On
the Threshold
by
M. Laszlo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE:
Historical Science Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
Guest Post
5-10
Musts That Every Story in My Trans-Genre Must Have
On
the Threshold
is a trans-genre work that seeks to truly help people to grasp and to
face very real and very difficult aspects of life. This metaphysical
kind of trans-genre writing is not complicated at all, though. In
fact, this kind of writing is quite simple and has only seven musts.
First:
the protagonist or point-of-view character must
be able to teach the reader something.
Second:
this kind of metaphysical, trans-genre work must
have a moral center. It must be abundantly clear that the
point-of-view character does not wish to harm anyone.
Third:
both the story and the well-intentioned characters within said tale
must
be honest or sincere. If the protagonist fails to live up to this
ideal, nevertheless, the character should at least realize that he or
she ought to make a change.
Fourth:
the writer must
market a metaphysical trans-genre work to adults only. At the very
least, the reader must be exceedingly mature. Remember, as simple as
my novels tend to be, all metaphysical fiction traffics in profound
ideas.
Five:
no matter how pernicious the stakes, the protagonist must
strive to make intelligent decisions. Even if the point-of-view
character is too afraid to make an intelligent or wise decision,
nevertheless, the character must be aware of that fact. At the very
least, when the character’s poor decisions unleash a series of
unintended consequences, the point-of-view character or protagonist
ought to readily recognize the problem. That kind of awareness should
make the character relatable to the reader because every reader has
made decisions that he or she regrets. Moreover, every reader has
experienced a scenario in which he or she had to make amends for a
bad decision.
Six:
even if the main character has specific beliefs and political
aspirations, the main character must
be aware of how crucially important it is to be at least a little bit
objective. Even better, the protagonist ought to realize that peace
of mind comes from the psyche or intellect itself. In other words, if
the protagonist understands that politics cannot solve the problems
of the world, the reader’s relationship with that protagonist
becomes that much more personal or immediate.
Seven:
even if the main character is prone to stress, confusion, and mental
illness, said character must
at least value the kind of lucidity that comes with having an
analytical mind and a good memory. Why? It comes down to the fact
that a clear-thinking character is a character that a reader can
trust.
M.
Laszlo lives in Bath Township, Ohio. He is an aging recluse, rarely
seen nor heard. On
the Threshold
is his second release and first with Tahlia Newland’s Awesome
Independent Authors.
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.
Buy
link: https://aiapublishing.com/product/on-the-threshold-m-laszlo/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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