 Quick, think of a utopian world where everyone is equally protected and provided for. It sounds nice, right? Well, that probably depends on what people have to sacrifice to keep that world going. Given that Strungballs is rooted firmly in the horror genre, the payment isn’t exactly a simple or easy one. Having a cube of flesh removed from the body and replaced with a strungball was honestly the most normal part of this society. It only grew wonderfully weirder and more creative from that point. Figuring out probable plot twists normally isn’t an issue for me due to how many years I’ve spent reading horror and speculative fiction. This tale really threw me for a loop, though. I only guessed one minor plot twist in advance. All of the rest of them were huge surprises. As much as I enjoyed the uniqueness of this story, I struggled to understand what many of the symbols in it were supposed to represent. This was especially true later on in the plot when Sydney began to seriously question the strungball tradition and what the purpose of it was. It would have been nice to have a stronger sense of direction from the narrator about how the clues fit together, and I’m saying this as someone who enjoys the process of interpreting open-ended stories for myself. Not everything needs to wrapped up neatly by any means, but it is helpful to know if your theories about what’s happening are anything close to what the possible solutions can be. With that being said, there were some thought-provoking philosophical questions about human nature that were raised in this piece. I can’t share exactly what they were without giving away spoilers, but I will say that I noticed some interesting parallels between Sydney’s world and our own when it came to how people plan out their lives and what they consider to be important in the great scheme of things. Strungballs seems to be the sort of tale to me that will appeal quite a bit to readers who love dissecting and discussing a work long after they finish it. Anyone who appreciates ambiguity should give it a whirl. 3/5 Strungballs by Mike Russell Strungballs is an extraordinary novella from Strange Books author Mike Russell. What are Strungballs? Ten-year-old Sydney is about to find out... but first he must have a cube of his flesh removed. Sydney will transgress everything he was taught to believe in when he embarks upon a journey that will reveal the astonishing secrets hidden by the red balls on white strings known only as... Strungballs. Inspiring, liberating, otherworldly, magical, surreal, bizarre, funny, disturbing, unique... all of these words have been used to describe the stories of Mike Russell. Remember: Once a Strungball is inserted it must never be removed. Lydia Schoch is a speculative fiction author and blogger who lives in Toronto with her spouse. Don’t tell her parents, but Lydia was the sort of preacher’s kid growing up who sometimes snuck out of church services to read, preferably something scary. She’s published two books and is currently working on her third one. As an immigrant and member of the LGBTQ+ community, she is always on the lookout for fiction that tells the stories of underrepresented groups in the horror genre. When she’s not reading or writing, Lydia spends plenty of time lifting weights and doing cardio workouts to prepare for a zombie apocalypse and/or old age. Lydia blogs at https://lydiaschoch.com and can also often be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TorontoLydia, and Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8186591.Lydia_Schoch. She cannot be found anywhere that expects people to eat Brussels sprouts. Every horror fan has their limits, after all.   Comments are closed.
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