Sprinkled throughout Who
Fears the Devil? are a dozen or so flash-fiction stories. Like the rest of
John’s journeys, these crash off the beaten path, bringing the reader
face-to-face with the hidden things of the Appalachians, covering such
strangeness as John meeting his future self, tales of man-eating gardinel
house-plant, shooting magic, and folk alchemy. And just like a startled doe or
fleeing centaur, the meeting with the weird is over in an instant, leaving you
with only wonder and an appreciation for the strangeness of nature. Writers
would do well to study Wellman’s economy of story and words herein.
