Flash Fiction Online #121, October 2023

“To Slay a Goblin” by Dylan Curry

“The Constellations of Daughter Death” by Lyndsey Croal

“Saint Woad and Sister Welwitshcia” by Katy Boyer

“Ursula the Monster” by Chelsea Sutton (reprint, not reviewed)

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

Three new fantasies with very different writing styles and moods appear in this issue.

The narrator of “To Slay a Goblin” by Dylan Curry is an adventurer in a typical medieval fantasy setting. Hired to kill a thieving goblin, the narrator discovers that the task is not at all what was expected.

Although serious in tone, even tragic, the story has a satiric edge directed at the clichés of fantasy fiction. Written in a simple, informal style, this tale of broken dreams is more effective at making its point than in creating a believable background and main character.

“The Constellations of Daughter Death” by Lyndsey Croal has the feeling of a legend or folktale. The child of the incarnation of Death, created in an unusual way, reaches into the living world, changing it in a remarkable manner.

This gently poetic story offers several striking images, as well as rich characterizations of its protagonists. The text depicts the contrasts between life and death and between light and darkness in a memorable fashion.

In “Saint Woad and Sister Welwitshcia” by Katy Boyer, the narrator’s sister dies at birth. Contrasting herself with her dead sibling, she wonders if she will live forever, as she plans to serve the ruler of the land.

This brief synopsis fails to capture the introspective, dreamlike mood of the story. The style and tone are far more important than the plot, which is rather vague. References to angels and saints suggest that the work might be seen as religious fantasy, but it might be better thought of as a Rorschach test for readers to interpret in their own ways.

Victoria Silverwolf has heard of woad but not welwitshcia.