Nothing is Strange by Mike Russell: A Review

 

So we're on to the last review of the year!! It's funny because at the start of this year I was still a film and lifestyle blogger and now my pivot to book reviewing seems to be sticking fascinating right! Anyway we're ending 2020 with this book of weird short stories by Mike Russell. Strange Books actually reached out to me to ask me to review this and when  I finally had a moment I got round to it (2020 has been a minefield!) 

I have always loved anthologies of short stories! They are great ways to get out of reading ruts and are fantastic for days you are losing concentration. This one is no exception the stories are all relatively short and easy to access and thoroughly bizarre.

If you love League of Extraordinary gentlemen and Inside Number 9 this book will be your new favourite. In particular a story featuring a man who makes a mask out of clay to explain his pain really evoked the bizarre goriness of the shows listed above.Another bizarre story about a man who works in a red building who lives in a red house is bizarre and sinister with just a hint of 1984 to it. 

This book works best when playing with elements like this or with utterly bizarre concepts being written about in normal sounding ways. The Butcher shop story with the way it looped back on itself was probably one of my favourites in terms of plot and the way it was written.

The one downside of these stories for me was the often uncomfortable and unnecessary sexual element that at times felt like it was written just to shock the reader and often didn't really fit in the stories at all.

Overall I enjoyed these stories and they were a great way to round out my 2020 reviews!!!

Also as a bonus look how pretty the cover is in colour!