The Obsidian Blade (Klaatu Diskos Series #1)

by Pete Hautman

Overview

Kicking off a riveting sci-fi trilogy, National Book Award winner Pete Hautman plunges us into a world where time is a tool — and the question is, who will control it?

The first time his father disappeared, Tucker Feye had just turned thirteen. The Reverend Feye simply climbed on the roof to fix a shingle, let out a scream, and vanished — only to walk up the driveway an hour later, looking older and worn, with a strange girl named Lahlia in tow. In the months that followed, Tucker watched his father grow distant and his once loving mother slide into madness. But then both of his parents disappear. Now in the care of his wild Uncle Kosh, Tucker begins to suspect that the disks of shimmering air he keeps seeing — one right on top of the roof — hold the answer to restoring his family. And when he dares to step into one, he’s launched on a time-twisting journey — from a small Midwestern town to a futuristic hospital run by digitally augmented healers, from the death of an ancient prophet to a forest at the end of time. Inevitably, Tucker’s actions alter the past and future, changing his world forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763654030
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/10/2012
Series:	Klaatu Diskos Series , #1
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	705,277
Product dimensions:	5.88(w) x 8.38(h) x 1.04(d)
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Pete Hautman is the author of many books, including the National Book Award-winning Godless and the time-travel adventure Mr. Was. He splits his time between Wisconsin and Minnesota.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This might be Hautman’s most daring book yet. Throughout, Hautman raises significant issues concerning family, faith, and destiny. Well-developed and complex characters, a fascinating time travel framework (including dispatches from the far future), and a heart-stopping conclusion will leave readers looking forward to the next book.
—Publishers Weekly

Vivid imagination and deft storytelling make for refreshing speculative fiction in this time-travel tale... Part science fiction, part adventure, part mystery, but every bit engrossing; be sure to start the hold list for the sequel.
—Kirkus Reviews

This fast-paced opener to the Klaatu Diskos trilogy will satiate adventure seekers, and the refined brain candy will be delicious to more thoughtful readers... Tantalizing.
—Booklist

Editorial Reviews

In this thrilling first volume of the Klaatu Diskos trilogy, 13-year-old Tucker Feye’s ordinary life in smalltown Minnesota changes dramatically when his father, a preacher, disappears through a mysterious disk near the roof of their house. He reappears an hour later, without his religious faith, but with Lahlia, an awkward young woman who he claims is from Bulgaria. When, a year later, Tucker’s parents both vanish, he sets out to find them, aided by Lahlia and his biker uncle, Kosh. Tucker discovers that the “diskos,” which were created by a noncorporeal artist from the distant future, allow travel between time and place. The result is a whirlwind tour of some unpleasant societies and moments in human history, some of which (such as the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers) are jaw-dropping—this might be Hautman’s most daring book yet. Throughout, Hautman (The Big Crunch) raises significant issues concerning family, faith, and destiny. Well-developed and complex characters, a fascinating time travel framework (including dispatches from the far future), and a heart-stopping conclusion will leave readers looking forward to the next book. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jennifer Flannery, Flannery Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Vivid imagination and deft storytelling make for refreshing speculative fiction in this time-travel tale. Tucker Feye is an ordinary teenage boy, leading an ordinary, near-idyllic small-town American life--but that's before he starts seeing the "disks." Once the mysterious shimmering phenomena appear, Tucker's preacher father vanishes, then returns with a strange teenage girl and without his faith; Tucker's mother loses her sanity, and eventually both parents disappear. After moving in with his (previously unknown) Uncle Kosh, the really weird stuff starts happening. However, after a riveting opening scene the narrative seems to slow to a crawl, but the thorough characterization and careful worldbuilding pay off spectacularly once Tucker discovers that the disks are gateways through time and space. Hautman doesn't make things easy for his readers: As Tucker bounces through historical crisis points past and future, short chapters and steadily ratcheting stakes present life-threatening situations and bizarre personages at a dizzying pace (most of them already-familiar characters with new names or under different guises), That this remains intriguing rather than confusing is a credit to the sure-handed plotting and crisp prose, equally adept with flashes of snarky wit and uncomfortable questions of faith, identity, and destiny. Less satisfying are the climactic cliffhangers, which reveal that the entire story is but a set-up for the rest of the series. Part science fiction, part adventure, part mystery, but every bit engrossing; be sure to start the hold list for the sequel. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

This might be Hautman’s most daring book yet. Throughout, Hautman raises significant issues concerning family, faith, and destiny. Well-developed and complex characters, a fascinating time travel framework (including dispatches from the far future), and a heart-stopping conclusion will leave readers looking forward to the next book.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Vivid imagination and deft storytelling make for refreshing speculative fiction in this time-travel tale... Part science fiction, part adventure, part mystery, but every bit engrossing; be sure to start the hold list for the sequel.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This fast-paced opener to the Klaatu Diskos trilogy will satiate adventure seekers, and the refined brain candy will be delicious to more thoughtful readers... Tantalizing.
—Booklist (starred review)

Hautman describes the series as what he would have liked to have read as a teen, and he’s got that right; with its blend of unpredictable past and future time travel, action sequences, exotic weaponry, mysterious villains, and an emergent band of unlikely allies, this will appeal to sci-fi oriented kids with gaming sensibilities.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

The first of a planned trilogy plants Tucker and his family in a religious and ideological battle across time, hinting at intriguing developments to come. Grounded in historical events, Hautman’s novel projects our own “interesting times” into an even more frightening yet fascinating future.
—The Horn Book

Hautman has created a vivid and intricate world that bridges the present to the past with the possibilities of science fiction.
—VOYA

This first book in a planned trilogy is a briskly paced time travel adventure. There is plenty of action and mystery to keep the audience engaged as well as ample thought-provoking material for more serious readers to contemplate.
—Library Media Connection

There’s a lot happening here, so if you’re looking for the next best thing in science fiction, look no further.
—TeenReads.com

From the Publisher

Time travel is a reality—as Tucker Feye and his family accidentally discover. Time traveling is also confusing because one never knows where one is—or when. Narrator Joshua Swanson proves to be a nimble tour guide through space and time, and listeners can easily follow along as the Feyes travel far from their Midwestern home. Swanson’s intense, youthful voice works well with the story’s action. Although his Minnesota accent comes and goes, he changes age and gender (and species!) very successfully. Hautman’s story is fast paced yet thought-provoking, especially with Swanson’s portrayal of a young man who is forced to grow up much more quickly than he ever planned. G.D. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2012 - AudioFile