Review of Naomi Eselojor, “Hykena,” Tree and Stone 2 (2022): 4-6 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The village Isoko is destroyed by a monster, burned to the ground overnight. Only the trapper’s boy, who tried to warn the village of Hykena’s approach, and his family survived. But the reasons why the villagers wouldn’t listen to him are the same as the reasons why the monster was there in the first place, which made for a satisfying resolution to this story.
Review of Julian Riccobon, “Café Negro,” Flash Fiction Online (July 2023): 21-22 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Enslavement.
There’s a lot packed into this story, which forces the reader into an encounter with history, slavery, torture.
(First published in The Acentos Review, October 2022.)
Review of Meredith Gordon, “Patrice,” Flash Fiction Online (July 2023): 17-19 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Childbirth, adoption.
This was a peculiar little story, noteworthy for its depiction of physical disability, and the way in which only a few sentences at the end can turn something otherwise ordinary into something speculative and intriguing.
Review of E. M. Linden, “When the Forest Comes to You,” Flash Fiction Online (July 2023): 12-15 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is more a series of vignettes than a story, snapshots of Keith’s life from when he was 5 to when his son was 5, all tied together by an underlying layer of sadness, culminating in an ending that feels like an ultimate betrayal.
Review of Brent Baldwin, “Dave the Terrible,” Flash Fiction Online (July 2023): 7-10 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story of the merging of real life and fantasy life was simultaneously deeply hilarious and deeply saddening. I really enjoyed it. The excerpt of the author interview included in the issue is worth the read, as it adds another layer to the story.
Review of Tania Fordwalker, “Lapis Lazuli,” Flash Fiction Online (June 2023): 18-20 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Enslavement.
I love it when an author can successfully take all the typical elements of a fairy tale, and turn them into some new, which is exactly what Fordwalker does in this story.
(First published in Andromeda Spaceways 58, 2013.)
Review of Daniel Galef, “The He-Bear,” Flash Fiction Online (June 2023): 14-17 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There was a lot of adjectives and dependent clauses in this story. Not necessarily a bad thing: But certainly something that requires a lot of effort and attention.
Review of Dafydd McKimm, “A Tiger in Eden,” Flash Fiction Online (June 2023): 6-9 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story was beautifully enigmatic in the way it integrated fantasy and reality.
Review of Rich Larson, “To Rise, to Set,” Flash Fiction Online (June 2023): 10-13 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Rich Larson is one of those authors where whenever I see him in a journal line up, I get excited. His stories never fail to deliver — though what they deliver is different every time! This one gave me a strong character willing to speak up for her beliefs and for the protection of others. I will never not want to read stories that give me this.
Review of Marc A. Criley, “The Paleoneirologist’s Dreams,” Tree and Stone 1 (2022): 29-31 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
If you don’t know what a paleoneirologist is (and are frustrated that no dictionary seems to know either), that’s okay, because Criley deftly tells you everything you need to know in this weird, waspish, biting little story. I really enjoyed it!
Have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
