Secret Places and Hidden Things

by Lucas Paakh

A boy wakes up in a mysterious castle with no memory except his name. The rooms are always changing and time has lost all meaning. Reoccurring dreams hint at his forgotten past while he tries to navigate this strange new world. As more people appear, and the castle begins to reveal its secrets, he starts to see behind the veil, wondering at the hidden mechanisms driving existence around him.

A girl walks away from her childhood home, leaving her life—and reality—behind. She meets a strange creature and inadvertently breaks the foundation of existence, setting out to find the end to all endings. Her adventure leads her past the edges of time and into the void itself, where possibility is permission and her life can be anything she wants it to be.

A boy follows a fox into the woods and his world changes forever—past and future tangling into a convoluted web. He rediscovers his greatest friend, but loses everything he’s ever known, lost and wandering in a waking dream.

When reality fractures and time turns back on itself, can they find a way to put the pieces back together, or is life just better this way?

280 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Per · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.wattpad.com/story/2028223...

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an interview on Youtube, Lucas Paakh stated that Taoism has had a strong influence on his life and personal philosophy towards his work. If I had not known this, this book would have been little more than a sometimes confusing series of beautiful surrealist setpieces. The first part almost has a slice of life quaintness about it, while the second is more overtly philosophic.

[Μιχαέλλα Λεδάκη · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have a very special relationship with this book. Many of the concepts and the images I have touched them in my very first teenage novel. Feels like I could have written this book in an alternative timeline. I also experience many incidents of synchronicity with it.
I loved the dreamlike vibe and the philosophical paths.
it's my favourite book of all time.

[Arden Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up playing Willaim and Sly on Games2Girls, so this was a nostalgia overload. (I still play Willaim and Sly on Steam, SO glad it was added!!) Secret Places and Hidden Things is a perfect companion piece to the game while also being its own story, and what a story it was!

I absolutely loved the descriptions of the seasons, the scenery, and the senses, both in the castle and the places Jack and Will went. The castle was a fun location, and it was a real treat to piece together the different rooms and guests who came and went. The mystery took surprising turns, and the characters were surprisingly fleshed out for all their quirks.

All of the fantasy elements fit together in a creative, well-crafted story. The book was divided into two parts, with the first half being about Jack in the castle and the second being a backstory of other characters. Jack got hints about his past throughout, and Willaim and Sly made an appearance in their iconic woods! All the characters and stories came together in the end, and some of the plot twists had me SHOCKED. I would love another book from Lucas Paakh, who has a wonderful mind!