the gertrude threshold

The end isn't near – it's here

overview

Brandon knows today will be his last. He has been dreading this moment his entire life. Scientists had long ago predicted the year and the day when all living things, everything Brandon has come to know, would go up in flames – the day Earth hit the Gertrude Threshold.

For seventy years, Brandon had aged with the sun. He’d watched it grow bigger and the Warming fry the planet. Science was powerless to stop it. Plants withered. Oceans dried up. Humanity went mad. People sought safety underground. Radiation poisoned the world they left behind above.

Now, Brandon languishes on his deathbed. He looks after his grandson, Ky, and again wonders what survival left him with. Ky’s parents, John and Ellen, wander throughout the underground tunnels. Ellen mourns the loss of everything she and her child will never experience. Desperate to spend his final hours with the man he has grown to love, John abandons his wife and child.

Brandon, his family, and the underground survivors have no future, only the past, and less than 24 hours to reclaim the years the Warming stole while Earth begins to fall apart around them.

READ CHAPTER 1

praise for the gertrude threshold

Runner Up, Self Publishing Review Awards 2015: Short Fiction Category

“An unusual and grueling fable that haunts well after reading . . . characters are formed brilliantly and deliver a cinematic feel"

-Self Publishing Review
selfpublishingreview.com

★★★★½
4.5 out of 5 stars

"This is a very well-written story with echoes of Hugh Howey's Wool and something in the writing is reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's style in that emotion is key instead of the actual science fiction element, and that carries the story."

"[The Gertrude Threshold] is haunting and well-visualized, and will stay with you for a while. It's a testament to the essence of Brooks' writing that he conveys the feeling of emptiness and hopelessness in a spectrum of ways, using his characters to show how 'last days' behavior might manifest itself so poignantly."

-Self Publishing Review
selfpublishingreview.com

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

"Author Christopher Brooks writes with an impressively literary style rare in science fiction, conveying all the mental anguish of the human condition."

"The Gertrude Threshold is a poignant, pensive story of the human condition and the end of the world."

-Indie Reader
indiereader.com

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

"It is a brilliant work of fiction pulling the reader to think deeply about the importance of relationships and what it means to be human. It is a gut-wrenching end of the world tale that somehow gives one hope. Very well done and we will be looking forward to more from Mr. Brooks."
-Stratiotes Doxha Theon

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

"A fast paced unique short story. Very original and unique writing style. The detail and descriptions pulls the reader into the story as if you were there. I feel that those who like sci-fi will enjoy The Gertrude Threshold: A Novella."
-Sheri A. Wilkinson

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

"The writing is sharp, tight, intelligent and the characters are richly drawn. Brooks' debut showcases a talent worth discovering and following. I'm eager to see what he'll do next."
-Collin Souter