Diabolical Plots #135, May 2026

“Dourglamis” by Derek Wagner

“Afterimage” by Anna Zumbro

Reviewed by David Wesley Hill

I don’t care much for steampunk, which is maybe why I wasn’t impressed by the movie Mortal Engines, as the entire concept of mobile mechanized urban areas seemed silly to me—as silly as the Cities in Flight books by James Blish seemed to me when I first read them back in 1970, which really dates me. However, “Dourglamis” by Derek Wagner, the first May offering of Diabolical Plots, isn’t steampunk or SF, it’s pure fantasy, so I was able to engage my willing suspension of disbelief and enjoy the tale about intelligent cities on legs, who roam the countryside cannibalizing each other. Weighing in at just about flash size, the story deftly packs a lot of background into a small package, beginning in medias res with an unnamed protagonist scaling the ramparts of the titular city, and culminating in a meeting with the king … and in an uneasy epiphany. Well done! Recommended.

Equally well done is the second May offering, “Afterimage” by Anna Zumbro, which is a bittersweet SF tale set in the near future—maybe tomorrow—where the technology has been developed to allow people to crack the “code of animal cognition and behavior” and to “ridealong” with animals implanted with sophisticated neurochips. The main focus of the story, however, is how such technology might impact the continuation of consciousness after death, of dying while networked, which is something I believe will become a real issue within the next thirty years or so. Sentimental is a good way, while also being intellectually rigorous, “Afterimage” is an example of excellent SF. Recommended.