Diabolical Plots #99, May 2023
“Six Reasons Why Bots Make the Worst Asteroid Miners” by Matt Bliss
“Diamondback V. Tunnelrat” by Nick Thomas
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
There are two new stories in the 99th issue of Diabolical Plots, including a flash fiction story. Both were entertaining reads.
“Six Reasons Why Bots Make the Worst Asteroid Miners” by Matt Bliss
Set in the future, this flash SF considers life on an asteroid with a robotic miner. The human is there to babysit the robot. But even a hunk of animated metal looks good when there is no other companionship.
This story snippet showed how a tribal species like humankind sought out friendship.
“Diamondback V. Tunnelrat” by Nick Thomas
Diamondback is suing to get his ear returned in this short fantasy. After losing it in a fight, a new ear has grown, which is typical for a troll. But now, a dwarf uses the troll’s regrowth properties to attach the lost ear to replace an ear severed in a different fight.
A court must decide if Diamondback is owed compensation for an ear it didn’t need and wouldn’t have cared about usually. The plaintiff claims the ear was a part of him and no one else should use it. However, the dwarf says the ear has become a part of him, so trying to remove it will result in a knife fight. It’s an intriguing case for the judges.
Like many legal cases, the story seemed dry in a couple of places. But overall, it read well and entertained the reader.
You can follow Kevin P Hallett’s writing on www.kevinphallett.com. There are links there to join his mailing list for a weekly newsletter on the recent release of his second novel, The Fifth Kingdom.