REISSUES
Our pick of the paperbacks is MR Carey’s medieval fantasy-horror ONCE WAS WILLEM
( , out now, Orbit). It transposes the Seven Samurai template to a 12th century village, as a boy resurrected as a shambling revenant by dark magic recruits six supernatural allies to oppose a malevolent wizard plotting to gain immortality by sacrificing children. We said: “Carey has a talent for crafting an inventive turn of phrase... The plot and pacing are similarly impressive... Magical, expansive, and inventive, it’s a joy to read.” Set in a distant future where humanity’s going extinct and children are made in factories from the cells of rabbits and dolphins, Hiromi Kawakami’s Booker Prize-shortlisted UNDER THE EYE OF THE BIG BIRD