That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction by Eric J. Guignard

Harper Day Books, 2018

978-1949491005

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

That Which Grows Wild is a debut collection from Eric Guignard, which has been nominated for a Stoker award for Fiction Collections. This is a wondrous collection which considers the horrors of the world children are growing up in.

The really great stories include “A Case Study in Natural Selection and How It Applies to Love,” wherein a young man considers his place in the world as an ever-warming world brings about more and more cases of spontaneous combustion, with creatures and people exploding for seemingly no good reason. “The Inveterate Establishment of Daddano & Co.” permits an elderly undertaker to tell us what actually happened during the legendary Valentine Day’s Massacre, and how it affected the dirt and grime of Chicago. Finally, “In the Last Days of Gunslinger John Amos” a gunslinger protects the children of a devastated village from large and vicious animals in the wilderness, until a flood comes rumbling through.

Throughout all 16 tales, Guignard is highlighting nature. Nature is both the most beautiful and the most scary of terrifying monsters. As our world warms, we may yet experience the terrors which Guignard tells us about in this brilliant collection.

If ever there was a collection of stories that deserved to be read by every high schooler, it is this one. That Which Grows Wild is highly recommended for all readers 14 and up.

Reviewed by Benjamin Franz

Editor’s note: That Which Grows Wild is on the final ballot for the 2018 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection.