If you enjoyed The Girl with All the Gifts, you will enjoy M.R. Carey's The Boy on the Bridge set ten years earlier. It is not as fast-paced, but the third person omniscient narrator gives fascinating insight into the internal thoughts, opinions, and secrets of each of the major characters.
Although Samrina Khan and Stephen Greaves share the limelight as dominant characters, the novel is something of an ensemble cast. Twelve people, a mixture of military and scientists and one adolescent boy, are sent out from Beacon in the armored vehicle/science lab named the Rosalind Franklin. Their mission is to find something that will enable humans to survive the hungries, those infected by the Cordyceps plague. Is there any place where the plague is inhibited by environment? Any way to develop a cure or vaccine?
In the close confinement of Rosie, the armored vehicle, tensions mount, personalities clash. Month after month, the crew faces down hungries, takes samples, perform experiments in the lab, but fail to find any positive information to fight the Cordyceps pathogen, which unchecked, will mean the end of the human race.
I don't want to say much more because I liked reading it without any spoilers or preconceived ideas. The book works perfectly well as a standalone. If you've read The Girl with All the Gifts, you already have insight into the world Carey has created, but it isn't necessary to understand or appreciate The Boy on the Bridge.
The structure and archetypes are similar to the previous novel, the style is terse and analytical (well, you are privy to the thoughts of military personnel and scientists, not writers or artists), yet even these these left-brain characters occasionally have their moments, and Carey includes some vivid descriptions of setting. I liked the present tense omniscient pov that gave insight into the reasoning of each of the characters, whether I liked the character or not.
And then there is an epilogue. Another excellent installment in this dystopian world, and I want more.
Read in January; blog review scheduled for April 17.
NetGalley/Orbit Books
Science Fiction/Dystopian. May 2, 2018. Print length: 392 pages.
I want to read all the books in this series before long. Isn't there a third one? Probably set after 'The Girl...'. Anyway, nice to hear about this one. I'm putting it on my list.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the third one is out yet. Publication date for this one is in May. Fellside was a stand alone, not connected to the dystopian books.
DeleteI did read The Girl With All the Gifts and liked it. I was going to stop there but after reading your review I am curious! I will pick up a library copy and give it a whirl!
ReplyDeleteI liked it--and want more. :)
DeleteI liked The Girl With All the Gifts, but not quite enough to want to read more.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the style is the same, the content is a little different. The setting is prior to The Girl, and the goal is less escape from Hungries and more finding something to end the plague. And then, there is the Epilogue, which I so want to talk about and can't!
DeleteMaybe I should check it out just to read the epilogue. ;D
DeleteIt wasn't what I was expecting! :)
DeleteI share the same thoughts as Lark. I liked it but don't really feel the urge to read this.
ReplyDelete:) I'm a dystopian fan and couldn't miss this one because it gives the background to the situation in The Girl. And again, the Epilogue really surprised me!
DeleteI was thinking this doesn't sound familiar but I've read this author before. Finally realized I've read Fellside not The Girl With All the Gifts. I would definitely read this one!
ReplyDeleteFellside wasn't part of the dystopian world. Funnily, I found it harder to believe in Fellside than in the dystopian world of the Hungries. I was put off by Jess' conviction, which never seemed logical to me. But Fellside is a great name for a prison.
Delete*shivers* I tried watching movie of Girl with all the Gifts and it creeped me out. I couldn't even contemplate the books~!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't contemplate the movie! At least you can take breaks when reading. :)
DeleteI really enjoyed The Girl With All the Gifts and am looking forward to stepping back into this world for a little while. I am glad you enjoyed it, Jenclair!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy reading about the events that preceded The Girl With All the Gifts! I liked getting a feel for that period of hoping and searching for a cure to the pathogen.
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