On the Threshold
by
M. Laszlo
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GENRE: Historical Science Fiction
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BLURB:
Obsessed with learning the origins of the cosmos, the actual
meaning of life, and the true purpose of civilization, a fine Scotsman named
Fingal T. Smyth dedicates himself to the study of Plato’s most extraordinary
ideas. Convinced of Plato’s belief that humankind possesses any and all innate
knowledge deep within the collective unconscious mind, Fingal soon conducts a
series of bold, pioneering occult-science experiments by which to resolve the
riddle of the universe once and for all. However, Fingal forgets how violent
and perilous the animal impulses that reside in the deepest recesses of the
unconscious mind. And when Fingal unleashes a mysterious avatar of his innate
knowledge, the entity appears as a burning man and immediately seeks to
manipulate innocent and unsuspecting people everywhere into immolating
themselves. Now, with little hope of returning the fiery figure into his being,
Fingal must capture his nemesis before it destroys the world.
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EXCERPT
Autumn, 1907: late one morning, some kind of torrid,
invisible beast seemed to wrap itself all around Fingal T. Smyth’s body. Each
one of his toes twitching fiercely, he exited the castle and scanned the
distant, Scottish Highlands. Go back where you came from. As the entity wrapped
itself tighter all about his person, Fingal blinked back his tears. I’m
melting, I am. Aye, it’s the heat of fusion.
Gradually, the beast’s heartbeat became audible—each
pulsation. At the same time, too, the illusory heat of transformation emitted
an odor as of oven-roasted peppercorns dissolving in a cup of burnt coffee.
Over by the gatehouse, Fräulein Wunderwaffe appeared—the
little German girl wearing a plain-sewn robe and square-crown bowler. In that
moment, she no longer seemed to be a sickly child of seven years: her
inscrutable expression resembled that of a wise, indifferent cat.
Perhaps even some kind of lioness. Fingal cringed, and he
recalled a fragment of conversation from three weeks earlier.
“She suffers from a most unnatural pathology, an anguished,
maniacal obsession with cats,” Doktor Hubertus Pflug had explained. “Ever since
the poor girl was a baby, she has always regarded it her fate to one day
metamorphose into a glorious panther, for she believes herself to be ein
Gestaltwandler. Do you know this word? It means shapeshifter and refers to
someone who possesses the power to take the form of anything in nature.”
The heat radiated up and down Fingal’s spine now, and his
thoughts turned back to the present. Aye, it’s a change of phase. I’m melting
into a chemical compound. Despite all, he greeted the girl and willed himself
to flash a grin.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
M. Laszlo is an
aging recluse who lives in Bath, Ohio. Rumor holds that his pseudonym is a
reference to Victor Laszlo, a character in the classic film Casablanca. On the
Threshold is his first release with the acclaimed, Australian hybrid house AIA
Publishing. Oddly, M. Laszlo insists that his latest work, On the Threshold,
does in fact provide the correct answer to the riddle of the universe.
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GIVEAWAY
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My review:
3 stars
On the Threshold by M. Laszlo is the tale of Fingal T. Smyth’s
search for the meaning of life using multiple modalities and approaches. His travels
and experiments may have wide-reaching effects that could change the world.
This book is a blend of metaphysical contemplation and science
fiction/fantasy. It’s written in a stream of consciousness fashion as the main
character travels the world and meets various people. I think there should be
trigger warnings as there are both suicides and an uncomfortable obsession with
immolation. Philosophical ponderings are intertwined with glimpses of various
facets of society, from multiple countries and cultures. Sobering look at the
challenges of survival even as the narrator seems to always have enough money
to tinker and to move from place to place. The author seems focused on tastes,
smells, cats, young girls, and obscure facts that all combine to form a
background to his search for and efforts to control his inner self and attempt
to solve the riddle of the universe. There are a lot of quirky characters that
come and go, as well as allusions to things that only a select group will know,
including things like test patterns that used to occupy the airtime of television
that didn’t—gasp—have 24/7 programming.
This was a difficult read for me, but it is definitely
thought-provoking and made me reflect on the difficulties of communicating with
each other. I felt that Fingal is a bit condescending to the adult women in his
life, and quite a few of the events required a significant suspension of disbelief,
but I enjoyed the lyrical descriptions of the different locations visited and
the reminders of things from our common pasts.
A copy of this title was provided for review
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