JULY 2013 - AudioFile
Jake is determined to confront his godfather, the infamous Oberon Venn, who he believes murdered his father. Katherine Skinner does an admirable job building the suspense when Jake finds that his father’s disappearance was actually tied to an experiment with a mysterious mirror called a “chronoptika,” which allows its user to travel through time. Jake finds himself thrust into a power struggle between Venn, a girl from the future, and a scarred man from the past, each of whom desperately needs the device. Skinner’s pacing and use of several distinct voices will assist listeners in navigating the alternating times and converging story lines. J.M. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
The New York Times Book Review - Sophie Gee
Obsidian Mirror is an engrossing, enthralling fiction…Starting with Narcissus' obsession with his own watery image, the search for and delight in one's reflection is fundamental to every account of psychological narcissism, whether healthy or pathological. Fisher's adolescent readers, consumed by their own daily struggles as superpowered beings whom nobody understands, will find their compelling likenesses in Fisher's magical mirror.
Publishers Weekly
In this dramatic beginning to a new trilogy, the talented Fisher (Incarceron) again creates a plot that veers between science fiction and fantasy. The mirror of the title, a dangerous gateway to other time periods, is being pursued by not one but three equally unpleasant and obsessive mad scientists. One of them, Oberon Venn, is the master of spooky Winter-combe Abbey, as well as a famed mountaineer and archaeologist. Jake Wilde, Venn’s teenage godson and his equal in arrogance, has been expelled from boarding school and shipped off to Winter-combe, where the boy plans to accuse Venn of having murdered Jake’s father. Meanwhile, a trio of young women—one from the Victorian past, one from the present, and one from a dystopian future—have their own plots going, as do Jake’s bluff English professor, a pair of enslaved changelings, a “Replicant” from the future, and Summer, queen of the Shee (fairies), who, conveniently enough, lives in the woods surrounding Wintercombe. Somewhat over the top emotionally, and perhaps a tad overly complex, Fisher’s tale should nonetheless appeal to a wide audience. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Obsidian Mirror:
* “A spell-binding maze of mystery-filled pages full of unexpected twists and turns that will draw readers in … combines time travel, the fey or faeries, and a future in ruins with potent success… Fans of Kady Cross, Cassandre Clare, and Doctor Who will be enthralled with this must-read title.” -VOYA, starred review
"Fisher effectively alternates brooding mystery with thrilling action. This blend of science fiction and fantasy is certified fresh." -Booklist
"Punctuated with narrow-escape scenes and, in its time-travel plot, hints at thinking about how acts of the present impinge on the future." -The Horn Book
"Readers will be dazzled, captivated, and desperate for the next installment." -Kirkus Reviews
"An engrossing, enthralling fiction." -The New York Times
review feed
Praise for Obsidian Mirror:
• “A spell-binding maze of mystery-filled pages full of unexpected twists and turns that will draw readers in … combines time travel, the fey or faeries, and a future in ruins with potent success… Fans of Kady Cross, Cassandre Clare, and Doctor Who will be enthralled with this must-read title.” -VOYA, starred review
"Fisher effectively alternates brooding mystery with thrilling action. This blend of science fiction and fantasy is certified fresh." -Booklist
"Punctuated with narrow-escape scenes and, in its time-travel plot, hints at thinking about how acts of the present impinge on the future." -Horn Book
"Readers will be dazzled, captivated, and desperate for the next installment." -Kirkus Reviews
"An engrossing, enthralling fiction." -New York Times
"Intense and worthy of the fantasy, mystery, science fiction genre." -Library Media Connection
“With an impressive cast of intriguing characters and interwoven plotlines, this marvelous novel blends science fiction, fantasy, time travel, mystery, and adventure. Fisher deftly crafts each scene to create a gradually emerging puzzle with lots of tiny pieces…Those who loved the genre-mixing fun of Colfer’s Artemis Fowl will find this to be right up their alley.”—Starred Review, BCCB
Incarceron
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Horn Book, SLJ, Kirkus, PW, Amazon.com, CCBC, YALSA; recipient of five starred reviews; New York Times bestseller
School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up—In an exciting opening chapter, Jack Wilde's plan to get kicked out of boarding school works perfectly. He is sent to his wealthy guardian's home in the English countryside, where he plans to confront his guardian and godfather, Oberon Venn, about his father's disappearance. The teen suspects Venn of murder, but discovers that the truth is far more complicated. Venn, his butler, and numerous cats rattle around in Wintercombe Abbey, working on experiments with the Chronoptika, an ancient device that allows people to travel through time. The machine's history is murky and there are no instructions as to its safe use. Sarah, a young woman with her own secrets and interests in the Chronoptika's power, joins the household. A scarred man, an evil Replicant, and a Time Wolf prowl around, and the Wood surrounding the Abbey is full of hidden dangers. There is a notebook that communicates with the future, and in the Wood, the Shee add a Celtic fairy element to the story. The plot is told from varying points of view and set in different times. During his time travels, Jack trails his father to 1848 London, where he is befriended by a street urchin before being sucked back to the present. Sarah, in turn, is from a future that will be desolate if she does not complete her mission. The several interesting story lines have their moments, but the many loose ends make it clear that this trilogy opener is not meant to stand alone.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX
Kirkus Reviews
Classic fantasy, horror and literary tropes mingle in uneasy tension in this ambitious, maddening, fascinating opener to a projected trilogy. A schoolboy hellbent on avenging his father's death; an escaped psychiatric patient (or, perhaps, a time-traveling revolutionary sent back to prevent a dystopian future); a changeling ensorcelled in a frozen fairyland; a thrill-seeker ready to sacrifice anything to undo the death of his wife; and a jaded Victorian whose theft of an occult artifact reverberates through past and present: Five separate storylines collide during a solstice blizzard at a remote Gothic ruin of an estate. Continually unveiling new facets, the tale creates a dizzying sensation, perpetually teetering on the brink of revelation only to fall headlong into deeper mystery. No author is better than Fisher at weaving disparate narratives, characters, even genres into an enthralling tapestry, nor at highlighting exactly the right detail to invest the whole with chilling significance. Unfortunately, so much time is spent crafting the pattern and atmosphere of the intersecting threads that readers are left befuddled as to what, precisely--if anything--actually happens over the course of the plot. Readers will be dazzled, captivated, frustrated and desperate for the next installment. (Science fiction/fantasy. 12-18)
