Book Review: The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey

The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: May 2, 2017
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

One exceptional boy journeys into the ashes of society to find the cure for a devastating plague in this riveting post-apocalyptic standalone set in the same world as the USA Today-bestselling The Girl With All the Gifts.

Once upon a time, in a land blighted by terror, there was a very clever boy.

The people thought the boy could save them, so they opened their gates and sent him out into the world.

To where the monsters lived.

The Boy on the Bridge is a stand-alone novel set in the same world as The Girl with All the Gifts but it’s also a prequel of sorts. If you haven’t read either, I would start with The Girl with All the Gifts. The Boy on the Bridge has a couple of spoilers in it if it’s read first. Accordingly, this review will be short as I don’t want to spoil The Girl with All the Gifts. Check out my review of The Girl with All the Gifts here.

The Boy on the Bridge takes place probably ten or fifteen years before The Girl with All the Gifts. The apocalypse due to the plague has already happened and a team comprised of military personal and scientists is traveling about England, trying to determine the cause and if there is a cure.

The first half of this book was very slow and not much happened. If you can make it through, it picks up quite a bit in the second half. I didn’t like it quite as much as The Girl with All the Gifts but I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to readers who liked The Girl with All the Gifts.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)