Saturday 14 July 2012

The Threshold Shift Page

Threshold Shift  
by G.D. TINNAMS

Available in Paperback and on Kindle from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk


In the 34th century on the frontier planet of Threshold, Marshal Jacob Klein is desperately trying to maintain a fragile peace on a world where the racial tension between humanity and the indigenous species has been stretched to breaking point.
Ten years before Klein was instrumental in ending an attempted uprising by the Threshians, but in the process he lost his wife, and became estranged from his son. Old and weary, he finds himself increasingly marginalised and addicted to a performance enhancing drug. When his supply is abruptly cut off, a chain of events is set in motion that causes the murder of an old friend, the imprisonment of a Threshian leader, and the arrival of a disfigured man.
Jacob must not only face up to his recent choices, but also to a past he has been running from for over two decades. For you see Jacob Klein has a secret he can no longer ignore, a secret that will change the planet of Threshold forever.

Some Reviews of Threshold Shift:
 

5.0 out of 5 stars A sci-fi Western with a difference, July 12, 2012
This review is from: Threshold Shift (Kindle Edition)
It's John Wayne meets John Wyndham in this debut novel of frontier colonists, aboriginal lizard-men and psychic experiments gone awry. Author G. D. Tinnams has created a remote world that attracts men with pasts, populated it with not-so-noble savages and tamed it with enigmatically archaic technology; the result is classic sci-fi Western genre fiction...until the true nature of the Marshall and his son is explored.

The author keeps a tight pace and concentrates on character. There's a refreshing absence of technobabble and an admirable economy of style. As with any story 'with a twist', the timing of the switch is crucial - and here it is finely judged. The Western tropes peak just as the reader engages with the 'twist', which works to broaden the story's scope, raise the stakes and throw new light on the key characters.

By no means a 'heavy' novel, the story nonetheless touches on existential and metaphysical topics.

A strong debut novel from a writer to watch.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast Paced SciFi - A Must read, 14 July 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What is this?)
This review is from: Threshold Shift (Kindle Edition)
Read this book over several days whilst commuting to work. Engrossing sci-fi with great pacing and depth. A great combination of sci-fi with a western frontier feel, developed characters and a interesting background. Well worth the price.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast Paced Action Packed Sci-fi Thriller!, 24 Jun 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What is this?)
This review is from: Threshold Shift (Kindle Edition)
A gripping read from start to finish, I really enjoyed this novel. The author has done a great job creating a world of intriguing characters and concepts. His vision unfolds as the story progresses keeping you wanting to read more.

The story begins with Jon an 11 year old boy whom after escaping a fire of their family home is taken by the Threshians , an alien race which inhabits Threshold that Jon has only previosuly encountered via an online battlefield. Not initially aware of his mother's fate Jon manages to escape and the story begins to unfold!

10 years later both Jon and his father, the Threshold Marshal, end up on an adventure which will change everything both for Threshold and themselves.


Thursday 5 July 2012

Spider-man (2002) Versus The Amazing Spider-man (2012)


I saw The Amazing Spider-man last night, so here are my conclusions based on it going head to head with the original 2002 film.

Key:
SM (Spider-man 2002)
ASM (Amazing Spider-man 2012)


1) ASM spends more time on the origin story than SM but the school halls, his house, all seem very similar to SM. For those of us just wanting the movie to get on with it, the original was best. (SM wins)

2) In ASM Andrew Garfield is more believable and less creepy than SM Tobey Maguire. For me Tobey is a little bit off the mark, not firing on all cylinders. Andrew was a bit more angry teenager with super powers. (ASM wins)

3) Never understood why in SM, Spider-man was so good at fighting ordinary criminals, but rubbish at fighting the Green Goblin who was basically a strong guy with gadgets. In ASM the Lizard is believable stronger and more ferocious than Spider-man. This reflects the comics where Spider-man is often the underdog in his battles. (ASM wins)

4) I never could believe the relationship between Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in SM. In ASM the easy chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone is fresh and believable. This is just enough so that I can overlook that for a first date he has dinner with her and her parents. Who does that? (ASM wins.)
5) Jonah Jameson is a staple of the comics, hating Spider-man with a vengeance and was portrayed to great effect in SM by J.K. Simmons. In ASM Jonah Jameson is nowhere to be seen. In fact there are no Daily Bugle stalwarts at all like Robbie Robertson or Betty Brant. (SM wins)

 6) As villains go Willem Dafoe chewed the scenery with aplomb as the Green Goblin in SM. Rhys Ifans is much more understated, and often replaced by CGI. He seems more real as a character, but Willem Dafoe was just insane. (SM wins)

7) In ASM the disappearance of Peter's parents is woven into the story, giving Peter some anger over the disappearance of his parents. It's very Batman Begins. In SM this never really came up, and Peter never really seemed to have the anger of energy that he had in ASM. (ASM wins)

8) Mask removal. In ASM Peter removes his mask at every opportunity and often swings around the city maskless. In SM Peter rarely removes his mask (he frequently did in other films). SM was more true to the comics in this regard. Spider-man wants to keep a secret identity. (SM wins)

9)  For cheesy moments ASM had cranes being repositioned by kindly construction workers so he could swing to Oscorp in a wounded condition to save the day. This was embarrassing, especially as a news helicopter was following spider-man and he could have snagged it and asked for a lift. In SM the Green Goblin was stoned by the New Yorkers who thought of Spider-man as one of their own. (It's a tie)

10) In SM Flash Thompson didn't have a character, he just bullied Peter , was embarrassed and then disappeared. In ASM Flash bullied someone else, Peter stuck his nose in without Spider powers, got beaten up. Later on he confronted Flash and humiliated him on the basketball court. But Flash showed hidden depths when he comforted Peter on the death of Uncle Ben and later hugged him as a friend at the end of the movie. (ASM wins)

Overall score out of ten:
Spider-man (2002) 4.5/10
Amazing Spider-man (2012) 5.5/10

Amazing Spider-man (2012) wins by just one point.