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That Which Grows Wild
by Eric J. Guignard
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Short Stories
That Which Grows Wild collects sixteen dark and masterful short stories by
award-winning author Eric J. Guignard. Equal parts whimsy and weird,
horror and heartbreak, this debut collection traverses the darker
side of the fantastic through vibrant and harrowing tales that depict
monsters and regrets, hope and atonement, and the oddly changing
reflection that turns back at you in the mirror.
Discover why Eric J. Guignard has earned praise from masters of the craft such
as Ramsey Campbell (“Guignard gives voice to paranoid vision that’s
all too believable.”), Rick Hautala (“No other young horror
author is better, I think, than Eric J. Guignard.”), and Nancy
Holder ( “The defining new voice of horror has arrived, and I stand
in awe.”)
Stories include:
• “A Case Study in Natural Selection and How It Applies to Love” – a
teen experiences romance, while the world slowly dies from rising
temperatures and increasing cases of spontaneous combustion.
• “Dreams of a Little Suicide” – a down-on-his-luck actor unexpectedly finds
his dreams and love in Hollywood playing a munchkin during filming of
The Wizard of Oz, but soon those dreams begin to darken.
• “The Inveterate Establishment of Daddano & Co.” – an aged undertaker
tells the true story behind the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, and
of the grime that accumulates beneath our floors.
• “A Journey of Great Waves” – a Japanese girl encounters, years later,
the ocean-borne debris of her tsunami-ravaged homeland, and the
ghosts that come with it.
• “The House of the Rising Sun, Forever” – a tragic voice gives dire
warning against the cycle of opium addiction from which, even after
death, there is no escape.
• “Last Days of the Gunslinger, John Amos” – a gunfighter keeps a decimated
town’s surviving children safe on a mountaintop from the incursion
of ferocious creatures… until a flash flood strikes.
Explore within, and discover a wild range upon which grows the dark, the
strange, and the profound.
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My Review
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I usually find that when reading a collection of short stories, some of them are great, some are okay and some miss the mark. I was thrilled to find that I was happy with all sixteen tales in That Which Grows Wild.
The book begins with A Case Study in Natural Selection and How It Applies to Love. I’m a huge fan of dystopian and apocalyptic tales and this one adds human combustion to the mix. The fact that the author made it seem like something that could actually occur was like sprinkles on an ice cream cone. Tasty.
From there I went on to devour the book. I was expecting to need a break somewhere. For my interest to taper off. But, no. I kept right on to the end, encountering tormented beings, creatures big and small, aliens and ordinary people facing difficult and fantastical situations. But that wasn’t all I found. There were some deeply moving scenes and some characters I wanted to tuck under my wing and keep safe from harm.
I was going to list my favorites but I found myself adding another and then another. The writing is powerful and the stories intoxicating. Eric is a storyteller in the true sense of the word.
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Eric J. Guignard is a writer and editor of dark and speculative fiction,
operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles. He’s won the
Bram Stoker Award, been a finalist for the International Thriller
Writers Award, and a multi-nominee of the Pushcart Prize. His stories
and non-fiction have appeared in over one hundred genre and literary
publications such as “Nightmare Magazine,” “Black Static,” “Shock Totem,”
“Buzzy Magazine,” and “Dark Discoveries Magazine.” Outside the glamorous
and jet-setting world of indie fiction, Eric’s a technical writer and
college professor, and he stumbles home each day to a wife, children,
cats, and a terrarium filled with mischievous beetles.
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