Obsidian Mirror

February 11, 2013
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.

March 1, 2013
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)

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June 1, 2013

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

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2013
Grades 6-9 In this series opener a boy searching for his father, a mysterious girl, a reclusive genius tormented by his wife's death, and a fairy changeling struggling to stay human converge at ancient Wintercombe Abbey, lured by the promise of the Obsidian Mirror. Found in the 1800s and taken from its owner by treachery, the mirror can open a portal into the past, but those who venture in are often lost. While Jake, looking for his father, and Sarah, sent from the future to destroy the mirror, are arguably the stars here, Fisher taps into the universal desire to right past wrongs with a large cast of interconnected characters, all sympathetic in their need for the mirror yet disturbing in the lengths they will go to procure it. Following the particulars can get hairy, but Fisher effectively alternates brooding mystery with thrilling action. With evil future replicants in pursuit, magical fairies on the defense, and characters from all time lines converging, this blend of science fiction and fantasy is certified fresh. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Fisher commanded attention, including that of Hollywood, for the two-book Incarceron series. Major promotion is planned to kick off this new trilogy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2013
Jake Wilde gets himself expelled from his posh private school for one purpose: so he can be sent back to his guardian Oberon Venn and accuse him of murdering his father, David. But when Jake arrives at Venn's decaying estate, Wintercombe Abbey, he learns that David wasn't murdered. David disappeared while he and Venn were experimenting with a Victorian time-machine made of an obsidian mirror, and Venn is as frantic as Jake to retrieve him. Nor is Venn alone in his interest in the mirror and its time-travel powers: a ghost from the past, a girl from the future, and even Summer, queen of the Shee (fairies), all want to use the mirror for their own purposes. This plot-driven fantasy by the author of Incarceron (rev. 1/10) compensates for its unremarkable prose style with sheer copiousness -- in wintry descriptions of Wintercombe Abbey and allusions to multiple mythologies, classical and folkloric. Fisher's sentences are short, propulsive, and transparent, emphasizing the visual. The story is amply 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 first in a projected trilogy. deirdre f. baker

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2013
First in a projected trilogy, this plot-driven time-travel fantasy compensates for its unremarkable prose with sheer copiousness--in wintry descriptions of its setting and allusions to multiple mythologies. Fisher's sentences are short, propulsive, and transparent, emphasizing the visual. The story is amply punctuated with narrow-escape scenes and hints at thinking about how acts of the present impinge on the future.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)