This is a short story that I found on Amazon.com and read on Kindle. It looked appealing from the sample reading I read and thought it would be interesting to read and it was dirt cheap for the value of the writing presented. Retelling the story of The Swineherd by Hans Christian Andersen this reworking of this fairy tale in to the Sci Fi sub genre world of Steampunk is surely inventive.
Summary:
Georgina is working as an assistant to the inventive – if not somewhat messy – Mr. Haven. One day he says he plans to marry the rich Lady Lucinda Carson and seeks Georgina’s help in the matter of giving her a gift to show his affections. Georgina helps him even though her own heart quietly pines for Mr. Haven. In a world of machines she has to go through a battle between her head and heart.
This is just a wonderful short story! The dialogue is snappy between Mr. Haven and Georgina as they are polar opposites. The Steampunk elements are few, but still ingrained in the story’s plot and serve a purpose, as in the original story the Swineherd used his inventions to woo the Princess for kisses. Even the change for the business of patents for inventions is a wonderful departure.
All in all a good story for a bargain price and a good read for anyone interested in fairy tale retellings or Steampunk. There are so many book series available on line of Steampunk stories, but if you want to just tip your toe in without loosing too much money or are unsure if this genre is for you then this is a good introduction. It even has a conversation about steam! Which I loved as it explains how this world works and how Steampunk is about the steam inventions of a “what if” 19th century to the early 1900s when such inventions were made, except Steampunk looks past it to fantasy and modern society and sensibilities, making a world which has some basic elements, but has no strict rule book to be adhered to.
Thank you for reading!
The Little Corner 