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.
Every new M. R. Carey book is cause for celebration, I think.
Over the years, he’s easily become one of my top five favorite authors. I believe this is the twelfth or thirteenth book of his I’ve read & I’ve loved them all.
And of course ONCE WAS WILLEM was no different. Well, it’s very different for an M. R. Carey book, which I think only adds to its specialness. The style this was written in was unlike any of his other books, and while it took some getting used to, it deeply enhances the vibe of the story. The book has its toes in several genres at once, but ultimately winds up being…medieval historical horror/fantasy? Maybe?
Set primarily in the village of Cosham, we meet our narrator as a twelve-year-old boy. Willem is the son of farmers Jon & Margaret Turling. Willem becomes ill & dies, and his parents are racked with grief & remorse. Shockingly, they turn to a sorcerer who is new to the village. Cain Caradoc strikes a bargain with the Turlings: for the price of one meager sliver of Willem’s soul, Caradoc will bring Willem back to life.
But what comes back is…not precisely Willem.
He’s changed. Huge. Misshapen. Strong. He has Willem’s face (kind of) and memories, but he is definitely not Willem. Taking the moniker Once-Was-Willem, he is forced to flee into the forest & survive on his own.
Only…he isn’t quite alone in those woods, as Once-Was-Willem forms some really strong friendships with some rather otherworldly type folks. And it’ll be up to Once-Was-Willem and his unusual found family to try and protect the very village that shunned them against a power-hungry sorcerer who has the worst possible intentions.
This one was WILD! It’s a relatively short book by Carey’s standards (just under 300 pages) but I made sure to pace myself & really try to take my time/savor this. And again, the writing style took a bit of getting used to, so I never found myself flying through this one.
There definitely seems to be more than a bit of a FRANKENSTEIN influence on display here, which I loved. Once-Was-Willem is quite melancholic as a character, and in the grip of some serious self-loathing. And while he does ultimately find people who aren’t immediately scared of him (like a pair of Viking shapeshifters!), he carries a sense of loneliness with him.
I listened to maybe a third of this one on audiobook & would highly recommend it. Joe Jameson has to be one of the best narrators in this business (I’ve listened to a few titles he’s narrated, mostly in Sebastien de Castell’s SPELLSLINGER series), and he gives a wonderful performance here!
This was such a delight. There’s just so much to love about ONCE WAS WILLEM! It’s really cleverly structured, the characters are incredible, the dialogue lively & funny at times. It also gets pretty gruesome as well, so fair warning. Also, it’s always so cool to see a true standalone fantasy these days!
I really think M. R. Carey is one of the best there is, and he’s certainly one of my personal favorites. I loved this just as much as many of his other great books!
Huge thanks to Orbit & Hachette Audio for sending this one my way!
Grimdark Dad 
ok….. you got me…… adding to TBR
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