This book is unlike anything I’ve read before. Not only is the writing truly magnificent, the story is beautifully crafted. It felt like reading a tale within a tale — as though I was in Cosham myself, discovering the history of Willem in real time. The prose is beautiful, I was highlighting and bookmarking left and right. It was profound in a way that completely surpassed cliche and went straight to memorable. If you want a fable like tale, enchanting as it is twisted — I would highly recommend. Carey draws on folklore and religious myth to tell this story of morality, forgiveness and empathy whilst never forsaking its darkened themes and overall essence.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with an e-arc of this book. Never would I have thought I’d enjoy it as much as I did.

Set in a politically turbulent 12th century England, this is a weirdly endearing zombie folklore fantasy.

A young boy called Willem lives in the village of Cosham. When Willem succumbs to illness, his doting parents are filled with grief that shows no signs of easing. So when a sorcerer moves into the area, they take what little money they have to beg for their son to be returned to them. But it's a year since Willem passed, and the magic has to make do with what it finds. And so Once-Was-Willem is born - not the same physically or mentally as the boy who died - his parents and the rest of the village are repulsed by him and chase him away. This is not the end to the sorcerer's meddling; he sets himself up as the wizard for the new ruling lord, a bandit outlaw who murdered the local lord and his family, and becomes obsessed with a mysterious well of power below the keep. And if that means sacrificing local children, so be it.

Once-Was-Willem makes the most of his new life and soon finds friends in the woods: Norse shape-shifters, the spirit of a river, ghosts and witches, and together they create an odd little found-family.
When his old village begs for help, Once-Was-Willem and his friends come to their aid, albeit some of them grudgingly - because although the main villain might be the sorcerer, the villages of Cosham are another type of villain. They are superstitious, prejudiced and selfish - and they have been the cause of great pain and suffering to Willem and several of his supernatural friends.

Mixing English and Norse folklore with Christian mythology, plus zombies and other supernatural elements turns out to be a really entertaining blend. It does have horror elements, including quite a lot of body horror, but the tone of the story from Once-Was-Willem's perspective feels kinder. He makes the most of the new life he's been given, he makes friends and he does his best to protect innocents.

The main villain did feel a bit moustache-twirly for me and it was difficult to muster up a great deal of concern for the villagers (apart from the children). I'd have liked maybe less time with them and more fleshing out some of Willem's friends. But overall, this was an entertainingly weird, medieval zombie fantasy.

I'm not entirely sure anymore why this book caught my interest when I discovered it on Netgalley. I'm normally not much of a lover of medieval tales and currently I'm also not that in the mood for anything without romance. However, I'm pretty sure it must be the dark and macabre magic. And maybe also the tone of the blur. At least, I requested a digital review copy and Orbit granted my review. Last week it was time to start reading.

The issue with this book is me. I'm not the right reader for this book. The fact that, despite the fact that I'm not the right reader and knew I was not the right reader, I finished the book easily, is all the compliment this book needs. And the main reason I kept on reading, is that there was constantly something or someone new added. The book is one big adventure and whatever the adventure needs the adventure gets.

For me there was eventually not enough magic in this book. Yes, there is a dark sorcerer and he does all kinds of mean things to get more power, but it never really becomes sinister. I guess because things get solved, which might be a mild spoiler, before things really take a turn for the worst. I also think a lot of horrible acts lose some kind of meaning because the characters undergoing these horrible acts live on, in one way or another, sometimes close to their original form and sometimes not.

This book also has been written as a detailed report of what has happened and who has done what and why. The focus is less on the emotions and more on the action. That absolutely fits this kind of story, but as someone who prefers books where characters start to feel like friends, I missed the connection with all the characters a little. It never felt like they were more than characters in a story. However, like I said, all of this is a me-issue and not a book-issue. 

If you love adventure books with magic, a band of misfits and some dark and sinister events, this book might be totally your thing!

This was just my kind of book. Set in the 1100's and written in the same vein, I really enjoyed the narrative construction and style. The characters were really well drawn and felt authentic and I thought the pacing and plot were great. I loved the whimsical nature of the story and the way the magical elements were woven into the narrative was lots of fun. Overall, I thought this was an excellent and entertaining read throughout and I could read a whole series of books set in this time with these characters.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a book that I finished within the day and absolutely loved.
The first few chapters did take a bit to get through but as soon as we found out the story between once was willem, I was desperate to find out more.
This was such a unique take and the story telling was absolutely brilliant

Speculative fiction author MR Carey does not stay in one subgenre for long. Once Was Willem, a medieval fantasy comes hot off the heels of Carey’s multiverse-with-AIs (and sentient rabbits) Pandemonium duology, which itself follows the post-apocalyptic Book of Koli trilogy. And once again, Carey takes some familiar tropes and ideas and puts his own spin on them. And in doing so delivers yet another ‘monster as hero’ tale that we have been seeing more of lately in this genre (most recently Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill set in a similar period and Somone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell).
Once Was Willem starts much in the same way as those previous works of Carey mentioned above. It is a record of events written by the protagonist, which immediately takes some of the jeopardy out of his story. Even when he is in dire peril, who know that the protagonist will at least survive to write his own tale. That protagonist is a revenant or zombie. A boy called Willem who lives in a village in 12th century Britain, brought back to life a year after his death as part of a dark bargain made between his grieving parents and an evil wizard called Cain Carradoc. As a result of the passage of time, the protagonist, who calls himself Once Was Willem as he does not feel like he is Willem anymore, is more gelatinous mass with some form than young man and is driven out his village into the forest where he befriends other monsters.
The story itself is a classic good versus evil conflict. The evil wizard, who already used the souls of children to extend his own life, has found a massive power source but needs the lives of more children to help him tap it. He seeks those children from Willem’s village and the villagers swallow their fear and call on him for support. The story charts this conflict, with plenty of body horror, foreshadowing and dark magic along the way.
Carey draws on a number of fantasy and action traditions in telling his tale. Once Was Willem’s colleagues are a range of mythical beings from ghosts, to shape shifters to water sprites. But the narrative itself is almost classic Seven Samurai territory (the number seven seeming to carry some great weight) in which a group of villagers is supported by a group of outlaw fighters to defend their village. But this combination works.
Once Was Willem has a careful, story-filled set-up in which all of the characters are introduced and various aspects of the battle to come are foreshadowed. With this out of the way, Carey delivers a pacy, dark medieval fantasy novel with well developed stakes and plenty of heart.

I enjoyed Once Was Willem, but I did not love it the way I loved M.R. Carey's The Girl With All The Gifts. I am torn on whether this is a 3 star or a 4 star read. My actual score is 3.5 stars and unfortunately I cannot break my rule of rounding down. 3 stars feels like a disservice, but I simply didn't enjoy this as much as any of my recent 4 star reads. However I do believe for many fantasy lovers this will be 4 or 5 stars. Carey is incredibly talented, but some of the deliberate style choices he made for this novel kept me from fully immersing myself or kept me emotionally distanced from the characters I liked best among the cast.

For this review, I will be breaking down my thoughts into the following sections: the premise, the plot, the characters, the prose, and the promises.


The Premise
When a Medieval novel tells you it will be dealing with good and evil, of God and Hell, you get a very specific idea of what sort of book you're about to read. As per usual for M.R. Carey, your initial impression will be proven incorrect (though it can take a while to get there). Once Was Willem establishes setting and tone immediately -- this is a narrated account of the protagonist's life, or to be specific, his second life, as Willem died and Once-Was-Willem was raised from the dead in his place. Carey has given us zombies before (The Girl With All The Gifts), so I was intrigued to see what he would do with a single medieval zombie rather than a post-apocalyptic zombie plague. Due to the stylistic choice of this being Once-Was-Willem's memoir, hints are dropped about the major conflict and end of the novel immediately, basically that Once-Was-Willem will visit Hell, and will reveal to us readers of his memoir the truth of the universe, of human souls and what happens to us when we die. He hints ominously, "You will not thank me." The prologue sets the tone, not just of the narration and memoir-style, of the jumping back and forth between 'current' and 'future' events, but also in a very thick Ye Olde Medieval dialect for prose and dialogue alike. It is hard to follow and takes time to parse a true understanding.

So, pretty awesome premise. But also a bit of a warning given the prose stylistic choices. Overall I came out intrigued and eager to find out more, and hoped I would adjust to the medieval slang/dialect in time.


The Plot
I will not summarise or spoil the plot, but I enjoyed it a lot. I think the plot is the strongest aspect of this novel. A Medieval setting isn't anything new, so I won't cover setting as its own topic, but the systems of magic and supernatural power that Carey creates are unique takes on common tropes like werewolves, zombies, magicians, ghosts, angels, Hell, etc. The plot does take a while to get up and running, because there is some significant setup required for Willem's life (briefly), death and resurrection. His relationship to his village needs to be established, as do various aspects of the villain, in order to make the later events of the novel work. As with many traditional fantasy novels, the villain drives the plot far more than the protagonist, so his early sections were more interesting than Willem's / Once-Was Willem's. Once-Was Willem's chapters became more interesting once he started making friends with other 'monster' characters.

I won't say I had zero problems with the plot - as mentioned, it takes a long time to get up and running to the point where it feels like things are happening rather than 'setup' occurring for every single character. Carey/Once-Was-Willem even tries to lampshade this by ending a large number of chapters with a variation of "I promise this will be important later, just wait and trust me." And the lampshading sadly didn't work for me. I found it irritating, not to mention condescending to the reader. We're all aware that authors are only going to show us things that are causational, and become important later on. If you as author are aware that the pace feels slow, that is the problem you need to fix. Constantly bombarding us with promises that things improve later doesn't make it feel less slow - you're just making two problems instead of one.

There is also another aspect or two of the plot that fell down for me, but they cross over with the 'promises' of the novel and with character/s, so I will cover them there instead.

The later half of the novel is certainly more exciting and fast-paced than the first. It also has more of the characters grouped together rather than acting solo, which also helps it shine. Ultimately by the time I finished the last page, I was very satisfied with the plot and where things wound up. Plot on its own is definitely 4 stars.


The Characters
By late novel, it is made clear that there are seven 'main' (aka. monster) characters. There's not a single one of them that I dislike, though Anna and Bethali are my clear favourites. I believe I would love them all, if only they'd been given more time and development on the page.

In what I consider to be one of the worst character-plot decisions of the novel, we are given much more time and exploration of the Cosham villagers than we are of the actual 'main characters' (excluding Once-Was-Willem, Bethali who is kept separate from the group for the majority of the novel in the villain's chapters/area instead, and to a small degree Once-Was-Willem's first friends/recruits Kel and Anna). I would love to have seen some of the time for the petty, small-minded villagers instead given to Peter and Jill, or even further fleshing out Morjune, Kel and Anna.

The villagers are unfortunately very important to the plot, and to the eventual endgame goal of the main party. But it doesn't feel earned, as the villagers have spent the entire novel being terrible people. Anna calls them out for their crimes and their hypocrisy towards the end of the novel, but is immediately countered by Morjune, one of the village's actual victims for... honestly unknown reasons. The author even seems to realise there's no good justification here, so has Morjune state that death has made her calm and forgiving. And so this huge problem is never mentioned ever again, under that dubious 'logic'. I unfortunately had no emotional connection to the party's goal due to the majority of the novel having made me hate the villagers. There was a severe disconnect here between plot and characters, making their major goal make no sense for most of these characters to pursue. It would have made more sense for the 'monster seven' to have learned of the villain's end-goal and be stopping that, with saving the villagers simply a byproduct of their real aim.

The villain, Cain Caradoc, is excellent. He carries the first quarter-to-third of the novel, while the 'monsters' are still being introduced and finding their feet. Not much about his magic, or the source of it, is explained. But that works for this novel, making him something of a magical Terminator - he just keeps going, can do almost anything required of him, and while it's possible to temporarily thwart him he will be back very quickly with a new plan/power. He's ridiculously petty, but it makes sense for someone so old and so powerful to not put anyone else in his eyes, and to swat any 'bugs' that cause him minor annoyance. I enjoyed his scenes as he was always proactive and had very clear motivations and goals. A truly terrible person, but I never felt any dissonance between his personality, goals, and actions.

So characters are a mixed bunch. I love the monsters, we have a top-notch villain, but I could tell you more about most of the random villagers than I could about the supposed 'main characters' of the novel. And that feels like a problem to me.


The Prose
I think this is where the majority of problems arrive, for me. As I stated in premise, the entire novel is written in two off-putting styles: heavy slang/dialect, and memoir narration. Either of these would be a lot on its own, but combined is worse.

The Medieval dialect is incredibly dense, incredibly strange, and takes a lot of effort to parse. You're going to read words you've never heard before, or see words you know used in ways counter to normal use, or words that are homophones for words you actually do understand (eg. bare-sark for berserker). It takes time and effort to translate this into something familiar, and then to translate again from familiar words into understanding/a scene. I consider myself a fast reader and I'm no stranger to older prose (Tolkein, fantasy from the 70's-80's, classic literature, etc.), but this was slow reading for me. I understand the author's decision to go all-in on voice to help build the setting, and I can tell there was a lot of effort and skill put into creating it, but this isn't a choice I enjoyed.

Memoir narration is a popular choice for epic fantasy (see The Name Of The Wind) but it's hit-and-miss for me. There are benefits, such as being able to drop hints of things to come and whet the readers' interest (eg. Once-Was-Willem is literally visiting hell later in the book). There are things that can go either way, like addressing the reader directly - sometimes it works, sometimes it would be better off removed (eg. all the promises that if we keep reading, things will pick up and becoming exciting/important). And some things are just always--for me--a negative, such as the heavy reliance on 'telling' in a very obvious manner. Now, every novel will have a mix of telling and showing. But the telling is usually hidden as much as possible. In a memoir, the telling becomes obvious, and due to the entire novel being a (re)telling, there is usually a lot more of it than a non-memoir novel uses. Once Was Willem unfortunately has far too much telling, and often in places where it detracts from the actual content/action of the pages. For example, the first battle scene to occur in the novel is all told, like a boring list of actions. We are told one side does X action, the other side does Y. One side is [adjective], the other side feels [emotion]. There is no immediacy, no subtext, and no emotion evoked. We are told exactly how everyone feels, what everyone does, and feel nothing ourselves. It's more a history lesson than something the reader experiences for themselves.

Memoir narration also leads itself to info-dumping, which did not help with emotionally connecting to characters as I didn't get to experience or witness their personalities and choices for myself. It also mean that I knew far more about side-characters that appeared early (and received lots of info-dumping) than I did about main characters who appeared later (and didn't get as much info-dumping due to the action having picked up).

Overall, the prose falls flat for me. Despite seeing and appreciating the skill involved in creating such a complex Medieval dialect, I did not think it paid off the effort required to read it. And the memoir narration hit too many pitfalls and not enough of the potential benefits of the style to work for me. Combined, they made reading a slog and detracted from things I enjoyed, like the plot.


The Promises
The premise and prologue set up several early promises, through explicit text and through tone and subtext. Most promises are handled well throughout the novel, though twists mean several get fulfilled in ways you didn't expect - but as long as a promise is fulfilled, that's generally enough to keep a reader satisfied. Sometimes, though, if the promise is about tone, a twist will not work because it breaks the promise. One of the earliest promises in the novel is that Once-Was-Willem will visit Hell (after his rebirth, not during his original death), he will learnt he secrets of what happens to souls when they die, and that we will not like it. There is a clear ominous subtext to this promise. That ominous subtext continues throughout the novel: Jill has seen Hell and lives in eternal torment as a result, unless someone looks into her Hell-seeing red eye; for as long as they meet her eye, she is free from the torment. Unfortunately, looking into her eye will also send the person to Hell, so she is never torment-free for long, and has a hard time finding any relief since people will do anything to avoid meeting her gaze.

So, Hell. Super ominous, very painful, lots of torment. And Once-Was-Willem will be going there sometime in the novel. Likely against his will, because who would sign up for eternal torment. And it will be an important, impactful location after so much build-up. That's the promise.

The reality: <spoilers available in the linked Goodreads review, under a spoiler cut> Every promise about Hell and learning the truth of the universe was broken. And that makes me mad, because it might not be the most important promise the novel makes, but it was one of the first. The prologue, and the book's back blurb, all feature this promise. And the 'twist' breaks the promise. Carey got me excited for Hell and then made it mean nothing.


Overall
Overall, this is a good book. Better than good, even, above-average for fantasy novels. And yet, it kept me too distanced to be able to call it great and move it up to 4 stars. It's close, I waffled. If Goodreads had a 10-star rating, this would be a 7. But it's not an 8/10 (4/5) for me. I can understand why it is for plenty of other people. Ultimately, I think personal enjoyment will come down to each individual's ability to adapt to the chosen prose style or not, and whether the emotional distance it forces between reader and action/characters is something they care about or not.

Would I read a sequel? Yes, I would, though I would hope for more focus and development for the 'monster seven', rather than new NPCs.


RATING: 3.5 stars, rounding down as always -- Talented, unique take on Medieval monsters & religion, with creative prose choices that will make or break a reader's immersion & personal enjoyment.

Epic, fun, dark, captivating, in short - yet another home run by Carey. Will be editing this once I put together my official review, but overall this is one I will be recommending to all fans of dark, witchy vibes and epic tales. Lovable characters, great pacing, and just a very satisfying tale.

This is a dark fantasy fairytale-esque tale, set in medieval England. We follow Willem Turling who passes away as a child and is reincarnated by an evil magician at the wishes of his parents. What he comes back as is very different in appearance and to some extent personality, and he is not readily welcomed
What follows is the tale of our various characters as they grapple with overcoming obstacles, fighting evil, and finding acceptance. I enjoyed the themes in the book, even though they are not subtle, and it was brought to a satisfying conclusion as far as I was concerned.

This was my first M.R. Carey book and yeah, it won't be my last. <I>Once was Willem</i> took its time to really capture my heart because I had to get used to the writing style and structuring, but once I found my footing, I was locked in.
This is a medieval fantasy told from the perspective of Once Was Willem - who was once a little boy whose parents couldn't accept his death and went to a mysterious sorcerer to bring him back to life. Which he did, for the mere cost of a little snippet of Willem's soul and definitely not in the way his parents wanted their boy to be back. Willem became Once was Willem, a new creature made of all of the boy's body parts not quite in the right places. A medieval zombie if you will, and one with extraordinary new abilities.
Shunned by his parents and the entire village, Willem grows up with other weird creatures in the forest surrounding it, and I loved them all. They were such unique characters and while Carey doesn't delve too deep into most of them they really made me feel for each and every one of them. It's just really good character writing. We also get to see what that mysterious sorcerer is up to, and I really liked him a lot as the major antagonist. He was scary and clever and I love that in a villain.
The story and lore draws from medieval history, Christian and Norse mythology, Old English folk tales and horror themes. The mix is exciting and highly enjoyable. There are some amazing action sequences during the last about 25% of the book. The pacing on a whole is, admittedly, on the slower side, but I never felt like it dragged.
Great characters, intriguing lore, an interesting (and in many parts unique) story - easy 4 stars for me.

I wasn't 100% clear on what to expect from this book going in, but I was pleasantly surprised! The characters ended up being really loveable. It was quite a slow start to the plot, introducing Willem and setting up the storyline but without much action. Once we got into the last 50% of the book though it picked up the pace and I was hooked. The ending was satisfying and I really enjoyed the last half. I'm just still a bit confused as to where the book ended up compared to where it started...totally unexpected! 4 start because of the very slow start but I would definitely recommend this book.

Up on Goodreads now, live on the blog on 26 February:

I’ve read and loved many of M.R. Carey’s books so I was fully prepared to love Once Was Willem as well. Alas, I did not. I liked it but I didn’t love it. I’m not sure what happened. Maybe medieval fiction and I just don’t get along all that well.

Willem is an ordinary boy, living in a medieval village. Long story short: he dies, his parents are devastated, and a while later, they ask a sorcerer to bring Willem back. Which he does. However, this creature that is brought back from the dead bears only a vague resemblance to Willem, his body too far gone to be put back properly, and the villagers have their pitchforks at the ready to run this monster out of town.

Poor creature that once was Willem, I really felt for him. Much like Frankenstein’s monster, he didn’t ask to be brought to life. He finds his feet, though, out in the woods, and a few good friends. He lives a peaceful life, until the villagers realise that their resident sorcerer is a truly evil one and Once-Was-Willem might be their only chance of survival.

Once Was Willem is a dark medieval fairytale, that, much like Carey’s other work, invites its readers to open both their minds and their hearts. The word-building is great, the characters well-rounded. The tone is rather formal, the blurb gives you an idea of what to expect. It’s perfect for this type of story, but still, I suspect it might be what kept me from truly loving it.

A fantasy inspired by folklore and mythology set in medieval times, an evil sorcerer who makes your skin crawl and the most endearing not-monster. If you’re tickled at all, do give Once Was Willem a try!

Once Was Willem is out in digital formats, audio and hardcover on 4 March, with the paperback to follow in September.

Massive thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey is a medieval fantasy tale set in the 12th century England. I found this story to be quite immersive and the dark fairy tale atmosphere was well represented. This story is a first-person narration and it was a bit tricky to get into it. The characters however are well developed and the story as several elements of English folklore and norse mythology which was a nice touch for me. I found the villain Cain to be such a devilish wizard and so well crafted.

Throughout the story we go into the complex creation of monsters and the transformative power of magic. The horror elements of the book were pretty dark but i felt like it turn out to be a dark fantasy book instead of a horror book which i really appreciated. While it's a standalone and a shorter book (340 pages) it has a lot of action and it's a fast paced book with only a few dull moments.

My main trouble with this book was the fact it was narrated in first person. This was still a nice dark fantasy book with a interesting story, excellent writing and a great pace. I would recommend it to those who enjoy a dark book told by the first person.

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the eArc.

Once upon a time there was a book that told of sorcerers, nightmares and monsters: the latter were the heroes.

This book is narrated as if it were an epic story of knights, sorcerers and magic: it is the narrator himself
Willem, in the first person, and the tone and style of the novel follows accordingly, really seeming like a fairy tale told by a minstrel in a ramshackle tavern rather than a real novel, with heroes, villains and unlikely solutions which mean that the group of characters, introduced almost randomly at the beginning of the book, with small anecdotes or allusions, find themselves united and cohesive at the end trying to defeat a common enemy; the book is not very long but there are no dead moments and it always remains interesting as it unfolds; it is certainly a particular read that may not be appreciated by everyone, very "traditionalist" in approach, almost more an exercise in style that the author wanted to complete. I really appreciated it but I see it as quite a "niche" read.

Well, this was a bit of a romp, with beasts, monsters, magic and a village damned by its poor choices. You can understand why they make the decisions they do, and a lot has to do with superstitions. Who wouldn’t want to see their only son resurrected? But after a year you can’t expect him to come back as he was. Great villains, shapeshifting resurrected heroes, and a real fight for good and evil. All set in the year 1152 in the village of Cosham. Who needs Game of Thrones? This was excellent!

Once Was Willem is a medieval horror/fantasy tale set in 12th-century England. It follows a diverse cast of characters who unite to confront an evil sorcerer threatening their village. Carey weaves elements of English folklore, Christian myth, and Norse mythology to create an imaginative narrative, populated by a wild array of characters. Among them, the devilish wizard Cain Caradoc who stands out as a compelling villain.

While many characters are well-developed, the story’s first-person narration may not resonate with everyone. A great deal hinges on whether you connect with the narrator’s voice (Once Was-Willem), and for me, that connection was lacking. Unfortunately, this made it difficult to fully engage with several characters or feel invested in their struggles.

However, Carey’s writing is engaging, drawing you in with its intricate and immersive style. He weaves a narrative reminiscent of a dark fairy tale, blending prose with elements of mystery and folklore. The story delves deeply into complex and thought-provoking themes, including the creation of monsters—both literal and metaphorical—and the transformative power of magic. Through its exploration of folklore, the narrative breathes life into timeless myths while grounding them in a tale of redemption and renewal. Additionally, the story tackles issues of division and intolerance, shedding light on the barriers that separate individuals and communities, while offering an exploration of acceptance and understanding. Carey skilfully intertwines these themes to craft a rich, multifaceted tale that lingers in the mind long after the final page.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit books for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review

Once was Willem is my first time reading a novel by MR Carey and it won't be the last! This was an epic tale of revenge and greed and I loved every page. Now I have to go and immediately buy the authors back catalogue. 4 stars

Once Was Willem is a standalone dark fantasy/horror set in the medieval English village of Cosham. Once-was-Willem was a dead peasant child brought back to life a changed monster through an ill-advised bargain. Rejected by his parents and the villagers, he flees into the surrounding wilderness. But when an evil comes for the other children of Cosham, it is up to Once-was-Willem and a ragtag team of rejected monsters to pick up the fight.

I thought this book was absolutely fantastic. Even though I personally do not like horror, I did not find this all that horrific so that was a huge plus for me. There were certainly horror elements and pretty dark events, but this book felt really wholesome (in as much as it could be) and uplifting somehow. There’s a ton of bloody action, body horror, and sadness without weighing down the ultimately hopeful ton of the story.

Narrated to us in first person by Once-was-Willem, the writing style told in his voice felt very true to the setting and added to its character and charm. Honestly, I was immediately won over from the first chapter. Once-was-Willem recalls the events of his monstrous second life and life in Cosham prior to all that. Between bouts of terribleness, he was just so lovable and charming, leading an honorable life that yearns for tolerance if not acceptance. And in his fight for the innocent, he gathers a few fellow monsters and makes a found family of his own.

Once Was Willem is an excellent dark fantasy standalone that tells a horror story with uplifting charm.

*Thank you Little Brown Book Group UK for the eARC via NetGalley

'Once was Willem' is an interesting and curious novel. Or at least it is to me. I am more used to stories who focuses a lot on one character's adventure, sometimes with multiple sotryline or plotline, but all converging around one character (the main character). Here, I have a different impression. While Once-was-Willem (the narrator) is definitely an important piece of the narrative, I would say Caradoc is more at the epicenter of it, bringing various other personnage together. We learn about different lives and events, slowly building to a alliance of forces against Caradoc.

It might have been something I wouldn't enjoy normally, but the book found me at the right moment. Especially since the medieval aspect of the story was well present, even in the narration, a fact I greatly appreciated. Once-was-Willem is the narrator, telling us the story in first person, which is something I tend to struggle with, but worked quite well here, even if I sometimes wondered how our narrator knew about the events he narrated.

I found the story rather slow going, not for a lack of actions, but because it wanders in different places and lives, creating something like a shattered effect, then building the story together. It's easy to see where it is going, but in an knowingly done way. Interesting. The various elements of christian and norse mythology as well as english folkore were the most delightful for me, adding a layer of magic and otherwordliness I crave for in fiction.

I can't say I was super invested in any charaters, because the narration has something of a distance (a tale told later, dimming the strength of the tension at times, while still keeping a good level of it throughout the story). It didn't hinder my enjoyment though, and despite the medieval-ish style of writing, it was an easy and quick read, with satisfying level of horror.

Overall, a great read, curious in some aspect but defintely working for what it is aiming to tell !

Once Was Willem 😢 I just wanted to protect him! This wasn’t what I was expecting at all in the sense that it was a bit more whimsical than I was picturing, but I really enjoyed it! The cast of characters were so likeable and I quite enjoyed that the bad guy was just bad - non of this morally grey stuff here. I would definitely read a sequel if one ever happened.