When Keanu met China, and they wrote a sci-fi novel

China Miéville was Reeves' first choice to adapt his 'BRZRKR' comics

- DEBORAH DUNDAS

Actor Keanu Reeves, shown at a San Diego Comic-Con panel for his comic book series "BRZRKR," has published his first novel with writer China Miéville, "The Book of Elsewhere," which is based on the comic book series.

A bunch of years ago, in 2021, Keanu Reeves, along with writer Matt Kindt and artist Ron Garney, created “BRZRKR,” a comic book centred on an immortal warrior called the Berzerker. The series was a hit and is set to become a Netflix anime series and feature film.

Reeves is no stranger to any of those mediums, he of the incredibly successful “The Matrix,” “John Wick” and “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” film series’ fame.

So about Berzerker: the character is half-man, half-god and is cursed to a life of extreme violence. He’s wandered the world for 80,000 years, until he finally begins working for the U.S. government to fight dangerous battles no one else will. His payback? Learning the truth about his endless existence and how to end it.

It’s been a success by any stretch of the imagination — and Reeves even received the Inkpot Award at the recent San Diego Comic-Con for his contributions to art and pop culture.

Now, he’s adding a debut novel to his repertoire. “The Book of Elsewhere,” co-written with China Miéville, explores death and mortality.

Even Reeves, a beloved Hollywood star, geeks out like a fanboy. He was excited about the idea of doing a novel connected to the comic book, something he had been talking about with Boom! Studios, its publisher. When asked who he wanted to write it, his answer was instant: Miéville.

“They said, ‘We’ll never get him.’ And I said, ‘Well, why don’t we just send them the comics and beg?’” Reeves said in a Zoom interview.

“Did he have to beg?” I asked Miéville, who was also on the call.