Obscura by Joe Hart

Title: Obscura
Author: Joe Hart
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publish Date: 5/8/18
Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖 / 5
// I received this ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review //

The near future for humans doesn't look so bright in Joe Hart's Obscura. The reader is introduced to a world that has been attacked by a new disease called Losian's Disease which has similar symptoms to Dementia. The people affected start losing parts of their memory, even become less of themselves and slip into fits of violence. Dr. Gillian Ryan has lost her husband to the disease and is slowly losing her daughter Carrie as well. She has worked with the disease extensively however cannot fund her research any further. That is when NASA steps in. She is given the opportunity and funding to continue her research....if she travels to space. There are astronauts in space who are suffering from similar to Losian's and it is her job to figure out what is going on and to stop it if possible. However, as she starts to unravel the mystery, she feels as if she is losing parts of herself as well. Gillian struggles with her past addictions and the scrutiny of her fellow travelers. She discovers what the true mission is and whether or not everyone is as they seem.

I had high hopes for this book going in and I was not disappointed. Obscura is a clever mashup of science, horror and psychological elements that leave the reader not knowing where the story will go next. We have main character, Gillian, fighting to save her daughter while fighting herself. But I wasn't left feeling like I was looking at the cliched flawed character. She was actually relatable. And really I didn't know whether or not she was going insane herself. Hart did a good job creating a character and a situation you could really get wrapped up in.

However, I didn't feel this book was necessarily "unputdownable" until about the last 20% of the book. While the story was intriguing, at times there seemed to be either too much or too little going on to keep my attention like I wanted it to. There were little climaxes throughout the story that had no resolution and left me with a "sigh" feeling. But these were not very common so it didn't take away too much from the story. There isn't too much I can write in this review without giving away pivotal details to the story so I will keep it short in this review.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good sci-fi thriller with hints of real-life issues. It truly makes you think about the causes of disease and whether or not this same situation could happen to us today.

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