Severin by Lydian Faust

52 pages

Released – January 21, 2020 through Amazon

“Said he’d make my bones talk.”

Last year I read ‘Forest Underground’ by Faust, a bleak re-imagining of a well known fairy tale. It was brutal and fast paced and left me excited to read more from Faust.

Somewhere, along the line, I connected with Lydian on Twitter and through interaction we developed a friendly rapport. She shoots straight, doesn’t sugar coat stuff and has always been engaging and supportive.

Through her tweets, it had become evident that due to demands in her life (namely having a newborn) she was struggling to get time for writing and we were left wondering when the return would come.

Seeing this collection; ‘Severin’ released yesterday was such a fantastic moment. Well technically I am on a book ban, I had to buy this and support Lydian. (Side note – I’ve now failed my self imposed book ban twice. Once here for Lydian and once last week when The Luminous Dark went on sale. Guess my ban doesn’t apply to Ladies of Horror Fiction!)

‘Severin’ is unflinching in its delivery. I am not trained in literature or English literature – so I really can’t discuss the technical side of the poems within, but each one is filled with emotion and a sort of desperate anxiety.

I found three real themes or narratives carried through this collection; Science-Fiction, Horror and Present Times.

My absolute favourite was ‘Saint Louis,’ where that line I quoted at the beginning was taken from.

Shockingly or unexpectedly, this collection finished with a short story – ‘Little Gus.’

I really enjoyed this short story, but I think some may find it exciting or deflating.

Exciting to see the return of long form writing from Faust.

Deflating about just when we may see more.

With her self-publishing experience now fully in hand, here’s hoping that she’ll continue to give us some more collections like this.

It’s great to have you back in the fiction world, Lydian. You’ve been missed.

5/5