This book was odd but incredibly intriguing.
Initially I wasn’t a fan of the almost simplified writing style, focusing on repetitive phrasing and slightly convoluted history. However, for such a short book I suppose this type of writing aided the speed of the book.
The story was mildly predictable as I guessed the outcome after the first 25%, regardless of this it was still enjoyable to see it all unfold from multiple perspectives.
If you’re a fan of Love Death + Robots this is definitely for you. A short bizarre story with a deeper moral intention.
Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

I’m not sure what to say about this very short novella. I did enjoy it, I did like the characters but I feel it was rushed. However I would definitely read it as a full novel. A great start.

“We became a vision of what they could become. They wanted to be us, even though they can never be like us”.

This novella is about the Karanga race and its endless struggles with the Scragg’s. Our main protagonist, Mas Gwinayi, finds himself in an epic battle with the Scragg’s, which results in him and his shipmates being stuck in the ship. Odd circumstances bring Mas and his team to confront the Scragg’s for the first time in millennia.

Obsidian is the first book I have read by Mike McCoy, and I can see that there are some great ideas in the novella. McCoy tries to analyse, “why do humans go to war and kill each other” and “how do we humans react when we discover something we can’t fully comprehend?” I enjoyed how the plot follows two main storylines that are tied together in the end. The writing is accessible, and the pacing is excellent.

Unfortunately, the ideas are the best thing about this novella. None of the characters are memorable, and the dialogue is weak. McCoy gives us insight into the history between the Karanga and Scragg's, but I did not feel like I needed to care about these races. Furthermore, some of the characters in this novella witness horrendous things, but this doesn’t seem to affect them. I could not get immersed in this world due to the weak characters and dialogue.

McCoy has some great ideas and has the potential to become a good author. If McCoy can improve his character work and dialogue, his stories could become exciting to read. I can recommend this novella if you are looking for a story that focuses on some interesting ideas. Unfortunately, I do not believe that most readers would find this novella memorable.

2.5 / 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was just one of those random quick read grabs that looks decent enough and went along with my sci fi binge. It’s what is known as (or should be known as and I’m coining it) as retiree fiction, which covers a range of fiction authored by people who come into writing late in life after having done a bunch of other things and finally having the time to pursue the literary dream. They usually have a message too, some sort of moral passed down from a lifetime of experience, etc. Sometimes it’s actually relatively decent. Sometimes it read exactly as a selfpublished vanity project might. This one was definitely more or the former. Which is to say it’s perfectly readable decently edited and well meant. The moral here is the author contemplating the very nature of violence and using this first contact story do to do.
Obsidian hides a team of aliens (the Karanga) who have long been at war with scragg and got themselves stranded. Now, ages later, the finally come face to face again and must talk or fight it out. And you’ll just have to read to find out what option they go with and how it plays out.
Not sure how much of a draw that might be for the readers. I am, after all the first person to rate and review it, but there it is. Rated (generously) and reviewed. Thanks Netgalley.