Obsidian Mirror (Obsidian Mirror Series #1)

by Catherine Fisher

Overview

The obsidian mirror. Its power is great and terrible. Men have been lost in it, the dead brought back to life through it, and the future annihilated by it. Or this is what will happen unless the mirror is destroyed. Three people seek the mirror: the first has been sent from the future to shatter its power; the second will protect the mirror at all costs, obsessed with its power; and the third needs the mirror to find a murdered father and save his life. But only one can succeed.

The mirror can send you to the past, but it will not bring you back.

With superb world-building that includes the real world, the faery world, and a dystopic future, this hauntingly astonishing adventure is the start of a new trilogy from the master of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, Catherine Fisher. Fans of Orson Scott Card, Shakespeare, Grimm, and Blade Runner won't be disappointed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780142426777
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/06/2014
Series:	Obsidian Mirror Series , #1
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Catherine Fisher (www.catherine-fisher.co.uk and www.incarceronbook.com) acclaimed poet and novelist, was born in Newport, Wales. She graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in English and a fascination for myth and history. She was named the first Children’s Laureate of Wales and was invited to Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Elizabeth. She is the author of the critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling books Incarceron and Sapphique.

What People are Saying About This

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

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

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.

The New York Times Book Review - Sophie Gee

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

 

review feed

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

Incarceron

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)

Kirkus Reviews