Dansky’s Meeting in the Devil’s House is one of the best short story collections I’ve read in a long time. The stories are wildly varied.
There’s Reb Palache, who despite being a learned man of God, decides to lead a band of pirates on three adventures throughout the collection. Fairytales such as Wishing Won’t, The Wisdom of Nightingales, and The Unicorn at the Soiree, whose writing reminds me of The Princess Bride with a darker slant. Creature horror comes out in Empty Box and Meemaw’s Frogs. He brings needed commentary about unfettered capitalism in Labor Costs.
The most peculiar is, The Beast of Sica Hollow, a western about outlaws who meet Taku-He, a bigfoot character who likes wearing a stovepipe hat.
Then there are my three personal favorites,
Coin Drop is a story about a vending machine that’s an access point to the underlying mechanics of the universe, which challenges our protagonist’s perception of free will versus pre-determination.
Beer and Pennies, a story about the Devil’s Tramping Ground. The Devil described in its text is a cunning, intelligent creature who uses the temptation of rare knowledge to lure in his victims.
Finally, A Meeting in the Devil’s House, which is a place that is no place at all. There, those who have foolishly made deals with the Dark Lord come to pay the ultimate price, guided by another unfortunate who has made a slightly better deal and acts as the Devil’s reluctant personal assistant. Ultimately, the punishment demonstrated isn’t one of eternal damnation, but the dread of it after getting everything you’ve ever wanted.
Dansky’s eclectic style and sheer creativity are on par with a modern Poe. He should/will be taught in collegiate creative writing courses someday.
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