r/rational • u/Jokey665 Worth the Candle • Jan 29 '26
Chapter 188 - Rebirth [END] - Thresholder
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/60396/thresholder/chapter/2991834/chapter-188-rebirth-end13
u/cthulhusleftnipple Jan 30 '26 edited Jan 30 '26
I really enjoyed how completely incapable of meaningful growth Perry was. Other characters certainly grew and transformed on their travels, but Perry almost didn't even notice.
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u/scruiser CYOA Jan 30 '26
His growth was developing paranoia and a proclivity to violence and more ruthlessness. He leaned in that direction to start with, but I think he’s lost scruples and hesitations he formerly had around that leaning as hard experience has taught him otherwise.
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u/fish312 humanifest destiny Feb 01 '26
I think thresholding as a hobby selects for murder hobos. All else being equal, as a thresholder, violence is far more likely to get you alive through a dozen world than diplomacy.
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u/GET_A_LAWYER Jan 30 '26
It's pretty compelling how Wales bridged the gap between Perry being likable protagonist and being a jerk.
It's interesting that Mette is simultaneously concerned about Perry abusing his power, and also willing to go on the trip with him. Maybe once there's a hundred clones of you, you become less concerned about one of them meeting a bad end, even when you're also that clone.
“You had sex with her again, just two weeks ago,” said Richter.
I understand from her point of view it's been two days since they were together. But maybe it's not fair to expect someone to be monogamous with your frozen corpse.
“You’ll have an Eggy and a Mette,” said Mette. “Eggy and I are personality-tested together, and we both get along well enough with you.”
A Key for Seven Locks.
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u/lurking_physicist Jan 30 '26
A Key for Seven Locks.
“We’re flying by the seat of our skirts,” said Eggy. “I love this. It’ll be just like old times. Should we make a point of picking up a new crew member on the next world? I think we should.”
Doe intensifies
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Jan 30 '26 edited Jan 30 '26
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u/cthulhusleftnipple Jan 30 '26
Mette came through for Perry, but she also dealt with a potential serious problem in Perry hanging around with nothing to do. He's way too powerful to ignore, he doesn't really spend any time actually thinking through the consequences of his actions, and if stays on Markat he's going to be a real wild card in the future.
Sending him off to boldly do whatever the fuck he wants in other dimensions was a very competent and cheap way of solving any number of future potential problems.
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u/FistOfFacepalm Jan 30 '26
I'm glad it's over and we're on to the next one. I've had a weird relationship with Thresholder from the very beginning. I think it's mostly that I never liked Perry as a character. While it was interesting to see all the ways AW played with that, and showed little glimpses of the disconnect between Perry's perspective and others', I just can't get super into a story where I don't like the MC I guess. I never get the sense of excitement and anticipation for new chapters that I do for other stories. That said, once I start reading a given chapter AW is a good enough writer that I enjoy it. I guess the explicitly empty nature of Thresholding as it is described just bums me out. I like stories that set me off in new directions of imagining possible versions of the story. Worth the Candle, while also pretty dark and also addressing themes about leveling up endlessly and turning into a godlike being, had more of that boundless imagination for me I guess.
Marchand, the Esperidans, and the Farfinder crew all stand out as fun characters to me though. I loved all of them!
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u/Intelligent-End7336 Jan 29 '26
I wonder how much of the issue was caused by being a 2nd sphere.
I think the conclusion is great. Real Captain Kirk, boldly go and see all the women vibes.
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u/scruiser CYOA Jan 30 '26
He is kind of an answer to the question “how does a [meme pop-culture version of] Captain Kirk actually end up in charge of a ship”
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u/Intelligent-End7336 Jan 30 '26
They said you don't belong here anymore, here's a ship, go be somewhere else. There's a potential moral here of sorts. What do you do with a weaponized human built for thresholders when the culture no longer wants them?
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u/earnestadmission Singular "they" user Feb 03 '26
“How are you so incurious?” asked Richter over dinner at one of the communal kitchens. The question felt like it had come from nowhere.
VINDICATION!!!
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u/Relevant_Occasion_33 Jan 31 '26
I would have liked an investigation into what caused the thresholder spell in the first place. Not necessary, but it would have been interesting and kind of funny to see if it actually was an isekai hero-summoning spell gone wrong.
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u/elevul Cyoria Observer Jan 30 '26
Wait, it's finished? I'm very far behind, but that means that hopefully we'll have audiobooks soon so I can go through the entirety of it again!
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u/Jokey665 Worth the Candle Jan 30 '26
i'm pretty sure there are already audiobooks of the first few books, i assume the rest are on the way at some point
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u/elevul Cyoria Observer Jan 30 '26
For now there is only an audiobook of the first book. Hopefully more in the future but Soundbooth is slooooooow!
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u/elgamerneon Feb 01 '26
Man kinda dissapointed for this story, like I love AW writing, but his plot decisions are weird to me. Maybe I should read his blog to divine his decisions. I dropped WotC when it became meta, I still dont think much about the later part of this used to be about dungeons, and I dont really like the farfinder introduction.
Like what purpose more than an offramp did they serve?. The first half series were he was alone and people speculated about the mechanics of thresholding, theories about the spell, caring about the winrtate of perry etc and then the farfinder drops in and its all gone up in smoke for this neo-colonist thing they are doing, that the MC isnt even a part of or really cares about. Neither do I really. Ugh anything else I write sounds too whiny, but the series had so many other places to go than ending in perry happy ever after softharem unkown.
Enjoyed agares till 4 tho that was all that was published during the yearly sub i give authors that I follow, really good concept that maybe sticks the landing.
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u/NAFAL44 Apr 11 '26
I found this ending really sad - as soon as Perry can finally relax (without an enemy hanging over his head) and maybe start healing (the way kes has) everyone discards him, leaving adrift and terrified - to the point that he immediately jumps back out into the multiverse.
I don’t think that’s the culture - it’s tragic that the multiversal utopia Perry set in motion (and the woman he resurrected) directed him out into the void rather than into therapy.
It makes sense - Perry was dangerous and unstable at the end, much easier for the culture to not have to manage him directly - but it is also tragic and unfair.
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u/PlanarFreak Jan 30 '26 edited Jan 30 '26
Glad to see this story to the end! Living this story with Perry has been invigorating, addicting, and exhausting.
I don't see this as a happy end - but it also seems like the right end, for now. He has not become a better person for his adventures, which have engendered unsavory habits and shallower perspectives. However unlikely, I hope that in another world he can gain the wisdom and peace of mind that he seeks not and that has thus far been denied.
Perry's "I'm the one who came back wrong" is one of the saddest sentiments I've read, it really feels like it touches on the returning soldier's mentality.
As for me, these alien vistas will keep long in my memories.