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Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
The Spare Room and Other Stories by brothers Joshua Danker-Dake and Sean Danker-Smith is an anthology of 26 original short stories across a variety of genres from fantasy to horror. The Gibbins Tree by Sean Danker-Smith is one of my favorites. It’s definitely on par with Stephen King’s horror stories. It’s about the Gibbins family and their harrowing dilemma with a creepy tree. I was delighted when this story continued in The Gibbins Family Returns. Another favorite of mine is The Trash Gun by Joshua Danker-Dake about an eccentric scientist and his junior colleague in a teleportation experiment gone awry.
While the collection’s mix of genres provides the opportunity for the brothers to show their storytelling talent in each field, there is some unevenness in writing. There are also stories that somehow have no meaning or depth for me, such as Cinderella, which is twisted into a satirical version of the original. That said, the excellent stories outweigh the lesser ones. Some stories concluded with twisted endings, which I find entertaining. There’s not much difference in terms of narrative tone, which makes a good reading flow from one story to another.
Characterization is solid and the originality of some of the premises and the plots is outstanding. There’s something for every reader, and I do feel that this is a book that brothers Joshua and Sean can be proud of. All in all, The Spare Room and Other Stories is an enjoyable anthology and I look forward for their next work.
