Diabolical Plots #38, April 2018

“Her February Face” by Christie Yant

Reviewed by Kat Day

“Her February Face,” by Christie Yant, is the haunting tale of a woman who keeps her heart in a shrine in her front room, and her collection of smiles on the wall above that. That is, of course, until the day her life takes a turn for the darker. This is a beautifully-written piece that drew me in immediately. The emotions of the main character, Elena, are handled perfectly; entirely relatable without being too obvious. The ending is touching and brings the story together perfectly. Highly recommended.

“Giant Robot and the Infinite Sunset,” by Derrick Boden, is another story which touches on themes of loneliness, but this time the protagonist isn’t human. ‘Giant Robot’ begins the story alone on a battlefield but, for a robot, it seems strangely cognizant of the vibrant colors surrounding it. This is another lovely piece; the robot is adorable in a big fighty crushing-everything-in-its-path sort of way. Who can resist a gentle robot story? Not this reviewer, that’s for sure! Check it out.

Kat Day makes children handle fire and dangerous chemicals for living (it’s okay, she’s a chemistry teacher). When not doing that, she spends her time writing and trying to wrangle her own two children into line (without fire or dangerous chemicals, because that would be frowned upon). She has had a short story published in Daily Science Fiction and has another upcoming in “24 Stories,” an anthology to raise money for the survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. You can follow her on Twitter @chronicleflask.