From Publishers WeeklyJess Moulson wanders in very dark places in this overwrought contemporary thriller from Carey (The Girl with All the Gifts). She doesn't remember the incident that leads to her trial for the murder of 10-year-old Alex Beech, because she was on heroin when she set afire the photos from her ongoing toxic relationship. She doesn't remember escalating to burning down her entire London apartment in an attempt to kill her boyfriend, but Alex, an upstairs neighbor, died in the blaze. Jess is sentenced to Fellside Prison, where she must wrestle with the question of her own culpability, try not to get tangled in the prison's internal drug business intrigues, and, unexpectedly, find that Alex, or what's left of him, may still have a job for her to do. Carey sustains an interesting concept at a high pitch of suspense until nearly the end, when the book implodes into melodrama as the plot becomes completely implausible. The denouement is the novel's lowest point, but the path to get there is taut, tense, and unusual. (Apr.)\n "Fellside is as brilliant as it is dark and devious. M.R. Carey is either deranged or brilliant--or both. Hopefully, both."Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot Ruin and Kill Switch on Fellside"An intense, haunting thriller with heart. You will not want to put this down."Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke Bone on Fellside"A dark, intriguing read."Martina Cole, author of Get Even on Fellside"This eerie tale is sure to hook crime fiction and horror lovers."Library Journal on Fellside"A twisty crime thriller as well as an exotic ghost story, Carey's second novel is as hard to categorize as it is to put down."Barnes and Noble on Fellside"A fantastic, twist-upon-twist, shape-shifting novel. Gripping, deeply affecting and arrestingly beautiful, it is a haunting tale of raw horror and extraordinary redemption. I adored every page."Miranda Dickinson, Sunday Times bestselling author on Fellside"The author of The Girl With All The Gifts delivers another gripping story."The Columbus Dispatch on Fellside"Dark [and] suspenseful."Booklist on Fellside"[A] grand piece of storytelling."Sunday Express on Fellside"I read Fellside in a couple of days . . . I was absolutely nuts about it."Book Riot on Fellside"The next fantastic novel from M. R. Carey."io9.com on Fellside"Fellside is much more than 'just' a ghost story. It has elements of The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, and Orange Is the New Black, wrapped up in a supernatural mystery that will keep you turning pages late into the night."Readings on Fellside"Fellside builds to a climax that's both satisfyingly worked out and shockingly emotionally intense."RT Book s on Fellside"This is a sometimes uncomfortable book in the best ways, and its climax is satisfyingly brutal, ghostly and surprising."This is Horror on Fellside"Combines a fast-paced plot with a supernatural storyline that's very believable. Gripping stuff."Good Housekeeping on Fellside"Taut, tense, and unusual."Publishers Weekly on Fellside"A great read that takes hold of you and doesn't let go."John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN on Girl With All the Gifts"Heartfelt, remorseless and painfully human...as fresh as it is terrifying. A jewel."Joss Whedon on Girl With All the Gifts"If you only read one novel this year, make sure it's this one, it's amazing."Martina Cole on Girl With All the Gifts"One of the more imaginative and ingenious additions to the dystopian canon."Kirkus 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.com on The Girl With All the Gifts"Original, thrilling and powerful."The Guardian on The Girl With All the Gifts"Unique and terrifying."Booklist on The Girl With All the Gifts"An instant favorite."Boing Boing on The Girl With All the GiftsAbout the AuthorM. R. Carey has been making up stories for most of his life. His novel The Girl With All the Gifts was a USA Today bestseller and is a major motion picture based on his BAFTA-nominated screenplay. Under the name Mike Carey he has written for both DC and Marvel, including critically acclaimed runs on X-Men and Fantastic Four, Marvel's flagship superhero titles. His creator-owned books regularly appear in the New York Times bestseller list. He also has several previous novels, two radio plays, and a number of TV and movie screenplays to his credit. what items sell best on Fellside
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Intense!By madbookloveSo. Much. Tension. Seriously, if there was a moment while reading this book that I felt at all relaxed or at ease, I couldnt tell you when it was. And I cant remember the last time I felt that way, that consistent level of intensity, in a book. Honestly, it kind of wore me out. Not a bad thing. Good books do that sometimes. Just sayin.Where to start, where to start. Ok, so I loved The Girl With All the Gifts. One of my absolute favorite reads last year. Definitely top 5, maybe even top 3. Loved. I have obsessively recommended it and I always ask people if theyve read it. LOVED. So, when I heard M.R. Carey was coming out with another book, reading it was a no brainer. Even though its completely unrelated to the book I love so much. Because the book didnt write itself, ya know?And I wasnt disappointed at all. It didnt top The Girl With All the Gifts, but it stood firmly on its own two feet. It was a lot more intense, and a bit harder to read (because zombies are not real, and the horror of prison is). Im not going to lie. I didnt love the ending. I wont give particulars because spoilers, but it wasnt where I imagined things heading. This may be one of those instances where, after mulling over it for a bit, I realize why it could only be that way, but right now Im just sad about it.Despite the ending being less than satisfactory, its a very well-written, insightful book that had me on the edge of my seat for an extended period of time, and it falls into the definitely recommend category.And M.R. Carey remains on my list of must-read authors.Note: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review (though I must add I purchased the book prior to being approved for the galley).0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent bookBy Barbara A. CarlsonThis is an engrossing story of personal redemption in a woman who can perform astral projection to the "other side". The theme is played out with the main character as well as others. The author gives us a new take on what happens after you die with astral projection woven through the story line. We also see a rather gritty view of life from the point of view of a former drug addict in a women's prison. The characters feel like real people and the horrors of prison are clear but not excessively graphic.Well-written, this story pulled me along and I didn't want to put it down. I read it way too late into the night and neglected my chores to read this book. It was well worth wearing things from the back of my closet. Time well spent.6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Not Sure How To FeelBy AmandaI can't say that I liked this book and I can't say that I didn't...The story opens up with Jess Moulsen waking up in a hospital room with no recollection of what has happened. She quickly learns that she is being accused of starting the fire that killed her upstairs neighbor, a young boy. She goes to trial and does not do anything to help herself as she doesn't know what happened but decides that she must be guilty.I was thoroughly annoyed by Jess in this part of the book. She didn't even try to figure out what was going on and accepted her fate too easily. There wasn't much on her back story to say whether she had low self esteem or what it was. As soon as she is is sentenced to a prison sentence at a creepy English women's prison by the moors she throws herself into a hunger strike to try and off herself in more of her self absorbed nonsense.Here is where it starts to pick up. She hears a mysterious voice that she believes to be Alex, the young boy that she allegedly killed. He gives her some information to go off of that points to the fact that he was already dead before the fire. She utilizes her legal team to investigate what went on that fateful night. This was by far my favorite part of the book. It was fast paced and sucked me in during this time period.The underlying plot of the story deals with an inmate named Grace who runs the show and a drug ring. This whole plot twist was unnecessary to me and had it been cut out would have shortened the book considerably. I understand that it tied in with the ghost plot but that could have been cut out and done differently.Overall the book was just okay for me.. I might pick up his other work based off some of the reviews I have read. This "thriller" just fell flat for me. Too many problems, too long and drawn out.