Diabolical Plots #89, July 2022
“Of the Duly Conducted and Mostly Unremarkable Meeting of Don Quotidene and the Giants of Andalia” by A. J. Rocca
“Heart of a Plesiosaur” by Andrew K Hoe
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
There are two new short stories in the 89th issue of Diabolical Plots. Both were entertaining reads.
“Of the Duly Conducted and Mostly Unremarkable Meeting of Don Quotidene and the Giants of Andalia” by A. J. Rocca
The accountant knight picks Sancha for her neat handwriting in this short fantasy. However, she wants adventure. So when her knight wanders toward several dragon-eating giants, she thinks this is her chance. However, no one knows about the old knight’s magical skills, not even him.
This story snippet was playful, like the tale of Don Quixote.
“Heart of a Plesiosaur” by Andrew K Hoe
Two young orphans learn to animate animal statues in this short fantasy. It seems that only children can conjure up the animal images to infuse into a statue. But it requires that they remember how that animal moved in real life.
Due to the sorrow of losing their parents, these two siblings are very good at animating likenesses. When they see a plesiosaur fossil in a museum, the children are stymied as they cannot animate what they can’t recall in real life. Yet this struggle becomes a symbol of their bigger challenge. If they can animate the plesiosaur, then maybe they can animate models of their mother and father.
The author’s poignant story grabbed at the reader’s heartstrings.
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