Links: Flash Fiction Online / Pub Info / Table of Contents /

Flash Fiction Online for December 2009 is here with stories by Gwendolyn Clare, Ray Vukevich, Rick Novy, Bruce Holland Rogers (with an accompanying article), along with a classic from Punch.

Flash Fiction Online is a website with very short stories, updated every month. These are reviews for their December 2009 issue.

"Brass Canaries" by Gwendolyn Clare is told from the point-of-view of the titular character. The brass canaries are just some of the mechanical birds that fill a very special pet shop. When they are bought they never return. Our narrator relates all of this to us and ends with a line that will touch you deeply.

"Note From the Future" by Ray Vukevich is related by a man who is speculating how his life may be changed by a seemingly trivial thing. I won't spoil anything but just say that this story was done efficiently and effectively and was a nice little read.

"Catalyst" by Rick Novy starts off on a spaceship that has been sabotaged by one of its officers. To survive they must stay in orbit around a primitive planet and vent some gases. This one has a pretty clever ending, so I'll say no more than read it.

The Classic Flash for this issue is "Christmas Presents" from the December 16, 1914 issue of Punch. It details the sacrifices that a nation should make at time of war. That's emphasis on the "should" in this amusing piece.

All this is rounded out with a nonfiction article, "On Using Ritual in Stories" by Bruce Holland Rogers with an accompanying story called "Don Ysidro".

Flash Fiction Online will probably have new stories posted by the time you read this, but the December issue will still be available. Check them out and make a donation at www.flashfictiononline.com.