NAME: Strange Secrets
AUTHOR: Mike Russell
GENRE: Strange fiction, Weird Fiction, Surrealism, Fantasy Fiction, Metaphysical Fiction
PUBLISHER: StrangeBooks; 1 edition (March 2, 2018)
PUBLICATION DATE: March 2, 2018
PAGES: 156
MY RATING: 4/5 stars
Note: Would like to thank the author for providing me with a free e-book copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion. The views are solely mine.
Book Description
Discover the mystery of the two-headed rose and many more Strange Secrets in this new collection of extraordinary stories by Mike Russell. ‘It can’t be real.’ ‘But it is.’ Strange Secrets invites you to discover the magical and the marvellous. Startlingly inventive and constantly entertaining, these unique, vital and vividly realised stories will take you to places you have never been before. Strange Secrets is Mike Russell’s third short-story collection.
About the Author
Mike Russell is a British author best known for the short story collection ‘Nothing is Strange’. He is also the author of ‘Strange Medicine’, ‘Strange Secrets’, and the novela ‘Strung Balls’. His most recent book is the novel ‘The Exploding Book’.
Mike Russell was born in 1973. He few up in a village of Pulborough in the south of England. As a child, he enjoyed daydreaming, art and writing strange stories. As an adult, he enjoys daydreaming, art and writing strange stories.
Mike Russell was awarded a Bachelor of Arts from Falmouth University and A Master of Arts from the University of Central England.
Mike Russell’s books have been described as Strange Fiction, Weird Fiction, Weird Lit, Surrealism, Fantasy fiction… but he just likes to call them Strange Books.
“Russell’s stories are humorous, engaging and poetically direct.” Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
“Simple yet wacky, funny and charming. Mike Russell seems to have mastered the art of throwing absurdities on the paper, while keeping his writing bright and interesting at the same time.” Cultured Vultures.
“I always look forward to Mike Russell’s work- he’s so out there that it’s refreshing.” Oddly Weird Fiction.
Review
Surrealism, metaphysical fiction, fatalism are classes of literary works which highly fascinate me, the reason being Haruki Murakami, the one who has made me fall in love with those genres!
When the author requested me for a review of his book- ‘Strange Secrets’, I instantly agreed to give it a try. I was very excited because after a long time I would read something out of the ordinary and the “strangeness” of ‘Strange Secrets’ indeed made it one highly entertaining read!
Let’s just take a moment to adore the absolutely eye-catching cover of the book!!
STRANGE SECRETS is a collection of seven bizarre short stories, namely- The Constantly Empty Pool; The Puppeteer; Arnold’s Melting Foot; Missing Persons; Reality; Maps and The Forest. These seven outlandish tales shall play with your mind and blear the line between reality and fantasy for you!
Initially I found it hard to follow the stories because each narrative had something so very baffling to show us that the reader is certain to question the actuality of the things happening around! Reading the stories scrupulously would reveal the immensely imaginative mind of the author!
Maps was my favorite tale! As I turned over the pages, I yearned to know what happens next! I was having this feeling of being an adventurous reader who was willing to take any risks to unravel the mysteries hidden within the strangeness of the story!
Besides Maps, I loved Missing Persons! The queerness of the stories kept me hooked to the pages of the book till the very last! It took me 3 days to complete the book!. I took frequent breaks between my reading sessions as I required time to ponder upon the absurd questions which kept on bugging my mind whilst I was reading these strange stories! It was like a journey to an overall different place, a place that is unfathomable and lies beyond our imagination!
The narrative is fast paced with a lucid language and makes sure that the reader can proceed smoothly without developing a sense of apathy.
Looking forward to reading more of the author’s works!
What would happen if Everytime you brought home a new wardrobe and concomitantly a person would go missing? Or what if everything around you was false, even your own existence?? What if you change into something dissonant, the moment you define yourself as a thing??
To find out the answers to these peculiar questions, grab your copy of Strange Secrets asap and visit a world full of incongruous and strange happenings!
Thanks for stopping by and reading my review!
If you have already enjoyed reading this book then don’t forget to drop down your thoughts in the comment section below. If you are yet to read this book then grab it up asap!
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Devyani's World of Epeolatry and Bibliophilia 
I quite like reading short stories every now and again, these sound interesting. Great review.
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Thanks 😊
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This book is perfect. It’s called Strange Secrets in the genre strange fiction from the publisher called Strange Books.
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Yess! This is perfect :v
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I love short story collections, I’ll definitely have to check this one out based on your review!
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Thanks!! Hope you enjoy your read!
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Great review. I like short stories so I’m going to check this out.
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Thank you!xx
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