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A review by nuin_giliath
Obsidio by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman
adventurous
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I thought I understood the hype after reading Illuminae, but I really, really get it now. When I started this series, I had no idea just how much of a ride it would be. Overall, it was an incredible story with endearing characters, well-developed plots, and crazy twists that made my jaw drop and head spin. I may not have always been a fan of every character at first, but I ultimately found them to be both engaging and admirable over the course of the story. They had unique personalities, backstories, and manners of demonstrating their individual strengths. I truly enjoyed following them on their journeys. The various plots, while convoluted at times, were often captivating and the writing tended to keep me on the edge of my seat. The audio recording is also fantastic - although I would still recommend flipping through a physical copy at some point due to the designs and artwork featured.
Looking back, I can't help but compare my experiences with each of the three books. Although they share many similarities in their compositions (and even plots), they achieved different levels of success. Unfortunately, I found Obsidio to be the weakest due to a couple of issues:
1) Even though I highly enjoyed Illuminae and then absolutely loved Gemina, I found it hard to become as excited about Obsidio. I struggled to care about these new characters and situations throughout much of the first half. It didn't help that the overall tone was more somber and the main threat didn't seem as present or dangerous as the past ones had been. While it was nice having the characters from the previous books join forces, there really wasn't much for them to do until the last 25% or so. The lack of connection to the new characters and a less thrilling plot resulted in the pacing feeling much slower in comparison to the previous books.
2) From the very start, I noticed that this last book had less of a sci-fi feel when comparing it to its predecessors. Whereas Illuminae and Gemina involved threats such as spaceship chases, a deadly airborne virus, space parasites, a malfunctioning wormhole, and collapsing parallel universes, Obsidio had genocide, starvation, curfew, suicide, detention centers, Nazi-esque brutes, and a small resistance force. None of these aspects felt unique to this genre and they comprised the main focus for the first 60% or so before the final space battle began. Even though the first two books featured tragic moments and huge losses, they didn't feel as depressing due to the sci-fi elements which caused them. Here, I had to stop reading a few times because things became too emotionally heavy for me to handle. I realize this might not be the case for everyone, but after two books which focused on sci-fi action, I didn't expect to see such realistic misfortunes depicted.
A final (and more minor) complaint… I wish the characters that we had come to know and love from the previous book(s) weren't so frequently sidelined in favor of the newcomers. I would have preferred to have a greater awareness of all of them from the start. Then we could have learned a little more about them and their experiences from book to book instead of dedicating one novel to them and neglecting further development beyond that.
Even with its occasional clunkiness, this finale was satisfying and the entire series was quite entertaining. If you don't mind some sci-fi and haven't checked this out yet, you should -- if for no other reason than to admire the originality behind its design. If Obsidio had been told using only traditional prose, I'd probably rate it a 3.5. However, the sheer creativity and effort it must have taken to tell a cohesive three-book story through unconventional methods is astonishing and impressive. So 4-stars it is.
Looking back, I can't help but compare my experiences with each of the three books. Although they share many similarities in their compositions (and even plots), they achieved different levels of success. Unfortunately, I found Obsidio to be the weakest due to a couple of issues:
1) Even though I highly enjoyed Illuminae and then absolutely loved Gemina, I found it hard to become as excited about Obsidio. I struggled to care about these new characters and situations throughout much of the first half. It didn't help that the overall tone was more somber and the main threat didn't seem as present or dangerous as the past ones had been. While it was nice having the characters from the previous books join forces, there really wasn't much for them to do until the last 25% or so. The lack of connection to the new characters and a less thrilling plot resulted in the pacing feeling much slower in comparison to the previous books.
2) From the very start, I noticed that this last book had less of a sci-fi feel when comparing it to its predecessors. Whereas Illuminae and Gemina involved threats such as spaceship chases, a deadly airborne virus, space parasites, a malfunctioning wormhole, and collapsing parallel universes, Obsidio had genocide, starvation, curfew, suicide, detention centers, Nazi-esque brutes, and a small resistance force. None of these aspects felt unique to this genre and they comprised the main focus for the first 60% or so before the final space battle began. Even though the first two books featured tragic moments and huge losses, they didn't feel as depressing due to the sci-fi elements which caused them. Here, I had to stop reading a few times because things became too emotionally heavy for me to handle. I realize this might not be the case for everyone, but after two books which focused on sci-fi action, I didn't expect to see such realistic misfortunes depicted.
A final (and more minor) complaint… I wish the characters that we had come to know and love from the previous book(s) weren't so frequently sidelined in favor of the newcomers. I would have preferred to have a greater awareness of all of them from the start. Then we could have learned a little more about them and their experiences from book to book instead of dedicating one novel to them and neglecting further development beyond that.
Even with its occasional clunkiness, this finale was satisfying and the entire series was quite entertaining. If you don't mind some sci-fi and haven't checked this out yet, you should -- if for no other reason than to admire the originality behind its design. If Obsidio had been told using only traditional prose, I'd probably rate it a 3.5. However, the sheer creativity and effort it must have taken to tell a cohesive three-book story through unconventional methods is astonishing and impressive. So 4-stars it is.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Suicide, Violence, and Police brutality