This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic 
 The scientists of the Lazarus Project have done the unthinkable. After finding a man frozen in ice, they were able to shock him back to life. His name is Jeremiah Rice and he had been dead since 1906. This act has drawn attention from the entire world - other scientists who wish to recreate the experiments, journalists and bloggers hoping to cover the story, protestors who believe the project is 'playing God' and regular people, fascinated by the very idea of Jeremiah and everything he stands for. 
 the curiosity 
 Canadian Cover 
 The story is shared by four main characters. Erastus Carthage, the egotistical scientist in charge of the Lazarus Project, Dr. Kate Philo, the only female member of the team, Daniel Dixon, the reporter who has been given exclusive access to the project and the ice man himself, Jeremiah Rice. Of them all Jeremiah is my favourite. As a man with one foot in 1906, one foot in the present, his observations of life, death, consumerism, and humanity in general were the most interesting. He was a unique perspective to view our current world through. In particular there was a scene where he accompanies Kate to the supermarket and buys an orange. In his previous life an orange was something reserved for special occasions so he is initially excited to see them so readily available. But when he goes to eat it he finds it watery and tasteless. A poor substitute for the oranges he enjoyed as a child. It begs the question - is it better to have subpar oranges available 365 days a year or to have better quality oranges available for a limited time? Do we prioritize quantity and accessibility? Or quality and taste? 
 The questions raised by the orange is only one example of the issues The Curiosity touches upon. The book starts out incredibly scientific, as the scientists of the Lazarus Project explain the basics of hard ice, reanimation and cryogenics. But as the novel progresses it the theological and metaphysical implications of The Lazarus Project that really take centre stage. Is the project ethical? Is this different than restarting a heart during surgery? Is it enough that the heart wants to beat? What are the downfalls of our modern world? The list goes on. I appreciated that it successfully walked the line between thoughtful and preachy. The Curiosity doesn't seek to answer any of these questions. Instead it asks the reader to consider them and draw their own conclusions. 
 Though I really liked Jeremiah there are definitely some characters I wish had been explored more thoroughly. Carthage for one. I wish he had been more than just a generic mean character who led greed get the better of him. Gerber, one of the scientists that worked closely with Kate, was also someone I found interesting throughout the story but we never really got to know. And Thomas, Carthage's right hand man who was clearly important, but his exact role was only revealed in a throw away paragraph near the end. A paragraph which actually made him less realistic than he was before. Other than Jeremiah, none of the characters are very complex - they're all based on common archetypes in fiction and don't stray far beyond that. But it is Jeremiah's story that keeps you turning the pages not theirs. 
 The Curiosity is a detailed, thought provoking novel, about science, humanity and life after death. If you're looking for a story that ponders all the big questions this one is for you.