The Obsidian Mirror (original 2012; edition 2012)

Jake Wilde knows his father is dead. And he’s positive his godfather, Venn, killed him. So he gets himself kicked out of school in order to confront Venn and find out the truth about his dad’s disappearance.

The book started out really strong for me and sucked me in. But once we start to learn more about Venn and the mysterious mirror that allows people to time travel, I had a hard time staying interested. There are far too many characters and they all, well, suck. Starting out, it seemed that Jake was the main character but there are so many side stories happening that we never really get to know any of the characters very well. And they all seem so angry and unpersonable – I just didn’t connect or care about any of them. With the addition of the magical Woods outside the house filled with Fey, nothing seemed cohesive. It was a bizarre addition to the story that didn’t fit at all.

I don’t have any interest in continuing this series. I don’t really care what happens to any of these characters, except maybe for the minor character of Moll. ( )

The many characters in The Obsidian Mirror are all drawn together by one thing – the mirror’s amazing ability to bend time and space, allowing the user to travel forward or backward in time. Jake desperately wants to find out what happened to his father, who he believes was murdered by the mysterious recluse currently in possession of the mirror. Others want to own the mirror to gain power, others to destroy it, and others for reasons yet undiscovered. Unfortunately, they can’t all get what they want…

It took me a little while to get into this book and even after the mystery had me hooked, I didn’t feel like there was a protagonist I could relate to. All of the characters but Jake were simply enigmas, too poorly understood for me to empathize with them. And Jake, while understandable, is too selfish in pursuit of his own goals for me to like him much. Fortunately, the plot and the fascinating setting made this still a very enjoyable and engaging read.

Without a main character to root for, I couldn’t stop reading for other reasons. I couldn’t wait to find out who everyone was; where (and when!) they came from; and what exactly was going on with the mirror and the supernatural creatures that started showing up. Everyone had their secrets and it was often difficult to tell who was telling the truth. There was constant action and adventure. And the book ended with some great potential for a sequel, in which we’ll hopefully find out more about all of the awesome characters introduced in this one.

This review first published on Doing Dewey. ( )

I received Obsidian Mirror from the Librarything early review program.

I enjoyed Obsidian Mirror. I liked the characters and the overall plot. It covers a lot of topics like another reviewer said so I need to think about my review a little more.

I will update my review as soon as soon as I'm able to put my thoughts together.

Having been an avid fan of Incarceron and Sapphique, I was excited and delighted to purchase a copy of Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher. I read 200 pages in one sitting, and then it slowed considerably from there, bogged down by numerous characters. If a few of the characters were cut out, I think the novel wouldn't have suffered so much. The premise of the novel is fascinating (a mirror through which to travel in time, seemingly only backwards, though -- how to fix *that* problem?), but the addition of magical Shees seems a bit odd. ( )

If I had to describe The Obsidian Mirror in one word it would be: rebel. No, this book is not about some revolution but it simply rebels and defiest to be labeled. I really had problems tagging it. Should it be young adult or middle grade? Where would you put Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling or The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman? Well, put this book right there with them.

If you try stuffing The Obsidian Mirror into one genre only, you would run into similar problems. Is it contemporary? Yes, since most of the plot happens in present tense. Is it science fiction? Well, you could say so, since there is time travel involved and description of society in distant future... Is it historical? There are excerpts from old journals and some parts of the story happens in 19th century - so yes, it's historical fiction also. Is it fantasy? There are fey and magic and a lot of unresolved plot elements that may turn to be other supernatural surprises, so you can definitely call The Obsidian Mirror fantasy or urban fantasy or paranormal... So there you have it. This is contemporary historical paranormal science fiction/fantasy novel. Ha! Take that Catherine Fisher! You thought you could fool me, but nothing stops my OCD. :D

The Obsidian Mirror is a thrilling adventure set in England at the estate of Wintercombe Abbey. The atmosphere in Wintercombe Abbey is so dark and gothic and one of the big mysteries in The Obsidian Mirror is the house itself and the secrets hidden in it.
"Nothing in the house was straight; everything leaned or tilted; even the floors sloped, and Jake had the unsettling feeling that the Abbey was warping almost as he walked through it."

Story is about multiple characters who all gather in and around Wintercombe Abbey to accomplish their personal, often mysterious goals. Narration is told from third person point of view and jumps between different characters constantly, the more intense the moment, the more switches you should expect. This turned out to be a great tension builder, it does not help for you to really connect to the characters. Although I liked some of them very much, especially Sarah, girl of unknown origin but suspected runaway from mental hospital, and Piers, ever-present all-knowing butler.

The Obsidian Mirror covers a lot of topics. Coping with loss of a close family member, human greed and manipulation, does goal always justifies the means, fight for the better future, lost love, family, friends,... And surprisingly, solution to all of their problems seems to be The Obsidian Mirror.

This is the book that will keep you puzzled and on your toes until the last page. There are so many twists and turns in plot and always something new is happening. The Obsidian Mirror is definitely not ordinary novel full of tropes and cliches. But, for some unknown reason, I had hard time reading it. Or should we better say slow time. I would read and read and read, for ages, and when I check only ten pages passed. This is very strange since I am usually a fast reader, especially with books I like. And I liked The Obsidian Mirror.

If you liked gothic atmosphere of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, scary but beautiful fey from The Iron King by Julie Kagawa or you enjoy reading middle-grade/young adult fantasy novels that revolve around large set of characters and involve mystery, time travel, paranormal and a lot of thrilling action, you are probably going to enjoy The Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher. You are definitely not going to say: "Meh, I read it all before" after finishing this book.

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.