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"Hypnotic!" The Strange For Christmas
He is taken in by a mysterious, enigmatic international confidence woman named Mrs. Nevermore who may or may not be a sorcière – a witch. Few writers know Hollywood better than Ron Base. As a reporter, film critic, magazine writer, screenwriter and novelist, he has explored the magic of the movies in many ways. But Base knows his history too and his new novel, “The Strange,” published by West End Books, combines the mystery and marvel of grand cinematic adventures with a taste for the glamour and mystique of 19th century Vienna, London and most especially Paris. Like the best storytellers, Base in “The Strange” leads you to somewhere you thought you knew, in this case Paris, and reveals it to be even more magical and enchanting than you could possibly have imagined. It’s a tale of cunning and deception with intrigue, high adventure and vivid characters including a future King of England and the man who built the Eiffel Tower with a plot as tasty and satisfying as dinner at the Ritz. His tale is of a 14-year-old Parisian orphan named Ned who has the strange gift of kinetic powers. Lost and alone, he becomes ensnared in the machinations of a fascinating woman named Mrs. Nevermore, who has mysterious powers of her own along with a penchant for larceny on a big scale. Base takes time to draw a colourful ensemble of weird and wonderful characters as he slowly reveals a gambit by Mrs. Nevermore that involves an attempt to sell the Eiffel Tower to England’s Prince of Wales. There is much mischief and mayhem along the way leading to an explosive and highly entertaining climax. As he showed in his splendid Hollywood novel “Magic Man,” Base has the considerable gift of writing about magical things with a childlike sense of wonder. It’s a great relief from the forced hardboiled approach of many popular authors and makes “The Strange,” as intelligent and eldritch as it is, an appealing read for all ages.
George Anthony, By George
"An appealing read for all ages!"
Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter, U.K. Critic
Buy The Strange Here!
I've been overwhelmed by the reaction to the novel, and would like to thank everyone who has been so supportive since it's publication in June. Your response to the book has been beyond anything I could have imagined.
Those of you who have read and loved The Strange might consider it as a Christmas gift for friends and family. You can easily order copies by clicking on the link above. Or, if you wish to pay by cheque, simply e-mail me at baseron2001@yahoo.ca.
Either way I will personally autograph as many copies of the book as you would like to purchase and send them to any address in Canada and the United States.
So please, order today-- and have a happy holiday season!
About The Book
Fourteen-year-old Ned Arnheim's father has been murdered, leaving him orphaned and penniless in the Paris of 1899.
Ned believes he is blessed – or cursed – with a curious power called the Strange. If he concentrates hard enough, he can levitate, and move objects around This “power of the Strange” allows him to see into the Other World where lurk strange creatures known as gargoyles and, much to his irritation, a falcon named Peregrine who insists on talking to him.
When Mrs. Nevermore stumbles upon Ned’s sketches of the Eiffel Tower, they provide the inspiration for an audacious confidence scam that will make them rich – sell the Eiffel Tower!
Ned is appalled. He must somehow stop her. That sets off a cat-and-mouse game between Mrs. Nevermore and her unwilling protégée that leads from Paris, to London, to Vienna, and brings them into conflict with Mrs. Nevermore’s sworn enemies, a one-eyed beauty named Natalia Boyer, and her husband, the murderous Edmond Corbeau.
Ned must finally confront his demons atop the world’s highest tower following a series of adventures filled with magic and mystery, chases through rat-infested sewers, attacks by winged creatures out of a boy’s worst nightmares, not to mention that talking falcon. It’s all set against the glamorous, dangerous backdrop that is
Praise For 
The Canadian Champion
"The falcon could talk. I swear." So begins Ron Base's hypnotic new novel, The Strange. A troubled boy, a devious witch, a fabled tower, and a magic Paris all come together in this intriguing and mysterious page-turner by Base, whose word pictures are never far from celluloid.
George Anthony
By George
An entertaining romp of psychic derring-do in turn-of-the-century Paris where Ned seeks his lost parents with the help of a chatty falcon, new-found levitation skills, and tangles with the likes of Proust, Escoffier, César Ritz, Gustave Eiffel and the Prince of Wales. A delight!
National Post critic and award-winning author of Last Chance To Eat
UK critic, The Hollywood Reporter
THE STRANGE IS ALSO AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON.COM
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THE STRANGE AT AMAZON. CA
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