Fountain of Age: Stories features nine compelling tales that include visions of a dystopian future, genetic tampering gone awry, and even alien invasions.
“Most people were vaporized (except that no vapor remained) long before they reached the end of the murderous city traffic jams.”
Named after the Nebula Award-winning title story Fountain of Age, Nancy Kress’s writing draws readers into each of the original short stories.
Why is this on our bookshelf?
The impetus for adding this to the GeekyLibrary bookshelves was the 2012 Philip K. Dick Award, of which this book was a nominee. However, once read, I knew it truly belonged.
Nancy Kress truly demonstrates her mastery of the genre by exploring classic science fiction plot devices—such as alien invasions–in brand-new ways and also by bringing to life newer science fiction concepts, such as genetic tampering.
Rating (5 stars)
Considering two of these stories already won awards, and the entire collection was nominated for the 2012 Philip K. Dick Award, it is no surprise that it would be good.
What surprised me was the consistently high level of quality– there weren’t any “duds” in this collection and neither did they seem derivative.
I was taken with her honest portrayal of aging in the Hugo-Award winning The Erdmann Nexus and being ADHD, a character’s desire to unclutter his mind in End Game resonated with me. I loved By Fools Like Me for a unique dystopia and Laws of Survival for an interesting look at dogs.
Unique, thought-provoking, entertaining and really frakkin’ good…. a definite five star.
Read this book:
if you like sci-fi that has deeper meaning than just cool gadgets, tech and adventures in space.
Don't Read this book:
If don’t like a story unless there are at least 10 sequels.
Once you're done, do this:
Try to decide which of the nine stories is your favorite.
