Reviews

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

thereadingrunnner's review against another edition

3.0

Interesting read. Had a lot of good surprises and twists to keep me guessing as to what would happen next. Sci-fi books are not usually my thing, so a few of the supernatural things had me ready to move on in the story and didn't captivate me, but I believe that has more to do with my taste in novels than the writing/story. Overall, I'm glad I read it.

missmagpie's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

While the prose is good, the plot and the characters are so incredibly boring that getting to the end of this book was a slog. There is only one scene that I genuinely loved -

when, after a completely unexpected moment of alien-style body horror that shocks both us and the main characters, one of the characters IMMEDIATELY runs up and curbs stomps the creature to death. My man! That's how you survive the horror novel. Truly made me laugh out loud for several minutes.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

vineela0705's review against another edition

3.0

I see X-Files, I read the book.

The protagonist Nolan Moore is an arrogant and smug bastard, albeit knowledgeable and level-headed in the face of danger. So, nailed the Indiana Jones vibe. The goodreads blurb did justice to the plot. The story delivered all that was promised in the blurb. The plot picked pace after an uneventful first 200 pages.

The novel has its ups. The discussions between Nolan and Gemma on the history of Grand Canyon and epistemology were, in my opinion, the high point of the story. The legend of the Hopi prophecy inspiring the story, was very interesting. I found more info on the same - https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-americas/hopi-prophecy-and-end-fourth-world-part-1-002280.

The author took the Lovecraftian route with the ancient creatures trope. But his narration did not do justice to the plot. I couldn't feel the danger or gravity of the situation at any point. Yes, it does remind me of the movie Cabin In the Woods, but it is nowhere as chilling and thrilling as the movie. The climax was bland and disappointing. But that could be the author's plan to make the reader anticipate for the second book, in hopes that Moore will bounce back and give the world a grand expose we were waiting for.

One thing I just couldn't get over was that we have no clue of the Moore's physical personality, other than that he's 43 years old.

PS: For some reason, I kept imagining Ken as Danny DeVito with the grumpy behavior and the paunch. With the English accent, it was so bloody funny.

zoer03's review against another edition

5.0

Ok a bit dramatic and um completely bizarre and implausible. But very good story and loved the suspense of what would happen next. Very good .

dizzy_lizzy16's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

orlaithma's review against another edition

4.0

Imagine Indiana Jones, The Mummy and the TV show Timeless all merged together into one cheesy read and you will be close to having the premise of The Anomaly by Michael Rutger.
The first third of the book is quite uneventful. I wouldn't say boring, but nothing much of note happens before the group find the cavern, with most of the action taking place in the last third.
For almost the entire time I was reading the book I kept thinking that it would make such a good movie only to discover after I was done that the author is a Hollywood screenwriter and the rights for the movie have already been optioned!

I think that this is one of those plots that you are either going to love or hate. It definitely comes down on the side of the fantastical and, I think, without your suspending of your disbelief it will very quickly become ridiculous.

I'm not going to lie, I very much enjoyed it. Once the story picked up I found the mystery to be quite fun to solve and I found the characters to be incredibly likeable. If or when this does become a movie, I will definitely be watching it!

Thank you so much to Bonnier Zaffre for sending me a proof copy of The Anomaly.

purplelily1321's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

oleandreasen's review against another edition

4.0

This was one heck of a positive surprise. I noticed it on Audible.com and tried it on a wim.

Holy shite... At no time did I know what was going to happen next. The auther kept the story going at a nerve piercing rate all the time.

Story of people who look for something in a cave in the Grand Canyon - and find more than they bargined for.

Probably not for claustrophobics and people seriously afraid of the dark.

But one heck of a story. Bravo Michael M Smith (or Rutger as he chooses as his last name here) I am an instant fan of yours.

court_caitlin's review against another edition

3.0

I read it all in one day and it kept me guessing, that's for sure! A bit of a weird premise, to be honest. Felt like it all wrapped up a little easily. Wouldn't reread, but I might recommend to the right people. It was more scifi than I typically enjoy, but overall it was well-written!

bkmckown's review against another edition

4.0

I loved the Indiana Jones/Time mb Raider feeling of this book. I wanted to be an archaeologist as a child so it was fascinating to me. The team being inside the cave left me feeling extremely claustrophobic and the plot left me on the edge of my seat. Mythical creatures, crooked corporations and treacherous humans made this an awesome read. I Olán to continue the series.