**5++ Goodreads Stars**In Joe Hart's Obscura, researcher Dr. Gillian Ryan is on the verge of curing the disease that killed her husband and is threatening to destroy her 8-year-old daughter's life. The disease erases one's memories, much like Alzheimer's. When Dr. Ryan's research funding is axed, she makes a life-altering choice to work for a top-secret NASA program that promises to help her cure the disease. As part of her assignment, Dr. Ryan must leave her daughter back on Earth for six mon...

Obscura is a book about a successful doctor who's husband has died of a new type of dementia and whose young daughter is now dying of the disease too. The last years her research has focused on curing this disease and her work had drawn the attention of members of NASA, due to dementia like symptoms in space. On top of the doctor's grief about her husband and daughter, she deals with addiction, paranoia, dishonesty from those who want her help.The book is told in chapters that bounce around in t...

A psychological thriller. In space. Sign me up!In the not too distant future a new form of dementia befalls people of all ages. Dr. Gillian Ryan already lost her husband to Losian's, and now her little daughter is seriously ill as well. Gillian is one of the leading experts in the field, but progress is slow, and her funding is running low. That's when NASA approaches her. Members of a top secret mission are experiencing symptoms similar to Losian's. NASA offers to fund Gillian's research if she...

Finito! I can't remember when I started this, so I'll put the end-date down. I can remember that. I haven't got Losians. I started reading it, in the midst of a mega-slump, so it took awhile - to finish. This would've been a solid five-star rating, if it wasn't for the epilogue, and one cast member, playing the role of Divine Intervention, causing that character to be decommissioned. Okay, I liked the epilogue - sort of - but if there's no sequel, then it's just going to wind-me-up - perpetually...

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/05/27/...Combining elements from science fiction and thriller-suspense, Joe Hart brings us a gripping tale set in the not-too-distant future where a new form of dementia known as Losian’s Disease is sweeping across the globe, affecting both the old and the young. No one knows the cause, but as the widow and the mother of Losian sufferers, Dr. Gillian Ryan is determined to find a cure. She has already lost her husband, and she’s not...

While I loved the concept behind the book, it didn't quite work for me as much as I had hoped that it would. A mother desperate to find a cure for a new form of dementia that has taken her husband and is threatening to take her only child as well. She gets the opportunity to go into space to help NASA with the implication she can further her studies for a cure and then be funded for life after her mission has been completed. How far would you go for your child? What happens when the mission isn'...

Obscura would make an awesome sci-fi thriller movie. Great story, lots of action and twists and turns. This book has it all: incurable disease, murder mystery, space travel, teleportation, psychological suspense. It grips you from the beginning and keeps you engaged throughout. I definitely recommend reading this book and looking forward to reading more from this author.Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy of Joe Hart's "Obscura" in exchange of an honest review.

4.5 stars, rounded up for enjoyability.A new kind of dementia has hit earth... one that affects young folks, and rapidly. Meanwhile, in space, similar symptoms are showing up among astronauts beta-testing a new and potentially dangerous mode of transportation... Can our heroine solve both issues at once, while struggling through her own addiction issues, grief over her husband's death, and her young daughter's dementia diagnosis?Though there are flaws here (view spoiler)[ she never would have be...

3.45 Stars (Very Good)Obscura was a surprisingly great sci-fi thriller that is Reminiscent to Blake crouch’s recursion, yet all the action takes place in space. This is my first try with Joe Hart and I really enjoyed it! His writing is fluid the sci-fi elements and concepts are unbelievable yet apply nicely to the story line. The protagonist is endearing and there is a nice mounting crescendo of tension that culminates in a massive throw down by the books end.

Joe Hart takes us into the near-future in Obscura, to a time when the Earth is severely polluted and global warming is set to pay a disastrous toll. A deadly new virus, Losian, has emerged, cursing the afflicted with an Alzheimer's-like memory loss on the way to fatality. Although science hasn't had much luck curbing mankind's deadly carbon footprint, it has made some headway into developing a new, cutting-edge method of travel currently being tested in space. Inexplicably, though, the human tes...

Putting my super-cheap three month Kindle Unlimited membership (thanks to Goodreads) to its best use meant staking out around 30 books I wanted to read anyway, but had not yet spent the cash for the Kindle or credit for the Audible to add to my library. A few of my choices sounded iffy, but I was certain Obscura would be a winner. Every social media site I visit screams this book at me, as "a perfect match" for a sci-fi and thriller reader like Donna.I can't express just how wrong they were. All...

If I had to resort to the old Hollywood 5-second pitch, I'd describe this book as "Shutter Island in space." That being said, this one deserves much more than a quick cursory glance.Obscura hits the ground running, forcing the reader to start jogging along if you don't want to get left behind. A disease similar to dementia and Alzheimer's is now affecting healthy young individuals, from adults to children. Due to circumstances which you'll discover once you read the book -- because this IS a boo...

Obscura is a sci-fi/thriller hybrid about a medical researcher in space. That was a setup I’d never heard before! I love when a book feels like a fresh and original experience.Gillian Ryan is an expert on a dementia-like disease that can affect people of any age. She lost her husband to it, and now her daughter is showing signs as well. When she is approached by NASA about going into space to see if she can help astronauts who have been showing similar symptoms, she agrees because she hopes doin...