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    The Obsidian Blade
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    The Obsidian Blade
    Unavailable
    The Obsidian Blade
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Obsidian Blade

    Written by Pete Hautman

    Narrated by Joshua Swanson

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The first time Tucker saw the disk, his father disappeared into thin air. The Reverend Adrian Feye had climbed onto the roof to fix a loose shingle-and suddenly he was gone. An hour later, the Reverend came walking up the road, tattered and sunburned, bringing with him an unspeaking, yellow-haired, dark-eyed girl. He refused to say where he had been, instead declaring that there would be no more prayer in the Feye house: He had lost his faith.

    Now Tucker's family is unraveling. The Reverend spends hours brooding in his study. Tucker's once warmhearted and loving mother withdraws from the world, claiming she doesn't care to be watched by ghosts. And, above them, the unearthly disk comes and goes.

    Then, one day, both of Tucker's parents vanish. From the distant past to an even more distant and terrifying future, Tucker desperately searches for his parents-and discovers the astonishing secrets of the Klaatu diskos.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateApr 10, 2012
    ISBN9781455852369
    Unavailable
    The Obsidian Blade
    Author

    Pete Hautman

    Pete Hautman is the author of National Book Award–winning novel Godless, Sweetblood, Hole in the Sky, Stone Cold, The Flinkwater Factor, The Forgetting Machine, and Mr. Was, which was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America, as well as several adult novels. He lives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Visit him at PeteHautman.com.  

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    Reviews for The Obsidian Blade

    3/5

    76 ratings16 reviews

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    • 4/5
      * Hardcover: 320 pages * Publisher: Candlewick (April 10, 2012) * ISBN-10: 0763654035 * Author: Pete Hautman * Cover art: I like it. * Overall rating: **** out of 5 stars. * Obtained: Sent to me from the publisher for review.The Obsidian Blade by Pete HautmanReviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews.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. (Synopsis provided by goodreads)This is a new to me author. I enjoyed the book. It's different from the other sci-fi novels I've read, but it was a good different. I liked the writing style and the fact that this book was fast-paced. The characters felt real to me and the situations they found themselves in never seemed overly far -fetched. Which is always a good thing. I've seen some people call this book dystopian, and I'm not sure what part they are referring to, it felt like standard sci-fi to me, I never found any element of dystopia in this one.The book also felt fairly straight forward to me, I was never confused by it which can happen at times with sci-fi. The ending was fantastic, a cliff hanger of course it wouldn't be a YA book without a cliff-hanger ending. After reading this book, I would be willing to pick up more books by this author. I liked it a lot and would recommend it to others.
    • 2/5
      An interesting story that took me back to my childhood, reminding me of my experience reading "The Forgotton Door" by Alexander Key though not as satisfying. I was uncertain about and somewhat uncomfortable with the christian element to the story, not sure if the intent was to support religious beliefs or more to observe and report on. I also felt that the Tucker was more of an observer and less a participant in the story. I approached this book as young adult fiction but think middle school readers would enjoy this book more than young adults.
    • 4/5
      I was really interested in this, in seeing where this was going, and then... it all fell apart. I realize this is the first in a trilogy (insert why-are-there-no-good-standalone-books-anymore rant) and we're not meant to get all the answers now, but this goes off into some weird Christian zealotry direction and it sort of lost me there. I'll probably read Book 2 anyway.

      It's exciting, though, and I can see teens really taking to it.
    • 4/5
      VOYATucker finds his life dramatically changing after he watches his father mysteriously disappear only to reappear hours later, strangely dressed and with an unknown girl in tow. Knowing his pastor father's now-erratic behavior and loss of faith has something to do with a disk-like anomaly, Tucker has many questions. He starts to find answers when, sucked into his father's irregularity, he begins traveling though time. From the hill of Golgotha, where he witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, to a far future with advanced medical technology, Tucker struggles to escape danger as he uncovers the secrets of the disk, all the while trying to reconnect with his family. Hautman has created a vivid and intricate world that bridges the present to the past with the possibilities of science fiction. The underlying concept of time-travel disks is innovative and used to good effect. The overall implementation of the idea, however, is so complex that it muddies the plot, as Tucker's story and the historical events related to it lack thematic connections. Tucker is a relatively flat character brought to greater depth only though his adventures, and the secondary characters, who could have been integral, tend to lose impact as they disappear and return to the plot frequently. As always, Hautman's work is innovative and interesting; however, this fact makes it very difficult to determine which readers would best fit this awkward novel, so it is certainly not going to be widely popular
    • 2/5
      For a book that took forever to get actually moving, I was actually surprised at how disappointed I was in The Obsidian Blade. Here's what my journey through this story looked like.Confusion: First - a completely strange, utterly alien world was introduced. Fine, that I can deal with. But then it was shoved into a closet and I was thrown into a reality that, honestly, sent me back to the internet to find out what was going on with this books genre classification. It seemed like a typical, young adult, non-science-fiction book. But nope.. after what seemed like forever, I was thrown back into the science fiction realm.Disbelief: Not only were historical events not sacred (World Trade Center) but religious stories were pulled into the mix and treated with a heavy hand. It's one thing to express disbelief in the stories that are the foundation of a religion, but using them as a catalyst to make the story seem more interesting? Not cool - especially since it completely felt as if the stories were being used for mere shock value.I was disappointed in this series, and definitely will not be investigating the rest of the trilogy. The science fiction elements seemed to be implemented merely as an excuse to use past events in a novel, and, as a result, were not very fleshed out in and of themselves. There was virtually no world building, no explanation other than a few vague paragraphs about the diskos, and no resolution of any sort. I understand it's the first book of a trilogy, but you have to throw your reader a bone, you know? Make the book worth reading now, rather than having to wait.
    • 5/5
      Wow! Time travel disc, weird priests, vanishing father, medicants, mysterious blond girl, Klaatus, Boggsians, and Amish Jews. Oh, my!There is no comparison to this book in which Tucker, an ordinary boy in an ordinary mid-western town, sees his father vanish in thin air only to reappear later with a blond girl in tow. His mother sinks into some strange mental illness where she becomes totally obsessed with soduko puzzles. Mom and Dad vanish and uncle Kosh shows up on his Harley to take care of Tucker. But Tucker thinks that he can find his parents by entering through one of the shimmering discs that keep appearing. This begins his adventure jumping back and forth through time trying to catch up with his father. To go farther into the story would ruin the surprise that awaits the reader on every page - and this is a real page turner.
    • 3/5
      A future civilization has left behind disks allowing time travel. People and animals enter them, sometimes by accident; sometimes on purpose. Tucker's father disappeared into one, and reappeared changed. After his father and mother both disappear, Tucker enters a disk to look for them, and finds himself transported to different places and times.
    • 5/5
      Great book with tons of different time streams and time travel arcs.
    • 4/5
      I love Pete Hautman, so I probably overlooked any flaws in this first foray into science fiction. The characters were engaging and the time travel through the diskos was engrossing.
    • 3/5
      This is good science fiction. However, it abruptly ends, so it's only for people who want to read a series.
    • 1/5
      This was a waste of my time. I kept hoping there might be some redeeming feature, but nope, this is just a poor riff on others of the genre. The uncle is the only character that had even a smidge of real life to him.PS: The Obsidian Blade of the title plays only a glancing role. Failed title.
    • 3/5
      I've been turning The Obsidian Blade over and over again in my brain since I finished reading it today on my commute home - how to describe it? How to classify it? Who would like this? I've glanced quickly at other reviews and I see that others faced the same quandary.

      See, the thing about The Obsidian Blade is that it's little bits and pieces put together, but it's neither this or that. There are so many tangents and angles you can work when you try to describe it to someone who hasn't read it yet, aside from the rather clipped summary provided. The Obsidian Blade is a surprisingly sophisticated sci-fi time travel book and is certainly very thought provoking. Upon first glance, Hautman's language flows well and very satisfying to read. The world building is original and the pacing isn't too bad as it seems like Hautman is setting up young Tucker Feye in a bildungsroman read. Sudden twist religious conspiracy! Not that I minded - I was rather curious about where Hautman wanted to go and what he wanted to do with all these details he provided.

      But I guess this is where I start to take issue with The Obsidian Blade. Admittedly I have a tendency to hate on trilogies. Sure, they need a beginning, middle, and end, but I hate when the first book is just obvious cliffhangers and untied/unfinished business cause there's always the next book!. I get why Hautman ended the first installment where he did - it was a great cliffhanger and sets up a much more action packed sequel. However, I felt the brevity and abrupt ending of The Obsidian Blade did it a slight injustice as there are so many details and plot possibilities that you don't quite know where this is going to go. Is the sequel going to follow the same religious/conspiracy vein the book took on in its latter half, or will this turn into a save-the-world adventure (not that the two are mutually exclusive)? What is the Digital Plague? What the heck is going on? Whose side are the Boggsians on anyway?

      But I digress. Those are all just minor details that should not and will not eclipse your enjoyment of The Obsidian Blade. It's a great and enjoyable read, especially for sci-fi and time travel enthusiasts. Can't wait to see what the sequel has in store!
    • 2/5
      I thought Goodreads had recommended this to me, but I can't see it in any of the lists I just checked so.. perhaps I was wrong. Which means I can't claim disappointment in Goodreads' recommendation engine.

      Because, blah.

      * The story doesn't end. It's one of those series where the first book doesn't stand on its own. You've been warned.

      * I was going to say I don't know which is more ridiculous --- Klaatu or diskos --- but it's Klaatu that bugs me the most.

      * It's all about religion, with a strong basis in Christianity. And I haven't decided if it's pro- or anti-. No doubt I'd have to finish the whole series to figure that out. But I really do not need to see crucifixions in my young adult science fiction reading, thank you. :P

      Blah. Do not like. Will not read next book. Will pick up another Hautman only with extreme trepidation.
    • 3/5
      Some topics are harder to tackle in science fiction than others - -I consider writing about the future, different life forms than human beings and time travel to be topics that take a lot of imagination and writing skill to effectively convey the story and get a reader to buy into it. Obsidian Blade begins in modern America, rural Minnesota. The main character, Tucker, has a fundamental evangelical preacher for a father and is enmeshed in the local religious community. Some authors write about rural America and it is obvious they have never lived outside of a big city but author Pete Hautman seems to know rural USA. So rural America, religious bible belt context, time travel and different life forms – that is Obsidian Blade summed up but not really in context. Relationships between friends, “foreigners”, and estranged family members are explored and religious beliefs are questioned. Even though this is an adventure story done in a science fiction format, some high level concepts are introduced in an accessible way. If you had a choice to travel in time, where would you go? I think I would choose to see my spouse or my parents as kids, maybe my grandparents as kids too. Boring I guess, but major historical events are so well documented, my family’s past isn’t as well written about. Well, Tucker doesn’t have a choice but he is sent to some fascinating time periods - -the future of course, but he is also sent to two world changing events, one ancient and one very recent. I realized that many readers to this book may not have a first hand memory of the recent historical event in this book, given that they may have been toddlers when it happened so I think that perspective is interesting in itself. Sorry, I can’t spoil the where and when but the trip there is definitely done from a perspective I haven’t seen done yet. By traveling to these two events, Tucker questions some core beliefs of his own – religious and moral – and they are done in a flashy fight/chase scene manner so the travels are fun to read about. Obsidian Blade ends open and there will definitely be a sequel. This is a young adult story written for young adults, there is no sexual content but there is some violence. The violence is mainly gun or knife fights, but not a lot, and the witnessing of historic events that every modern person in the Western world knows about – likely everyone in the world does. I struggled slightly with the story because I was not the target audience, my 12 year old daughter is definitely in the target audience and once I adjusted my expectations I was able to enjoy it. I think younger teens looking for adventure stories would really like this book.
    • 3/5
      Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales Quick & Dirty: Good science fiction from a male narrator, but at points the time travel and technology were confusing. This short book is a good beginning to an action-packed series. Opening Sentence: During the latter years of the Postdigital Age, discorporeal Klaatu artist Iyl Rayn attempted to enhance her status within the Cluster by conceiving an unconventional entertainment. The Review: The Obsidian Blade is going to be hard to summarize, if only because Tucker isn’t sure what’s going on while it’s happening and I don’t want to spoil it for y’all! In the beginning Tucker is trying to make a catapult that will launch his father’s hideous troll carving. Our would-be engineer is successful, but ends up knocking a shingle off the roof in the attempt. When his father goes up to fix it, he disappears. One moment he’s there. The next, mid-yell, he’s disappeared. Tucker’s mom doesn’t believe he saw a fuzzy disk hanging over the house and soon the Reverend comes back, accompanied by a girl who doesn’t speak. Lahlia lives with them as they wait for someone from the Reverend’s congregation to adopt her. Tucker gets used to her and her kitten Bounce following him around. But she’s quickly adopted to a farm on the other side of town and that seems to be the end of that. With his return the Reverend has changed. He doesn’t believe in God, a belief that to this point had defined his life. So Tucker’s mother, Emma, studies the Bible alone, his father sits in his study alone, and Tucker is left alone. As the summer progresses, Emma becomes obsessed with puzzles. She fixates on things and sometimes never changes out of her pajamas. Her ability to communicate deteriorates. None of the doctors can help her. Then one evening Tucker goes out with his friends and returns to find his parents gone. They’ve gone to a hospital–one he can’t go to–and Uncle Curtis will come and take care of him. Until this point, the disks have been an anomaly. Popping up when Tucker is on an adventure, but no one else can seem too see them. It isn’t until Curtis, or rather Kosh, takes Tucker home with him that we start to get a grip on the bigger picture. The disks were built by the Klaatu. Basically ghosts that thrive on drama, these disks are their way providing entertainment. They pop up at significant events in time, though not necessarily at the moment that significant event will be occurring. While Tucker tries to unravel the mysteries of the disks, he’s also trying to find his parents. He knows the Reverend took his mom into a disk and he’s determined to find her. But the web of these portals is stretched across time and while Tucker searches for his parents and a way home, there are people out there looking for Tucker. Hautman has written a really engaging male narrator, which is not an easy thing to do when you’re showing a character changing over a span of time. Tucker ages in this book and goes through a number of trials that test his strengths. He’s smart enough to piece together pieces of what’s going on, but he doesn’t know everything. When the reader makes a connection before Tucker manages too, we have some great pages filled with tension. My biggest critique with this book is that it didn’t have an ending. It’s the first in the series, so it’s understandable, but I don’t think it’s acceptable. It wasn’t a cliff hanger or anything like that. The end of the book simply read like the end of a chapter, making it unsatisfying. Besides that it was an engaging, fast book to read with an awesome and haunting cover! Notable Scene: “I’ll be damned,” the man said. Tucker did not doubt it. “You Tucker?” the man asked. Tucker nodded. The man scowled. “You recognize me?” Tucker shook his head. The man looked like a younger, beefier, outlaw version of Tucker’s father, but he was sure he’d never seen him before. “Are you Curtis?” “Nobody’s called me that in years. Call me Kosh.” Kosh? Tucker’s mom had called him Kosh that one time. “But you’re my uncle Curtis, right?” “That’s right, kid. You sure you don’t recognize me?” He walked toward Tucker, stopped about eight feet away, and peered at him closely. “I must be nuts. You look exactly like this kid I met one time.” He took in the house, the garage, and the path down to the lake. “The old homestead. I remember it being bigger.” He looked back at Tucker. “I suppose it’s too much to hope that your old man came back and saved me the trouble of looking after you. I see his car’s here.” “They didn’t take the car,” Tucker said. “I think they went to some hospital.” The Klaatu Diskos Series: 1. The Obsidian Blade FTC Advisory: Candlewick Press provided me with a copy of The Obsidian Blade. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 3/5
      A future civilization has left behind disks allowing time travel. People and animals enter them, sometimes by accident; sometimes on purpose. Tucker's father disappeared into one, and reappeared changed. After his father and mother both disappear, Tucker enters a disk to look for them, and finds himself transported to different places and times.