The Obsidian Blade by Hautman Pete

The Obsidian Blade (Klaatu Diskos, #1)

by Hautman Pete

Kicking off a riveting sci-fi trilogy, National Book Award winner Pete Hautman plunges us into a world where time is a tool — and the question is, who will control it?

The first time his father disappeared, Tucker Feye had just turned thirteen. The Reverend Feye simply climbed on the roof to fix a shingle, let out a scream, and vanished — only to walk up the driveway an hour later, looking older and worn, with a strange girl named Lahlia in tow. In the months that followed, Tucker watched his father grow distant and his once loving mother slide into madness. But then both of his parents disappear. Now in the care of his wild Uncle Kosh, Tucker begins to suspect that the disks of shimmering air he keeps seeing — one right on top of the roof — hold the answer to restoring his family. And when he dares to step into one, he’s launched on a time-twisting journey — from a small Midwestern town to a futuristic hospital run by digitally augmented healers, from the death of an ancient prophet to a forest at the end of time. Inevitably, Tucker’s actions alter the past and future, changing his world forever.

Reviewed by Amber on

5 of 5 stars

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I can't believe The Obsidian Blade is rated under 4 stars on Goodreads! It's one of the best books I've read so far this year. I absolutely adored this book!

The Obsidian Blade has such a complicated and well thought out plot, it kept me hooked from the very beginning because I need to know more about what was happening. I was drawn in from the very beginning, when Tucker's father disappears for the first time. After that, I couldn't put the book down.

The world building was my favourite part of The Obsidian Blade. It was complicated and so well written that it's probably one of my favourite science fiction worlds! The whole thing about the diskos was fantastic, the history behind it and the different rules were things that I loved reading about.

There were so many plot twists thrown into this book, I had no idea what would happen next. I was totally gripped as I was trying to figure everything out before it happened, but I was proved wrong again and again.

I loved all the characters, even the antagonists. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Tucker, Lahlia and Kosh if/when the next book comes out. I'm wondering if we'll see Tucker mature more after everything that's happened to him and... Well, that would be a spoiler!

Pete Hautman's prose is flawless. Like I said, I was kept completely hooked, and I think a lot of that had to do with the writing style. There is one scene in which Tucker goes through a disko and is thrown into a situation in which he could well have died. I was holding my breath through the whole thing because the descriptions were so vivid.

This is an AMAZING book, and I think everyone should read it because I'm sure you would really enjoy it too. If you're a fan of sci-fi then definitely give it a go!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 May, 2012: Finished reading
  • 13 May, 2012: Reviewed