Obscura

By: Joe Hart

Narrated by: Christina Traister

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

She’s felt it before…the fear of losing control. And it’s happening again.

In the near future, an aggressive and terrifying new form of dementia is affecting victims of all ages. The cause is unknown, and the symptoms are disturbing. Dr. Gillian Ryan is on the cutting edge of research and desperately determined to find a cure. She’s already lost her husband to the disease, and now her young daughter is slowly succumbing as well. After losing her funding, she is given the unique opportunity to expand her research. She will travel with a NASA team to a space station where the crew has been stricken with symptoms of a similar inexplicable psychosis—memory loss, trances, and violent, uncontrollable impulses.

Crippled by a secret addiction and suffering from creeping paranoia, Gillian finds her journey becoming a nightmare as unexplainable and violent events plague the mission. With her grip weakening on reality, she starts to doubt her own innocence. And she’s beginning to question so much more—like the true nature of the mission, the motivations of the crew, and every deadly new secret space has to offer.

Merging thrilling science-fiction adventure with mind-bending psychological suspense, Wall Street Journal bestselling author Joe Hart explores both the vast mysteries of outer space and the even darker unknown that lies within ourselves.

©2018 Joe Hart (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Brassy Narration Did Not Sit Well

The story was ok, nothing exciting, but the narration was a problem. Frequently, the narrator would begin sentences with a loud, brassy, nasal few words that were just out of place, ruining the flow of the story. This happened regularly throughout the story. This is a shame, because other than these frequent phrases, the narration was not bad.

Maybe a story better read than heard.

The troubles with the Fuzzies!

Obscura is a combination of science fiction and psychological thriller. It is set only one decade into the future. I'm not usually a fan of author Joe Hart, but I like this novel a lot; it is a very special story. The publisher's summary does a nice job of setting up the plot, but if you want more read the outstanding review by Brian of Niagara Falls, NY. The narration by Christina Traister is perfect for this novel. I've listened to several other books she has narrated, mostly those by Mary Burton. She is really, really good.

Brilliant

I have never read a book by Joe Hart before Obscura and I’m pretty mad at myself now. This is one of the most brilliant books I’ve read in quite some time. It was real, gritty, and cuts to the heart of a ton of issues that are going on now.

Obscura tells a story of a woman on a mission. A new form of dementia is affecting people and causing them to lose their memories far too young. No one knows what causes it, if it’s easily spread, or if it’s curable. Dr. Gillian Ryan is out to try and change that. Along the way, she is promised something she never thought anyone could get – unlimited funding. But it comes with a catch.

I would coin this as being a psychological science fiction thriller. Hart wrote a world that is stunning in its description but also simple and easy to understand. Things are worse – we’re a little into the future and we’ve basically doomed a group of people without even knowing how.

I took care of my grandpa who had dementia and Alzheimers – Hart hits the nail on the head with his description of this new disease and how people react to it. It was almost hard to listen to at times because I couldn’t imagine watching my wife or someone that I’m intimately close with (like a kid) go through the same issues. Even the way that Hart had Gillian and her daughter describe it from a kids point of view was chilling. The Fuzzies is a term I won’t soon forget.

I want to spend a lot of time writing about the latter parts of the book but I just can’t. Hart wrote a book that is like an onion – it had so many different layers to it. The deeper I got the more I wanted to know. The way that Obscura is set up, it could have gone a hundred different directions but the ones that Hart went with, making this easily one of the best books I’ve read this year if not ever. The story itself and the way that Hart weaved science fact in with science fiction was reminiscent of some of my favorite Michael Crichton books.

I had the privilege of listening to this a little early and my wife and I literally finished it during our drive to Washington DC. We started and finished it in one trip – and sat in silence after it finished because we couldn’t believe just how good the story was.

The narration for Obscura was done by Christina Traister who I thought did a perfect job. The scenes of paranoia and panic at the mid-point of the book were perfectly voiced with the right amount of emotion and panic in her voice to really nail Gillian as a real person and not just a character in a book.

Overall, Obscura… seriously might be one of the best books I’ve ever read. I had a feeling I was going to like this book, but wow. I liked it even more than I expected.

Problems with the audio editing

The story was fine. I can't vouch for the science, but there was some good imaginative thinking. The audio reading was fine, but there were odd pauses before some of the technical and/or medical terms. It was as if the author had read the story, skipped the techincal terms, and recorded them separately for editing in. If the pauses were edited out, it would seem less like the reader was trying to emphasize those terms.

I really liked it!

I'm not a huge scifi fan, bit I really liked this book. I had an interesting premise as far as the tech, as well as some mystery that kept me guessing. The writing was pretty ok too. It wasn't any thing fancy, but I actually appreciate when an author knows how to write in a way that says out of the way of the story.

This was recomended to me because I bought one of the Authors other books ... but never listened. I plan to make that book one of my next ones, and will keep him on my radar.

Assault on my ears

I wish I could finish this book - and probably will in a form other than audio. The reader sounded like she was spitting the words out throughout the entire two hours I attempted to listen. The tone was angry and hateful regardless of the happenstance of the story.

Disappointed

I have loved all of Joe Hart's previous novels, but this one just wasn't my cup of tea. It really didn't hold my interest. The only reason I finished is because my husband was also listening. He did enjoy it slightly more than I did.

it was ok but predictable plot

Did not care for the narrator, and the story was weak. same ol plot line for horror sci-fi.

Very Enjoyable

The only thing I found less than enjoyable about this audio book was the sound of the narrator's voice. However, her ability to adopt a different voice for each character outweighed the annoyance. I hope there is a sequel!

Will probably become a TV Show or Film

Very much enjoyed this book and would recommend to almost anyone. I feel that it has elements for every type of reader. Very suspenseful, so it keeps pulling you back in, while having themes that provoke thoughts and conversation. It is Sci-Fi, but not at all fantastic, which makes it very easy to relate to. It may be the fastest book I've finished so far.

Just couldn’t finish.

I tried to like this book, but in the end, I just couldn’t finish it. The pace was slow and the narration, although competent, was a bit monotone with questionable accents. I doubt I’ll be reading any more books by the author.

In two minds

A BRILLIANT story almost ruined by appalling narration. Pausing in the wrong places,causing srntences to make no sense, upwards inflections all over the place.Found myself talking back to her in frustration. Only the story stopped me from ripping the headphones out and giving up.