When The Book of Elsewhere was announced I was intrigued, especially as it paired China Miéville with Hollywood superstar, Keanu Reeves. I’ve been a fan of Miéville’s work for some time, but it’s been a few years since he has published a new book, so I was extremely curious about this unique collaboration.
The main character in The Book of Elsewhere is the same as that of the BRZRKR comic book, which was created by Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt, with art by Ron Garney. The 12 issue comic book series from Boom! Studios follows the story of an immortal berserker called B, or Unute.
Half of the novel expands on the history of B, delving into various periods of his life, and the other half of the story is set in the present, with B trying to solve a mystery. B now works for a US black-ops group, and while he is on a mission, something weird happens. To be fair, a lot of weird things have happened to him over the centuries, but this one is new and he can’t explain it, which is rare given his very long lifespan.
In every single interview Keanu Reeves has been gracious and up front in saying that while both of them worked on the story, it was China Miéville that wrote the novel. They had several back and forth conversations on various drafts, but the text on the page was produced by Miéville. For me, this was obvious from the first chapter as it has all the hallmarks of Miéville style. Rather than speculative fiction, Miéville preferred New Weird to describe his work and that fits perfectly when trying to describe what this novel is about.
I will say that because of the unique structure of this novel – it jumps between time periods and there are multiple points of view that only last one chapter – reading it can be challenging. However, it is absolutely worth it when all the pieces fit together. Miéville writes in a different style and with a different voice for each point of view but, by the end of the novel, it all gels together into one story.
B is determined to understand his origins, because more than anything he wants to be able to die. He’s been injured countless times in battle and sometimes the wounds are so severe that he dies. However, he is always reborn in an egg and always comes back. B wants to know if he is the only one of his kind and if so, why.
Various groups in the world want to exploit him, copy him, and gain a version of B’s powers to create super-soldiers and immortal weapons of their own. B wants the opposite. He wants to die and not come back.
If life is to mean anything then it needs to have value and a person without fear of death or consequences is merely existing. Such a person values nothing because any mistakes can eventually be undone. Any risks are meaningless if the worst that can happen is death. The story explores this premise as B delves into his past to try and explain what is happening in the present. The story spans the world and many points in history that I knew nothing about but that didn’t matter. The book is lean and it doesn’t bog the reader down with endless details.
It's a thought provoking story that has plenty of action and intrigue, but really it is about life, mortality and the most precious commodity of all – time.
The Book of Elsewhere is now available in paperback via our regular website