Flash Fiction Online #102, March 2022

“The Last Man on Earth Looks for a Friend – A Mini-Novel” by John Guzlowski

“June 323 BC” by Lindz McLeod (nongenre, not reviewed)

“Double Promotion” by Sudha Balagopal (nongenre, not reviewed)

“Sea Ink” by Jennifer Linnaea (reprint, not reviewed)

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

“The Last Man on Earth Looks for a Friend – A Mini-Novel” by John Guzlowski is the third in a series of very similarly titled stories. For unexplained reasons, everyone else on the planet has vanished, leaving one person behind. The narrative consists of several extremely short chapters, each one of which concerns the man’s thoughts as he wanders aimlessly through a deserted world.

All three stories in this unusual trilogy are primarily plotless character studies. The author’s style is clear and readable, with numerous evocative details. One has to wonder if there is really any reason to have two sequels to the original story, as all three are very much alike.

Victoria Silverwolf would like to make it clear that she read all three stories in this series before writing her review.