The Obsidian Blade

Time and space are refracted again and again through mysterious portals in Hautman's intricately layered universe. When Tucker's parents disappear through a circle in the air he follows them, thus beginning his dangerous journey through the millennia. 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.

A smart, fast-paced science fiction adventure that uses time travel to explore ideas about religion, technology, and family. Tucker’s father’s vanishing act in the opening scene will immediately draw in readers. Where did he go? Why does he appear one hour later, walking up the road, looking ragged, holding the hand of a strange young girl? And what did he see during that hour that makes him, a reverend, announce “there is no God”? When both Tucker’s mother and father disappear, Tucker searches for them in the diskos—portals through time that connect mankind’s most important moments in the past, present, and future. As Tucker explores the diskos’ different destinations, an eerie portrait of human history begins to emerge. Pete Hautman’s depictions of future cultures are both vividly detailed and wildly original. In one time frame, numbers are obsolete. In another, close to the present, a plague infects victims with autism-like symptoms. (One of its first victims is Tucker’s mother. Her first symptom: a 24/7 compulsion to play sudoku.) Familial love and loyalty give the story constant emotional stakes. Will Tucker ever see his mother again? How far will Tucker’s Uncle Tosh go to help him? In a quote on the book’s back flap, Hautman says that he has been thinking about this planned trilogy his entire life: “When I was a teen, this was what I wanted to read—sci-fi, adventure, the past, the future, and a mind-bending mystery all in one.”

Time and space are refracted again and again through mysterious portals in Hautman’s intricately layered universe. Created as an entertainment in a far distant future by a "discorporeal Klaatu artist," diskos are windows to "interesting times" in human history. Because the Klaatu are fascinated by "the horrific, the irreversible," many diskos lead to sites of great destruction -- an erupting volcano, Auschwitz, the Twin Towers. When discovered, either intentionally or accidentally, the diskos also transport physical beings, causing both personal danger to the travelers and potential disturbances in time. In rural Hopewell County, Minnesota, thirteen-year-old Tucker sees his father, Reverend Feye, fall off the roof and disappear mid-air, where a shimmering circle appears. The reverend returns an hour later looking battered and aged, accompanied by a strange, pale girl named Lahlia, and no longer believing in God. Tucker worries as both his parents behave more and more strangely; then one day they disappear. Convinced they went through the circle in the air, Tucker goes through to look for them, thus beginning his dangerous journey through the millennia. 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. lauren adams