Review of Laurence Klavan, “Homonyms,” Flash Fiction Online 147 (December 2025): 8-9 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There was some interesting language play in this brief little story. It did, however, feel a bit of a story in two halves, the connection between them relying solely on that language play, which I’m not sure was quite strong enough to bridge the gap.
(First published in The South Shore Review June 2022.)
Review of Kate Francia, “Small Prayers for the God of Sow Thistle Hill,” Flash Fiction Online 147 (December 2025): 26-28 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The theme of this story felt eerily similar to that of Matt Dovey’s in the same issue, but instead of feeling repetitious, it felt like the two stories reinforced and supported each other. The lesson in both of them — told here in a sweet, sorrowful, almost wistful way — is one that often needs to be said over and over and over again before people will listen, so I’m pleased that FFO’s editors opted for including both of these.
Review of M. R. Robinson, “Ornithogonia, or Five Featherings,” Flash Fiction Online 147 (December 2025): 11-14 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a story of petty vengeance wrecked on someone just because they dared to fall in love. While I can sort of understand and see what the author was trying to do, the entire premise just sort of rankled with me.
Review of Matt Dovey, “Reflexive Benevolence Imperative,” Flash Fiction Online 147 (December 2025): 19-22 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is a good story for anyone currently suffering from burnout in the face of everything overwhelming going on in the world right now. The line “THERE IS ALWAYS NEED SOMEWHERE/WE CANNOT SEE TO IT ALL” (p. 21) really spoke to me: No matter how much we do, how much we care, it’ll never be enough. It’s a line that could’ve taken the story into a hopeless place of giving up, but then we are reminded “IT IS NOT IMMORAL TO REST” (p. 21) — a reminder probably many of us read.
So, rest. And maybe read this story while you do.
Review of Elitsa Dermendzhiyska, “Hope is the Thing With Circuits and Steel,” Flash Fiction Online 146 (November 2025): 44-47 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I felt like there was something lurking at the edge of this story that was really quite fascinating and worthy, but for some reason, I never quite grasped it. Partly it was that I was never quite sure who the “we” of the narrators were, or what their relationship was to the grandmothers; part of it was that I wasn’t sure if the grandmothers’ continued exhortation to “just google it” was sincere or sarcastic — a sad commentary on how what used to be one of the best parts of the internet has become polluted by its AI-generated results. Whatever the reason(s), sadly this story just wasn’t quite the one for me.
Review of V. H. Chen, “Gifts From On High,” Flash Fiction Online 146 (November 2025): 36-43 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
It’s amazing how effectively a series of text messages can convey the fraught relationship between a parent and a grandparent with respect to a child. It’s also amazing how effectively a series of text messages can convey, alternatingly: annoyance, overinvolvement, smugness, concern, humor, and panic. I laughed and laughed by the end of this delightful little sweet story.
Review of Camsyn Clair, “Loxley is One Thousand Bats,” Flash Fiction Online 146 (November 2025): 33-35 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Self-harm.
The thousand bats are a metaphor, and at the start of the story I worried that it might end up being a too-heavy-handed one. That worry was not founded; the story developed to focus on the story, rather than the metaphor, and so ultimately the entire thing worked for me.
Review of Kate Horsley, “The Tao of Thorsten Codbiter,” Flash Fiction Online 146 (November 2025): 29-31 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
…plus the back has a cut-out coupon for ten free Vikings with the purchase of every genuine Ox-horn drinking vessel (p. 29).
I love it when within the first five sentences of a story, I already know I will love it.
As Tom tries to bring his mom around to the idea of sharing her house with Agmundr, Gorm, Frode, Thorstein, Bodil, and five other Vikings, I laughed and laughed and laughed. As the ten of them surround Tom with support as his mother faces her final dies, I wanted to cry along with them, while Horsley’s final line is exactly the right way to end this story. A delightful morsel of a masterpiece. More stories like this, please.
Review of Chris Baker, “Unfinished Conversations Package,” Flash Fiction Online 146 (November 2025): 20-28 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
As Dan Kalder tries to find closure with the death of his father, we as the reader get taken on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster — laughter, annoyance, tears, and a bit of shock. On the one hand, I appreciated the dexterity with which this story was constructed. On the other hand, the central conceit of that construction rests upon technology whose use in any form I struggle to get behind, so as a story that uses it uncritically, it ended up not sitting very well with me. (This isn’t to say that I think Baker used genAI to write the story, not the least; just that its use in the story meant the story didn’t work for me.)
SFF Reviews