Although the origins of the idea remain vague, Keanu Reeves recalls it emerged around the time of John Wick: Chapter 2’s premiere and just prior to his role in The Matrix Resurrections. Suddenly, he found himself conceptualizing an immortal man.
This thought triggered a succession of what-ifs; “What if he lived for 80,000 years? What’s his background? Could he originate from a tribe under attack, seeking divine intervention, and behold a god responds? What if this precipitates a demigod’s birth?”
Progressively, Reeves admits this rudimentary idea began to complicate and evolve. For a while, this undying warrior resided solely in Reeve’s imagination. Yet he soon began to ponder if this character could form the foundation of a comic book, potentially even an action film or animated series.
“And what if,” Reeves contemplated, “it evolved into a novel?”
Reeve’s inception of an eternal warrior has subsequently spearheaded an expanding multimedia franchise. The comic that he dreamed up and co-authored titled, BRZRKR, transformed into a 12-issue series selling upwards of 2 million copies. With a live-action film and animated series currently being developed by Netflix, both featuring Reeves as producer and lead.
Now, Reeves unveils his inaugural novel, ‘The Book of Elsewhere,’ a collaborative effort with renowned British sci-fi author China Miéville.
‘The Book of Elsewhere,’ nested within the realm of the BRZRKR comic, melds sci-fi, fantasy, historical literature, and mythology, all underscored by a potent existentialist undertone.
It does not do justice to label the book as merely odd; its peculiarity lies in its genre-melding, mutable nature. Anchored by Reeve’s 80,000-year-old Warrior known as Unute or sometimes B, an entity of superhuman strength grown tired of his eternal existence. While presenting as a pulp-filled, high-octane thriller, it simultaneously explores mortality, time’s elusive quality, and the human condition.
Initially, it may appear strange to align Reeves and Miéville. Reeves has a strong film career, famously known for his roles in top-grossing action films such as The Matrix and John Wick, in addition to cult favourites like the comedic time-travelling romp Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and the wave-chasing crime narrative Point Break. On the other hand, Miéville is a well-learned Marxist, holding a doctorate in international relations from London School of Economics. His respected status in the literary world is fuelled by his complex, politically-infused sci-fi and fantasy books, including “Kraken”, which features a sect obsessed with squids, and Railsea, a dystopia blanketed with train tracks and dominated by humongous naked mole rats – a reinterpretation and critique of Moby-Dick and modern capitalism.
However, the collaboration between Reeves and Miéville can be seen to hold artistic and cultural significance, as well as presenting a unique philosophical twist. Both consistently challenge assumptions about reality’s conundrums in their respective works, cleverly hiding these ideas amidst high-octane narratives. Reeves has a keen interest in science fiction, with authors like William Gibson and Philip K Dick mesmerising him in his younger days, and was later fascinated by the brilliance of Miéville’s short stories. Miéville, in return, admires the way Reeves expertly blends enthralling spectacle and radical philosophical questioning in films like The Matrix and Johnny Mnemonic.
During a shared virtual interview conducted from their homes in Los Angeles and Berlin, both Reeves and Miéville used the term “preposterous” articulating the bizarre feeling of collaborating. They reminisced their inaugural meeting in Berlin in the summer of 2021, with enthusiasm akin to a newly formed pair describing their initial moments together.
Reeves fondly remembered Miéville being fully prepared for their encounter, “China, I really appreciated how ready you were. He had this small book and a pencil, that was just great, and I thought, yes.” He continued, mimicking Miéville’s British accent, “‘He said, I’ve been deeply pondering this and have a few queries to put forth.’ And I thought, absolutely, please go ahead.”
During their conversation, Reeves gave permission to Miéville to utilise the graphic novel’s source material freely, with only a few critical character attributes and storyline elements to adhere to. Miéville was drawn to this flexibility, surmising that it would enable him to develop a unique and engaging narrative without it appearing as a mere extension of the comic or an affiliated merchandise.
Miéville expressed that the essence was to create a BRZRKR novel that was novel in its perspective while celebrating its foundations. He expounded, “It was vital for us to imbue this work with an originality that is inherently literary, in the context of utilising the novel format, yet makes no apologies for being a BRZRKR novel and respects the original work.”
Regarding why he wanted to incorporate a novel into his artistic portfolio and how this intersects his acting profession, Reeves provided what he termed an “overly simplistic and condensed” explanation. He clarified that he simply adores the diversified manifestation of storytelling.
Matt Kindt, who worked on the comic series with Reeves, offers another perspective on why Reeves was heavily invested in the warrior character. He discerns that Reeves, although a public figure for years, has retained a somewhat mystifying persona. Kindt theorises that Reeves identifies with the warrior, a revered character with a devoted following, yet feels solitary and misunderstood, burdened by people’s misconstrued assumptions about him.
Kindt conveys, “This narrative seems highly personal to me.” To him, this narrative appears to subtly echo Reeves’s renowned roles in intensely stylised action films – an indomitable, larger-than-life character who incessantly kills yet is indestructible.
Upon reviewing his creative journey, Reeves concedes he hadn’t initially recognized how much of himself he had poured into the warrior character. However, he now understands how his philosophical tendencies influenced his storytelling.
Expressing surprise at what the creative process revealed, he said, “Perhaps creativity is a form of confession. And so, I may have unresolved issues related to my parents. And perhaps, I contemplate death.”
It may come as quite a surprise, but Keanu Reeves is not only a renowned actor but a novelist as well. He joins other film industry stars such as Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Jim Carrey, Sean Penn, and Carrie Fisher, who have all ventured into writing. The twist, however, is that unlike these other stars, Reeves didn’t opt for a ghostwriter, but instead collaborated with an award-winning author. The choice of turning to China Miéville as his literary ally clearly signifies his earnest approach to the project.
Working together, the pair crafted the storyline, with Miéville primarily handling the actual writing, shaping an outline, crafting the initial draft, and amending it based upon Reeves’ input. Despite these efforts, some may simply regard Keanu Reeves’ publishing foray as another celebrity sideline, not dissimilar to releasing their own fragrance or alcoholic beverage.
The opinion of Reeves’ book, ‘The Book of Elsewhere’, is somewhat divided. Praise came from acclaimed author, William Gibson, who labelled it as “impressively innovative,” while Kirkus Reviews lauded its imaginative and lyrical language. However, Publishers Weekly called it ‘clumsy’ and ‘monotonous’. Notably, one critic from Booklist found themselves both captivated and perplexed, suggesting that the tale might be a self-referential nod to some of Reeves’ widespread internet memes, such as ‘Sad Keanu’, which stemmed from a photo of a subdued Reeves eating solo on a park seat. As the critic noted, “Whether that’s the case, it certainly works”.
Reeves’ novel primarily focused on profound questions about life and existence. The actor admits to not fully understanding the world’s inherent violence, the human inclination for self-destruction, and our race to escape the confines of our planet and become a digital entity. He also ponders the paradox of love: seemingly fragile, yet undoubtedly the most potent force in existence. All these contemplations found their expression in the guise of a graphic novel, demonstrating Reeves’ unstandardised take on a celeb’s side venture.
Initially, “The Book of Elsewhere” seems to share similarities with a high-octane spy thriller with its grisly scenes of violence, reminiscent of Reeves’ renowned assassin role in John Wick. The opening unfurls with a shocking depiction of violence, where a covert military group is targeted by a suicide bomber aiming at B, the warrior. B has consented to allow the US army to exploit his abilities as a weapon in return for assistance in resolving the enigma of his own existence.
However, the plot swiftly takes a turn into profound philosophical domains. Ben Greenberg, who purchased and edited the book for Random House, under its Del Rey imprint, describes it as an intellectual-driven novel intertwined with an action-packed narrative. Its disparate elements gradually coalesce into a coherent whole, which is unexpected in a novel by Keanu Reeves.
Interspersed throughout “The Book of Elsewhere” are introspective, second-person narratives from B as he lonely traverses eons upon earth, observing the waxing and waning of civilizations, technologies, species, religions, languages, and ideologies. The narrative includes a lengthy appearance from Sigmund Freud, who futilely attempts to cure the warrior’s insurmountable despondency. B muses on his encounters with notable personalities such as Karl Marx – who he states, contrary to popular belief, had a great sense of humour – and playwright Samuel Beckett. The latter, in the novel’s unconventional historical revision, once cast B in his absurdist play, “Krapp’s Last Tape”. The narrative is further complicated by a magical, immortal deer-pig, specifically a tusked wild Indonesian pig known as a babirusa, which has been B’s relentless pursuer for 78,000 years, evolving into his archenemy and essentially, his only family.
Reeves has future plans drawing upon this character, even entertaining the idea of an epic poem. He asserts that his approach is from an artist’s perspective, rather than the view of show business, focusing on creation rather than exploitation. Although unsure about how the characterisation of B, as delineated by Miéville in the novel, will influence future endeavours, he is confident that it will hold surprises for him.
Reeves expresses that he is yet to discover certain aspects, he has plenty to ponder on. He is curious about how his actions would impact the canon as he resumes playing with his creations. Initially reported by The New York Times, this story is now shared here. Del Ray is responsible for publishing The Book of Elsewhere, which can be acquired for £22. The New York Times Company holds the rights to this story in 2024.