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The Boy on the Bridge

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The Boy on the Bridge

Written by: M. R. Carey
Narrated by: Finty Williams
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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.

"Strange and surprising and humane" (Lauren Beukes), The Boy on the Bridge is a gripping, powerful story that will make you question what it means to be human. Adventure Dystopian Fantasy Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Exciting Zombie

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What the critics say

"Carey writes with compassion and fire - strange and surprising and humane"—Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls
"A terrifying, emotional page-turner that explores what it means to be human."—Kirkus
"Thoughtful and compelling"—RT Book Reviews
"A tense story with superbly rendered characters and the same blend of tragedy and hope."—SciFiNow
"[A] brilliant character study as much as a tense, satisfying post-apocalyptic thriller."—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
"The Boy on the Bridge is a careful companion, including thematic parallels that remind us, in sometimes horrific ways, that our actions always have wider consequences than we think."—NPR
"The stakes are higher than ever...action-packed...Fans of Carey and readers of Ben H. Winters or Steven Barnes will enjoy."—Library Journal
"Spectacular!"—Martina Cole, author of Betrayal
"Compelling . . . may leave you feeling shell-shocked."—SFX
"A cast of fascinating characters.... Readers will feel surprisingly welcome in this world."—The Mary Sue
"A wonderful trip back into the universe of The Girl With All the Gifts"—100 Percent Rock Magazine
"Humane, horrific and unputdownable."—Irish Times
"Heartfelt, remorseless and painfully human...as fresh as it is terrifying. A jewel."—Joss Whedon on Girl With All the Gifts
"Original, thrilling and powerful."—The Guardian on The Girl With All the Gifts
"Unique and terrifying."—Booklist (starred review) on The Girl With All the Gifts
"A great read that takes hold of you and doesn't let go."—John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of Let the Right One In on The Girl With All the Gifts
"...a brilliant work of science fiction, but even people who never read science fiction should absolutely read this one."—io9 on The Girl With All the Gifts
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like the first book the story is awesome and I love how they tie into each other what a great read and once again the narration is amazing

what a great read

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Good story, well read. I usually skip endings as they often disappoint. This did not. Happy to have listened to the end.

Finally an author that knows how to end a story.

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This is the prequel to "The Girl With All The Gifts" but was written second and should definitely be read second. Although it mostly deals with the events before TGWATG leading up to the abandonment of the research tank "Rosalind Franklin", the ending is set several decades in the future and ties up BOTH books with a conclusion that would be a bit spoilery, or at best somewhat meaningless, if you haven't read TGWATG first.

That said, Carey has managed to create another great book in a post-zombie-apocalyptic Britain and I liked this as much as the first, although the middle sequences of both are definitely quite similar (soldiers & scientists arguing and politicking in travelling tank). There are interesting new characters, the main ones being Stephen Greaves, a brilliant boy on the autistic spectrum who is the inventor of e-blocker, and Samrina Khan, a researcher and adoptive mother of Stephen who finds herself pregnant while on a research expedition surrounded by zombies. I'd have liked to see more of Colonel Carlysle, the military head of the expedition and the man who was in charge of the devastating and futile firebombing attempts to stop the spread of the zombie plague.

Anyway, if you enjoyed the first you'll enjoy this one as it fills in many of the missing details from the first and ties the story up in a satisfying ending.

Prequel AND sequel to The Girl with All the Gifts

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While I read many reviews with the usual feedback about sequels, “it’s not as good as the first”, I do not agree. It seems to be popular to devalue a sequel and I’d like to actively push back here: this was a compelling story that I found myself listening to at every opportunity. I would advise reading Girl with All the Gifts first, for context, and to make the epilogue as neat and tidy as possible.
Strong recommendation for any fans of both zombies and hard science fiction (more biology and military here than space).

Hard to stop listening!

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I loved this book and how it tied into the girl with all the gifts at the end.

The narrator is so good too.

I highly recommend both The Girl With All the Gifts and The Boy on the Bridge

Loved it

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