FURNACE
Livia Llewellyn
Word Horde
It’s difficult to apply everyday adjectives to Livia Llewellyn’s fiction, and her second collection of short stories, Furnace, hasn’t made this any easier. I’m only reminded of the poverty of my own words in comparison to hers. Luscious, disgusting, mind-bendingly corporeal, sensual beyond imagination: Furnace is that good.
In many ways, Llewellyn is proudly centred in the weird fiction explosion currently sweeping the horror lit community. The seeds of cosmic horror planted in her previous collection, Engines of Desire, have grown lushly here, with each story’s mostly female characters succumbing to fates beyond comprehension. These non-linear tales unfurl much like the bodies within them, transforming and regenerating in supplication to nameless forces, all rendered in Llewellyn’s sumptuous prose.
However, she also transcends the weird label…