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Obscura
“Refreshingly original, sexy, and unexpectedly moving, Obscura is a page-turning novel about family, secrets, and the dangerous business of truly being seen. Loved it.”—Josh Silver, New York Times bestselling author of Fruit Fly
On a glitter-soaked island in the Mediterranean Sea, famous for its wild nightlife, sex, drugs, and cutting-edge electronic music, a secret community of mythical beings often only seen in fairy tales or nightmares is hidden in plain sight. Unicorn drag queens who sell LSD, Mermen tattoo artists, and ancient deities disguised as DJs came to Obscura to create a utopia where they could live free of human interference, undisguised and unashamed of their powers.
But now, the island paradise has attracted an infestation of tourists, and a battle for the soul of Obscura is raging. When sixteen-year-old Centaur Artemis finds a dying man along the side of the road, she knows she’s supposed to finish him off. Instead, she brings him home. This act of rebellion exposes the lies, hypocrisies, and violence that have shaped her community for generations—and forces Artemis to question everything she’s been taught about the humans they hate, the family she loves, and the island she calls home.
Praise
“Obscura takes us into a world that is at once fantastical and deeply human. The ride is exotic, sensual, suspenseful . . . and impossible to put down. We meet the creatures of our oldest myths, reinvented with such originality, passion, and humanity that we’re drawn into their experience and want to stay. Tucker’s unique voice and perspective prove her own thesis: ‘Stories are our most powerful magic.’”—Melissa Rosenberg, showrunner of Jessica Jones and screenwriter of Twilight
“Obscura is a love letter to chosen family—and a cautionary tale about the sacrifices required to protect them. Raelle Tucker has created a heroine you can’t help but root for. . . . This is a book for the misfits, for the people who dream of there being a little more magic in the world. More than anything, Obscura is a shimmering, earnest ode to the power of the stories we choose to tell.”—Katie Yee, author of Maggie; or a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar
“Refreshingly original, sexy, and unexpectedly moving, Obscura is a page-turning novel about family, secrets, and the dangerous business of truly being seen. Loved it.”—Josh Silver, bestselling author of Fruit Fly
“A lush and brilliantly imagined tale about magical creatures living on the outskirts of human existence, Obscura is a love letter to the outsider seeking home.”—Emily Habeck, author of Shark Heart
“A fast-paced, hypnotic joyride of a novel. Tucker has spun a world of magic, gorgeous oddities, and family secrets, where we are left to ponder what happens when clannishness an us vs. them mentality goes too far. Absolutely entertaining and whip-smart.”—Rebecca Lehmann, author of The Beheading Game
Photo: © Matt Kallish
Raelle Tucker
Raelle Tucker grew up on the island of Ibiza, in an international community of artists, drug smugglers and seekers, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in television. She is an Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated television writer and showrunner whose credits include True Blood, Supernatural, Jessica Jones, Sacred Lies, and The Power. Obscura is her debut novel.
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