Once Was Willem, M. R. Carey
Once Was Willem, M. R. Carey
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

Once Was Willem

Author: M. R. Carey

Narrator: Joe Jameson

Unabridged: 10 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 03/04/2025


Synopsis

Presenting an enthrallingly dark medieval fantasy – a fable of twisted folklore, macabre magic and the strangest of found families –  from M. R. Carey, author of the million-copy bestseller, The Girl With All the Gifts.

Eleven hundred and some years after the death of Christ, in the kingdom that had but recently begun to call itself England, I, Once Was Willem, rose from the dead to defeat a great evil facing the humble village of Cosham. The words enclosed herein are true.
 
I speak of monsters and magic, battle and bloodletting, and the crimes of desperate men. I speak also of secret things, of that which lies beneath us and that which impends above. By the time you come to the end of this account you will know the truth of your own life and death, the path laid out for your immortal soul, your origin and your inevitable end.
 
You will not thank me.
 

Author Bio

M. R. Carey has been making up stories for most of his life. His novel The Girl With All the Gifts has sold over a million copies and became a major motion picture, based on his own BAFTA Award-nominated screenplay. Under the name Mike Carey he has written for both DC and Marvel, including critically acclaimed runs on Lucifer, Hellblazer and X-Men. His creator-owned books regularly appear in the New York Times bestseller list. He also has several previous novels including the Felix Castor series (written as Mike Carey), two radio plays and a number of TV and movie screenplays to his credit.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Books_the_Magical_Fruit (Kerry) on March 03, 2025

A beautiful, beautiful tale. It took me a couple of chapters to get into this, but then the story got better and better and better. It’s simply brilliant. There is such a wide variety of characters that you’re sure to find someone to like. There are themes of found family and heroism in the face of......more

Goodreads review by Lukasz on March 08, 2025

4.5/5 Finally, something fresh. Once Was Willem is part medieval horror, part dark fairy tale, part found-family adventure. Our narrator, Willem, was once a regular 12-year-old boy. Then he died. His grieving parents let a sorcerer bring their dead son back to life. Since Willem has been in the ground......more

Goodreads review by Will on January 14, 2025

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced review copy! I’ve been a huge fan of Carey’s for some time now and he definitely does not disappoint here. Once-was-Willem is a medieval fantasy set in 12th century England featuring a cast of supernatural beings who come together to defeat an evil sorcerer threat......more

Goodreads review by Lorelei on February 13, 2025

What’s your favorite zombie book? You don’t often get a story from the zombie’s POV – I can only think of maybe 4, and one was by this same author. If you’ve read The Girl With All the Gifts, you know what a powerhouse M.R. Carey is when it comes to storytelling. At this point he’s become an auto-bu......more