Review: The Curiosity by: Stephen P. Kiernan

The Curiosity by: Stephen P. Kiernan (July 9, 2013)

448 pages

Genre: General Fiction

Publisher: William Morrow

Source: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | Amazon 

Goodreads Summary: Michael Crichton meets The Time Traveler's Wife in this powerful debut novel in which a man, frozen in the Arctic ice for more than a century, awakens in the present day.

Dr. Kate Philo and her scientific exploration team make a breathtaking discovery in the Arctic: the body of a man buried deep in the ice. As a scientist in a groundbreaking project run by the egocentric and paranoid Erastus Carthage, Kate has brought small creatures-plankton, krill, shrimp-"back to life." Never have the team's methods been attempted on a large life form.

Heedless of the consequences, Carthage orders that the frozen man be brought back to the lab in Boston, and reanimated. As the man begins to regain his memories, the team learns that he was-is-a judge, Jeremiah Rice, and the last thing he remembers is falling overboard into the Arctic Ocean in 1906. When news of the Lazarus Project and Jeremiah Rice breaks, it ignites a media firestorm and massive protests by religious fundamentalists.

Thrown together by circumstances beyond their control, Kate and Jeremiah grow closer. But the clock is ticking and Jeremiah's new life is slipping away. With Carthage planning to exploit Jeremiah while he can, Kate must decide how far she is willing to go to protect the man she has come to love.

A gripping, poignant, and thoroughly original thriller, Stephen Kiernan's provocative debut novel raises disturbing questions about the very nature of life and humanity-man as a scientific subject, as a tabloid plaything, as a living being: A curiosity.

My Review

The Curiosity may seem like a daunting read at 448 pages with the plot being very scientific but that shouldn’t keep you away. Although this book took me a while to finish, it was a unique and memorable read. It is engaging, thought provoking, heartbreaking, and just down right life changing. What would you do if you were brought back to life more than a hundred years after you already died? What is your ethical opinion on bringing a man back to life and then treating him just like a science experiment? Those are just some of the questions that arise in The Curiosity.

All of the characters in The Curiosity are unforgettable. We get the POV of Dr. Kate Philo, a scientist at heart but she questions the project; the man in ice, Jeremiah Rice; the head honcho, Erastus Carthage; and the journalist, Daniel Dixon. Although it may seem like getting this many point of views would be confusing or annoying I think that it is actually the perfect number of different people telling the story, really rounding it out because everyone was so different and had different beliefs. The storytelling is done magnificently from Dr. Philo’s point of view. My least favorite character would have to be Dixon, he just never sat right with me, seems to be a womanizer, and just down right annoying.

When I first started reading The Curiosity the scientific terminology was throwing me off. I was slightly nervous that I wouldn’t be able to follow everything that was going on in the book since a scientific discovery is the main point of the novel, but it worked out just fine. The story gets better and better with each page. It’s captivating to say the least. The story of Jeremiah Rice is more than just science but everything in-between, and his story is heartbreaking. Overall I really enjoyed this book. There were a few out of left field moments that occurred, but in all reality it wasn’t anything too troublesome and it barely registered on my “I care” scale. I also just want to state that the title is aptly named. Read it to really find out what I’m talking about.

So if you have some time and are looking for a unique novel you should read The Curiosity. It’s sure to make you think and leave a lasting impression. Plus, I really enjoyed taking a second to think about the whole situation and trying to decide how I would act if I were ever to encounter something like that. (Sorry I’m slightly vague but I don’t want to give anything important away.)

** I received a free copy of this book from the publisher William Morrow for an honest review. Thanks!