My Soul to Keep (Sentinel story)

Sentinel Fanfiction
Title:	My Soul to Keep
Author(s):	Donna Gentry
Date(s):	2002
Length:
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	The Sentinel
External Links:	online here
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My Soul to Keep is a Sentinel story by Donna Gentry.

It was published in The Best of Donna Gentry and is online.

Reactions and Reviews

Another post-apocalyptic AU (I do have a fondness for that genre...) and it has has an intriguing premise: Sentinels are known, but there are no guides anymore, until they find a frozen Sandburg, the remnant of some long forgotten pre-war project... The writing is good, and one gets glimpses of a full SF-like setting, unfortunately the story never realizes its full potential. We don't see a lot of the universe, and the plot and character development aren't so much used to explore the consequences of the AU premise, but rather constructed to let them end in a familiar, all too predictable place. However, the exploration of how Blair deals with being awakened from cryogenic sleep, and how Jim and Blair meet and get to know each other is well done, and I enjoyed reading it enough to rec it, though it's not my favorite of Donna's stories. A sequel with a focus on the more SF-like aspects of the universe would be great, but then I'm always hoping for more stories by this author.

In the future, sentinels are common, but guides are unknown. Then one is discovered -- in cryogenic sleep. Do they wake him up? Will he wake up? And who is going to be his sentinel? (Obvious answers here.) The losing sentinel kidnaps Blair and Blair almost dies, but Jim eventually gets him back. Long and absorbing.

In a world where sentinels are known but there are no guides, one is found in cryogenic sleep. What lucky sentinel will he be assigned to help? Two possible candidates have been chosen, and neither wants to be the loser. Ysone tells a good and interesting story here. Much of it involves the problems of someone being revived from a cryogenic sleep that has lasted for a century, and much of it the problems of sentinels who are forced to rely on suppressant drugs to keep them functioning. There's not too much detail given about the new, future world, but what there is is convincing. I'd like to see more stories set in this universe.

This was a lovely long read, an alternative universe in which, a century hence, after a devastating war, Sentinels are known and not that rare, but there are no Guides, at all. And then they find one. The premise was interesting and there were some good ideas played out, with some fanony concepts (Sentinel-Guide bond, for example, but that's enjoyable if not canonical, besides, this is AU). I enjoyed watching this Jim and Blair getting to know each other (and the treatment of Simon, however minor, was good too). There was a point at which I could figure out what was likely to happen, but I watched it play out anyway. One thing that did bug me, though, was the culture. It was too similar to modern-day USA. Here they were, a century later, after a devastating war has wiped out civilization, and they still have basketball and cheeseburgers, not to mention that the language hadn't changed that much either. Yes, there were some differences, but not all that many, though the opening was captivating with its hints of huge changes, but all the exciting things I was wondering about didn't materialize. That was rather disappointing for me.

I think the lady is brilliant. I couldn't take my eyes off the paper (yes, I save all the gems on disk and print them - been doing so for four years.)

Donna Gentry is a favorite writer. Her writing is solid, plot and characterization driven and oh what lovely plots *and* characterization. My Soul To Keep was no exception. Her Jim was the Jim I see and, once Blair finally came into the picture, yes, that's the Blair I know and love.

There wasn't a ton of techno jargon but just enough to make the story realistic and probable. I wasn't concerned about the lack of technological advancement after 100 years, in fact I got the feeling that technology had stuttered during the Big War, hence the CD's, vid, etc., and the fact that cryogenics had not been advanced either.

I liked the original characters, especially the doctors who came to know and become fond of Jim and Blair - even protective. I knew, however, from the start what was going to happen with the Mikel and Jim scenario but that was ok. I was actually looking forward to that eventuality.<g>

The only thing negative I have to say about the story was - well, I wanted Jim and Blair to get together sooner (I know, that probably would have rushed the whole scenario, but I was so anxious for them to finally meet). When they did meet it was lovely. But there are only about 25 pages out of 122 wherein Jim and Blair dialogue, are together. What I would love, absolutely *love* to have happen now is a Part 2. This story feels like the beginning of a great thing and I want more of this universe. What happens next? One Guide? All those Sentinels? Jim's job? Their living arrangements? The growing bond? Blair's integration into this different world? Meeting new friends? Oh so many things I want the author to explore.

I loved this. It came on the heels of Fidus Amicus's new and wonderful AU and I gotta say - It's been a relaxing, pleasurable, reading weekend. :)

I'm in the middle of reading this one right now, and I must admit I tend to agree with this particular assessment. The culture does seem to be a little close (although I suppose I can see future equivalents to some things, such as sports), but I was really, really looking forward to the language barrier. In fact, when they first find the guide (trying not to spoil too much here), I was expecting language to be one of the major obstacles. Of course, looking back 100 years ago from now, I can still understand things written in 1902, or previous, so I suppose perhaps there wouldn't be *too* much of a change.

I just read this last night!! I stayed up to 3 am to read it. And I *so* loved it; she's on par with Susan Foster, imho. She makes me envious, in fact :-)

She had nice medical lingo and facts littered in there, to give it a more realistic feel. (I don't know if they were real or not, but they made it *seem* real). And I like how the Guide's powers showed up, a different take on what most Sentine/Guide-bond AUs have. Ditto with Jim and his feelings at the first meeting of Mikel (sp?). And I like her idea of the "connection" between Sentinel and Guide.

Well, I'm a sucker for most AUs, and I'm definitely going to encourage Gentry to right more, more, more in this series :-)

But [different things in the future] wouldn't be just language. Clothing, hairstyles, makeup, body adornments. All these things would be different. And then there are things like room decor, furniture, beds, wheelchairs, medical equipment. Would doctors and nurses look the same a hundred years from now? Would physical therapy still be done the same way with the same kind of equipment? I doubt it. Blair was there for days before he found out the truth. I found it hard to believe he wouldn't notice anything. Putting that aside, I really tried to like this story, but it seemed plodding to me, and I eventually started skimming it. The plot was predictable and once Blair was thawed out and introduced to Jim, it was just another variation of the often used "An evil Sentinel wants Blair" plot. Different strokes I guess.