Synopsis: Does magic exist?
Charlie Watson thinks it does and he wants to tell you all about it. Before he was famous, Charlie Watson decided to write a book to share with the world everything he knew about magic. This is that book.
You will discover why Charlie always wears a top hat, why his house is full of rabbits, how magic wands are made, how the universe began, and much, much more.
Plus, for the first time, Charlie tells of the strange events that led him from England to the Arctic, to perform the extraordinary feat that made him famous, and he finally reveals whether that extraordinary feat was magic or whether it was just a trick.
Publication date: 5th March 2020
Publisher: StrangeBooks
"We've found all these rules that can't be broken and I'm sorry but magic breaks the rules so it can't exist."
With some fantasy, Mike Russell tries to show us that life is fantastic, that we’re lucky to be alive, that we should value it, taking care of oneself, treating others kindly and respectfully, and trying to cheer them up when they’re feeling down. The point of this book is to show you that live is worth living, that it will be beautiful to be alive if you value every little thing, every moment, and every person you go through or cross paths with in your life. But the whole purpose gets a bit lost at times between the writing style and some raw scenes. Because of the latter is why I think this book should come with some trigger warnings such as sex, blood, depression, suicide or murder on its description, because there are really tough scenes that I didn’t expect and can be harmful for some people.
About the writing style, I found it so simple. I suppose the main idea was that it looked like the book was written by a 23-year-old guy who clearly had a mental disease –I don’t know which, since it’s not mentioned in the book–. So that’s why I’m not sure if I should say that it’s well done since the author has achieved his objective, or if otherwise the style is this kind of poor because that’s basically the author’s writing style. I guess I should read something else from him to get a clear view of his writing and the way he gives life to his characters.
"And that's when I realised that everything is magic!"
The purpose and the overall view of the book make it a good one, with a moral at the end. So even if you might be feeling like you’re reading a children’s fantasy book while reading it, you’ll find out that the whole point of the story is for adults to realize that we should see the world just as children do, appreciating every little thing in life, even a bunch of flowers growing through the pavement in the middle of the street.
Thanks StrangeBooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
About the author: Mike Russell was born in 1973. He grew up in the small 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, Magic Realism, Fantasy Fiction… but he just likes to call them Strange Books. He is a full-time author and grows his own potatoes.
Genre: adult fiction, fantasy, magic realism.
