Once Was Willem

De: M. R. Carey

Narrado por: Joe Jameson

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.

©2025 M. R. Carey (P)2025 Orbit

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Carey crafts an empathetic portrait of a medieval monster as a young man in this revelatory dark fantasy... 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." —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“In Once Was Willem, M. R. Carey’s gorgeous prose weaves a fable full of dread and wonder, a deeply intelligent and emotionally gripping story boasting one of the nastiest sorcerers you’ll ever meet, and a narrator as inwardly gentle as he is outwardly monstrous. A masterpiece of medieval dark fiction. I love this book. Highest recommendation.” —Christopher Buehlman, author of The Blacktongue Thief

Outstanding story and performance!

Loved it all! Highly recommend this story, you won’t be disappointed. Looking forward to the sequel!

Great read

I never checked what this was about before starting it. What a fun read. Just as good as The girl with all the gifts!

A stunning surprise!

This showed up on my list - one of my favorite authors, an unusual story, and my son shares the name of the title character. Well, just Willem. I found the narration brilliant, the story unexpected, and the characters well developed. Absolutely a well written book performed/read well. Thank you Mr’s Carey and Jameson.

The story. The writing and the narration. Created a dream that I will likely dream again.

I loved the narration. I love the character characters. The story was old and beautiful.

So good!!!

This is a superb book, full of heart and action and epic doings. Carey is a wonderful wordsmith.

great story

I loved the story; but the voices were a little weird especially the sorcerer. great storyline

Dark, Magical, and Full of Heart

Carey is at his best with this book! He's always been amazing at creative, dark, and simultaneously human stories (dont miss Girl with All the Gifts, Boy on the Bridge, and The Rampart Trilogy) but he's never gone this hard with the fantastical. I was dubious at first but this kept me glued to the very end. Love love love!

Once Was Willem

I didn't expect to like this, but I ended up really enjoying it. I will listen to it again someday. Another great book from M.R. Carey. Recommended.

Gripping!

Outstanding narration! Brilliant world-building. I'll be looking for more from this writer and this narrator.

3.5 Stars

Really good. This is a real view, not the generic "everybody checks 5 Stars even if they didn't like it". That being said, it was really good but not excellent. The characters were well fleshed out. I enjoyed the lore. The bad guy was a little underwhelming, but I guess every story can't have a "worldwide" threat.