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  • The Boy on the Bridge

  • Written by: M. R. Carey
  • Narrated by: Finty Williams
  • Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (104 ratings)

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The Boy on the Bridge cover art

The Boy on the Bridge

Written by: M. R. Carey
Narrated by: Finty Williams
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Publisher's Summary

One exceptional boy journeys into the ashes of society to find the cure for a devastating plague in this riveting post-apocalyptic stand-alone set in the same world as the USA Today best-selling 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.

©2017 M. R. Carey (P)2017 Hachette Audio

What listeners say about The Boy on the Bridge

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Prequel AND sequel to The Girl with All the Gifts

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.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Every bit as well done as the first book

Thoroughly enjoyable. My one critique would be that a lot of the mystery is gone from this book, as much of it was explained in the first. But what we lose in that the epilogue more than makes up for

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • M
  • 2023-09-16

Loved it

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Oh yes please!

Dows anyone know if theres another one in the works? I really enjoyed the two so far! definitely recommend

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Nic
  • 2022-05-31

Well worth the read

I picked this one up simply due to all the positive reviews and having really enjoyed the first book in the series. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did! Turned out to be a great story, well worth it. Glad I picked it up

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    5 out of 5 stars
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loved these books!

As soon as i finished "The girl with all the gifts", I was ecstatic to see there was a sequel (prequel)
This was just as good as the first. Highly recommend both!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great addition to the first story

I really enjoyed this second book. Took the story in a direction I hadn’t thought of and had some very likeable characters. Greaves was my favourite. Bit of a slow start, but picked up nicely and has a wonderful finale. If you liked the first book, you’ll likely enjoy this one too.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

what a great read

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Hard to stop listening!

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).

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Painful

All I can say is I’m glad it’s over. Narrator great, but story a big letdown after The Girl With All the Gifts.

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