The Variant

by John August

After 35 years working at the Central Library, Vincent Lewis has perfected the art of unremarkability. But when a terrified woman falls through his bathroom ceiling, he's forced back into a life of gunfights, double agents and paranormal research. The secret he's been keeping for nearly four decades might reunite him with his lost love, or kill millions.This new short story by John August falls into the genre of paranoid "spy-fi" popularized by writers like Jorge Luis Borges and shows like The Prisoner and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.== What Others Say =="I really dug the story. Gave it a glance just to see, got totally hooked, and blazed on through to the end."-- Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union) "The Variant" is both a good, fun, smart story and an interesting experiment in indie self-publishing for fiction."-- John Gruber, daringfireball.net== About the Author ==An excerpt of The Variant is available at johnaugust.com/variant About the AuthorJohn August is the screenwriter of eight feature films, including Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. He wrote and directed the 2007 movie The Nines.He can be found on Twitter, @johnaugust

Genres: Ebooks

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Shaunna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider this perhaps the most perfect short story I've ever read.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet

A great little mystery with a twist. One of my favorite plot ideas. Pretty cool. Thanks for the cheap thrills.

[Chet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great short story.  Grabs you from the get go and has an interesting sci-fi/time-based premise with a good makes-you-think ending.

[Rudi Landmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another short story — beautifully told and with great characters. August again toys with you as a reader, so your enjoyment of this story might depend on how much you enjoy that position. I really like it, but I didn't think the payoff was as worthwhile as in "Snake People", which I read earlier today. Still, well done, and I certainly don't regret the investment.

[Joya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read! Captivating story! There was so much in the story I when I was done reading it I had almost forgot it was a short story. The character, the plot, the twists... so much beautifully packed into such a short piece of work! brilliant!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spy (operative) tries to understand the implications of his work, and what they're doing to his life.

[glitrbug]

Kindle,.99

[Kel Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharply written, intriguing and new. The only down side was that it ended so soon. I hope Mr. August follows this up with other literary works.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cleaverly written