Threshold

Australian author Douglass (The Wayfarer Redemption) offers a stand-alone fantasy rich in detail, action and romance. In Ashdod, ""the land of the One,"" where a mathematics-based religion holds sway, the glassworker slave Tirzah, an ""elemental,"" can hear glass speak. Set to work at Threshold, a pyramid being built by the Magi of Ashdod as a bridge to Infinity, Tirzah must hide her elemental status or risk death. Meanwhile, a malevolent shadow power, Nzame, is lurking in Infinity, waiting to use Threshold to break through into Ashdod. Only Tirzah, with her uncanny magical ability, hears the glass in the pyramid screaming a warning. For all its complexity, this absorbing narrative flows with ease to a highly satisfactory conclusion. (Sept. 22)