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Once Was Willem

by M. R. Carey

A medieval fable of death, magic, and a village in peril

Critically Recognized
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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    “A wild fever dream - monstrous and beautiful” — Seanan McGuire

    Attributed praise describes the book as a wild fever dream, both monstrous and beautiful.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A medieval fable of death, magic, and a village in peril

Set in a kingdom newly calling itself England, the novel presents the account of Willem, who says he rose from the dead to confront a great evil threatening the village of Cosham. His story ranges across monsters, magic, violence, and the crimes of desperate men, while pointing toward secrets beneath the world and forces above it. The frame of a teller promising revelations about life, death, and the soul gives this dark fantasy an explicitly folkloric and spiritual dimension. Its scope moves from one village’s danger to questions of human origins and what may await beyond death.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in medieval dark fantasy and folklore-inspired settings.
  • Readers who enjoy fantasy involving monsters, magic, and supernatural questions about death and the soul.
  • Readers seeking a story framed as a character’s account of confronting danger in a village.

Themes

Resurrection and mortalityFolklore and magicGood and evilThe soul and human origins

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

From the international bestselling author of The Girl with All the Gifts comes a wildly original and enthrallingly dark medieval fantasy unlike anything you've read before - a fable of twisted folklore, macabre magic, and the strangest of found families.

"A masterpiece of medieval dark fiction." - Christopher Buehlman, author of Between Two Fires

"A wild fever dream - monstrous and beautiful." - Seanan McGuire, author of Every Heart a Doorway


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.


"It's been a long time since a book has reached out and just entirely enveloped me in its world the way Once Was Willem did. Astounding, and I loved every moment of it." - RJ Barker, author of The Bone Ships
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Customer reviews

M
AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
AlbakiReads
Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

O
AlbakiReads
Olivia

Smooth.