If you like flash fic or want to give it a try, I highly recommend this book. Stephen Thompson gives you a staggering 50 stories on anything and everything.
I bought this book because of the first two sentences of the first story, “Use It, or Lose It.” And that short story, that very short story, that too damn short story is worth the price of the whole book. As far as I’m concerned Thompson just threw in the other 49 as a gift. Each story is followed by a short (of course) explanation of where the story idea came from. Some of these are as interesting as the story itself. Some I liked, some I loved, and the story that probably Thompson considers the funniest, “Coming With Forks”, I hated. I would say that I think Thompson might have included 10-15 too many stories, I felt a trifle overfull by the end.
I won’t be reading any more flash fic, for me it’s just an exercise in frustration but this man is so good at it that when I saw he had a second book published I almost bought it. I still might. I can’t think of a better recommendation.
The only things I would have him improve is the order of stories, in Words they are thrown together and I felt bumped and bruised from the abrupt changes of tone. Some stories need no explanation and would have been better without. Fifty is just too many.
And I would love to see something longer, a traditional short story, a novella, anything-please.
38 Caliber Reviews 
