You will not find many publications that puts out as much material as Golden Vision Magazine. The magazine publishes two issues at a time. One is a print version and the other a free online publication. Each is distinctively different. This review is dedicated to the online version.
The online version boast part one of a serial, two previously published short stories, a new short story, and 21 works of flash fiction. The previously published and serial have not been read but that still left plenty of material to look over.

Personal Time by Lyla Mason

Alexandra is bitter. Passed up for a promotion, she takes her anger out on her hard working assistant, Veronica. Alex will snoop, eavesdrop, and steal to get the drop on her employees and fellow workers. Tired of her antics, Darren gets Veronica to help him spring a surprise for Alex.

“Personal Time” is an elaborate trap story meant to entice the reader to find out what sort of justice awaits snooty Alex. Alex fits the role of a bitter and petty boss. Believing her assistant is getting an invite to a club by her boss, she seeks to get one up on her by crashing the party.

What started as an intriguing tale became boorish office politics gone awry halfway through. Alex goes over the top as a narcissistic bitch. I couldn’t figure out what gain she could possibly think she was making by inserting herself, uninvited, to a club she believes her boss will be attending. Even stranger was what happened when she got there, turning a Peyton Place tale into something Twilight Zone-ish. I thought the story was longer than it needed to be and the twist too strange and disconnected with what happened earlier in the piece.

Wishing Stone by Jason Dempsey

Alex is an elementary schoolboy who becomes the latest owner of the wishing stone. The stone is passed from one student to the next. The rules for the stone are only one wish and you must never tell anyone what the wish was, who gave you the rock, or who you gave the rock to, or the spell will be broken. Alex contemplates what his wish will be, each potential wish grander than the next. After much thought, Alex makes his wish.

Quite simply, I hated this stories ending. There was no indication why Alex would make the wish he made. Generally the rule of thumb is a hint is dropped, subtle or not, before a reveal of this nature is dumped on the reader. The “Wishing Stone” is really about a young child wool gathering and we get to see what type of wool he gathers.

Transition by Edward Rodosek

A tribe watches Coiner as he fishes in a stream and are shocked and outraged by the lad’s seemingly innocent posture. The elder’s worry of the effect this disrespecting youth will have on future generations.

This short story was a set up for a twist ending. The tribe was a bit articulate; throwing off any wanting to guess what Coiner was up to. I liked the story but the authors love for adverbs lessen the appeal of the piece for me.

Hand Jive by Dan Marvin

Robert has deformed hands. They have proven to be difficult helping him to assimilate in society and disastrous finding love. Robert chances a date with a girl missing an eye, hoping sharing a deformity will help his cause. Hopefully his awkward hands don’t ruin this for him.

This story is reminiscent of a classic Twilight Zone episode. This one also had a twist on the end but the author executed it finely. Nice job.
Recommended

The Builders Prayer by Ron Koppelberger

A man builds a shrine (?) made of steel into an ancient desert monument. He recites a prayer in reverence to the ancient spirits.

I am afraid the message of this piece was lost on me. I read it three times and I am still not sure what it was about or what happened in the end.

Bewitching Youth by Diane Arrelle

Esmeralda is the last of the witches left in Salem. She still makes potions but finds it increasingly difficult because of a lack of a key ingredient. She finds the local children annoying. And the cold weather of New England is beginning to bother her bones. It could be a time for a change.

“Bewitching Youth” is more of a report on what the old lady in the house down the street is up to than a story. Esmeralda thriving business has evolved because of the needs of her customers have changed. The story is a wind down of the Salem witches very long career, a tale of the last of her kind getting ready to it hang it all up. Nice piece with a so-so twist ending.

Greener Grass by Liz Colter

Gil sinks into a bog, his last vision? A pig. The pig is the guide to the afterlife. Eternity in the desolation of Gil’s afterlife doesn’t like all that appealing. If only he could make a trade.

“Greener Grass” is a “Br’er Rabbit” type of tale. This brief tale is written well but it is predictable. Don’t know why a pig was chosen for a guide but it worked.

Marl Dreaning by Kate Roediger

Lano enters the census office in search of a job. A crotchety receptionist gives Lano a delinquent new hire job. Lano has no idea what the job entails but learns it isn’t for him before he has a chance to do any work.

This read like a random cut out of a much larger piece. The story is filled with unfamiliar terms from an alien planet. More information on the story was available in the author’s bio than the actual story. I wasn’t sure if this piece was cut off. It read as if it stopped before the ending. I found this non-story disappointing.

Just Desserts by C E McLean

Captain Frazier is taking the celebrated warship, Galoubet, on its final voyage to be mothballed. It is his first time on the vessel and he is having a hard time getting used to the odd pinball machine like sounds the old ship makes.

The story is all about the noises. The first half of the piece is Captain Frazier obsessing over noise in the middle of an info dump. The rest is the XO reassuring the Captain that there is nothing to worry about. Discovering what the noise was had to be the biggest disappointing cheat I ever read.

Dem Dry Bones by Joe Kraus

A writer tells the protagonist he wishes he could be bring his characters to life. He nearly succeeds when he sketches a realistic hand.

This short piece has two faceless characters to carry its plot. The lack of names for the characters made the story featureless. The ending twist was meaningless.

One Stubborn Machine by Anna Sykora

Sooze is a robot who likes to grow roses. Unfortunately, the local wildlife of Andion likes them too. She can’t get the Trading Post to bring more. No one else can appreciates her love for the Terran flower. If only the humans didn’t die off.

This short story has is a thin metaphor. Mankind’s demise serves as a background to this tale. I enjoyed this well written, yet blandish story.

Lab Rats by Guy Belleranti

Marvin and Perry are stunned when two chimpanzees charge into their experimental lab. Ernie can talk, brought a friend, and was supposed to be dead. He intends to use the lab to make himself better. He’ll need a guinea pig and the lab is filled with them. It’s a matter of finding the right one though.

“Lab Rats” is a sharp and crisp work of flash fiction. The author did a great job of creating a compelling story, with a nice twist, in so few words.
Recommended

A Dream Walker’s Envy by Trisha Wolfe

Caylin dreams of his lost love, Leah. A woman in his dreams can grant Caylin contact with her once again. The encounters are draining him and his friend Donna is concerned. The dream woman can keep Caylin with Leah forever but for a very steep price.

This one read like a much longer story cut down to size. The plot was spotty and the reveal was predictable resulting in a disappointing feeling for me.

Fairy Magic by Ashley Daeschlein

Meghan buys a painting at an auction. She is drawn to the lovely scene of fairies dancing. Deep in sleep she finds herself within the painting. Her dreams become a nightmare, and the painting reveals changes.

This is a nice tale of a woman haunted by a painting. I found the writing crisp and the story delightful. The ending is quite predictable but it didn’t keep me from enjoy the piece.

Spaghetti by Shelly Li

Nicole has been waiting for months for her husband Tristan to return from space. She remembers every detail of her love but is shocked to experience the changes he has gone through when he finally comes home.

“Spaghetti” is a tale I’ve seen done a hundred times before. What’s really going on isn’t much of a surprise but Ms Li’s take of how different we really are is what makes this tale so intriguing. The twist at the end comes off as a punch line. Not a bad story at all.

The Compartments by Gregory M. Thompson

Ted is intrigued with his son’s, Curtis, book bag. He has a compartment that is bottomless with whatever young Curtis will ask for. Curtis isn’t shy about his request but is mindful of waste. I wonder where his recycling garbage goes.

By far, the cutest story in the bunch. This is a very fun work of flash. The second half of it compliments the first. Well done.

The Winds by Evan Heppner

An old man polishes four jars in his wind created cave in the mountains. He awaits the four winds so they can rest and be revived again for the world.

The story is told of the old man who is the caretaker for the winds. We see his mundane life as he awaits and releases the winds. Although interesting the story lacked any kind if punch at all. This tale of a boring life lacked the inspiration I was hoping for.

Continue? by James Vachowski

The protagonist seeks revenge against the evil one who has kidnapped his girl. The formidable hero fights through henchmen and thugs. With his need for vengeance, and his quick hands, nothing can stop him, as long as there is a steady supply of quarters to keep him going.

I liked this story. The twist came halfway through the piece. It made me smile and I rather liked the commentary at the end.
Recommended

Lifetime Piling Up by Craig B Phillips

The protagonist is faced with an ark of her life. She offered a choice, to go back and give it another go or move onto the next. An old man grants her an hour to view its contents but she is unsure if she even wants that hour. The only thing she doesn’t know is how many times she has been presented this choice before.

“Lifetime Piling Up” is the best written flash of the bunch. It is clever, perhaps too clever. The twist was a head-scratcher. I felt as befuddled as the protagonist. For that reason I am withholding a recommendation but it would be a shame if you didn’t read it.

I wondered if it was just a theme for this issue but it appears Golden Visions has one criteria all the stories are expected to meet. They all have a twist for an ending. I like twists. I like getting blindsided with an ending I didn’t see coming. Apparently the editors feel the same way I do. However, when every story has a twist, you start to expect a twist. Knowing a story is going to make a left turn before it ends dulls its surprise. In other words, it isn’t as scary if you’re aware there is someone ready to jump out of the bushes to try and scare you. A twist doesn’t work if know a twist is coming.

This was the first time since there first issue that I have bothered to navigate Golden Visions website. I felt like a mouse in a maze searching for bits of cheese hunting down all the stories. Its likely the regular readers don’t have an issue with the magazines set up but as reviewer trying to give every story a fair shake, I found navigating the magazines pages frustrating.

All-in-all I found some promising material in Golden Visions. If you like stories with different endings, by all means give the magazine a look.