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MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.5/5
Format: Kindle Whispersync
BOOK DESCRIPTION
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.
MY REVIEW
After reading and loving The Ramparts, I knew I wanted to read more Carey in the future, and Once Was Willem was just as fascinating in a completely different way. What sticks out the most is that Carey has fantastic prose that’s easy to read that shows sophistication when needed. It blends perfectly with the medieval setting helping to immerse the reader into his world. One thing I’m thankful for is Carey not falling into the “character who’s vocabulary feels out of place” issue. He navigated this well by making sure his characters feel as real as his world can be possible.
Once Was Willem is like a twisted reimagining of Frankenstein where magic rather than science brings the monster to life, while delivering a message that the monsters are not the true monsters. This story unfolds in a medieval English setting and weaves in other historical elements such as a Merlin like figure from the King Arthur legends while mixing in its own cast of outcast characters from other folklore tales. The twist on the story strays from the typical formulaic feel and leans into something much darker and more magical instead.
The characters in this story form a found family-esk group of outcasts and supernatural beings who come together in surprising ways. Willem stands at the center of this rag-tag group as a Frankenstein-like monster as a lonely tragic figure who is a big softy and easy to love. He’s joined by some unique characters from folklore to help him save the village children from the evil sorcerer who feels like a twisted amalgamation of Dr. Frankenstein and Merlin. Carey did an incredible job of making me root and feel for Willem.
“We’re ever changing, those of us who are alive-whether for the first or the second time. But it does not follow that we’re getting wiser or stronger.”
I love Joe Jameson as a narrator because he’s phenomenal at what he does, he’s the type that gets into the story, you feel each characters emotion, you feel intensity or lack of in each scene. However, when you are the voice of every single de Castell story, there is a price to pay with this style of narration, and it’s not one I realized until hearing a different narrator who does this voicing a different series, and that’s the fact that I kept getting lost in the fact that this wasn’t a de Castell novel. I’m not knocking him or the novel at all because both were great, but it was hard to separate this from Greatcoats and Malevolent Seven at times.
Overall, this story by Mr. Carey is a dark and compelling tale that readers who enjoy thoughtful twists on classic tales and memorable found family dynamics. If you enjoy medieval, horror-like dark fairy-tale fantasy where monsters are the heroes, or just a fan of Carey, Once Was Willem is well worth your time.
Wolfmantula.com 