Book Review: The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey
Title: The Boy on the Bridge
Author: M.R. Carey
Release date: May 2, 2017
Way back when, almost a decade ago, in 2014, M.R. Carey released the phenomenal ‘The Girl With All the Gifts.’ Not long after it came out, I snagged a hardcover and devoured it from front to back, loving his take on the Zombie trope. This was also around the time zombie’s had risen to storm the lands and take over everything once again. The Walking Dead was in control of what people watched, with tens of millions tuning in each week. Zombies were everywhere and after reading this book and a few of The Walking Dead novels, I slowly began to tune out the zombie ‘fad.’ I just had enough. The Walking Dead was the same every week and because it was on AMC, it felt like a Lite production. Not as dirty or gross as the real world would be. No swearing. No excessive violence. Just tame.
When this novel, the ‘sequel’ to ‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ came out in 2017, I paid it no mind. A few years back, I snagged it on a Kindle deal, thinking maybe one day I’d get to it, if the day came where I felt like dipping my toes back into a subgenre of horror that I’ve struggled to find engagement in over the last few years.
But, and I have no clue why, recently, this novel as been pulling at me. Maybe it’s seeing it slowly make its way up my TBR list. Maybe it’s been seeing more people posting about it recently on Bookstagram and Booktok. Or maybe my brain is subconsciously saying, ‘Hey, big fella, why not rediscover the joy zombie fiction brought you for all those years?’
No matter the reason, I dove in and returning to a world that I’ve not been in for many years felt not only refreshing, but a bit like a homecoming.
What I liked: A decade after the previous events, a small group of scientists and soldiers have been tasked with heading out of the safety of the city of Beacon in an armoured vehicle, searching for a potential cure of the zombie virus or any significant changes in the world.
Not long after we get a brief intro to those onboard, we soon learn that Dr. Samrina Khan (Rina) is pregnant and will most likely have to give birth in the vehicle named Rosie. She has an unlikely friendship with Stephen Greaves, a teenager with high functioning autism, whom the douchebag crew of soldiers have labelled ‘The Robot.’
As the story moves along, we get political upheaval, the discovery of a possibly second generation of ‘hungries’ as the zombies are called and all the while we follow along as Rina’s belly grows and her anxiety increases.
The tension ramps up when someone is bitten, but Greaves devises a way to subdue the infection, to which the question is raised – the moral and ethical debate over the ages – is it better to wipe out an entire species in the hopes of saving the human race.
It was kind of odd to read this one post ‘Covid,’ in the sense that this felt similar to those who were anti-vax were focused solely on doing what was best for themselves versus the larger population of people.
The ending was fantastic, a great blast of carnage and action, which led to a somber and melancholic send off of a few characters.
I will say, the epilogue was glorious and a closure fitting really well with the two book story arc that Carey had created.
What I didn’t like: While I knew there was a reason for the way Stephen was treated, it still didn’t make for an enjoyable feeling. I wished Carey would’ve had a few of the scientists stick up for him more often, considering that they’d understand the autistic aspects and would have the means to tell the soldiers to stuff it.
As well, I still felt detached from the parts where suspense was supposed to happen because of my struggle with zombie stuff. This was a great take on them and changed things up, but it took me a bit to feel ‘worried’ at any moment.
Why you should buy this: If you loved ‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ but haven’t read this one, definitely get on it. The world Carey’s created is wonderful and the quest for humankind survival invigorating. If you’re looking for a 1-2 punch of zombie books, these two work so well together and really carry the emotions of ‘how do we go on from here’ throughout both stories.
Really well done.
5/5
