Beyond the Threshold: Book 2 of 2: Hero's Path

by Mark Ristau

Overview

In this highly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning A Hero Dreams, Ricky Williamson is now a seemingly well-adjusted adult and loyal corporate employee, working diligently in a ten-by-ten cubicle—a mere breath away from executive row. Under the surface, though, he's haunted by memories of an incident that occurred twenty-five years ago at a Maine summer camp. Consumed by rage and hell-bent on revenge, he's ready to execute a deadly plan. Regular trips to the gun range have sharpened his skills. His arsenal is fully stocked. It's just a matter of choosing the right moment.

But something extraordinary occurs when Ricky discovers the body of a young boy floating along the grassy shore of a neighborhood lake. The boy wakes, and their eyes meet. It's impossible, yet he's a spitting image of Ricky at the age of ten.

What happens when parallel universes collide? Are we inescapably bound by circumstance? Or do we have within us the power to rise above the past and choose a different path?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643437941
Publisher:	Beaver's Pond Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Mark Ristau is an award-winning author whose life took a sharp turn when he was downsized from a corporate attorney job he'd held for nearly fifteen years. Instead of sending out his résumé, however, he decided it was time to pursue his dream. Selling his house and virtually all his belongings, he packed the car and migrated to a town on Florida's Gulf Coast, setting for the prologue to the first book in the Hero's Path series, A Hero Dreams.

Six years later, A Hero Dreams was published, followed by Beyond the Threshold, which chronicles the journey of Mark's protagonist, Ricky Williamson, into adulthood and the days leading up to 9/11.

Editorial Reviews

2022-10-25
A lawyer’s sighting of a strangely familiar boy stirs up memories of his troubled past in Ristau’s metaphysical sequel novel, set in 2001.

By all appearances, Ricky Williamson has made a good life for himself as a single 35-year-old attorney living in the Midwest. However, he’s still recovering from the trauma of being beaten and raped at summer camp 25 years before. During a morning run, he finds a boy floating face-up in a lake, apparently in trouble. He pulls him to safety and sees that he looks a lot like he did when he was 10 years old. The lawyer’s mind keeps pulling him back to his days at camp; since that time, he’s suffered bouts of depression and has been prone to violent outbursts. He’s also having problems at his latest job, where he’s unearthed shady business practices. However, the amnesiac boy, whom Ricky takes in, helps him to reexamine the life he’s led and think about changing it for the better. Ristau’s follow-up to A Hero Dreams (2017), like its predecessor, is a painstaking character study. Ricky’s ever winding path from childhood to adulthood features bright moments and dark troubles. His hostility toward his enemies, such as a boss who bullies him, builds up through the years, and in 2001, he seems on the verge of exploding. The sharply written narrative gives Ricky a shot at making better choices; the latter half dives deep into his memories and fantasies, sparking an indelible dreamlike section as Ricky revisits the trauma that’s long weighed on him. Moreover, real-world history plays a significant role in the plot, including the looming 9/11 attacks. Although it’s not a necessity, readers should read the earlier book in the series first, as it further enriches this one, which may pave the way for a third installment.

Enthralling drama permeates this extraordinary sophomore novel.

Kirkus Reviews