(SF) Viola seeks revenge against the people who mistreated her mother in a rest home. (1,100 words; Time: 03m)
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement
"The Invisible Box," by J.J. Litke [bio] (edited by Jason Sizemore), appeared in Apex Magazine issue 92, published on January 3, 2017.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Not a real story. Just the outline of one. Worse, it’s the outline of a revenge fantasy, and not a very credible one.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 92)
J.J. Litke Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 92)
J.J. Litke Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
I give it another star for being a form of revenge I'd never seen before and for the parallels drawn between the crime and the punishment. But it's not fleshed out enough to make me care.
ReplyDeleteIf this were flash fiction, I think it would have been better received. Unfortunately, at about 1,100 words, it reads less like a good flash fiction story and more like a lackluster short story.
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, the writing is good and up to professional standards.
2/5
That's an interesting thought: the shorter a story, the harder it is to do it well. Perhaps a failure mode for flash fiction is that it bloats just enough to look like a bad short story.
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