What do You think about Threshold (2004)?
‘Hold me, sooth me, touch me, love me.’This is the story of Ashdod, a land which mathematician Magi control. The Magi worship the number One with its representation of Infinity. For generations, a pyramid, Threshold, has been under construction: it represents the perfect mathematical formula that will enable the Magi to touch and then to step into Infinity.Thousands of slaves have been drafted into the construction of Threshold. Among them is a young and gifted glassworker who has been renamed Tirzah. This story is told by Tirzah, who has a very special gift. Tirzah can communicate with the glass which is being used to cover the pyramid. There is something going seriously wrong at Threshold and it is transforming in ways that the Magi cannot control. Threshold was supposed to be a bridge for the Magi into Infinity, but when something comes across the bridge from Infinity things go horribly wrong.Boaz, the Master Magus, has secrets of his own, and he also knows that Tirzah is hiding something. What are those secrets, and can they work together to save Ashdod?I enjoyed this novel: there is plenty of page turning action, and while the world created is a bleak one there is hope of redemption. I found that the first half of the story flowed more easily for me than the second half but by then I was so engaged by the characters (especially Tirzah and Boaz) that I found it hard to put the book down. This is the first Sara Douglass novel that I’ve read and as this novel is the prequel to The Darkglass Mountain Trilogy’, I will look for those books next.Jennifer Cameron-Smith
—Jennifer (JC-S)
Tirzah and her father, master glassworkers, have been sold into slavery to pay his debts. They end up working in a desert land on a project called Threshold. The Magi, who are causing this pyramid to be built, believe numbers are the key to perfection in all things, and that Threshold will be their bridge to union with Infinity. The most severe among them is the Emperor's nephew Boaz.Tirzah's skill at working glass is augmented by her magic. She is an Elemental, one who hears the speech of glass, metals, and other such things. The Magi have outlawed Elemental magic because it disregards the mathematical precision of the One.Boaz insists on a relationship with Tirzah. Their relationship, and what transpires around them as they each find their destiny, is at the heart of the book.
—Lynne Cantwell
It was an okay book. The first half was really good and exciting. I really loved the Tirzah - Yaqob - Boaz love triangle. The plot was also exciting. I was really anticipating what evil lurks in Threshold. But after Tirzah and Boaz got together and the evil from Threshold was released everything went downhill. The second part was kind of boring. I wished it was shortened by the author. A lot of unnecessary and silly stuff like the Fetizzah. It was really weird. Also the author made use of a lot of deus ex machina using Fetizzah. Maybe editing the second part would make the story better. A little mystery is also good. This is for mature readers who also loves young adult fantasy books.
—Krizia Anna
