Fountane Of (e-short story) by Doranna Durgin

Fountane Of is science fiction. It's very short, only 2,313 words long. Like Feef's House, I picked it up when it was a freebie and probably wouldn't have gotten it otherwise.

Synopsis:

Augie is a bitter janitor who feels that he is wrongly looked down upon because he doesn't have the proper level of education. His need to be recognized for his natural ingenuity prompts him to try something everyone says can't be done.

At the facility where Augie works, Historians use a time machine to go back in time, but no one ever even tries to go forward. Augie secretly does, however, and the discovery that this does not result in his instantaneous death makes him giddy. He gradually grows bolder in his explorations of the future before finally coming across something he's sure will make him famous and respected in his own time.

Review:

This was different from Durgin's usual stuff. No animals, and kind of dark. Maybe darkly humorous?

Augie was not a sympathetic character. To me, he seemed to be the sort who grasped at “get rich quick” schemes and thought himself clever for doing so. He didn't bother to get the LitEd (reading) education that his workplace offered because he didn't feel it was necessary. Also, he resented those who were educated and didn't want to become like them – he didn't realize it, but he judged educated people just as much as he believed they judged him.

The ending was clever and tied in several things that had previously been mentioned – even the story's title served as a clue. If I had to name one complaint about the story, it would probably be that what the pills truly did was kind of...silly? That's probably not the best word for it. These pills were supposed to be future tech, but they did something that people could easily do right now if it weren't for the politics and ethical concerns. The future tech...wasn't.

Anyway, I thought Durgin did well with the short story format and wasn't left feeling that Fountane Of should have been longer.

Read-alikes and Watch-alikes:

• To Say Nothing of the Dog (book) by Connie Willis - The whole "historians learning about the past by traveling to it" bit reminded me of this book. I'd say it's lighter in tone than Durgin's story, however. I've written about this book.
• The 10th Kingdom (live action mini-series); The 10th Kingdom (book) by Kathryn Wesley - Okay, so this doesn't have all that much in common with Durgin's story, but if you enjoyed "Augie The Unappreciated Janitor," The 10th Kingdom has a similar character. Tony is a janitor who's tired of putting up with his employers' treatment of him. When he is given a magic wishing bean, he makes some wishes that have unfortunate consequences.

Feef's House (e-short story) by Doranna Durgin

Feef's House is science fiction. According to Smashwords, it's 7,183 words long. It's also included in the anthology The Heart of Dog, which I don't own.

I downloaded this when it was being offered as a freebie. I doubt I'd have gotten it otherwise - I don't generally buy things with such a low word count.

Synopsis:

Shadia has medical bills she needs to pay off. All she wants to do is get a temporary job, make enough to pay her bills off, and then move on. She prefers to live the life of a drifter, attached to and responsible for nothing and no one.

Once it's learned that she has experience with real animals, however, she is practically forced to take a more permanent position as a caretaker for the pets of the more affluent residents of Toklaat Space Station. She continues to resist becoming attached to the place and people around her, until a disaster prompts her to re-examine her way of living.

Review:

The descriptions I've seen on Goodreads and Smashwords all led me to believe that this story would focus more on the bonding process between Shadia and Feef, one of the pets Shadia regularly took care of. That didn't turn out to be the case. While the descriptions of the various pets and their individual characteristics and needs were really interesting, not much attention was paid to any one pet, at least until the disaster. Shadia didn't seem any closer to Feef than she was to Gite or any of the other pets.

For me, this story was so-so. It was too brief to do much more than scratch the surface of anything. Shadia, a loner, is rarely shown interacting with anyone. A short paragraph described some of the gifts her clients gave her, and I found myself wishing that the story had continued, even just a bit, past the ending. I wanted to see her begin to make connections with others more. I felt like I barely got to know her, any of the pets, the space station, and the other residents of the station.

Read-alikes:

• Powers That Be (book) by Anne McCaffrey - McCaffrey's another good author for animal lovers and soft science fiction fans. Like Shadia, the main character of this book finds herself unexpectedly becoming part of a community and forming bonds with others.
• Magic's Pawn (book) by Mercedes Lackey - Mercedes Lackey is another good author for animal lovers to try - quite a few of her books feature characters with birds of prey or horses as companion animals. Also, she has written many characters who are damaged in some way and derive emotional healing from caring for and spending time with those animals. There are several potential starting points for readers new to Lackey's Valdemar books - this is the first in her Last Herald Mage trilogy, which would get my vote for the most angsty books in the series.