Once Was Willem

January 1, 2025

Told through a distinctive narrative voice, sci-fi author's Carey's (Echo of Worlds) newest novel is a dark medieval fantasy about a curse that befalls the English village of Cosham in 1152. The tale begins when brigands emerge from the forests of Chase to clash with Baron Robert Carne and seize Pennick Castle. Caught between the bandits and the baron, the peasants bring misfortune upon themselves with a single act of betrayal. Among the afflicted is young Willem Turling, a farmer's son who falls gravely ill and dies. In an act of desperation, his parents turn to a shady sorcerer to revive him, but what emerges from the grave is not the person Willem once was. Enchanting and horrifying in equal measure, Carey's historical fantasy unfolds into a moving epic in which monsters become heroes when faced with a truly vile villain. Carey skillfully captures the essence of the medieval era, where peasants toil in the shadow of crumbling castles, survival trumps chivalry, and magic, though the devil's work, is highly coveted. VERDICT An original and expertly written medieval fantasy that's perfect for fans of RJ Barker, Sebastien de Castell, and Katherine Kurtz and also touches upon the emotional and heartbreaking themes found in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.--Andrea Dyba

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Starred review from January 6, 2025
Carey (The Rampart Trilogy) crafts an empathetic portrait of a medieval monster as a young man in this revelatory dark fantasy. In the 1100s, when post-conquest England is wracked by civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda, Willem, the cherished son of a farmer, dies at age 12 in Cosham village. His grieving parents reluctantly allow malignant magician Cain Caradoc to raise Willem from the dead in exchange for a tithing from the boy’s soul, which Caradoc uses to maintain his foothold in immortality. But after the boy gruesomely rises from his grave, outrageously ugly and no longer quite Willem, his parents and the whole village reject him as monstrous. The boy, renamed Once-Was-Willem, goes on to recount Caradoc’s sinister attempts through black magic and child sacrifice to command the vast power he senses in the local castle he now controls. Once-Was-Willem finds unusual nonhuman allies, and chronicles their lurid backstories and bloody struggles to free the town of Cosham from Caradoc with wit and compassion, building to a wonderfully satisfying climax. Powerful, captivating, and occasionally stomach-churning, this quintessential tale of good and evil is sure to win fans.

January 1, 2025
Once-Was-Willem's story starts in Cosham village during the twelfth century, where 12-year-old Willem was revived by magician Cain Caradoc after his death. Attacked and ostracized by the villagers, including his parents, Willem makes a life for himself in the forests near Cosham, meeting other supernatural creatures who live there. Shapechanger Anna, who followed her brother to war in England, provides his new name when he realizes the original one no longer fits. As Once-Was-Willem befriends other supernatural beings, Cain Caradoc seeks to control the mysterious power emanating from Pennick Castle by aligning himself with its new lord, first by sacrificing a sick child, then by demanding all of Cosham's children to fuel his evil magic. In desperation, the villagers beg Once-Was-Willem for help; he recruits his friends to avert a massacre by Caradoc's trained soldiers. Carey's latest (after Infinity Gate, 2023) is a delightful read told from an unusual perspective that transforms a small village's struggles into an epic adventure.

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Starred review from February 15, 2025
Set in a fantasy version of early-12th-century England, this novel is an unholy and holy brew ofSeven Samurai, "The Monkey's Paw,"Frankenstein, and a reimagined Judeo-Christian cosmology. In the village of Cosham, farming couple Jon and Margaret Turling are consumed by grief for their 12-year-old son, Willem, who died of a fever. Desperate, they seek the help of a sorcerer, Cain Caradoc, who agrees to raise their son from the dead in exchange for a sliver of his soul. Unfortunately, Willem has been dead for a year, and what rises from the grave is not exactly pretty...and is not welcome in Cosham. The intelligent, uncannily strong, but malformed being with Willem's face and memories takes on the name Once-Was-Willem and begins a new life in the deep forest, making friends with the other strange creatures he encounters. Meanwhile, Cain Caradoc settles in the fortress of a local bandit lord, built atop an immense power source: the sleeping skeleton of Yaldabaoth the angel. Seeking to harness this vast power for himself and gain the immortality he's always dreamed of having, Caradoc prepares to make a significant sacrifice of children's souls, which he intends to glean from Cosham. The desperate villagers appeal to Once-Was-Willem and his new friends for aid, attempting (mostly without success) to swallow their fear and distrust of these monstrous beings--feelings which are mutual. Author Carey demonstrates again that he contains multitudes, jumping from subgenre to subgenre. Also as always, he uses a fantastical setting to consider societal and moral quandaries; in this instance, he explores complex issues of compassion and forgiveness in the wake of (literally) murderous prejudice and intolerance. Despite the story's high body count, its take on those issues is weirdly optimistic and heartwarming. A dark and hopeful fable with obvious contemporary resonance.

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