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A review by eviebookish
Obscura Burning by Suzanne van Rooyen
5.0
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Obscura Burning is both moving and intellectually stimulating. A fantastic, thought-provoking and mind-boggling story, executed with skill and honesty! Suzanne Van Rooyen swiftly guides the reader through the fractured narrative of her book, gradually building up tension and suspense to a dizzying crescendo ending. An unforgettable ending that will leave you breathless and thinking about it - examining all the possible explanations and trying to understand what really happened - for a very long time. I am still reeling from it. As much as I'd like to tell you that I managed to figure it all out, I'm still not sure what exactly went down in this book, and that's precisely what makes me love it so much!
Everything started with a fire that our MC, Kyle, can't even remember. His memory is in shreds and he doesn't know what caused the fire, or anything else that happened shortly after it broke out. All he knows is that his life and the entire world changed that night. A planet about the size of Mercury appeared out of nowhere and took up residence between Earth and Mars. And that mysterious planet - Obscura - has been messing things up ever since, causing weird things to happen. Since that night, Kyle's been jolted between two parallel realities, living two different lives - one in which his boyfriend Danny is alive and their best friend, Shira, is dead, and the other in which it is Shira who survived, and Danny who died in the fire. Kyle's world is crumbling to pieces. The shifts between realities are slowly killing him and he knows that he has to do something to stop Obscura from destroying his life, his sanity and the entire world.
I fell in love with Obsura Burning right from the get-go. The intriguing premise along with Suzanne's raw and affecting writing style had me hooked in an instant. I loved the idea behind this story and the more I read, the more intrigued and bewildered I became. Maybe even obsessed (a tiny little bit). The complexity of the plot didn't show itself in its full glory until the final passages, but even before the jaw-dropping climax I knew this was going to be a total killer! And I was right.
If you enjoy books that are messing with your head, there is no doubt in my mind that you will love Obscura Burning. It's a prime example of mental gymnastics. At the same time, it's also so much more than just an incredibly well-thought-out science fiction novel. It's a meaningful and profound tale of love, friendship, trust and betrayal, guilt, denial and redemption. Kyle is one incredibly complex and tragic character, and my heart ached for him. He's strong, yet so fragile and sensitive. All broken up inside, and yet so full of hope and love. He is vulnerable and sad, but he can be scary, too. Such a great, beautifully fleshed out MC! I absolutely loved following his story, as heartbreaking as it was.
I'm thrilled to have discovered this book. It was such an intense and memorable read, I will definitely be going back to it many times. I am also looking forward to Suzanne's upcoming books - she is definitely an author whose carrier I will be following closely!
Obscura Burning is both moving and intellectually stimulating. A fantastic, thought-provoking and mind-boggling story, executed with skill and honesty! Suzanne Van Rooyen swiftly guides the reader through the fractured narrative of her book, gradually building up tension and suspense to a dizzying crescendo ending. An unforgettable ending that will leave you breathless and thinking about it - examining all the possible explanations and trying to understand what really happened - for a very long time. I am still reeling from it. As much as I'd like to tell you that I managed to figure it all out, I'm still not sure what exactly went down in this book, and that's precisely what makes me love it so much!
Everything started with a fire that our MC, Kyle, can't even remember. His memory is in shreds and he doesn't know what caused the fire, or anything else that happened shortly after it broke out. All he knows is that his life and the entire world changed that night. A planet about the size of Mercury appeared out of nowhere and took up residence between Earth and Mars. And that mysterious planet - Obscura - has been messing things up ever since, causing weird things to happen. Since that night, Kyle's been jolted between two parallel realities, living two different lives - one in which his boyfriend Danny is alive and their best friend, Shira, is dead, and the other in which it is Shira who survived, and Danny who died in the fire. Kyle's world is crumbling to pieces. The shifts between realities are slowly killing him and he knows that he has to do something to stop Obscura from destroying his life, his sanity and the entire world.
I fell in love with Obsura Burning right from the get-go. The intriguing premise along with Suzanne's raw and affecting writing style had me hooked in an instant. I loved the idea behind this story and the more I read, the more intrigued and bewildered I became. Maybe even obsessed (a tiny little bit). The complexity of the plot didn't show itself in its full glory until the final passages, but even before the jaw-dropping climax I knew this was going to be a total killer! And I was right.
If you enjoy books that are messing with your head, there is no doubt in my mind that you will love Obscura Burning. It's a prime example of mental gymnastics. At the same time, it's also so much more than just an incredibly well-thought-out science fiction novel. It's a meaningful and profound tale of love, friendship, trust and betrayal, guilt, denial and redemption. Kyle is one incredibly complex and tragic character, and my heart ached for him. He's strong, yet so fragile and sensitive. All broken up inside, and yet so full of hope and love. He is vulnerable and sad, but he can be scary, too. Such a great, beautifully fleshed out MC! I absolutely loved following his story, as heartbreaking as it was.
I'm thrilled to have discovered this book. It was such an intense and memorable read, I will definitely be going back to it many times. I am also looking forward to Suzanne's upcoming books - she is definitely an author whose carrier I will be following closely!