Flash Fiction Online #51, December 2017

“The First Stop Is Always the Last” by John Wiswell

Flash Fiction Online’s December issue has two fantasy stories (one of which is a reprint and so not reviewed) where the structure is an important part of the tale.

When I first started “The First Stop Is Always the Last,” I thought there was some sort of glitch on the web page. But I quickly caught on to what John Wiswell was doing. Selma is a bus driver who picks up a passenger, leading to a conversation that keeps resetting. The passenger is Miri, and we discover she has a very different sort of job. I like the execution of the idea and the portrayal of the two characters as they start to form a relationship.

Chuck Rothman’s novels Staroamer’s Fate and Syron’s Fate are available from Fantastic Books.