The Sock Problem

Probability Zero Flash Fiction by Alastair Mayer

Cute ending, and a cute scene with the kid in the car, but I only liked the second half of this flash piece. The first half spent a lot of time explaining how motors work and how dryers are put together. I can't believe I'm saying this, but this flash fiction would be stronger if it were about half as long. I do like the phrase "it isn't Rocket Surgery." I'll be stealing that for personal use.

Tangential Nitpick: while I appreciate a Doctor Who namedrop as much as the next nerd, given the audience I think "The Doctor's TARDIS" would have sufficed instead of "Dr. Who's TARDIS". I'm not going to get into that debate here (1-4th & 9th Doctor credits be damned!) but I'd assume the readers of Analog are nerdy enough not to need the reference spelled out for them, especially at the expense of enjoyment for a pedantic subset of us!

2.5 out of 5 appliance repairmen think their job is rocket surgery.

...Plus C'est la Meme Chose

Probability Zero Flash Fiction by Arlan Andrews, Sr.

The title comes from the French proverb: "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" or "the more things change, the more they stay the same." And that pretty well sums up this story.

Matter Transmitting (a la Star Trek Transporters) is a emerging technology, and Choppers are the logical descendants of modern hacking culture. Shenanigans like transporting fossils to the moon to confuse scientists are mentioned in the background of this Chopping competition. The winning entry is pretty funny, and remarkably unsurprising when you think about it. Funny and short, Probability Zero is often one of the highlights of an Analog issue.

3.5 second-order Monty Python references out of 5.

Home Is Where the Heart Is (Flash on the Borderlands VIII)

Flash Fiction by Bint Arab
Narrated for Pseudopod by Marshal Latham

The third and final love-related flash fiction: this time it's familial. Starts just after 13 minutes in.

Mothers can be such a hassle. Teddy brings his back from beyond the grave, but like many mothers, she isn't easily satisfied. The ending is the best part of this story, so it's good that it doesn't waste any time getting there. A bit light, but a suitably creepy finish.

3 empty nests out of 5.

Pieces (Flash on the Borderlands VIII)

Flash Fiction by M.C. Funk
Narrated for Pseudopod by Donna Lynch

The second piece of love-themed flash fiction starts about 7 minutes into the podcast.

A brilliant analogy for an abusive relationship. Absolutely horrifying; I love the way the narrator still loves him, and the way he says he loves her as he takes our narrator apart. The genius here is that both the supernatural foreground story and the real-world relationships it represents are great horror stories in their own right, and they are combined into a tight little 5-minute story. I never knew "I love you" could be such a horrifying last line.

5 not-so-inner demons out of 5.

In Memoriam (Flash on the Borderlands VIII)

Flash Fiction by Matthew Chrulew
Narrated for Pseudopod by Philippa Ballantine

The first piece of love-themed flash this month, this is a mean little revenge fantasy about a widow's vengeful way of remembering her husband and his killer. It's almost too simplistic and straightforward. It is creepy, but not surprising or unusual. The woman's dedication is impressive, but seems a little over-the-top to me.

2.5 bad drivers out of 5.

Little Monster (Flash on the Borderlands VI)

Flash Fiction by LynnCee Faulk
Narrated for Pseudopod by Dani Cutler (Starts at about 11 minutes)

Text available on the Pseudopod Forums

The old Creepy Doll tale with an interesting, scarier, twist. The little girl is a fun character in this very short, very bleak horror story. It's my favorite of the three flash fictions in this Pseudopod episode.

3.5 pins out of 5.

Mother's Milk (Flash on the Borderlands VI)

Flash Fiction by Strahinja Acimovic
Narrated for Pseudopod by Jacquie Duckworth (Starts at about 6 minutes)

Text available on the Pseudopod forums

The second piece of flash fiction this month, and tied of second place in the Pseudopod Flash Contest.

A premature baby dies after an emergency C-section and his mother goes interestingly crazy. She comes up with a novel, rather horrible solution to the problem of her dead child.

I enjoyed this one more than Escape. It is still a gorey, gross form of madness, but for some reason this one worked better for me. Maybe it is that this woman has a better motivation for being crazy, or just that she is coming up with a more needlessly horrible solution, which still makes more sense, in an insane sort of way.

3.5 stitches out of 5.

Escape (Flash on the Borderlands VI)

Flash Fiction by M.E. Smith
Narrated for Pseudopod by Leann Mabry

Text available on the Pseudopod Forums

Pseudopod is back after their long hiatus! The first of these three flash pieces is the winner of their Flash Fiction contest.

A woman in a concrete cell is slowly escaping. It's a gross, neat form of madness. A gruesome plan, perhaps needlessly so. This is torture-horror of an unusual type, but still essentially torture horror. Gross, not amazingly interesting story, besides the idea at its heart.

3 bits out of 5.

Before the Uprising

Flash Fiction Short Story by Katherine Sparrow.
Read by Jen Rhodes
PodCastle Original (Text on the forums)

Pretty much substance free, but nice, dream-like imagery and an interesting rhythm. It says something that this sounds like one of my more ambivalent poetry reviews than my short fiction reviews.

Basically, women rising up against the oppression of the patriarchy, vaguely, with lots of bikes and not much meaning or emotion, despite the word pictures.

A stellar reading though, Jen Rhodes is a reader I'm looking forward to hearing again.

2 greasy bike escapes out of 5.

iThink

Flash Fiction by Ken MacLeod
Read for Starship Sofa by Geoff Michelli

Debris

Short story/Flash by Kiini Ibura Salaam
Originally published in, and available free online at, Ideomancer
PodCastle reading by Ann Leckie

A family of skeleton spirits go down to Earth on the Day of the Dead and the one narrating the story makes an important discovery.

Very short, poetic in places, funny, and just plain strange. I enjoyed it, but only when reading it. The PodCastle narration is good, but a piece this short is unforgiving, every word matters, and to get this story, I'd recommend reading it rather than listening.

3 out of 5 skeletons like being covered in marigolds.

Passing Perry Crater Base, Time Uncertain

Short Short Story/Flash Fiction by Larry Niven

Some unsubtle alien AIs critique our lack of resolve towards our space program while orbiting the moon.

1.5 out of 5.