Review Of Oblivion Threshold By J.R. Mabry And B.J. West

Oblivion Threshold by J. R. Mabry and B. J. West is the first novel of the science fiction series, The Oblivion Saga. The protagonist, Captain Jeff Bowers, is the only survivor of the first-ever contact with the hostile alien race, Prox. With his whole crew dead he struggles with the survivor’s guilt and agrees to be sent on a solo-mission “Before I cross the invisible line that separates pain-in-the-ass from a liability” as he points out himself. His assignment is to collect any info about the Prox. An assignment, that necessitates him to spend nine months alone on a spaceship, and that ends in a disaster where he dies. When he wakes up, he has the power that feels like the only hope to defend the humankind. The downside is, using it might destroy the whole universe.

This book drew me in with a great storytelling and a good pace. Even side characters feel like they all have their own lives and real problems. Authors have done a good amount of research to make the science and the military setting sound believable. The way the chain of command is followed sounds convincing for a layman while not becoming over-explained. I loved the sarcastic sense of humor and a self-irony towards a human folly. For example, describing the rooms given to the protagonist: “They’d provided him with a very comfortable apartment, oppressively cheery in décor, specially designed to offend few and please none. He hated it. ”

There was one thing that kept bothering me while reading. The name for the hostile alien race, Prox, feels uncomfortable to pronounce and sounds more like a cleaning product than an invincible, all-destructive alien race. The name makes your tongue stumble instead rolling over it. The reasoning for the name in the story seems weak “they were inbound from the general direction of Procyon”. Especially considering that the aliens are described to be a crab-like, while the second meaning of Procyon is a raccoon that eats crabs. I hope the authors find a sensible way to rename them in future books if they remain important.

I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. The book is well edited with a few minor punctuation errors that did not disturb the reading. The storytelling is captivating and well paced. This book would be a good read to people who like science fiction involving space travel. While the story is about a war, the emphasis is towards defending rather than attacking. There are no graphic violence or explicit sex scenes. Despite the word “f**k” being used a couple of times while talking about the option of having an intercourse, the book could still be read even by middle school readers. It may not be a good fit for people who like all their science in sci-fi books be on the realistic side. Despite some bits about electromagnetic fields and traveling along with the asteroid being clever ideas, most of the science is still added like a magic. Oblivion Threshold is the first book of the series, not a free-standing reading.