The Collective Books of The Threshold Series by Peter Clines
Adventure, alternate dimensions, Cathulu-type monsters, government conspiracies, and weird apartment buildings all make this series an eclectic mix. Each of these books can technically be read as a stand-alone. The last book in this series, Terminus, is the exception, and I believe it would be harder to read Terminus without reading the others. But they all interconnect and reference each other.
Did I also mention that they’re all narrated by Ray Porter? He’s the same man who narrated the audio version of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. He’s the absolute GOAT of audiobook narrators.
If I had to choose one book to read above the others, I would choose The Fold. It was the first book I read, even though the true first book in the series is 14. I had no trouble with the plot, even though it’s technically the second book.
In The Fold, we follow Mike, a teacher with a true eidetic memory, as he investigates a secret government organization working on teleportation. Something needs to be fixed with the program. People involved with it have dealt with strange occurrences. The crew is hostile at best and hiding things at worst, and before the end, the world may hang in the balance.
This book kept me enthralled to the last line. The characters were likable and well-rounded, the plot was engaging, and the book came to a complete ending despite there being two other books after this one.
The first book in the series, 14, was also worthwhile. If you like books like “We Used to Live Here” by Marcus Kliewer or any book with weird homes, this is for you! Nate moves into a new apartment building, but something isn’t right. There are green cockroaches, apartment doors with padlocks on the outside, and no power lines going to the building. With the help of the other residents, he’ll discover something about the building that could potentially destroy the world. This was another 5-star in the series. I loved the weird sci-fi horror of it all. And it comes to a completely satisfying ending, despite being the first of four.
Unfortunately, the last two books do not live up to the first two. It didn’t bother me that they’re only available as audiobooks, as I love audiobooks.
Dead Moon is a sci-fi horror story about zombies on the moon. Though it was connected to the first two, it was connected only in the loosest sense and didn’t further the plot. It was a good book on its own. Lots of cosmic horror, but I gave it three stars in relation to the series.
Terminus was very connected to the series. So much so that I wouldn’t have read it without reading 14 and The Fold. However, it was a lot more endless action than the other two and lacked a plot compared to the action. It would have been more acceptable had it been just one in a continuation of the series, but as far as I can tell, it’s the last one, and the end doesn’t wrap up the series in any natural way. Terminus follows three men who get deserted on an island. At the same time, one of the characters from the first book, 14, escapes captivity from a mysterious group called “The Family” on the other side of the island.
Ultimately, my suggestion is this. If you’re into multiverse cosmic sci-fi. If you LOVE well-written weird sci-fi. Definitely read The Fold and 14. They’re both their own books with their own plots. They both wrap up in a bow. Though Easter eggs from 14 end up in The Fold, it can be read as its own stand-alone, and I would consider it the best of the four. They’re both 5 stars, and Ray Porter’s Audiobooks make it even better.
If you love zombies. If you love cosmic horror. Dead Moon in this series is for you. You do not have to read the first two. They are only loosely connected. It was a solid sci-fi horror. It just wasn’t what I wanted in the series. Three and a half stars for this book by itself.
Terminus should only be read if you really want an extension of 14. That is what it is. Though it has a beginning, middle, and end, it doesn’t wrap up the series as a whole in any way, and in terms of writing, I think it was the weakest of the four. Three stars.
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