The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey

Posted on by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

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BoyOnBridgeTitle: The Boy on the Bridge
Series: The Hungry Plague #2
Stand-alone: Yes
Author(s): M.R. Carey
Publisher: Orbit
Format: Hardcover
Original Release Date: May 2nd 2017
Pages: 392
Genre(s): Horror, Science Fiction
ISBN13: 9780316300339

Previously in The Hungry Plague series:

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (Book vs. Movie)

“Things don’t end, after all. They only change, and you keep changing with them.”

— M.R. Carey, The Boy on the Bridge

Although the pacing is a bit rocky at first, The Boy on the Bridge heightens your senses and delivers a conflict-ridden, exhilarating to the core, stunning and complex story filled with characters to love and hate.

Author of The Girl with All the Gifts and Fellside, M.R. Carey also writes under the name of Mike Carey and is known for Lucifer, Neverwhere (graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel) and The Unwritten. He now returns to write the second novel set in the same universe as his critically-acclaimed and now a Hollywood movie, The Girl with All the Gifts. Although it is my first experience of his writing style and his books, The Boy on the Bridge turned out to be an excellent and thrilling adventure filled with complex characters and staggering twists and turns.

One of the most crucial and important part of this story lies in its crew. A mix of scientists and soldiers, for a grand total of 12 individuals, this team of expendable characters are tossed into the wilderness to retrieve samplings left around by a team that is no more. In hopes of figuring out an antidote, or at least an inhibitor to the cordyceps virus, the characters drudge through territories filled with hungries and find themselves on a misadventure that puts their lives on the line.

Image result for zombie scientist team gif

Led by Dr. Alan Fournier (for the scientists) and Colonel Isaac Carlisle (for the militia), M.R. Carey does a fantastic job at creating unique dynamics between all his characters. With the aid of a third-person omnicent narrator, readers are offered with a sufficient and exhaustive look at the thoughts, and especially the motives, of all the characters. It’s the tension and the support between each of them that drives this story forward and aids in delivering a devastating ending.

One of the key players is 15 year old boy, Stephen Greaves, in which Samrina Khan believes in. This character is portrayed as an autistic child with traits that highlight his close-to-genius intellect. It’s how he sees the hungries as more than science experiments that puts him in a unique position to potentially find out what exactly they need to create a cure or a short-term remedy. To top things off, Samrina Khan’s condition as a pregnant woman, but also the epidemiologist of the team, further creates some interesting interactions and offers us with a determined and delightful character to root for.

There’s no lying here that the underlying motives of each character and how they drive each other or themselves into doing unpredictable things is where most of the fun lies in. The mere structure of the team also offers readers some fascinating catalysts to the story. From a desire to please supervisors to a desire to save the world, M.R. Carey delivers it all in a tantalizing fashion.

Image result for save the world gif

There’s nothing like a story about a team of expendables looking to find the ultimate cure to the world’s biggest problem to suck you right in and keep you hooked till the last page. While it did take a little bit of time for the story to find a proper rhythm, the development was still rigorous and well-executed. Setting up the landscape and developing all these characters couldn’t have been done in a shorter time. That’s for sure.

The Boy on the Bridge is far from being my last encounter with the author’s writing. This story has simply reminded me that I need to hurry up and check out The Girl With All the Gifts and Fellside already. It has also set the bar high for any story that deals with zombies and a post-apocalyptic era. Authors who are to venture in these fields better be ready for the challenge because M.R. Carey knows his shit.

You can order your copy now!
Amazon (USA)
Amazon (Canada)
Chapters Indigo
Book Depository

THANK YOU TO HACHETTE BOOK GROUP CANADA FOR SENDING ME A COPY FOR REVIEW!

MY OVERALL RATING: ★★★★☆

Till next time,

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Published by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Reader. Reviewer. Researcher. Criminology Ph.D. Candidate. Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Want to know more? Connect with him!

40 thoughts on “The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey”

    1. Oh man, I can only imagine how great it was! I really should put it higher up in my priorities now. M.R. Carey really knows his zombies! And humans! 😀 Hope you do enjoy this one, Kim. The withdrawal after completing it will however… probably… be very torture-tastic! Thank you so much! 🙂

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  2. I also loved The Girl With All the Gifts, but I’m not sure I could go another round with those Hungries. And yes, after that, any lesser zombies just really don’t cut it.

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    1. Hahah! Sounds like they’ve been up to no good in The Girl With All the Gifts! 😛 I really should try it now. And yep. I honestly can’t see how we could top this post-apocalyptic zombies universe. Really well done!

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  3. Pingback: The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey — Bookidote | Book Reviews | Fantasy Sources: Art, Gifts, Ideas, Article Resources, News

  4. Wow this does sound pretty thrilling, even if the pacing was a little off. I’ve been meaning to check out Girl With All the Gifts too- so this really intrigues me. You’ve made me really excited to check this author out!! Awesome review!!

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    1. I was going to start with The Girl With All the Gifts first, but then Trang passed me this one to read first hahah It’s a good thing that it can be read as a stand-alone without any problem! Hope your experience with M.R. Carey’s books will turn out be fantastic! Thank you!! 😀

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  5. I haven’t read The Girl with All the Gifts, but I saw the trailer for the film and it made me want to read the book (it’s on my to-read list, the only issue is finding the time to pick it up which seems to be the issue I have with all the books on my to-read list). I had no idea it was part of the series, for some reason I thought it was a standalone, but I am so glad to see you enjoyed this book Lashaan. I take it from your review the fact that you hadn’t picked up The Girl with All the Gifts didn’t mean you had trouble understand or being hooked by this one?
    Great review as well. 😀

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    1. Yep.. I know all about that too. I also tell myself that I can wait a little longer for a certain title because of how my time is already packed with a bunch of books and because the price for it is surely to drop at some point… But then I also end up forgetting about them and not having them on my priority. To some extent.. it is a good thing.. since we can then focus on the books we already own and haven’t read yet hahahh And yes, this one is part of the series, but it can be read as a stand-alone without any problem. It’s with a completely different crew about a completely different mission. Of course, I do think it’ll always be better if you read The Girl With All the Gifts first though! 😛 Thank you, Beth! I appreciate it.

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  7. Sounds like you had a great time with this.
    I’d be tempted, except, you know, zombies. I can’t stand those things. The only books that I’ve ever really enjoyed them in are Forgotten Realm books. Other than that, no thank you!

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  8. Actually I have a secret thing for zombies and post apocalyptic Lashaan… so I think this is one book / series that I’m going to have to check out! Definitely your review played a part in that because I also LOVE multi POVs and an autistic child that helps solve the problem… umm sounds fantastic?! 😍 was it a problem reading book 2 not having read book 1?

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    1. Definitely not an issue. This book can be perfectly read as a stand-alone. It features a completely different crew and all. However, I’ll ALWAYS recommend reading it in the order they were published, so check out The Girl with All the Gifts if you ever want to embark on this adventure. 😉

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  9. I read the first two chapters of The Girl With All The Gifts but it wasn’t the right moment for me to read it right then. I wanted to know more but was also afraid of the direction of the story. Zombies are not really my thing and I guess there are plenty of them in that one as well (and the main character is also one going by those 2 chapters). I do love the group focus with all these diverse characters though, especially the more autistic profile here, and I do like stories that are comprised of group dynamics. Great review!

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    1. Ouuuh, that’s interesting. It’s also stunning to hear that you picked up a book that wasn’t a pure thriller!!! 😛 I can’t say if next time you try it out it’ll be better since I haven’t read that one yet, but I do hope your experience with this series would be more fruitful in the future! And yess! Lots of plot devices to enjoy. Thanks for reading, Inge! 😉

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      1. Maybe I’ll pick it up again after you reviewed The Girl With All the Gifts 🙂 I haven’t written it off yet, it’s still on my ereader so who knows :-). I kind of picked it up because of the good comments and little hype.. sometimes it lets you pick something up that is a little different 🙂

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    1. Thanks, mate! Yeh, I remember your review, and it’s actually cause of you that I didn’t mind reading this one first since you mentioned that it could be read as a stand-alone without issue. 😀 We might need to check out The Girl with All the Gifts ASAP before M.R. Carey surprises us without another book in this universe. 😀

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  11. The Girl With All The Gifts has been on my TBR shelf for about a year. I actually have the audiobook but just haven’t hit play. This review makes me want to press play in order to get to book 2, so thanks!

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    1. I’m pretty sure I have loads of books that have been on my shelves for more than a year too.. It’s when there’s some sudden random (and positive) review or a movie adaptation that I end up finally picking it up and reading it! I’m glad to have motivated you to press that play button!!! Hope you enjoy The Girl with All the Gifts and get the chance to read this one too!! Thank you for reading too!! ❤

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    1. That definitely gives me hope for a very entertaining book though. I wonder if they’ll ever make this one into a movie though… It received less recognition and popularity than The Girl with All the Gifts, yet it was still an excellent book!

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  15. I have been wanting to read The Girl With All the Gifts and now I want to read it even more. But to be honest, I say that about every book on my TBR….which is out of control haha.

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    1. Haahaha I knowww, I say the same all the time too! You could totally read this or The Girl with All the Gifts, in any order you want since The Boy on the Bridge is perfectly readable as a stand-alone. But if you don’t have either copy, might as well start with the book that started the “universe”: The Girl with All the Gifts! 😀 Hope you enjoy them whenever you get around to it.

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  16. Yes, this book! Finally a review, I’ve only read one 🙂 at this rate, I might even be able to read the book sometime soon xD xD (probably nope, cause I don’t have it yet :D)

    Oh BTW, I really don’t feel like watching the movie for The Girl. I feel like I would be a swearing crazed fan 😀

    Great review! I’m glad to hear Carey’s writing still rocks, although of course I didn’t really doubt that 🙂

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    1. Hhahaahah I find that I rarely read A LOT of what others read though. It’s always nice to have readers who’ve read the books I review show up and discuss! 😀

      I’ll only probably watch it once I get through the book just to see how it compares to the book too.

      Thank you, Evelina! 🙂 Hope you get the chance to read it some day.

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  17. Pingback: Monthly Wrap-Up | November 2017 – Bookidote | Book Reviews

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