Review: Free Kindle download
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2012
I really enjoyed "The Energy Scavengers" by Ryan O'Reilly.  The main character, Calvin, is a robot sent from Earth to another planet on an intelligence-gathering mission.  After a crash-landing sends the trip into chaos, Calvin has to figure out how to survive in the face of adversity.  I felt that the imagination and creativity of the author was quite vivid and came through very well in the writing, and that it was edited nicely, which makes for a pleasant read.The ability to give Calvin likable human qualities that made me care about him, while still keeping true to the fact that he is a machine, was impressive to me.  I related easily to Calvin's assessments of the different situations with which he was confronted, followed his thought-processes as he related with the other robots who needed his help, and ultimately found myself rooting for his success.  The character development and the plot both flowed well, and I loved how RO was able to stir emotions as I read.As some other reviewers have noted, the only downfall to this story was the abrupt ending.  I thought that it felt too rushed and didn't leave the reader feeling as though everything had been wrapped up satisfactorily.  That said, I was also left feeling that maybe the author had given a synopsis of a not-too-distant future novel rather than a short story.  I hope so; I would love to hear more from Calvin, et al.