Review of Obscura Burning by Suzanne van Rooyen
5 stars
“Obscura Burning” takes a rather unique approach to
Apocalypse, and I think that a situation like this would actually be worse than
living with the imminent threat of say, asteroid impact, Planet X, meteor
crash, or nuclear holocaust. The “new” planet Obscura (newly arrived in our
solar system between Earth and Mars, aligned with the Sun, Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars, interferer with satellite transmission and radio waves) is there
for a reason—but what reason? Why? Whose? Maybe this is a shifted reality, as
one Professor suggests (with mathematical equations as proof).
Certainly reality has shifted for young Kyle, only he gets
to experience TWO alternate realities, day by day by day. You see, Kyle, a boy
who likes to both have his cake and eat it, is dissatisfied with his life; he
has a boyfriend, Danny, who loves him and asks him to run away to New York
City, but no, that isn’t enough. He also wants their mutual long-time best
friend, Shira. Kyle also has this little problem: he’s a budding pyromaniac
(diagnosed “problem fire-setter”), he’s an alcoholic; and he sets a fire in
Ghost Town that kills: either Danny or Shira. Yes, Gentle Readers, which died
depends on which reality he’s living on any given day.
“Obscura Burning” is an intriguing novel, not as complicated
as I’ve probably made it sound. I really enjoyed the theme of the alternating
realities and of the “new” planet, especially the speculations as to why it
appeared and what its arrival means for Earth. I just found Kyle a difficult
character to warm up to; I liked Danny better, as an individual. I found Kyle
kind of in the “anti-hero” category.
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