Diabolical Plots #8, October 2015

“The Grave Can Wait” by Thomas Berubeg

Reviewed by Chuck Rothman

 Diabolical Plots (the host of the Submission Grinder, which is becoming the go-to market guide) has been publishing a story each month. The October offering, “The Grave Can Wait,” is an old-fashioned tall tale by Thomas Berubeg. Old Jim McGrath is the orneriest man on the frontier, so when Death shows up to take him, McGrath kicks him off his ranch. But, of course, Death isn’t stymied so easily, and comes back later in order to take McGrath. The tall tale aspect is good, but as a story, it’s flawed. Death isn’t much of an adversary, and McGrath turns out to have very little at stake (though he does cheat Death).

Chuck Rothman’s novels Staroamer’s Fate and Syron’s Fate are available from Fantastic Books. His story, “Plotting War” is available as a Kindle Single, and he has stories in Temporally Out of Order and upcoming in Flash Fiction Online.