That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction

The first thing that caught my attention was the wonderful cover art for this collection. The roses are very much growing wild; they look similar to my mother’s attempts to growing roses, hers are always crazy explosions of color and thorns. The more I thought about it, the more I found this cover fitting for horror tinged stories. My mother always told me that you could do everything right from a gardening standpoint, but without a little blood, the roses would not grow. She had to pay a price if she wanted them to flourish, her hands and wrists would have long scratches and gouges, even after wearing gloves. Her roses would thrive, and she swore it was because they took their pound of flesh. So look at this cover and I’m sure you will agree with that sentiment, these blossoms are well fed. That Which Grows Wild boasts 16 stories of the dark fiction flavor and this collection delivered on that promise. Short stories take planning to pull off; you are not given endless pages to build on an idea and present it to your readers as embellished as you may prefer. There is also a certain amount of trust that the reader can gather the information between the words to fill the spaces not spelled out, and that can be met with mixed results. But I found each story here written as a complete tale—there was a recognizable beginning, middle, and ending to every one, no matter if the story was 22 pages long or only 2. I was very impressed as well with the varied subjects found in this collection, the author wrote them masterfully. A Case Study in Natural Selection and How It Applies to Love – This hit a little close to home, with the world steadily heating up and water becoming scarce, sounds like the next month for 2020 apocalypse bingo. There is the added stress of random human combustion, teenage hormones and survivors’ guilt. I don’t know if I could handle the end that well. Last Days of the Gunslinger John Amos – Another dystopian feel, the world as far as the characters can see is overrun by fantastical and bloodthirsty creatures referred to as Hopper. They sound like a horrifying mix of insect and mammal. John Amos has kept his family safe as long as he can, but as the title suggests, time is running out. It was a tense read, I really liked it. Momma – This got under my skin! Told from the point of view of the only surviving son, Daniel, as he takes care of his mother, who is not always of sound mind and fading fast. I can’t really say more without spoilers, but this is a very dark tale. Loved it. Footprints Fading in the Desert – This one is sad but also really dark. A plane crash survivor follows footprints in hopes of rescue. Went in a direction I wasn’t expecting. The House of the Rising Sun, Forever – The story about opium addiction would probably be the one I had trouble understanding fully. It seemed like 2 separate stories told in tandem, but I don’t think that was how I was supposed to read it. I think this is one that will take a few reads for me to get, and that’s okay. It was still interesting and colorful. The Inveterate Establishment of Daddano & Co. - This one was an alternate history event, with a supernatural twist. It was really well done. Last Night – I loved how this was written, the idea scares the pants off of me but makes for a great story. Another one where the less said the better for spoiler reasons. Those Who Watch From On High – This gave us a horror story that is possible; it was heartbreaking and perfect. Vancouver Fog – No wasted words for this 2 page terror. A Curse and a Kiss – One of my favorites in this collection, this is a fairy tale retold; darker, if possible than original fairy tales. I could see this being made into an animation similar to Junji Ito’s horror. Whispers of the Earth – Grief goes hand in hand with horror, because it shapes how we react to unexplainable things. When you think there are messages coming from a lost loved one, how could you turn away? A Serving of