Mystery, romance, mythology and pathos. It is all here in the Best Microfiction 2019.In the time taken to watch another catheter ad on daytime tv, you could slip into a fully formed life. It may be the story of a dragon, a protective older brother, or a murder victim. Some of these super-short stories may linger for days while others quickly fade from memory. However, all 87 are worth the reader’s time. My personal favorites are the post-apocalyptic “You’ve Stopped” by Tommy Dean and the heartfe...

My introduction to microfiction has actually been pretty auspicious. There was something on Goodreads a while back and well known authors contributed very short scary stories. There was one of them, two sentences only, but it was just awesome, very poignant and effective. So I suppose my standards were set pretty high, but then again I did go into reading this best of 2019 collection with realistic expectations, which were mainly that it’ll be a sort of experimental read. And so it was. And for

Diverse collection of microfiction from many authors and journals.

Diverse collection of microfiction from many authors and journals.

Diverse collection of microfiction from many authors and journals.

Microfiction or flash fiction isn't something I'd ever come across before stumbling across this on Netgalley, this is a compilation of over 80 pieces, so perfect as an introduction to the format, there's such a variety of authors, genres and topics that there should be something in here for everyone. As with most compilations there were some I really liked and some I skimmed through; one of the plus sides of microfiction is that if you find yourself not enjoying a piece as much then you won't be...

Best money I’ve ever spent.

Another excellent collection if you are a fan of the (sub)genre.Best work in this volume in my opinion comes from Gregory Brown, Beth Gilstrap, Melissa Goode, Dina Relles, Kim Samsin, and Tara Isabel Zambrano.There were very few pieces that I didn't like, though.

Solid collection of works 500 words or less. This book is an excellent introduction to modern microfiction--the array of styles it can take, the ways the writers use language and find ways to compress stories to their most important strokes. It's also a good way for writers of flash and microfiction to sample the wares of various literary magazines, getting a sense of who's out there and what they like.Stories that were particularly memorable, for me, include:"You've Stopped" by Tommy Dean"He Di...

Solid collection of works 500 words or less. This book is an excellent introduction to modern microfiction--the array of styles it can take, the ways the writers use language and find ways to compress stories to their most important strokes. It's also a good way for writers of flash and microfiction to sample the wares of various literary magazines, getting a sense of who's out there and what they like.Stories that were particularly memorable, for me, include:"You've Stopped" by Tommy Dean"He Di...

Dammit, I was going to be suitably concise, and say the hit rate of this book was dreadfully low. Then I thought to add a remark about how a great majority of these pieces are designed to appeal to flash fiction editors and publishers and award judges, and they do so to such an extent that it reduces the appeal for the common, everyday, average reader big time. It's taken bare years to become a genre of its own, and up its own. But then things changed, and I stumbled on a "story" called "The Lau...

Just when I was thinking about and looking into flash fiction this collection became available through NetGalley. I started on it right away and found it to be a wonderful collection of micro fiction. I liked that the stories and authors came from around the globe and varied so much in terms of subject matter. I particularly enjoyed ‘He, She, It, They’ by Anita Arlov, ‘The end of the world’ by Noa Sivan and ‘Euthanasia’ by Myfanwy Collins. I’d definitely recommend this collection to anyone who e...

This was my first try with microfiction. I find the idea interesting, but those stories also didn't felt much like stories, but more like glimpses or pieces of them, they felt uncompleted and too short for my taste I guess. I did like the way that author can play and try style or narrative variation, because it's so short that it allow the author a great liberty and its a good way to experiment stuff. I won,t become a ferocious microfiction reader, but I like the experience and I think this book...

i might have a story in here but that's not why i am giving it five stars.to do so much with so little.to burst capillaries with wordsto suck breath and stop heartsthis if what that all is

i might have a story in here but that's not why i am giving it five stars.to do so much with so little.to burst capillaries with wordsto suck breath and stop heartsthis if what that all is

Excellent collection of short, short stories -- kudos to all. Eighty- seven stories in all... "innovative and inventive....and as with all good writing, it must come from the heart," notes series editor Meg Pokrass -- and I agree. I have used this book in teaching creative writing workshops on microfiction and I have read these stories to inspire my writing of shorts. Particular favorites: You Can Find Joy in Doing Laundry by Kathleen McGookey (not only because it's my least favorite thing in th...

Excellent collection of short, short stories -- kudos to all. Eighty- seven stories in all... "innovative and inventive....and as with all good writing, it must come from the heart," notes series editor Meg Pokrass -- and I agree. I have used this book in teaching creative writing workshops on microfiction and I have read these stories to inspire my writing of shorts. Particular favorites: You Can Find Joy in Doing Laundry by Kathleen McGookey (not only because it's my least favorite thing in th...

I've read Sudden Fiction/Flash Fiction for nearly three decades, and it's been interesting to watch it evolve.This collection, like most story collections, has some phenomenally good stories. But it also has some crappy stories. But it's like a grand buffet-- take all of what YOU want and leave the rest for others with different tastes.I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read Sudden Fiction/Flash Fiction for nearly three decades, and it's been interesting to watch it evolve.This collection, like most story collections, has some phenomenally good stories. But it also has some crappy stories. But it's like a grand buffet-- take all of what YOU want and leave the rest for others with different tastes.I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read Sudden Fiction/Flash Fiction for nearly three decades, and it's been interesting to watch it evolve.This collection, like most story collections, has some phenomenally good stories. But it also has some crappy stories. But it's like a grand buffet-- take all of what YOU want and leave the rest for others with different tastes.I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.