What do you think?
Rate this book
Threads: A Daydream on the Birth of the Universe and the History of Human Thought
Ex and his companion Wye, prototypes of humanity cursed by Death and the Heavenly Bodies, embark on the journey of human thought, discovering along the way music, war, religion, justice, love, family, science, philosophy, and self-actualizion.
FROM THE AUDIENCE
“...truly a stunning, beautiful story and
presentation. I could watch that every day of my
life and be moved to tears and laugh and get
tingles each time. ...it was such an honor to get
to witness such art.”
“That was one of the most amazing, beautiful,
deep shows I’ve ever seen.... It made such an
insane impact on me. I want to see it again
already. I want to show it to everyone.”
“I found the concept beautiful and wholly
reflective of the human experience.... Lovely,
beautiful, wonderful, excellently done.”
FROM THE AUDIENCE
“...truly a stunning, beautiful story and
presentation. I could watch that every day of my
life and be moved to tears and laugh and get
tingles each time. ...it was such an honor to get
to witness such art.”
“That was one of the most amazing, beautiful,
deep shows I’ve ever seen.... It made such an
insane impact on me. I want to see it again
already. I want to show it to everyone.”
“I found the concept beautiful and wholly
reflective of the human experience.... Lovely,
beautiful, wonderful, excellently done.”
137 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 12, 2024
3 people want to read
About the author
Clay Smith
3 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 5, 2024
As one who follows a life philosophy strongly related to the Tarot, I really enjoyed this book. Author Clayton Smith is an actor who turned a traditional Tarot deck into a play, with the different "cards" playing a key role. Though this work reads well as a book (I believe it was intended to be acted out as a play) it's a poignant reminder that each card of the traditional Tarot deck reflects stages most humans encounter in the course of their lives.
A character named "Ex" is at the center of the story, embittered and searching to reconnect with his wife WYE. The "Magician" (a character in the play, and also one of the cards in Tarot's Major Arcana) tries to advise Wye.
This work is valuable for two types of people: Those who have read the Tarot, and those who have not.
1. For those who have read the Tarot, they will be amazed by how creatively the author has turned the cards into personalities. And how Ex interacts with them.
2. For those who have not studied Tarot, they may be inclined to do so. Without moralizing, the author has shown how useful the Tarot can be to understand and better deal with life situations.
A character named "Ex" is at the center of the story, embittered and searching to reconnect with his wife WYE. The "Magician" (a character in the play, and also one of the cards in Tarot's Major Arcana) tries to advise Wye.
This work is valuable for two types of people: Those who have read the Tarot, and those who have not.
1. For those who have read the Tarot, they will be amazed by how creatively the author has turned the cards into personalities. And how Ex interacts with them.
2. For those who have not studied Tarot, they may be inclined to do so. Without moralizing, the author has shown how useful the Tarot can be to understand and better deal with life situations.
October 11, 2024
For a while I felt as though I was reading the script for this theatre production. There was even a character list, and three pages about a workshop, a reading, and a first performance at the beginning of the book. At the end of the book I still had that strong impression because of the way each Act was presented on the page. The references to Tarot cards at the start of the Act and as certain characters did help to accept it as a fresh kind of novel in the end.
The choice of lead character names like ‘Ex’ and ‘Wye’ was brilliant and the general philosophy as the plot developed became all too obvious within the first Act. There were indications of considerable research and ideas from all kinds of religions as well as tenets and theories from science and other faiths. By the time I got to the end I felt that there were a lot of significant and interesting points made in it and I was pleased to have read it. It illustrated the many delights and varied difficulties during the stages of most human lives. I found some of the language and terminology a bit too crude and contemporary for my liking, but I expect I'm too 'old fashioned' about politeness in ‘company’ I suppose! However, I would love to watch the actual play if it should ever come to the UK.
Recommended, as I’m sure the book and the play provide an almost unique experience for anyone.
The choice of lead character names like ‘Ex’ and ‘Wye’ was brilliant and the general philosophy as the plot developed became all too obvious within the first Act. There were indications of considerable research and ideas from all kinds of religions as well as tenets and theories from science and other faiths. By the time I got to the end I felt that there were a lot of significant and interesting points made in it and I was pleased to have read it. It illustrated the many delights and varied difficulties during the stages of most human lives. I found some of the language and terminology a bit too crude and contemporary for my liking, but I expect I'm too 'old fashioned' about politeness in ‘company’ I suppose! However, I would love to watch the actual play if it should ever come to the UK.
Recommended, as I’m sure the book and the play provide an almost unique experience for anyone.
October 26, 2024
Threads is wonderful!
It is a modern creation story in which the first man and the first woman (Ex and Wye) experience the story of psychological/spiritual development of the individual as told through the symbolic cycle of the tarot cards. It has masses of laugh-aloud moments of humour and a lot of well-worn, classic-but-deep, philosophical and psychological observations. The whole is played out through the various characters based on tarot cards who Ex and Wye meet as they grow, grow together, fall out, and fall back in love.
This is the script of a play performed by a small theatre company and I must admit it suggests itself as a fabulous and impacting theatrical experience, much of which just can't be emulated in the theatre of one's own mind, although the stage directions are helpful cues. There are moments when even those leave one a bit nonplussed though - like how can one simulate sex in a way appropriate for a family audience? Fortunately, those moments are few and the overall impression is of something rather magical.
However, reading it is only ever going to be a pale shadow of seeing it performed, but perhaps with it being widely available as a script a few other small theatre companies might give it a go.
Can hope so.
It is a modern creation story in which the first man and the first woman (Ex and Wye) experience the story of psychological/spiritual development of the individual as told through the symbolic cycle of the tarot cards. It has masses of laugh-aloud moments of humour and a lot of well-worn, classic-but-deep, philosophical and psychological observations. The whole is played out through the various characters based on tarot cards who Ex and Wye meet as they grow, grow together, fall out, and fall back in love.
This is the script of a play performed by a small theatre company and I must admit it suggests itself as a fabulous and impacting theatrical experience, much of which just can't be emulated in the theatre of one's own mind, although the stage directions are helpful cues. There are moments when even those leave one a bit nonplussed though - like how can one simulate sex in a way appropriate for a family audience? Fortunately, those moments are few and the overall impression is of something rather magical.
However, reading it is only ever going to be a pale shadow of seeing it performed, but perhaps with it being widely available as a script a few other small theatre companies might give it a go.
Can hope so.
January 22, 2026
This book sounded like it had the potential to be a sweeping, philosophical journey through the origins of humanity, but reading it felt more like slogging through a half‑formed concept than an actual story. The blurb promised grand themes like music, war, religion, justice, and self‑actualization, but the execution was so dull and meandering that none of it ever landed with real weight.
I kept waiting for the narrative to grab me, or for Ex and Wye to become compelling enough to care about, but the pacing was painfully slow and the plot never built momentum. Instead of feeling profound or mythic, the whole thing read flat.
What really pulled me out, though, was the language. For a story that’s supposed to explore the dawn of human thought, the terminology felt crude and jarringly contemporary, like modern slang dropped into a pseudo‑mythological setting. It broke the tone completely and made the world feel inconsistent and underdeveloped. Also, it’s written like a play. Why do that in a novel?!
By the halfway point, I was forcing myself to keep going, hoping it would eventually click. It never did.
I kept waiting for the narrative to grab me, or for Ex and Wye to become compelling enough to care about, but the pacing was painfully slow and the plot never built momentum. Instead of feeling profound or mythic, the whole thing read flat.
What really pulled me out, though, was the language. For a story that’s supposed to explore the dawn of human thought, the terminology felt crude and jarringly contemporary, like modern slang dropped into a pseudo‑mythological setting. It broke the tone completely and made the world feel inconsistent and underdeveloped. Also, it’s written like a play. Why do that in a novel?!
By the halfway point, I was forcing myself to keep going, hoping it would eventually click. It never did.
February 1, 2026
Threads is an allegory and an interesting one. It is a play presented as a storybook. It roughly parallels Adam and Eve’s creation, exclusion from paradise, and transition to human life, using the characters Ex and Wye.
Threads is a creative endeavor with both humorous and sorrowful scenes. As a fan of live theater, I could envision Threads as an entertaining evening out.
Because of the format, written as the script of a play, there were some things that confused me. Much of the dialogue was spoken in an almost Shakespearean style, then occasionally the script shifted to a modern colloquial vernacular. This may have been done as a vehicle for connecting with the audience and might work better in a live setting. Also, the text appeared at times to have a lot of typos. Sentences that ended with no punctuation or the use of capital letters to restart a thought after a comma, etc. I don’t know if this is common in this format; it wouldn’t work in a novel, so I just ignored it most of the time.
Still, it made me smile at times, especially the creative way the characters interacted. It was different.
Threads is a creative endeavor with both humorous and sorrowful scenes. As a fan of live theater, I could envision Threads as an entertaining evening out.
Because of the format, written as the script of a play, there were some things that confused me. Much of the dialogue was spoken in an almost Shakespearean style, then occasionally the script shifted to a modern colloquial vernacular. This may have been done as a vehicle for connecting with the audience and might work better in a live setting. Also, the text appeared at times to have a lot of typos. Sentences that ended with no punctuation or the use of capital letters to restart a thought after a comma, etc. I don’t know if this is common in this format; it wouldn’t work in a novel, so I just ignored it most of the time.
Still, it made me smile at times, especially the creative way the characters interacted. It was different.
October 21, 2024
In a universe woven from threads of creation, Ex, the first human, emerges, guided by Death on a journey of self-discovery. He shapes his reality with curiosity and drive, while Wye, the first female, conquers the natural world with the aid of the Arcana. Their paths intertwine in a magical forest, their connection immediate and profound, mirroring the innate human need for companionship and love.
As a reader well-versed in the Tarot with aspirations of crafting my own Tarot-inspired narrative, I was utterly captivated by "Threads." The scene where the Magician shows Ex the vastness of the universe through his observatory, filled with mirrors and telescopes, resonated deeply with my appreciation for this card's symbolism of manifestation and action. Seeing the Major Arcana come to life as characters, each embodying their card's essence, is truly inspiring. This play beautifully weaves together the threads of creation, love, and the search for meaning, reminding us that we are all connected, and our individual choices contribute to the grand tapestry of existence.
As a reader well-versed in the Tarot with aspirations of crafting my own Tarot-inspired narrative, I was utterly captivated by "Threads." The scene where the Magician shows Ex the vastness of the universe through his observatory, filled with mirrors and telescopes, resonated deeply with my appreciation for this card's symbolism of manifestation and action. Seeing the Major Arcana come to life as characters, each embodying their card's essence, is truly inspiring. This play beautifully weaves together the threads of creation, love, and the search for meaning, reminding us that we are all connected, and our individual choices contribute to the grand tapestry of existence.
February 7, 2026
“Threads: A Daydream on the Birth of the Universe and the History of Human Thought” is a seven-act play by Clay Smith and Jacob Armand. As suggested by the title, the plot follows events following the birth of the Universe and the emergence of humankind, with characters modeled after cards of the Tarot. Ex and Wye substitute for Adam and Eve, in this creationism story, and the two interact with various elements in the Universe, including Moon, Star, Sun, World, as well as with Death, Devil, Magician, and others. The story largely follows Ex as he learns to navigate his role on Earth, control his emotions, nurture love, and overcome greedy urges. It’s about the development of the human psyche from early growth through positive and negative relationships, and eventually death. It’s a quick, introspective read that has one ponder the meaning of life. At times droll, other times serious, and altogether way-out-there, it reeks with creativity. A good read for those looking for a thought-provoking, highly original, witty romp through humanity’s infancy.
January 21, 2026
The play centers on the retelling of the beginning of the universe, the birth and condition of man’s fate, life, death and everything in between. It’s both clever and thought provoking. Well done.
Adam and Eve become Ex and Wye. The sun, moon, and stars are alive. God becomes Death. Taro cards predict the future. And life moves on—the good, the regrets, the joys, the ugly.
This is a great script for an intimate theater (Soho district) or an intense movie. Having taught theater arts at the junior college level, this is the type of production that will strongly appeal to today’s “new adult” audience. It’s reminiscent of a style that was around in the 1970’s where the rules of the standard 3 act play are broken—but you don’t care because the presentation is so evocative.
While I might not agree with all the underlying messages, the play itself is an excellent dramatic script.
Adam and Eve become Ex and Wye. The sun, moon, and stars are alive. God becomes Death. Taro cards predict the future. And life moves on—the good, the regrets, the joys, the ugly.
This is a great script for an intimate theater (Soho district) or an intense movie. Having taught theater arts at the junior college level, this is the type of production that will strongly appeal to today’s “new adult” audience. It’s reminiscent of a style that was around in the 1970’s where the rules of the standard 3 act play are broken—but you don’t care because the presentation is so evocative.
While I might not agree with all the underlying messages, the play itself is an excellent dramatic script.
January 20, 2026
A fabulous fable of man
This is a play and I really don’t have standing to discuss it but I did indeed like it very much. It will take imagination as it places a lot of responsibility on the director to interpret into stage direction. Imagination is what it is all about thought and it stirred mine.
For the reading, I recommend it. I enjoy reading a bit of Shakespeare and this is quite a measure easier to consume.
Thank you, Clay for taking us through man’s first exercise in thinking!
This is a play and I really don’t have standing to discuss it but I did indeed like it very much. It will take imagination as it places a lot of responsibility on the director to interpret into stage direction. Imagination is what it is all about thought and it stirred mine.
For the reading, I recommend it. I enjoy reading a bit of Shakespeare and this is quite a measure easier to consume.
Thank you, Clay for taking us through man’s first exercise in thinking!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews