Flash Fiction Online #147, December 2025

“Homonyms” by Laurence Klavan (nongenre, not reviewed)

“Ornithogonia, or Five Featherings” by M. R. Robinson

“Shedding the Weight” by Chiemeziem Everest Udochukwu (nongenre, not reviewed)

“Reflexive Benevolence Imperative” by Matt Dovey

“Growing House” by Madison Ellingsworth (nongenre, not reviewed)

“Small Prayers for the God of Sow Thistle Hill” by Kate Francia

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

“Ornithogonia, or Five Featherings” by M. R. Robinson is narrated by a deity to a worshipper who has broken a vow to be loyal by taking a human lover. The deity responds by slowly transforming the lover into a bird, leading to the story’s bittersweet conclusion.

The plot is very similar to those found in ancient myths. The deity’s mixed emotions add a touch of originality.

“Reflexive Benevolence Imperative” by Matt Dovey features a fishlike starship and its human pilot. The ship pleads for rest, while the pilot urges it to continue its errands of mercy.

The story is full of exotic details, not all of them clear. The awkward title offers a hint of the narrative style, which leans toward neologisms and unusual phrasings. There is a complex background, but little plot.

“Small Prayers for the God of Sow Thistle Hill” by Kate Francia, like the first story, is narrated by a deity. The benevolent but greatly limited god of a small hill tells of a child who goes to a powerful but unsympathetic god of a mountain for help during a crisis.

The notion of a very modest deity, able to do little to help a worshipper, is interesting. Like many miniscule tales, this one presents the situation but barely develops it.

Victoria Silverwolf bought a lot of science fiction at a used book store a couple of days ago.