Review: Fun enough, if unremarkable
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2013
Although its subtitle would have you believe that Curious Anomalies is a "novelette," it's pretty evident that it's essentially a short story - you'll zip through it quickly, and the story and characters are more suited to the short form than to anything like a novel. And that's not inherently a bad idea - I'm on record as loving a good short story - but in this case, I think the added length and depth would make the story more successful and enjoyable. The premise is an interesting one: a scientist agrees to take on genetic engineering work in the hopes of easy money, but finds himself working for a dangerous man with a very unusual goal in mind - a very particular kind of guard animal. That's about all you should know going in to best enjoy Curious Anomalies; the story paces out its reveals nicely, letting each one sink in for a bit before bringing the next, and a few of them are genuinely pretty surprising. On the other hand, O'Reilly's writing is serviceable, but not much more; he tends to over-rely on analogies and excessive adverbs, and it ends up feeling a bit padded, even at its short length. Still, it's a fun enough story, and I'd be curious to see O'Reilly try his hand at a novel; he's clearly got a gift for a good premise, and seems to know how to plot things. But I think his writing could use a little polishing, and getting to know the characters a little more than we do would definitely make the whole thing a little more interesting and compelling (as opposed to the stock characters in play here).