Havok has released its tenth collection of flash fiction—Legendary Havok: Season Ten. At this point, Havok has earned its stripes as a cornerstone of the flash fiction market. However, some series stretching into the double digits lose their groove. Not true with Legendary.
Legendary contains forty-five samples of flash fiction. I rate each entry with three scores: the level of entertainment, the mastery of writing, and how well it matches the theme. In this anthology, Havok was seeking stories of legends with twists whether those legends are people, places, events, etc. Many stories take a well-known legend and build an entirely new story around it. A few take legendary circumstances (e.g. a zombie invasion) and construct a tall tale. The tales the editors have selected are compelling and larger-than-life.
You’ll read about everyone from Robin Hood to Hades, everywhere from the fountain of youth to a mummy’s tomb, and events ranging from the Trojan War to pulling Excalibur from the stone. The stories range from humorous to sorrowful, quick-paced to deliberate. All of the stories share one thing in common—they are worth your while.
Havok has five themes of mystery, science fiction, humor, thriller, and fantasy. With a title like Legendary, it would seem many of the stories would land in fantasy. While fantasy has a large share of the pie, the other categories are also represented. Other genres of science fantasy, and contemporary make an appearance. I was delighted to find three solid horror stories in Legendary.
Tastes in short stories vary from reader to reader, but I had a few that ticked all of the ratings above. “The Santa Dilemma” by Nate Swanson, “Laid Bare” by Teddi Deppner, and “Lament of the Phoenix” by P. J. Benjamin. The one that stood out to me this time was “Bifrost” by Laurie Herlich. This story really pulled at the heartstrings, a perfect mix of legends and human, relatable events.
Havok’s Legendary flash fiction is an exciting anthology any lover of short fiction should read. If you enjoy your fables, tall tales, and incredible stories, make sure you check it out.