Title: Obsidian Mirror
Author: Catherine Fisher
Series: Chronoptika #1
Publisher: Dial
Publication Date: April 23 2013
Genre: Fantasy; Science Fiction; Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: Hardback
Jake's father disappears while working on mysterious experiments with the obsessive, reclusive Oberon Venn. Jake is convinced Venn has murdered him. But the truth he finds at the snow-bound Wintercombe Abbey is far stranger ... The experiments concerned a black mirror, which is a portal to both the past and the future. Venn is not alone in wanting to use its powers. Strangers begin gathering in and around Venn's estate: Sarah - a runaway, who appears out of nowhere and is clearly not what she says, Maskelyne - who claims the mirror was stolen from him in some past century. There are others, a product of the mirror's power to twist time. And a tribe of elemental beings surround this isolated estate, fey, cold, untrustworthy, and filled with hate for humans. But of them all, Jake is hell-bent on using the mirror to get to the truth. Whatever the cost, he must learn what really happened to his father.
“This was the past. The only past left. Captured by light, frozen in a rigid image. Gone. But if you could re-enter it; if you could go back to that place and be that person again, if you could live that moment again, better, without the stupid remarks, the arguments, the mistakes, wouldn’t that be a things worth taking all the risks in the world for?”
If I saw this book in the library, and someone asked me if it was any good, my reaction would be something along the lines of shrugging noncommittally and saying “It’s okay, I guess. If you like that sort of thing.”
This book was definitely not one of my favorite books.
Catherine Fisher is a highly acclaimed writer known for her interesting fantasy/sci-fy books. I read the first book of her New York bestselling series, Incarceron, and much like this book, I found it confusing and hard to get into. I’ll admit that Fisher is one of the most creative fantasy writers that I've read. But her books are just not my kind of books.
It was really hard to get lost in this book. Some books have really vivid awesome imagery that allows the reader to really get into the book. Obsidian Mirrorlacked that interesting world-building. Not only that, but the magic and the time traveling was just so complicated.I didn’t really know what was going on half the time and the other half I was just too bored to care. The magic was kind of explained scientifically. Whenever an author turn mysterious magic into boring old science and takes all the magic out of the magic, the result is unadulterated boredom.
Another reason I just do not care for this book is that there was too much going on. Fairies and fantasy worlds mixed with time travel science fiction made for a confusing complicated story. In the beginning, Fisher hooks you with questions and mystery, but in my opinion, there were too many questions and not enough answers. There was no one that didn't have secrets or an unknown past. It was hard to find out how it all fit together, or why that piece of information was so important. Much like the mythical hydra, every time a question was solved, two more popped in its place. I mean, they were fighting an enemy from the future from the present by going to the past with the help of someone trying to save the future by helping the past which was actually the present even though they still have to transport to the past to save the future by helping the present.
I got a headache just writing that.
I won’t say that this book was horrible. It just wasn't good. For me. The total lack of romance or character relationships was definitely a penalty point. And there was potential for it. The confusing plot and overwhelming amount of information thrown at you at every page turn was another thumbs-down. While I didn't like it, if there is someone who wants a fantasy science fiction book completely lacking romance with a topsy-turvy plot line, they will absolutely love this book. If not, then I wouldn't recommend it.
Obsidian Mirror was not my cup of tea. Too many flavors and not enough reward. I don’t plan on reading the sequel.
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