Forest Underground – Lydian Faust

Reviewed By Steve Stred

Forest Underground came onto my radar after reading a feature interview on Kendall Reviews.

(KR: You can read my interview with Lydian here).

The cover was intriguing and the synopsis sounded like a good time.

So, like usual, I snagged this book and then it ended up buried in my TBR!

I finally got around to it and it’s a unique psychological thriller!

The story focuses on Dr. Alicia Sizemore as she works on gleaning details from one of her patients Luna. Sizemore is specifically wanting more details for a proposed book release.

The first third of the book focuses predominantly on Luna’s back story, what led her from her situation to her current residency at Dr. Sizemore’s facility. Faust does introduce us to a few other patients, but for the most part they stay on the periphery.

The second half of the book then changes over and we follow Dr. Sizemore’s story, following her from childhood to present day.

The final third acts to resolve things and wrap it all up.

I enjoyed the tale, but did find the switch from Luna to Dr. Sizemore jarring. I thought we were just about to really find out and make more discoveries about Luna’s intriguing background/back story, and then we were thrown in a completely different direction.

Dr. Sizemore’s back story was a bit stunted, and I find I struggled to make a connection with her situation involving her parents which prevented me from developing much empathy for her when she was shuttled off to the boarding/prep school.

I think this was a case where I wished the story had another two-hundred pages. There was just so much that could have been explored and so much I wanted to find out. But maybe that was the beauty of this tale? To give us a look at the carrot hanging in front of us but never allow us to even get a chance to try and bite it?

Overall I’m glad I read this and I look forward to what else Faust has coming down the pipeline.

This was a fast read and I think a lot of folks will dig it.

Star Rating (out of 5): 3.5*

A psychological tale that left me wanting a bit more but also wanting to know more!

Forest Underground

Luna was lost.
Hospitalized following an incident in a local grocery store, she finds herself volunteered for treatment by the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr Sizemore.
As the doctor’s interest in her new patient grows, Luna reveals shocking details of her past. Ailing grandmothers, seductive strangers and a blood-soaked childhood are only the tip of the iceberg as her revelations paint a picture more akin to a twisted and nightmare-fuelled fairy-tale.
Detailing this case for the publication of a book, Dr Sizemore’s fascination reveals a dark history of her own. One that continues to haunt her to the present day.

The pair take a journey, twisting and turning through the labyrinths of their psyches. Through lands, fertile with anguish and dread.
Join them if you dare, to a place where glowing eyes are forever watching, lurking in the shadows of this internal woodland; of this forest underground.

You can buy Forest Underground from Amazon UK & Amazon US

Steve Stred

Steve Stred is an up-an-coming Dark Horror author. Steve is the author of the novel Invisible, the novellas Wagon Buddy, Yuri and Jane: the 816 Chronicles and two collections of short stories; Frostbitten: 12 Hymns of Misery and Left Hand Path: 13 More Tales of Black Magick.

Steve also has a number of works on the go and enjoys all this horror, occult, supernatural and paranormal.

Steve Stred is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and lives with his wife, his son and their dog Oj.

You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred

You can visit Steve’s Official Website here

The Girl Who Hid In The Trees

Something lurks just beyond.

Centuries ago a heinous act created a ripple that still haunts the residents to this very day.

Now the kids who reside near McConnell’s Forest live forever in fear.

Jason lost his brother when he was young. He left with his friends to ‘debunk’ the urban legend and never came back.

Now Jason and his group of friends are fed up and want to discover what is happening, what is the real cause of the terror holding their small town hostage.

But something is waiting for them. She may look sweet and innocent, but the friends are about to find out that pure evil can exist in the smallest of packages.

She’s out there. And while you may not know her name or what she looks like, the local kids will tell you if you ask, that you should fear for your life from the girl who hid in the trees.

From the dark mind of Steve Stred, the author of Wagon Buddy, YURI and Invisible comes this fast-paced, seat of your pants coming-of-age tale.  A quick, violent, bleak read, The Girl Who Hid In The Trees will make you think twice about those sounds you hear far off in the woods.

You can buy The Girl Who Hid In The Trees from Amazon UK & Amazon US