Keanu Reeves: From Hollywood Star to Novelist
More than three decades since Keanu Reeves became a household name for his goofy turn as a time-travelling high school student in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, the Canadian actor has notched up a surprising list of accomplishments. Not only is he a bankable action star, but Reeves is also a film director, musician, comic book author, philanthropist, the inspiration for one of the Internet’s favourite memes, and a theatre actor set to make his Broadway debut in a 2025 production of Waiting for Godot.
Reeves can now add novelist to the list, having recently teamed up with speculative fiction author China Miéville to publish his debut novel, The Book of Elsewhere. The action-packed fantasy novel, based on the BRZRKR comic series that Reeves co-created with comic book author Matt Kindt and illustrator Ron Garney, has earned praise from critics.
An Unlikely Collaboration
A graduate of Cambridge, the London School of Economics, and Harvard, Miéville has won nearly every science fiction literary award going, including a record three Arthur C. Clarke Awards and a Hugo Award. Miéville says the novel grapples with the great existential questions of what it means to be human.
Reeves, a longtime admirer of Miéville’s books, reached out to the author to adapt the comic into a novel. Despite his excitement, Miéville resisted the temptation to say yes straight away. After establishing that they could work well together, the collaboration unfolded on Zoom as the pair built upon Reeves’s BRZRKR universe.
The Purpose of Violence on the Page
The Book of Elsewhere opens with bloodshed, setting the tone for the novel. The protagonist, B, an immortal warrior, is working with a black-ops unit in the US military. Each time B dies, he is reborn in a giant egg, yearning for mortality and giving the story a deep sadness.
B is a conflicted character who doesn’t want to kill but enters murderous „fugue states“ that provide the narrative with plenty of gore. Miéville makes a distinction between the „exaggerated violence“ of The Book of Elsewhere and gratuitous or real-life violence, ensuring that the novel doesn’t feel lascivious.
In Defense of Pulp Fiction
While Reeves’s name is on the cover, he admits he didn’t write the novel. Miéville acknowledges Reeves’s invaluable contribution to the creative process, involving in-depth discussions and editorial back-and-forth. The esteemed writer was never concerned that a collaboration with a Hollywood star on a comic book spin-off would damage his literary reputation.
Miéville, comfortable switching between high and low culture, hopes The Book of Elsewhere surprises readers with its emotional depth. Despite potential sniffiness from some readers about pulp fiction, he aims to show that these genres are capable of deep beauty, philosophical rumination, and humanity.
In conclusion, Keanu Reeves’s foray into novel writing with The Book of Elsewhere, in collaboration with China Miéville, showcases the actor’s versatility and creativity beyond the big screen. The novel’s exploration of existential questions and emotional depth demonstrates the power of storytelling across different mediums.