Plot: Mick can travel in time, but he doesn’t tell anyone. It’s the sort of thing that suggests mental illness. He doesn’t want to be studied, nor does he want to be locked up while others decide how his ability should be used. He keeps his secret and uses it when he decides to putContinue reading “Review of “The Rest Stop” by Mike Sharlow”
Category Archives: Theme of Absence
Review of “Magical Delicacies for Birthday Girls” by Avra Margariti
Plot: For Holly’s twelfth birthday, her mother had taken her to the unicorn pen. Her mother went into the butcher shop to get Holly a delicacy. Bored with adult talk, Holly goes to look at the unicorn on display in a glass case outside the shop. For years, she’d been begging her parents for aContinue reading “Review of “Magical Delicacies for Birthday Girls” by Avra Margariti”
Review of “U-Phone XV Presents Insta-Post” by James Rumpel
Plot: Rachel Shommer and her fiancé, Jeremy Nybor, eagerly await the release of U-Phone XV’s instant posting feature. It will allow the user to post thoughts without the hassle of typing. All anyone has to do is merely think, and their thoughts are posted. “My first insta-post will be one saying how much I loveContinue reading “Review of “U-Phone XV Presents Insta-Post” by James Rumpel”
Review of “Thirst” by K.N. George
Plot: The narrator tells the reader Danny Trank hanged himself in the garage three days earlier. People say you could hear his mother’s screams from across the neighborhood. It wasn’t a surprise, and after all, it wasn’t like the narrator and Danny were friends. Danny was just another sad sack. He and his buddy JayContinue reading “Review of “Thirst” by K.N. George”
Review of “Hero” by Harris Coverley
Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay Plot: Everyone appears to be dead and unburied except for the narrator, who, it becomes clear, did not kill anyone. He (?) finds ways to fill the time. He drains a stagnant lake (“they’re all stagnant anyway,” he tells the reader) just to see what’s on the bottom. HeContinue reading “Review of “Hero” by Harris Coverley”
Review of “A Simple Misunderstanding” by Chris Dean
Image by Thomas Budach from Pixabay Plot: After two hundred years, the Rangarians and the humans have come to a, um, “the successful cessation of hostilities.” This, at least, is how the Rangarians explain it to their people. To the human ambassador, however, the Rangarian ambassador merely says, “You won.” This confuses the human ambassador,Continue reading “Review of “A Simple Misunderstanding” by Chris Dean”
Review of “The Grandfathers of Benson’s Corners” by Roy Dorman
Image by tim striker from Pixabay Plot: As all grandfathers of Benson’s Corners do when their oldest grandson turns ten, Elmer Ebsen is going into the woods. The whole town turns out for a day of picnicking near the edge of Devil’s Woods. At the end of the day, Elmer, carrying an ax and a gunnyContinue reading “Review of “The Grandfathers of Benson’s Corners” by Roy Dorman”
Review of “World Builder” by R. Michael
Orion Nebula Image courtesy of Pixabay Plot: Rich, a corporal serving the Panstellar Conglomerate, has orders to destroy a craft. He’s not been told much else about it. When he locates it near the heart of the cosmic cloud, he pulls back to watch in fascination as it appears to convert star debris into aContinue reading “Review of “World Builder” by R. Michael”
Review of “The Food Critic” by Carol Scheina
Image courtesy of Pixabay Plot: The restaurant critic, Anabelle Mitchell, seated at table four, has ordered the specialty zombi de boeuf, which takes the beef of zombie cattle. It is coated with garlic and butter, then grilled to perfection. Working with zombie beef is tricky and comes with certain risks. The chef must wearContinue reading “Review of “The Food Critic” by Carol Scheina”
Review of “Of Ships, Crews And Chance Encounters” by Martin Lochman
Plot: The ship has just lost its crew to a devastating virus. Nothing in the sickbay helped. She contemplates her course of action. She no longer has anyone to care for. Without humans, she cannot engage the FTL engine, long-range communications, or the weapons system. These all require human input. Her choices seem down toContinue reading “Review of “Of Ships, Crews And Chance Encounters” by Martin Lochman”
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 