O'Leary, Patrick G. 1952-

views updated

O'LEARY, Patrick G. 1952-

PERSONAL: Born September 13, 1952, in Saginaw, MI; son of Dennis (a railroad site engineer) and Katherine (a teacher and principal; maiden name Glynn) O'Leary; married Claire Varieur (an activist), May 20, 1977; children: Lochlan Dennis, Colin Joseph. Education: Wayne State University, B.A. (English), 1974.

ADDRESSES: Home—2701 Douglas Dr., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304. Offıce—Campbell-Ewald, 30400 Van Dyke, Warren, MI 48093. Agent—Susan Ann Protter, 110 West 40th St., New York, NY 10018. E-mail— [email protected].

CAREER: Writer and poet. Campbell-Ewald, Warren, MI, associate creative director, 1975—.

AWARDS, HONORS: Best Book of 1995 citation, Publishers Weekly, for Door Number Three.

WRITINGS:

Door Number Three, Tor (New York, NY), 1995.

The Gift, Tor (New York, NY), 1997.

Other Voices, Other Doors (collection), Fairwood Press, 2001.

The Impossible Bird, Tor (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor to periodicals, including Talebones, Iowa Review, Poetry East, New York Review of Science Fiction, Crawdaddy, and Phoenix, and to Web sites, including Scifiction.com.

SIDELIGHTS: Science-fiction writer Patrick O'Leary's debut novel, Door Number Three, was called "brilliant" by Booklist's Carl Hays, who wrote, "Striking and insightful, this is one of the year's finest sf novels, deserving of widespread recognition beyond the genre." Psychotherapist John Donnelly's new female patient claims an alien heritage. Donnelly begins to accept the truth when the patient's former therapist is murdered and his own life turns bizarre, not only in his dreams, but also in reality. A Publishers Weekly reviewer compared O'Leary's novel to the writings of Philip I. Dick and the early works of Kurt Vonnegut, and called it "a highly appealing mix of skilled writing and zany imaginings."

In The Gift, King Simon and young Tim, the deaf son of a woodcutter, must search out and destroy the evil Usher of the Night and are aided in their quest by a series of magical creatures and the gift of power bestowed on Tim. The story is a tale within a tale, told to a group of shipboard sailors. In a Booklist, review, Roland Green credited O'Leary with "creative world building, superior handling of characters." A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that the story "moves gracefully back and forth between its nautical frame and the adventures of its youthful protagonists."

As the story opens in The Impossible Bird, two estranged brothers, literature professor Daniel Glynn and his director brother Mike, die in different locations but are unaware of this fact. They enter a virtual world, and each is charged with finding the other by persons claiming to be government agents. They become drawn into the intrigue created by two alien groups with opposing purposes in which hummingbirds are used as data-collecting devices. In reviewing the book for BookPage online, Gavin Grant said that "it's almost impossible to talk about The Impossible Bird without giving away the huge secrets at the heart of the novel. There are conspiracies within conspiracies, so that what starts off as a relatively simple chase novel quickly becomes a multi-level tale where reality may not be all it's cracked up to be." Locus reviewer Bill Sheehan noted that in addition to being a science fiction tale, The Impossible Bird "is a persuasive, deeply felt examination of some fundamental human issues."

In the novel, two brothers begin to recollect his childhood and deal with the issues each has put aside. "O'Leary develops an intriguing story as he slowly fills in gaps in their memories," commented Booklist's Bryan Baldus. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that "a zany premise, coupled with realistic characters drawn into a confusing reality, results in a tour de force that handles themes of death, loss, and love with panache and a dash of humor."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Analog Science Fiction and Fact, January, 1996, review of Door Number Three, p. 273.

Booklist, October 15, 1995, Carl Hays, review of Door Number Three, p. 389; October 1, 1997, Roland Green, review of The Gift, p. 312; January 1, 2002, Bryan Baldus, review of The Impossible Bird, p. 825.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1995, review of Door Number Three, p. 1148; August 1, 1997, review of The Gift, p. 1165; November 1, 2001, review of The Impossible Bird, p. 1523.

Kliatt, May, 1997, review of Door Number Three, p. 15; January, 1999, review of The Gift, p. 19.

Library Journal, October 15, 1997, Susan Hamburger, review of The Gift, p. 98; January, 2002, Jackie Cassada, review of The Impossible Bird, p. 159.

Locus, September, 1999, Patrick O'Leary; February, 2002, Bill Sheehan, review of The Impossible Bird, p. 31.

Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May, 1996, review of Door Number Three, p. 47; October, 1997, review of The Gift, p. 40.

New York Times Book Review, November 12, 1995, review of Door Number Three, p. 65; February 1, 1998, review of The Gift, p. 22.

Publishers Weekly, September 25, 1995, review of Door Number Three, p. 47; September 8, 1997, review of The Gift p. 63; November 26, 2002, review of The Impossible Bird, p. 44.

Science Fiction Chronicle, April, 1997, review of Door Number Three, p. 65; May, 2001, review of Other Voices, Other Doors, p. 41.

Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 1998, review of The Gift, p. 132.