Once Was Willem

Told through a distinctive narrative voice, sci-fi author’s Carey’s (Echo of Worlds) newest novel is a dark medieval fantasy about a curse that befalls the English village of Cosham in 1152. The tale begins when brigands emerge from the forests of Chase to clash with Baron Robert Carne and seize Pennick Castle. Caught between the bandits and the baron, the peasants bring misfortune upon themselves with a single act of betrayal. Among the afflicted is young Willem Turling, a farmer’s son who falls gravely ill and dies. In an act of desperation, his parents turn to a shady sorcerer to revive him, but what emerges from the grave is not the person Willem once was. Enchanting and horrifying in equal measure, Carey’s historical fantasy unfolds into a moving epic in which monsters become heroes when faced with a truly vile villain. Carey skillfully captures the essence of the medieval era, where peasants toil in the shadow of crumbling castles, survival trumps chivalry, and magic, though the devil’s work, is highly coveted.