“The Girl With All the Gifts” by M.R. Carey (Orbit)

A superb novel, one of my favourite so far this year

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her “our little genius”. Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh. Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children’s cells. She tells her favourite teacher all the things she’ll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn’t know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

I have long been familiar with Carey’s comics work – mainly the amazing Lucifer and The Unwritten, both of which I am addicted to. It took me a long time to get around to reading this novel, though, for reasons I cannot quite figure out. Long-time readers of the blog will know I’m a fan of certain types of post-apocalyptic-zombie novels. The Girl With All the Gifts is absolutely brilliant, and one of this year’s Must Reads. I loved it.

Suicide Risk, Vol.1 (Boom Studios/Titan Comics)

Writer: Mike Carey | Artist: Elena Casagrande

Even when there are only villains, being a hero makes you a…

Super-powered people are inexplicably rising from the streets and there’s a big problem: Too many supervillains, not enough superheroes. Heroes are dying, and cops are dying twofold. Humanity is underpowered in the face of their onslaught, and people are suffering untold casualties trying to stem the flow.

After barely surviving a super-powered bank heist gone horribly wrong, beat cop Leo Winters vowed to try and find a way to stop them. Following a lead, he discovered two lowlifes who seemed to be able to grant a person powers... for the right price. Thing is: you don't get to choose which power. It’s seemingly random, a crap-shoot, a risk. Will Leo decide to take that risk? And why is it that even the heroes in this world eventually break?

Collects: Suicide Risk #1-4

I have long been a fan of Mike Carey’s work – his comic-series The Unwritten and Lucifer (Vertigo) are easily among my top five favourites; and his most recent novel, The Girl With All the Gifts (Orbit) is one of my favourite reads this year. Carey’s new original ongoing series is a great one. Anyone interested in superheroes should check this out.

The Unwritten, Vol.2 – “Inside Man” (Vertigo)

Writer: Mike Carey | Artist: Peter Gross

Tom arrives at Donostia prison in southern France and falls into the orbit of another story: The Song of Roland. Unfortunately for Tom, it’s an epic that ends with a massacre…

This series is going to be a real pain in the ass to review. There’s almost no way to write about it without throwing out spoilers left right and centre. Therefore, I shall keep my reviews of this and subsequent books as succinct as possible. Needless to say, this second collection continues the excellent story of Tom Taylor’s surprise, literary-fantasy quest. This is fast becoming a firm favourite of mine.

“The Unwritten” Vol.1 (Vertigo)

“Tommy Taylor & the Bogus Identity”

Writer: Mike Carey | Artist: Peter Gross

Tom Taylor’s life was screwed from the word go. His father created the mega-popular Tommy Taylor boy-wizard fantasy novels. But dad modelled the fictional epic so closely to Tom that fans constantly compare him to his counterpart, turning him into a lame, Z-level celebrity. When a scandal hints that Tom might really be the boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a mysterious, deadly group that’s secretly kept tabs on him all his life. Now, to protect his life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, to all the places in world history where fictions have shaped reality.

I knew nothing about this series before I picked up this book. My local comic store was having a decent sale for graphic novels, so I decided to try something new. Given the amount of praise that has been heaped on The Unwritten (much of it printed on the front and back covers of this book), I figured I was on to a good thing. I was not wrong – after a start that wasn’t encouraging, this took off into directions I hadn’t expected and that were inspired, original, and absolutely gripping.