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Emi
The stunning new dark fantasy novella from the author of Greaveburn and The Alan Shaw Adventures.
The world ended long ago. Humanity, burnt out by a global fever, is a distant memory and the creatures that came before have returned. Christopher isn’t a survivor, The Sickness killed him long ago. Still, he walks through the wild paradise that the world has become, believing that he is alone. Until he finds a little dead girl chained in the ruins of a barn.
Emi.
As these two unlikely companions experience the new world and it’s host of weird inhabitants together, it becomes clear that even for the undead, there is something very wrong with Emi. As Christopher remembers more of his humanity, and Emi slips further away from her own, it seems there is still something to lose for the ancient Undying.
Inspired by Japanese mythology, this Apocalyptic Fantasy is like nothing you’ve ever read before. Read Emi now on Kindle or in paperback.
The world ended long ago. Humanity, burnt out by a global fever, is a distant memory and the creatures that came before have returned. Christopher isn’t a survivor, The Sickness killed him long ago. Still, he walks through the wild paradise that the world has become, believing that he is alone. Until he finds a little dead girl chained in the ruins of a barn.
Emi.
As these two unlikely companions experience the new world and it’s host of weird inhabitants together, it becomes clear that even for the undead, there is something very wrong with Emi. As Christopher remembers more of his humanity, and Emi slips further away from her own, it seems there is still something to lose for the ancient Undying.
Inspired by Japanese mythology, this Apocalyptic Fantasy is like nothing you’ve ever read before. Read Emi now on Kindle or in paperback.
- GenresFantasy
ebook
Published June 1, 2024
1 person is currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Craig Hallam
22 books78 followersCraig Hallam is an international best-selling author from Doncaster, UK. His work spans all aspects of Speculative Fiction and Mental Health non-fiction, and poetry.
Since his debut in the British Fantasy Society journal, his tales have nestled between the pages of magazines and anthologies the world over. His novels and short stories have filled the imaginations of geeks, niche and alternative readers with their character-driven style and unusual plots.
Craig has recently chronicled his experiences of living with depression and anxiety in the international best-seller, Down Days. Topping the Amazon charts in the UK and US at the start of COVID, the book has since been a finalist for the Independent Author Network’s Book of the Year Awards and read the world over.
His latest novel, Make Believe, is the first book in an exciting new series called The Hexford Witches, based entirely in the Yorkshire Dales.
Craig’s next project is a literary Gothic series based in contemporary Yorkshire. The first book will highlight the ghosts of the area’s industrial past and the families who were left broken by the closure of the local mines. While one man grieves for the loss of his wife and is hunted by recurring visions of a large black dog hunting him, his granddaughter is also preyed upon by the boys and men of an honourless society.
Find Craig’s books and social media at: Linktr.ee/craighallamauthor
Since his debut in the British Fantasy Society journal, his tales have nestled between the pages of magazines and anthologies the world over. His novels and short stories have filled the imaginations of geeks, niche and alternative readers with their character-driven style and unusual plots.
Craig has recently chronicled his experiences of living with depression and anxiety in the international best-seller, Down Days. Topping the Amazon charts in the UK and US at the start of COVID, the book has since been a finalist for the Independent Author Network’s Book of the Year Awards and read the world over.
His latest novel, Make Believe, is the first book in an exciting new series called The Hexford Witches, based entirely in the Yorkshire Dales.
Craig’s next project is a literary Gothic series based in contemporary Yorkshire. The first book will highlight the ghosts of the area’s industrial past and the families who were left broken by the closure of the local mines. While one man grieves for the loss of his wife and is hunted by recurring visions of a large black dog hunting him, his granddaughter is also preyed upon by the boys and men of an honourless society.
Find Craig’s books and social media at: Linktr.ee/craighallamauthor
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 15, 2023
Charity shop find.
1/5 ⭐
➕ Positives:
- The cover looks and feels beautiful, and is what attracted us to this book in the first place.
- The premise of the story is a strong one - some sort of illness has eradicated life as we know it and this book documents what's left after, revolving around two dead (but living) protagonists. I felt this could have been a very strong plot, exploring various aspects of this world.
- I thought the ending was quite good, and really the only way the story could (or should) have ended
➖ Negatives:
- The plot was almost nonexistent, with the protagonists simply wandering from thing to 'person' to thing. I didn't enjoy this, especially as I didn't think the characters were really explored either (which is normally the alternative to a book without much plot).
- There were so many creatures in this (short) book that I lost count. Each was introduced for a chapter or two (if not simply a couple of pages) and then they disappeared again, adding very little to the plot or protagonists. It felt like it was trying to do too much and, as a result, didn't do anything very well.
- The writing wasn't great. While there weren't any spelling mistakes that I spotted (something good for a self published work), there were an unbelievable amount of ineffective literary devices. Two similes in particular stand out for how silly they were: someone was like a 'lemon-flavoured slug' (what??) and it was like a 'caterpillar' had taken a 'bite' out of a building (again, what??).
⚖️ Overall:
- I didn't enjoy this book much at all and won't be looking for the author again.
- I wouldn't recommend.
- I'm glad I gave it a chance.
1/5 ⭐
➕ Positives:
- The cover looks and feels beautiful, and is what attracted us to this book in the first place.
- The premise of the story is a strong one - some sort of illness has eradicated life as we know it and this book documents what's left after, revolving around two dead (but living) protagonists. I felt this could have been a very strong plot, exploring various aspects of this world.
- I thought the ending was quite good, and really the only way the story could (or should) have ended
➖ Negatives:
- The plot was almost nonexistent, with the protagonists simply wandering from thing to 'person' to thing. I didn't enjoy this, especially as I didn't think the characters were really explored either (which is normally the alternative to a book without much plot).
- There were so many creatures in this (short) book that I lost count. Each was introduced for a chapter or two (if not simply a couple of pages) and then they disappeared again, adding very little to the plot or protagonists. It felt like it was trying to do too much and, as a result, didn't do anything very well.
- The writing wasn't great. While there weren't any spelling mistakes that I spotted (something good for a self published work), there were an unbelievable amount of ineffective literary devices. Two similes in particular stand out for how silly they were: someone was like a 'lemon-flavoured slug' (what??) and it was like a 'caterpillar' had taken a 'bite' out of a building (again, what??).
⚖️ Overall:
- I didn't enjoy this book much at all and won't be looking for the author again.
- I wouldn't recommend.
- I'm glad I gave it a chance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2020
Emi is certainly rather different, and a dark delight for all that.
A fitting end, too, for a species that is more monster than blessing.
As for Emi, the little girl supposedly losing touch with her humanity, it felt more as if she had slipped into some kind of innocence.
Perhaps the author has unveiled a secret there -- that the source of our darkness and damnation is the very innocence that is supposed to be our saving grace.
A fitting end, too, for a species that is more monster than blessing.
As for Emi, the little girl supposedly losing touch with her humanity, it felt more as if she had slipped into some kind of innocence.
Perhaps the author has unveiled a secret there -- that the source of our darkness and damnation is the very innocence that is supposed to be our saving grace.
April 14, 2020
Craig Hallam is one of those rare writers who takes a 'what if' and doesn't just go to town with it but produces something more than the sum of its collective, admittedly odd, parts.
On one level Emi is a simply product of a chain of 'what if's'. Japanese mythology, a world post humanity and a couple of zombies one of which happens to be a little girl wandering somewhat aimlessly through this world.
On another it's a study of what it means to be human, looked at through the perspective of something that used to be human but is now something else. It has layers, it builds on those layers, and then it builds on those layers. As one zombie slowly finds its lost humanity and the other moves further away from it. It's sorrowful and melancholy but never it a way that mires the reader in that sorrow. It is full of shades, the ghosts of humanity, seen from the other side.
I don't know if it is profound, perhaps the most profound thing about it is that it feels profound without trying hard to be so. But then what the reader takes from the tale is I suspect a mirror of what the reader starts to look for within it. To be fair this could often be said to be the case with a great many writers, and I can't speak for Mr Hallam's intentions beyond exploring a strange 'what if' for all it is worth. Craig however manages the neat trick of inviting the reader to think about what they are reading while never forcing them to do so. It may well be that he set out to merely write an entertaining oddity, without trying to 'say something profound' which if that is the case, is probably why he has succeeded in doing both.
There is beauty here, the beauty of storytelling which can be more than it sets out to be, if only because what each reader takes from it will be different... But what every reader will take from this is at the very least a smile and a few hours of joyful indulgence in a glorious 'what if' unlike any other 'what if' they have ever read before.
On one level Emi is a simply product of a chain of 'what if's'. Japanese mythology, a world post humanity and a couple of zombies one of which happens to be a little girl wandering somewhat aimlessly through this world.
On another it's a study of what it means to be human, looked at through the perspective of something that used to be human but is now something else. It has layers, it builds on those layers, and then it builds on those layers. As one zombie slowly finds its lost humanity and the other moves further away from it. It's sorrowful and melancholy but never it a way that mires the reader in that sorrow. It is full of shades, the ghosts of humanity, seen from the other side.
I don't know if it is profound, perhaps the most profound thing about it is that it feels profound without trying hard to be so. But then what the reader takes from the tale is I suspect a mirror of what the reader starts to look for within it. To be fair this could often be said to be the case with a great many writers, and I can't speak for Mr Hallam's intentions beyond exploring a strange 'what if' for all it is worth. Craig however manages the neat trick of inviting the reader to think about what they are reading while never forcing them to do so. It may well be that he set out to merely write an entertaining oddity, without trying to 'say something profound' which if that is the case, is probably why he has succeeded in doing both.
There is beauty here, the beauty of storytelling which can be more than it sets out to be, if only because what each reader takes from it will be different... But what every reader will take from this is at the very least a smile and a few hours of joyful indulgence in a glorious 'what if' unlike any other 'what if' they have ever read before.
August 4, 2025
Although a short novel this is an absolute belter that I read in one sitting. Sort of Homeric as two undead people in a post-apocalyptic world set off on a journey to find something. Along the way they meet various characters and you learn that Emi is not quite the innocent little girl she seems. Fantastic.
June 14, 2023
First of all we have to remember this is a novella there for not very long - seeing how the 2 main characters interact and change over the time is great - I would love for this to be it’s own series really understanding all the different characters stories in more detail they meet along the way
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews