Audiobook Review – Terminus (Threshold Universe, Book 4) by Peter Clines, Narrated by Ray Porter (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 11 hours and 21 minutes
Publisher: Audible Originals
Release Date: January 30, 2020
ASIN : B082MQXBSL
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Threshold Universe series
Source: Borrowed audiobook through Audible Plus
Rating: 4/5 stars
“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.”
Series Info/Source: I got this as an audiobook through Audible Plus. This is the fourth book in the Threshold Universe. The stories are loosely connected and this book ties in with the first book in the series quite a bit.
Audiobook Quality (4/5): I had no issue with this audiobook it was well done and easy to listen to.
Story (4/5): I enjoyed this and would recommend re-reading “14” and “The Fold” if you have time. I did not have time to re-read them, but did go back to my personal notes to refresh myself on the characters from those books. This book builds off of both “14” and “The Fold”; I recognized the elements from “14” right away and remembered Veek, but it took more effort to realize how the minor characters from “The Fold” played into the story. I have not read “Dark Moon” but other readers have said it doesn’t really tie into the overall story well.
This book is part sci-fi thriller, part horror, and part survival. It deals with parallel realities and post-apocalyptic events. It’s a fun and fast-paced read with some dark Cthulhu undertones. However, I didn’t find it nearly as mysterious, suspenseful, or creepy as “14”. I guess there just wasn’t a lot that surprised me here, so towards the end of the book I just wanted to finish the story and get on to something else. I did enjoy how this book answers a number of questions left unanswered in “14” and “The Fold”.
Characters (4/5): The characters are well done but not the main driver behind the story. Most of the characters are new to the series. However, you will recognize Veek from “14” and Anne from “The Fold”.
Setting (4/5): The creepy island setting worked well for this story. I enjoyed the mystery behind it all and how you, as the reader, have to slowly unravel all the creepy elements and put them together.
Writing Style (4/5): This was generally well written. A few more pointers or hints about how things wrap into earlier books would have been nice; Clines is basically assuming that you remember every little bit and piece from “14” and “The Fold”. Despite the weirdness of the book it ended up being strangely predictable and ended a lot like other books in this series have. I like this world though and the strangeness of it all, I just wish most of the problems weren’t solved in a similar way to how they have been solved in other books. There is also a lot of graphic gore in here, so be prepared for that.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this. Clines always writes really weird books, that are strangely compelling and full of creepy mysteries. There are some neat ideas that tie into both parallel worlds and a Cthulu-like mythos. However, the characters weren’t as engaging as in previous books and I found the resolution to be strangely predictable. I would recommend this if you have enjoyed the previous Threshold books. I liked this book better than “The Fold” but not as much as “14”.
