Standalone novels do not get their fair share of time in the sun, and dark fantasy standalones by their implied darkness, which is less so. But every so often, a fantastic Dark Fantasy standalone emerges that forces us to stand up and take note, through the sheer weight of its unique flair and compelling voice. To pack so much punch in a small package requires more skill than writing that mega-magnum-opus epic fantasy.
This is all to say that you should all go pick up Once Was Willem by M. R. Carey.
Carey is more known for his colossal contributions in the comic book space, writing large quantities of work toward famous Marvel and DC runs, as well as writing for Lucifer and Sandman which reached critical acclaim. In the full-length novel space, his work is just as prolific, with The Girl With All The Gifts series putting him in many fantasy and horror readers’ radars. My first foray into Carey’s work was reviewing his multiverse adventure sci-fi Pandominion duology, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
When he announced a dark fantasy-horror standalone set in 11th-century England, the history buff, the dark fantasy fanatic, and the horror creep in me simultaneously took notice.
Once Was Willem has flavors drawn from various of the aforementioned genres. It has the dark, gritty, and violent influence from Dark Fantasy, with some leanings into GrimDark territory. Additionally, there is plenty of visceral terror pleasing the ardent fantasy-horror fans. It also alludes to real-world historic events in 11th-century England, grounding the tale in a near-historical fantasy setting. In particular, Carey uses his prose style, choice of vocabulary, and magical turn-of-phrase to drive home the medieval setting, eschewing all kinds of modern prose styling that mire so many authors who attempt to craft similar stories. His writing style, gives Once Was Willem a feeling of dark folklore
Once Was Willem reads like a grim fairytale.
At the crux of it, Once Was Willem is a straightforward tale of good ol’ Christian good against evil, of megalomaniacal wizards attempting to harness greater power for world domination, paved with the blood of the innocent. When a humble family loses their only son, they approach the wizard, Cain Caradoc, willing to pay any price to bring their beloved son back. In classic fairytale fashion, they sign a “deal with the devil”, bringing them nothing but misery, when the son, the titular Willem now resurrected, not as the boy that died, but as a grotesque undead revenant. Immediately cast aside by his parents and townsfolk, the newly awakened, now christened Once-Was-Willem, searches for identity and purpose in a bleak and unforgiving world.
Cain Caradoc, the evil wizard, goes to great and terrible lengths to harness a powerful being, willing to sacrifice the common townsfolk and anyone else who stands in his way to reach his goal. It is up to the revenant Once-Was-Willem to stand against this evil. In this quest, Willem allies himself and subsequently finds family in a diverse set of creatures, from were-bears, shapeshifters, and other otherworldly “hell”ish beings. To give away anything more detailed would severely steal from the joy of discovery while reading this great standalone.
Once Was Willem is crafted as a set of short fairy-tale stories that pull together, driving the central plot forward. It is heavy commentary on deeply Christian morals prevalent in rural England at the time, with all the latent bigotry and prevalent prejudice. To take a page out of the GrimDark codex, Carey does not hesitate to showcase the classic trope of “Man is Wolf to Man”, even in the face of overwhelming horror. How easy it is for god-fearing, simple folk to turn on each other – that we are our own greatest enemy.
However, where Carey excels, and what makes Once Was Willem a true gem in the genre, is how he expertly weaves in moments of kindness, of hope, of friendship, community, and light, even in the darkest moments of the tale. It is the stark contrast of unyielding hope and unbending heroism, coming from an undead zombie revenant like Once-Was-Willem that truly shines light on what it truly means to be human. Along with Christopher Buehlman’s Between Two Fires, Once Was Willem has quickly jumped to the head of the line in the list of amazing dark fantasy/horror standalones. There are several parallels in theme, tone, and setting between these two novels, with the major difference being that Between Two Fires is punishingly dark, whereas Once Was Willem allows some light in, lending the fairytale, folklore aspect.
While I usually scoff at the classic “Good vs. Evil” simplicity, intriguing characters, an authentic story full of horror and heart, with a rock-solid core thesis, Carey makes Once Was Willem an immensely satisfying journey, even for a jaded, grimdark veteran like me. A near-perfect mix of Dark Fantasy, Horror, with shades of GrimDark, all told in a historically authentic style, Once Was Willem is the closest we will get to The Brothers Grimm level of dark folklore/fairytale storytelling in our modern era.
