M.R. Carey is easily one of my favorite authors in this sci-fi horror genre that is all their own. I really enjoyed the koli series! I can' t wait to read more of their work!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Carey's "The Trials of Koli" is the second book in the Rampart trilogy and continues the story of Koli's world, a post-apocolyptic England where people live in small isolated villages not knowing much of what transpires even in the next town.  

Some things of note if you haven't read the first book in the trilogy are that technology has all but disappeared, but what technology remains is worshiped and revered and practically drooled over.  Forget the idea that the batteries ever run down.  That would interfere with the storyline.  Suffice it say, pieces of tech are prized in that world as they are today, but more so.  In Koli's village, only a few are allowed to wield the laser beam cutter or the database or the flamethrower and only after testing as a teenager.  Koli, however, has been exiled and does not return to his village at all in this book.

The format of "The Trials of Koli" consists of alternating sections of several chapters between Koli's colloquial Huck Finn voice and that of his childhood crush, Spinner, who does not write in such a colloquial fashion at all.  This switching back and forth between narrative voices is highly succcessful as Spinner tells us from her point of view why she chose another over Koli and what went on back at home after Koli left.  Ultimately, she too grapples with her relationship with technology.  Her story is fascinating and could have been an entire book to itself.

Meanwhile, Koli is off on the journey to London with his odd assortment of companions. This includes an older woman, Ursala, who seems to be highly educated and knows pretty much everything.  Also, she has a giant machine, the Drudge, which can do damn near anything if it is within range.  Again, suspend belief a little and let the story carry along.  The other animate companion is a young girl (although eventually we find it's a "girl" with boy parts, but that is not a major part of the story), Cup, who is initially a prisoner who cannot be trusted, but later becomes a full companion.  The final member of Koli's party is Monomo, a music player with a personality and an artificial intelligence who talks with the voice of a Tokyo teenybopper and seems to be able to access the internet or what's left of it.  

We also find out why the trees and plants are mobile and hostile as it turns out the pre-apocolyptic people genetically engineered the animals and plants and came up with mutations they scarcely could have imagined.  The world of England (or Ingland) as they call it is fascinating and each new town the group finds gives us readers more adventures as is often the case in these type of novels.

All in all, the storytelling ability of the author is so strong that one can easily overlook the inconsistencies in tech that never runs out of juice and such and enjoy a really really well-told story.

https://lynns-books.com/2020/12/07/the-trials-of-koli-rampart-trilogy2-by-mr-carey/
4 of 5 stars
The Trials of Koli is the second in Mr Carey’s Rampart trilogy and was an enjoyable instalment that has left me keen to read the final chapter when it arrives. The first book in the series, The Book of Koli didn’t work out quite as well for me as I’d hoped but this is an author that I really like so I was determined to continue with the series to see which direction the story would take.

I felt that book 2 was much improved by the addition of a new pov narrator and also by the inclusion of some very interesting world building.

Anyway, not to get ahead of myself here, let’s start from the beginning with a brief introduction and obligatory warning that being the second book in series this review may contain spoilers. Also, in my opinion, I do not believe this should be read as a standalone so if you haven’t read the first in series my suggestion is to pick up The Book of Koli first.

So, the story continues almost immediately where book 1 concluded. Koli, Cup and Ursula are making progress travelling across the country, following some sort of signal, in the hopes of reaching London (where they believe they will find new hope). Along the way they meet with a number of distractions, not least of which seems to be a band of hunters who are intent on separating them from their tech. In some respects this is a dog eat dog type of world and the few existing remnants from bygone times are much sought after. Koli and Ursula between them have two very impressive piece of such tech and so it’s no surprise that they find themselves encountering difficult situations from time to time.

Added to this we return to the village where Koli was born, raised and eventually shunned where we follow in the footsteps of Spinner. Spinner recently married into the Ramparts, seriously disappointing Koli at the time who had romantic feelings towards her. We observe her as she is (rather frostily) welcomed into the new family home and then follow her progress from there onwards. I really enjoyed this aspect to the story, the politics of the small village, how the villagers are manipulated and how Spinner, herself a clever young woman, goes through strife before finding a comfortable foothold.

I won’t elaborate further on the plot but let you discover things firsthand. What I will share here instead is the aspects that particularly worked for me.

Firstly, the return to Koli’s village and the inclusion of a fresh and bright POV that continued to deliver a narrative that demonstrates how difficult life is in this new brutal world.

Secondly, observing a little more of the world via Koli’s travels. The group eventually come upon a small fishing village and it’s here that we learn a lot more about some of the key characters, particularly Cup, and also witness the power of this new world and some of the more dangerous aspects, such as Knotweed.

Thirdly, I think, having read quite a number of post apocalyptic style stories there is the inevitable, almost weariness, that comes through witnessing the downward spiral in the way people treat each other, and there were definite elements of that in book 1 and also in this instalment. Group A becomes bigger than Group B and so resorts to brute force to take what it wants and thus become even more powerful and bullying. However, this book quite pleasantly surprised me in that respect by actually offering up a village of people that were kind (mostly) and that whilst struggling to survive, retained some modicum of decency (although there was one particularly twisted individual determined, like a fly in the ointment, to cause trouble).

In terms of criticisms. There is still an element to this that feels very similar to stories that are already out there, but, I thought this became a lot more intriguing when some of the local flora and fauna became more menacing. There is also an element to Koli that prevents me from totally liking him as a character – which seems quite unreasonable in many respect because he certainly isn’t an offensive person. But, I find that I’ve become more attached to some of the others and I thought Cup and Spinner made for very interesting reading. Also, be aware if you’re intending to pick up this series that this is a story being told by Koli who has his very own style of narration that can take a little getting used to at first. This is an aspect however that I thought was well done and a good reflection of how language changes and adapts over the years.

Overall, I enjoyed this one more than I expected, I guess that could be as a result of not over-hyping myself this time around and, given the ending, I’m very curious to read the final instalment.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I hated Koli even more in this second book, even though he was not as central to the plot. Other characters mended and formed relationships way too quick. But everything works out so Koli gets a new pseudo-family, I guess?

Continuing the story of Koli from the first book, this one focuses far more on the strong female characters.  I thought this book had a much faster pace than the second, but was still WAY too long winded.  I'll read the third to find out what happens, but I really hope it has a great ending because the journey was so long.

The trials of Koli picks up where The Book of Koli left off, and you fall right back into Koli’s narration. His simple and almost innocent views on the world were still refreshing. The second book was just as good as the first and I liked the addition of Spinners POV. Both the trials and tribulation Koli and Spinner faced had the pace moved along nicely. Overall, The Trials of Koli is an excellent sequel to a promising dystopian series.

This sequel to The Book of Koli amps up the action and really gives the trilogy some solid movement. In this installment it moves from an okay dystopian to one that really grows some legs and has some clout.

The dual POV was an excellent choice and really adds a lot of complexity, depth, and interest to the story. Spinner's sections were much easier to read and flowed very well. This was a good balance to the chapters from Koli, which continue to be a little more work to get through due to the broken English style. This makes his pieces of the story feel much more choppy, but does fittingly give each character a distinct storytelling style.

The movement in this novel is much faster paced than the first. There is a lot going on and this makes the narrative much more engaging. I am loving the progression of the two stories and I'm excited to see how things round out in the third book.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

I am a huge fan of M.R. Carey's writing so when I saw The Trials of Koli on Netgalley, I jumped at the opportunity to read it. I didn't realize it was the second in a series but it  turned out it didn't matter because I loved it even with the references to the first novel. As in Carey's other books eg The Girl with All the Gifts, the story is set in some dystopian future and the world-building in this future Britain is fascinating right down to nature, the remnants of tech left from some ancient (but future for the reader) before period, but especially the characters who make it completely unputdownable. This is one of my favourite books so far this year and I recommend it highly but I suspect you might want to start with the first. I have already purchased it and now I'm just waiting impatiently until the next in the series comes out. 

<Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

This has been a very interesting book series that I wasn't’ sure I would like at first. The writing style is unique - written in the character’s vernacular, it is at times difficult to parse on the first readthrough of a sentence. After perhaps a quarter of the first book, I was used to it and I was quicker to get back into the groove on this installment. This is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi series and The Trials of Koli delves even deeper into the world.

This picks up directly after the events of the first book, with Koli, Ursula, and Cup still traveling towards London. Rather than just following Koli, Spinner also gets her own POV chapters which is great because it means we get to find out what’s been happening in the village. I found that I vastly preferred Spinner’s chapters, because I thought they were much more interesting. Koli’s chapters felt a little stagnant, though they certainly weren’t boring. 

The pacing of the story went hand in hand with how I felt about the characters POV chapters. Koli’s were slower and Spinner’s were exciting and seemed to fly past. This resulted in the pacing feel a bit uneven, though I think this was largely due to personal preference. There was a good amount of action in both POVs, and Spinner’s chapters were downright heart racing at times!

Overall, this was an enjoyable read, though I struggled somewhat to truly get absorbed into the story. I do plan to finish out the trilogy when The Fall of Koli is released because despite my lack of obvious excitement in this review, it is a pretty cool story/world. The search for London, the struggles of the villagers, the deadly environs, and so much more make this a unique and exciting world worth reading about.

I wasn't able to read the first book, but I'll be featuring both books in a series called "I Wish I'd Read That." Text below:

I had grand plans for The Rampart Trilogy. There’s nothing better than a long book series released nearly back to back over the course of a year. The description of the first book was wonderfully vague, leaving you with a picture of a very natural world that is hiding a dark past. Thanks to 2020, this trilogy has eluded me, but I’d love to hear in the comments what you thought of the world-building and character growth. Read more about the author and books below, or purchase a copy for yourself! And of course, a big thank you to Orbit for the free review copies of this compelling series!

I really liked M.R. Carey's book The Girl with All the Gifts, but the Koli series has honestly been kind of disappointing. This book really just failed to hold my attention the entire time, and I felt really confused a lot of time time.

The Trials of Koli continues the story of a post-apocalyptic world in which the trees will literally eat you. This book focuses on the journey of Koli and his friends to find the lost city of London. It also adds the perspective of Spinner, allowing us to see what happened in Mythen Rood after Koli left the village.

In spite of the fact that this book clocks in at well over 400 pages, it is a surprisingly quick read. I found myself so engrossed in this fascinating world that I ripped through this book in two days flat, yet again. Once again, the world building is simply superb. In this book, we get an expanded view of the world: villages that have thrived, villages that have failed, ruins of the old world, various belief systems, etc.

We also have a motley crew of supporting characters for both of these journeys: Ursula, a clever loner who understands much about the world that was lost; Cup, the fierce trans female warrior; Monono, the Japanese AI who has become self-aware; Haijon, Spinner's husband who was stripped of his Rampart status after his tech was destroyed; and Catrin, the Rampart leader who used trickery to establish her family's power. And yet, none of these characters can truly be quite so simply defined. The second book continues the character building that started in the first book, so these characters become even more flesh-and-blood. And there's plenty of action in this book, with plenty of scenes that will keep you turning pages.

I am enjoying this series a great deal, and I'm very excited to read the next book in this trilogy. Thanks to Orbit Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

4+ stars

I got an ARC of The Trials of Koli and realized it was Book 2 of the Rampart Trilogy.  I listened to an audio book of Book 1 and read Book 2 immediately afterwards.  Having listened to the audio book first helped me connect better to Monono Aware.  While reading the second installment I realize the author shows lots of misspellings and misnamed places and objects which matches a mainly illiterate world which I didn’t catch while listening to the audiobook.   

The Trials of Koli picks up right after the Book of Koli ends.  Koli, Monono, Cup and Ursala are out in the woods searching for more Old Tech and answers.  The book switches between Koli and his childhood friend Spinner who still lives in the village.

I love dystopian books and this trilogy does not disappoint.  Koli is very likable and kind in a brutal world.  I like the mix of Middle Ages lifestyle sprinkled with high tech.  I can’t wait for Book 3.

I had enjoyed The Book of Koli, and was excited to reading the sequel. This book didn't disappoint, it had what I was looking for in the sequel. I look forward to more from this series.

If you liked The Book of Koli, you will like this next part of the story, which sees Koli, Ursala, and Cup (and Monono Aware!) traveling far from Koli’s village to discover the greater landscape and more of the remaining peoples of Ingland, while also checking in on what’s happened back in Mythen Rood, with Spinner as narrator. Her story is perhaps more surprising than Koli’s, and just as epic in its own way.

The post-apocalyptic world Carey has built is so well-rendered, his characters so complex. I loved this and can’t wait for Book 3!

This is book 2 of the Rampart Trilogy by M.R. Carey, writer of The Girl with All the Gifts.  In this second installment, Koli teams up with Ursula, Cup, Monono the virtual girl, and the Drudge to seek out the long lost city of London while back in Mythen Rood, an epidemic takes hold and Spinner's character is further developed in POV chapters.  The setting is the world many, many years after the Unfinished War. Society has devolved into a type of medieval existence except that there is leftover "tech" from before the final war and climate change. Its all very creative and imaginative.  I will definitely read the third book.  Looking forward to it.  

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC.

In THE BOOK OF KOLI, readers were introduced to the wonderfully endearing Koli Woodsmith as he was trying to find his place within his small community. His journey continues in THE TRIALS OF KOLI, where he is navigating yet another tricky space by coming to terms with being Faceless and alone. Not only did his world expand by miles and miles seemingly overnight, but so did the danger. There is no fence to protect him from the harsh environment and there are no weapons to protect him against the exiles as he and Ursula try to make their way to London. 

With this second book, Carey shines more light on the events and the circumstances that led to the end of the world. Human interference, genetic modification, global warming were all factors in the environment turning on us. My favorite aspect of this series still remains the danger from things we find innocuous. I’m not sure what’s better — having people try and survive the seemingly unsurvivable, or just let nature take over and eat everyone. Another contributing factor to the apocalypse was something known as the Unfinished War. A little more is revealed about said war, but not nearly enough and I hope that’s explored more in the final book. 

In THE TRIALS OF KOLI, readers are also joyously given dual narrators where the story moves between Koli and Spinner, who recounts what happened after Koli was exiled and the now-precarious position Mythen Rood and its Ramparts finds itself in. What readers (and Koli) already know about the tech, some members of Mythen Rood have been necessarily let in on the secret and it seems like only a matter of time before the community implodes. 

Bottom line — Carey’s RAMPART trilogy is definitely one you need to read. It’s a post-apocalyptic treat that’s unlike any other, with characters you can’t help but feel for. Highly recommend both this book and its predecessor, and I can’t wait to see how Koli’s journey concludes in the final book.

The Trials of Koli // by M.R. Carey

I finished this book about a week ago and have been dreading writing this review since. I loved this book and it’s always the ones I love the most that I worry about writing reviews for the most. It stresses me out to find the appropriate words to convey my love for a book without scaring someone away with my enthusiasm at the same time. But I assure you, I very much enjoyed my time back in Ingland with Koli and his companions, and here is why.

Koli of course is as charming and full of heart as ever. Yes, he can be absolutely clueless sometimes and a little bit of an airhead. He is our adorable Koli-boo though and you cannot really be mad at him with his sheltered kid vibe. While that sounds critical, I really do not mean to be harsh because Koli also often has some really deep thoughts that stem from how he tries to understand other people and put himself in their place. While he might not always agree with their thinking, it does show great character that he considers things from all angles before forming an opinion. I also like that despite his wary travels and having had his life threatened multiple times since leaving Mythen Rood, he still does not like to kill and tries to find an alternative whenever possible. I’m honestly not sure if I have ever rooted for a character this much before and I am wondering if I am in for the biggest heartbreak of my reading life since the third and last installment in The Rampart Trilogy is called The Fall of Koli.

This second book though is not only narrated by Koli, but also by his former best friend Spinner. I was a little disappointed by this at first because I really just wanted to find out more about Koli’s journey but that opinion changed rather quickly. It was so interesting to see things through Spinner’s eyes. I loved how much Spinner enjoys learning and you realize rather quickly that she has had a much different education than Koli, in the way she speaks and perceives things. She is also a lot more cunning, which I did not expect at all after Koli’s description of her in the first book. I was rather offended for Koli’s sake in the beginning but started craving her narrations soon as well. She is a great storyteller and really knows how to play with the reader’s emotions. We not only get to hear about Koli’s banishment from her point of view but also what happens with Mythen Rood after he leaves. Her life does not exactly play out like she has planned and she has several difficult decisions to make herself as well and it is interesting to hear her line of thinking. While she does consider others as well, it does not feel as genuine as it does with Koli and sometimes has a tinge of self-serving to it.

Both perspectives teach us a lot about the Ingland of their time in terms of society, flora and fauna, and technology. There are also again complicated topics, such as identity, sexuality, artificial intelligence, religion, ethics, and personal responsibility, that somehow get stripped down to the very basics for both narrators as they often are in the very beginning stages of learning of these things. I enjoyed the conflict of wanting to choose a comfortable life in a community of welcoming strangers versus being a part of trying to better the world for everyone still clinging on to life in such harsh circumstances. While Koli struggles with this decision, Spinner on the other hand has a chance to change the future of her community with the information she learns during her dealings with the Ramparts. Carey really knows how to pack a lot of things into his books without making it feel like they take over the entire story.

Just like in the first book, I really enjoyed the world-building itself apart from the story. While this Ingland feels somewhat fantastical with the plants and animals we get to hear about, it also feels oddly realistic and within reach at the same time. It is easy to picture out world heading in this exact direction and that makes this read both fascinating as well as slightly terrifying. I am really looking forward to the third book to learn more about the history as well as everyone’s adventures, especially since Carey left us with a big cliffhanger this time. I said in my review of The Book of Koli that the first book very much feels like the beginning of a trilogy due to its slow start and being left open-ended, and here again, Carey leaves us wanting more and chomping at the bit to get our hands on the last book. There is a lot going on in this book but he really built things up for the next one!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This was even better than the first book! So this book picks up where the first one ended, but this time there are two concurrent stories that are occurring--one is with Koli and his friends and the other is with Spinner back in the village. I did a combination of reading and listening to this book (my request for the audiobook came in when I was about 20% through the book) depending on if I had time to sit or not. But I ended up finishing the book listening and reading at the same time. What I appreciated about the narration is that Koli's part was narrated by Theo Solomon and Spinner's part was narrated by Saffron Coomber and both were equally good at narrating not just Koli and Spinner's parts, but also other character voices, both male and female, so I never had trouble following the story. Still, I enjoyed reading the words as well, so this is a book that can be enjoyed in both formats. This time, I was not thrown by the "poor grammar" and it felt more like a dialect to me. As for the world-building, I'm kind of blown away by how unique a world they live in. There was much more time spent on the battle between nature and humanity in this book, and I loved how Spinner and Koli and friends were able to figure out what questions to ask and creatively come up with various solutions. Along with the science, the author spent enough time developing the sometimes uneasy relationships between the various characters, and there were even some discussions that went into science vs. faith that I found interesting. This book does end on a cliffhanger of sorts, but it's a good place for both Spinner and Koli's stories to pause, just for a bit. But I will be anxiously waiting for the third book!

FTC Disclosure: Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I love what Carey has done here with The Rampart Trilogy; book one was released April 14th, now in September book two is in our hands. Enough time for book one to be well settled in my past, but not so long that my interest has waned. Very smart timing.

The fact that this is a stated trilogy keeps me involved; too often I start a series, I get invested in the characters and then by the time we reach book 22 it seems like the same thing over and over again; I often find that I’m done with the characters before the author is. But the trilogy is perfect: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Carey has guaranteed me that he has enough story for three books, and he will not push it beyond that.

Carey has expanded the point of view with this book, adding more details to Koli’s story and his world. This is a world that has captivated my attention, it is unique and filled with a perspective on humanity and nature that is hard to find anywhere else. There are some political, no, not political, humanitarian topics or opinions that come through in this story; they are on the fringes, not shoved down your throat. I appreciate how Carey lets his readers into his mind and his opinions without being preachy and condescending (some authors lack that skill).

But most of all I loved the story, the interaction with the characters, the surprises along the way. Carey kept me entranced with The Trials of Koli: I laughed, I cried, where can I buy the T-shirt? I have been left with a need, want, and desire to know what happens to Koli and his friends. What more could you ask for from book two in a trilogy?

*4.5 Stars