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.

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )