't a whole lot of thought behind why or how.