⇒ PDF Free The Boy on the Bridge M R Carey 9780316300339 Books

The Boy on the Bridge M R Carey 9780316300339 Books

Download As PDF : The Boy on the Bridge M R Carey 9780316300339 Books

The Boy on the Bridge M R Carey 9780316300339 Books

Although this book can be read as a stand alone, I don't know why anyone wouldn't read the fantastic The Girl With All The Gifts First. This book, a prequel set in the same post apocalyptic location as the previous book but about 20 years earlier. Here we follow the journey of a team of twelve military personnel and scientists on the Rosiland Franklin (tank/lab/RV). Takes place about a decade after the plague has infected the world turning people into zombies. Don't let the word zombie scare you away! The story is about the human race trying to survive and what they will do for and against each other to succeed. Although it is a dark story, humanity also shines through. I've read more than a few and I think The Boy On The Bridge is my favorite post apocalyptic book I have read. The Epilogue was epic!


Tags : The Boy on the Bridge [M. R. Carey] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. From the author of USA Today</i> bestseller The Girl With All the Gifts</i>, a terrifying new novel set in the same post-apocalyptic world. <div><b>Once upon a time,M. R. Carey,The Boy on the Bridge,Orbit,0316300330,Dystopian,Science Fiction - Action & Adventure,Science Fiction - Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic,Dystopian fiction,Dystopian fiction.,Dystopias.,Monsters,Science fiction,Science fiction.,Survival,AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY,FICTION Action & Adventure,FICTION Dystopian,FICTION Science Fiction Action & Adventure,FICTION Science Fiction Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic,Fiction,Fiction-ActionAdventure,FictionAction & Adventure,FictionDystopian,GENERAL,General Adult,M. R. Carey; Mike Carey; The Girl with All the Gifts; post-apocalyptic; dystopian; bestseller; USA Today,United States

The Boy on the Bridge M R Carey 9780316300339 Books Reviews

The Girl With All The Gifts was such an incredible surprise—a zombie book with a sympathetic and compelling zombie? People were enthralled. The ending was fabulous because it made sense and even made me cry. Now, M. R. Carey has written its prequel, The Boy On The Bridge. Again he focuses on the relationship between an adult and a child in a world that crashed and burned when humankind became infected by the virus. But, Stephen is not a zombie, a hungry, he is quite possibly high functioning Asperger’s—though he is never given this diagnosis—with eidetic memory and difficulty relating to any other person but Dr. Rina Kahn.

Part of a group of scientists and army personnel slowly traveling across Britain in a tanked-out RV, Rina and Stephen are collecting data on the hungries with the hopes of discovering the key to a vaccine for the fungal virus. It’s an understandably contentious lot with the expectant dynamics found in any group trapped in a tin can with treads battling hungries for seven months. Almost all carry secrets, some easier to hide in their RV lovingly called Rosie. I didn’t recognize Rosie from TGWATG until the very end.

At first the book moves about as fast as Rosie with her tank treads but it helps to build the tension. No one trusts the scientist heading the mission, the army resents his leadership, and no one but Rina understands Stephen and his purpose within their group. They regard him as weird; his expressionless interaction with them, what little there is, prompts them to call him the Robot. He prefers to spend his time in the lab or the airlock away from everyone. And he only allows Rina to touch him but it is a light finger to his wrist and nothing more.

But, focusing only on Stephen for a moment, the reader begins to wonder what makes a person a human. It’s hard to go into detail because I don’t want to give anything away, but his discoveries and his personality lead the readers into nature vs. nurture territory and questions about the fungus and why does it make humans into zombies.

Carey has done his research in science, epidemiology, even how to fix a tank tread, and it shows. A few of the characters, both scientist and army personnel alike, don’t go much deeper than who’s the mechanic, who likes to play poker, who is a good shot, etc. Rina and Stephen are the main characters. Stephen is no Melanie from TGWATG; her wonderfully sweet personality and reactions to the outside world made her so compelling. Stephen is a computer, a robot, but I understood him and he does make this book.

Without giving away too much, TBOTB does intersect with TGWATG at some point. And I loved the ending of this book as well, it made me tear up a tad. There is one character that disappears and we never know what happens to them, even by the end. Possibly a third book? The Boy On The Bridge may not engage as many readers as TGWATG but it is still a good read and could be a standalone but I don’t recommend it. You’ll want the full experience.
Enjoyed this even more than the first book written in this world, "The Girl with All the Gifts". I recommend both, advising to read "Girl" first, although this isn't essential. I normally avoid zombie tales as too-gruesome - I like thoughtful sci fi and don't watch "The Walking Dead", but the details as written in this series aren't excessive or over-the-top. The story has threads of real science that underpin the fictional pathogen. Characters are complex and include a hero with autism and a pregnant woman. And while I felt conflicted and challenged by the ending in "Girl" I found the ending in "Boy" uplifting and a satisfying completion of the two-book story arc. Five stars from someone reluctant to give five star reviews. Hope this becomes a film, as well. Thanks for your work M.R. Carey!
A crew of military and civilian workers traverses the post-apocalyptic world to take samples from the hungries and try to discover something groundbreaking to create a cure. They operate and travel in Rosie, an armored cross between a tank and an RV with small living quarters, weapons, and a lab. Its crew is plagued with lies, secrets, politics, and resentments becoming more toxic by the day. Pregnant Samrina Khan feels very protective of Stephen Greaves, an exceptional boy largely dismissed by the rest of the crew. He goes on unsanctioned journeys with untested inventions and eventually discovers something lifechanging, but the crew would never believe him. He keeps the information to himself until he has something concrete, but doesn't think about how this could effect the others around him.

The Boy on the Bridge is a prequel and slight sequel to The Girl with All the Gifts. Melanie and her crew stumble onto Rosie in the latter book and it's nice to fill in what happened and then tie the two stories together. This book is just as addictive as the first with just as varied characters. Stephen had an extremely traumatic chidhood where his parents were killed by hungries and their corpses protected him from discovery. As an older child, he has odd behaviors such as avoiding eye contact and physical contact with other people. He views things analytically and keeps his emotions separate. With his brilliance, photographic memory, and scientific curiosity, Stephen developed the e-blocker that masks human scent from hungries. Stephen seems to be somewhere on the autism sprectrum, but it's never explicitly stated. I felt for him because of how easily the rest of the crew dismisses him. However, he made some pretty terrible decisions that put everyone at risk.

The rest of the crew is a hodgepodge of people who don't get along. Colonel Carlisle is in command and makes confident decisions with little input from anyone else. His past is full of mistakes like firebombing civilians at the beginning of the outbreak and everyone at least internally calls his command into question. Lieutenant McQueen is a hot headed soldier who follows orders only to the letter with a big dose of disdain if he thinks he knows better. The civilian leader Dr. Fournier undermines the entire operation with secret communication to Beacon, their base, and orders to delay so a coup won't be interrupted. He's completely willing to even sacrifice lives to garner a little bit of favor from a general. Of course he doesn't get along with any of the military as they exclude him in any decision making and in general. These tensions explode (mostly because of big egos) during the course of the story and make situations even worse.

There are two types of hungries here. The first is the mindless type that go into stasis with no stimuli. Sound, smell, movement, and body heat make them return to consciousness and attack whatever caught their attention. As heliotropes, they face the sun in their stasis and move with it. At night, movement and smell of nocturnal animals keep them active. Extreme temperatures have little effect on them and only destroying the brain will kill them. Two theories seem to be plausible about the people they used to be; either they are trapped inside the mind without the ability to control their body or they simply lose all sense of self. These types of hungries almost seem alien after the more intelligent type seen in both this novel and its predecessor. The second iteration of them can communicate, use tools, reason, and organize in groups. Physically, their bodies are the same as the normal ones and their brains are completely different as shown with Stephen's experiments. The fungus was introduced to their bodies before they are developed, thus retaining about half of the brain chemicals and function. These being between hungry and human are fascinating and it seems that they are still a mystery even though more is explained about their state.

The Boy on the Bridge isn't quite as good as The Girl with All the Gifts, but it's close. The latter has a much bigger scope because its events affected all of humanity. This former is on a smaller scale, but gave a better look at the past. The characters were pretty frustrating all around and I didn't connect to them as well. The writing is wonderful as usual and I was engaged for the entire story. The interesting mix of human drama, zombies, and science drew me in. I would love another book to come out as a full sequel to The Girl with All the Gifts.
Although this book can be read as a stand alone, I don't know why anyone wouldn't read the fantastic The Girl With All The Gifts First. This book, a prequel set in the same post apocalyptic location as the previous book but about 20 years earlier. Here we follow the journey of a team of twelve military personnel and scientists on the Rosiland Franklin (tank/lab/RV). Takes place about a decade after the plague has infected the world turning people into zombies. Don't let the word zombie scare you away! The story is about the human race trying to survive and what they will do for and against each other to succeed. Although it is a dark story, humanity also shines through. I've read more than a few and I think The Boy On The Bridge is my favorite post apocalyptic book I have read. The Epilogue was epic!