Maybe it was just the comparison to Appointment. But to me, it seemed ponderous, unfocused, even preachy. Not on the scale of Ayn Rand, to be sure, but still not as ... readable ... as Appointment.
Yeah, okay. I can see that. Not as structured as Appointment or the majority of his short stories. He put the burden on poor Gloria and she wasn't up to the task. You should check out The Instrument -- basically O'Hara in decline, but still flashes of genius.