"Once was Willem" by M. R. Carey

This was something between a medieval horror story and a fairy tale, with some found family and Seven Samurai thrown in for extra fun.

Set in the 11th Century, during a particularly lawless period of English history, the protagonist Willem was an ordinary village boy. When he dies, as happens so frequently among children in this period, his parents are overcome with grief and ask a sorcerer to resurrect him. The sorcerer Cain Cardaroc does so, in exchange for a piece of Willem’s soul. Unfortunately, as Willem has been dead for months at this point, what digs itself up out of the church graveyard isn’t what his parents had in mind. And while the newly-undead revenant remembers being Willem, he also knows, on some fundamental level, he isn’t Willem (hence the title, which is the name he adopts).

But the angry mob of villagers does their angry mob thing, and Once-was-Willem goes to live in the forest. There he finds and befriends other monsters and outcasts, and settles into a reasonably happy existence. We’re far from done with Cain Cardaroc though. He’s chasing immortality - the piece of Willem’s soul bought him some time - and not concerned about what price other people have to pay to get him there.

Emotionally, this book covered a lot of territory. Once-was-Willem’s found family in the forest was surprisingly warm. His resurrection, and many of the actions of Cain Cardaroc, are pretty solid body horror. And the story goes to some very unexpected places, both literally (not saying more because of spoilers) and metaphorically (I’m always a sucker for a Seven Samurai scenario).

This was also a strikingly visual novel. Something I’ve noticed with authors who cut their teeth in comics/graphic novels (M.R. Carey is also Mike Carey, for those who might not know that) is a weakness in that regard; it can feel like their book is missing something in not having visuals. Carey has never been particularly prone to that, but I wouldn’t say that the images his writing evokes are the strongest either. This, though, was absolutely fantastic in that regard.

I’ve been a Mike Carey fanboy for a long time, so I’m always happy to get my assumptions about him verified. Strongly recommended.