OBSCURA by Joe Hart – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Obscura by Joe Hart
Published by Thomas & Mercer on May 8 2018
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 348
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A fast and furious science-based space thriller with plenty of surprises.

The minute I read the synopsis for Obscura I knew I had to read it, and I’m so glad that I did. This was a fast-paced, twisty mystery in space that kept me guessing and scared the pants off me more than once! I did have a couple of issues with it, but overall I would recommend this to anyone who loves delving into the dark side of space travel. Joe Hart also touches on such themes as addiction and a mother’s love for her child, both of which were well incorporated into his story.

Gillian Ryan is a neural radiologist at the top of her field. At the moment, her focus is on trying to discover a cure for a terrible neurological disease called Losian’s, a disease that causes unexpected dementia in people of all ages. Gillian’s interest is personal. Eight years ago, her husband Kent died from the disease, after several years of losing his memories, one by one. Gillian was devastated, but  it was nothing compared to the terror she felt when her young daughter Carrie was diagnosed several years later.

When Gillian’s funding for Losian’s research suddenly ends, she’s offered an interesting opportunity. NASA is conducting top-secret testing on a device that could change the way people travel in the future, but there have been setbacks. Many of the people testing the device are coming down with symptoms of Losian’s, and now NASA wants Gillian to travel to the space station for six months to study–and hopefully solve the mystery of–why this is happening and what can be done to prevent it. A man from Gillian’s past dangles an irresistible carrot in front of her: if she agrees to the mission, NASA will give her unlimited funding for her research. Gillian doesn’t want to leave Carrie for six months, but the thought of one day saving her life is too tempting, and Gillian agrees to go.

But when she boards the shuttle that will take her to space, Gillian discovers that she hasn’t been told the entire truth about the mission. She finds herself in the middle of a war, of sorts, between those who want the project to continue and those who want to stop it. Now all she wants is to get back home to Carrie. But is that even an option anymore?

Obscura hooked me from the beginning and sucked me in, and the pace was such that I really didn’t want to stop reading because the story is pretty exciting! Hart does a great job of combining an interesting premise–a memory loss disease that doesn’t discriminate based on age, and the emotional state of a mother who will do anything to save her child. Throw in a space setting and add in a murder or two and you have an addictive mystery.

Hart tackles two emotionally wrought themes that may seem a bit heavy, but trust me, he did a fantastic job integrating them into the story. The first theme is obvious, the bond between mother and child. Gillian is being faced with yet another potential loss in her immediate family and she’s desperate to stop her daughter from dying of Losian’s. Her pain is real and it’s compounded by the death of her beloved husband eight years earlier. As a mother myself, I’m pretty sure I would never leave my young kids to go into space, but I can see why she’s motivated.

The second theme is that of addiction. Gillian is addicted to painkillers because of a leg injury years ago that still bothers her. She’s fully aware that she’s addicted, which makes it even more painful to watch, as she struggles to make up excuses as to why she needs just one more pill. Something happens on the mission which I won’t tell you about, but it involves her addiction and I thought it was very well handled. Much later in the story we are told about another type of addiction, but once again I am trying not to spoil the story, so I won’t go into particulars. Let’s just say it worked really well and added another dimension to NASA’s secret project.

I had a couple of issues with the story, but they’re pretty minor and certainly didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. I really wanted more of a connection with Gillian’s daughter Carrie, who is the emotional catalyst for the entire story. Carrie isn’t in the story much and she comes across as more of a cardboard-like character than a real flesh and blood little girl who may be dying. I guess I wanted more of a reason for Gillian to leave Earth, and I just didn’t quite buy it. Also, there are a few plot points that really stretched my ability to suspend disbelief. I get that Gillian is a talented neural biologist, but the story makes you think she’s the only person on Earth who can find a cure for Losian’s, and again, it was hard to believe. There is also a big plot hole that really bugged me, but unfortunately it wanders into spoiler territory so I can’t really talk about it. However, if you’ve read the book we might need to talk!

The last twenty percent or so of the story was shocking, but in a good way. Let’s just say don’t get too attached to the characters because yep, bad stuff is going to happen to a lot of them. And I did get attached, just so you know!

I’ve done my best not to give away the best parts of the story, so if you haven’t yet read Obscura, you’re in for plenty of surprises. I know that Joe Hart has written quite a few books, and now I’m very keen on reading some of his backlist. If you love science fiction stories with plenty of action, mystery and relatable characters, you won’t want to miss this one.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.