Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Science Fiction / Short Story
Approximate word count: 5-6,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
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Author:
Under the
pen name Sullivan Lee as well as her own
name, Laura L Sullivan is the author of several traditionally published books
in multiple genres. The former social worker, newspaper editor, and deputy
sheriff is now also self publishing her short stories.
Description:
“In The Ideal Household Appliance, a
socially averse entomologist with an interest in robotics has created the
perfect cleaning gadget – artificial roaches that hide in the daytime but
scurry around at night cleaning up debris. They have all the benefits of
insects, without the feces and disease. But when he develops an unhealthy
obsession with his neighbor, and her violent ex-husband returns, the scientist
discovers that his new invention still has a few bugs.”
Appraisal:
The nature
of a short story is that relative to longer works the author is limited in how
much can be said. There can’t be as much character development (often leaving
the reader wanting to know a character better) and the story has to have severe
constraints on complexity. I enjoy them, but am often left wanting more.
What struck
me about The Ideal Household Appliance
is that, for me, character development was exactly what was needed to
understand the story. No more and no less. The reader gets a good handle on
Watson, the protagonist, learns enough about Rosalind, a major secondary
character, to fit the story, and just enough about Rex, Rosalind’s son, and
Rosalind’s ex-husband for them to understand their place in the story. And it
was a good story, with a hero, some conflict with a satisfying resolution, and
an ending that didn’t leave me thinking I’d been left in the dark about
something important.
Format/Typo Issues:
No
Significant issues
Rating: ***** Five stars
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