Lucci's List: March 2021

This month I have chosen anthologies and single story books of flash fiction and short stories.

What is flash fiction and how does it differ from a short story? Flash fiction is an extremely short story, typically fewer than 1,000 words, whereas a short story can have up to 20,000 words. Both types of literature are difficult art forms to write, as every word must push the story line forward, and there is no room for excess information. Concise and crisp, flash fiction typically brings the reader a thumbnail view of a story in the shortest format.

"Silver's Gods: Tapestry Cycle Book 1" by Rich X Curtis is a mysterious modern supernatural tale with ancient spirits and new technology. It begins in third person, then interchanges to first person narration, until the plot lines collide and resume in first person.

Jessica Powell is a journalist researching a personal project regarding technology. Unsure of herself, her confidence grows as she encounters an uncanny mentor. She finds herself embroiled in a surreal conspiracy that can only be solved with the help of an ancient spirit.

An unseen force kills a murderer, leaving more questions than answers in Jessica's investigation. The story progresses as Jessica meets Silver, a sweet and mysterious woman with a flirtatious attitude.

In the beginning of the book, each chapter about Jessica is followed up by a different tale, told in first person. The first person speaker is an otherworldly spirit of sorts. As a child, she is taken from her family and raised by a medicine woman named Murta. Murta's skills are dubious; more luck and fanfare than science.

The girl is kept as a sidekick, a freak, for Murta's rituals. "It was not all acting, our mysteries. I was a strange child, that was clear even to me, and living with Murta only made me stranger."

The girl's vivid dreams become clearer as time passes and she gains insight into ancient gods. Her voice is often poetic, but decidedly modern. This adds to the twist as the book progresses, although it seems out of place at the beginning.

After each chapter with the mystical young woman, the reader is brought back to the present, with Jessica as the focal character. Her third person point of view continues as the puzzling situation with the shooter is investigated.

Then the spirit girl and Jessica meet in modern times. The spirit girl is now an ancient being, and feels protective of Jessica. She becomes her mentor and helps her to solve the cryptic mysteries in her life.

This was an interesting story, but at times the switch from third to first person was confusing and the transition felt redundant. The concept is fascinating and the modern inferences mixed with ancient supernatural ideas brought the tale together.

"Hell's Nerds and Other Tales" by Stephen Lomer is a book of short stories that mainly focus on adult men and their relationships to each other.

The stories are well crafted and entertaining. The boarish male characters throughout the stories started to annoy me. Then came a gem of a story about a man and his mother. It was so beautifully written and the story so deep with emotion that it made me cry. The entire book is worth reading if only for that one story.