Despite all the positive reviews, I can’t get myself to get past chapter one. The first book exhausted me and I have no interest in learning more about Koli unfortunately, I tried but maybe will try again in the later future. With that being said, don’t listen too much to my review because so many other people seem to love this series. I won’t be posting this review anywhere else either, just here on Netgalley.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to netgalley for sending me the arc regardless, that is always very appreciated!

"There can't be rules in the telling of stories. They've got to go where they go, which is not always where you would want them to."

The Trials of Koli is a fantastic follow up to The Book of Koli. This book follows Koli Faceless (as he is now so named) as he begins his search to save humanity. His trials are shared with Ursala and Cup as they look for a radio signal of unknown origin and discover a beach community on the way. Unlike The Book of Koli, we also get a second POV in this book. While Koli is facing unknown dangers beyond the wall of his old home, Spinner (a girl Koli loved) tells us what is happening in Mythen Rood after Koli's departure.

The introduction of Spinner's point of view was something I didn't know I wanted. Since the first book just followed Koli, I assumed the series would continue on that was. As soon as we got into Spinner's head back in Mythen Rood though, I just wanted more. Her POV provides not only a continuation of the story of those characters Koli left behind, but it also provided a sense of urgency to Koli's story as the residents of Mythen Rood face a deadly outbreak. In addition, Spinner is more educated than Koli, and it comes across in her telling of evens, creating two distinct voices and views of one rich world.

Koli and Ursala meanwhile flee from the events of book one with Cup in tow. As outside forces close in on them they have to figure out how to trust one another or none of them will survive. While the beginning of the books events are action packed, as Koli's group settles into another community is slows down and becomes very character driven. These characters get much more fleshed out and because of that it has more heart and character driven arcs than in the first book.

Final thoughts: The Trials of Koli breathed much more life into the world and characters already well established in The Book of Koli and I can't wait for what is sure to be an epic conclusion.

Just a warning, slight spoilers for the first book in case you haven’t read it. You might want to pick that up first. If you’re interested my review for the first book The Book of Koli can be found on my blog.

It’s going to be a little hard for me to write this review. Mostly because I was so absorbed in the story and writing that I read through it on hyper-speed trying to find out what would happen next! I love this series. I love the characters, the world building, the story line. I just love everything about it.

Koli himself is a great person. A little confused, not too good in a fight, hopeful, naive and compassionate. Not your usual main character in a dystopian post-apocalyptic series, but I think that’s what I like most about him. He has moved away from his home, and into the unknown, but thankfully is accompanied by three women. One, Ursala, a brilliant, isolated woman who cares more about Koli than she is willing to admit. Second, Monono, a computer AI with complicated motivations who butts heads with Ursala constantly, but is devoted to Koli. Third, Cup, a vulnerable young trans woman looking for her place in a world full of danger.

This is found family, they might not call it that, but it is what it is. I love their interactions and adventures and I absolutely can’t wait for the next book. I will do a re-read of the first two and probably speed through the second so I’m sorry for the terrible review that will probably come. Just suffice to say when it comes to Koli, they are good reviews and I can’t recommend it enough.

Song for this book: The Call by Regina Spektor

The nitty-gritty: A stellar follow-up to one of my favorite books of 2020, The Trials of Koli is even better than the first book—unique, engaging, emotional and highly satisfying.

The future rises out of the past like a fountain, and cannot be held back.

Koli’s adventures continue in this excellent follow-up to The Book of Koli, M.R. Carey’s post-apocalyptic trilogy. I gave The Book of Koli five stars, and I was thrilled to be able to do the same for The Trials of Koli. Carey surprised me this time by adding a second perspective to his story, and at first I wasn’t sure how that was going to work out. But luckily, the author knew exactly what he was doing, and I never should have doubted him. This is a series you definitely need to read in order, so please do not start with this book! And take note, there will be minor spoilers for the first book in this review.

Just in case you need a refresher, the Rampart Trilogy takes place in a post apocalyptic world where pockets of people are scattered throughout “Ingland” after something called the Unfinished War. Koli is a young boy who, at the end of the last book, was cast out of the village of Mythen Rood for stealing tech—the priceless pieces of old technology that protect the village—and now he must navigate the world outside, which is filled with dangerous trees and animals and even groups of rogue outsiders. Koli is traveling with Ursala, a healer who has an amazing piece of tech of her own called a drudge, and Cup, a girl who they rescued during their adventures at the end of The Book of Koli. The tech that Koli stole is a Dreamsleeve named Monono Aware, a virtual Japanese performer who not only plays music but has her own distinct personality. Monono and Koli are fast friends, and Koli’s biggest fear is losing her. Koli and his friends are following a radio signal to London, where Ursala hopes to find vast numbers of people still alive, with the hope of creating a larger gene pool and literally saving the human race.

The second perspective is that of Spinner, who we briefly met in the last book. Koli was in love with her, but she chose another boy to marry, much to Koli's dismay. Spinner’s story tells what happened after Koli left, when she married Haijon Vennastin. Jon became Rampart Knife due to his affinity with a piece of tech called a cutter, and now Spinner is joining him in Rampart Hold as his wife. Spinner’s tale unfolds as she attempts to become friends with her new family members, who don’t seem to like her at first. But the people of Mythen Rood soon have other things to worry about when a deadly plague comes to the village. Spinner has no idea, but she is about to have her own adventure with the village’s tech as they attempt to figure out what is causing the plague and how to stop it.

I’m reluctant to give you any more of the plot so as not to spoil all the wonderful surprises in this story. The Trials of Koli is—in my opinion—the perfect middle book. New writers would be smart to read this series for inspiration, as Carey does everything right. You won’t find “middle book slump” here, or a book that acts as filler between the first and third books. Instead, The Trials of Koli is its own entity. It moves the overall series plot along nicely, but it also follows a clear story arc of its own, which I found thrilling, humorous, emotional and gasp-inducing in equal measure. 

I found myself loving both Koli’s and Spinner’s sections. When Spinner begins her tale, there is a little overlap with events from the last book, but because we are hearing those events from a different character’s perspective, everything felt fresh and exciting. And as time went on, I found myself so invested in Spinner’s story, that I actually felt sad when her sections ended. But then I realized how much I loved Koli’s story, and I was happy to be back there! And so on.

I loved Koli in the last book, and I grew to love him even more in this book, along with almost all of the other characters. Koli is completely innocent when he heads off into the world, seeing and experiencing things for the first time in his life, but you can see how he’s growing and changing in this book, even though he’s surrounded by people who seem to always be one step ahead of him. I liked the fact that his ignorance is balanced out by Ursala and Cup: Ursala because she is extremely smart and understands the ins and outs of medical science, and Cup because she has been through awful heartache and torture but has come through it all with strength and compassion. 

I think Cup was by far my favorite character this time around. I may have missed it in the last book, but Cup is a trans woman—not even a woman, but a teenager of about fourteen—who wants nothing more than to be accepted. Luckily she’s found acceptance in Koli and Ursala, and later on her adventures, when the group meets the people of Many Fishes, she finds love and even a place she thinks she can call home. Ursala and Monono discuss medical options for Cup, especially with the onset of puberty when she is struggling with such things as growing facial hair and the prospect of her voice changing, and I loved that Carey included these moments.

Many relationships between characters also change and grow, especially that of Ursala and Cup, and Ursala and Monono. Ursala distrusts both Cup and Monono at the outset of their journey, and I loved the small, subtle shifts that happen between them that turn enemies into fast friends. This is a wonderful “found family” story, for those of you who love that particular trope!

And I adored Spinner and her tale, as I mentioned before. Spinner is also an innocent and is unaware of the wider world, but she’s also quite smart, and her mind is blown when she makes a discovery about the tech of Mythen Rood. In fact, Carey focuses heavily on tech in this story, and as we venture further from Mythen Rood, we get to see more of this future’s abandoned tech. In the first book, I was trying to figure out exactly what the tech was (for example, I pictured the Dreamsleeve as an iPod), but in fact, most of this tech is completely unfamiliar. Even though Carey gives us a clear image of a dying world where tech doesn’t work anymore, that tech is still decades away from what might be familiar to us right now. And with each new piece of tech we discover, Carey widens our view of his fascinating world.

I also wanted to briefly mention one of my favorite parts of the book, which starts at about the halfway point. This is when Koli, Cup and Ursala find themselves guests of the people of Many Fishes, a peaceful village where life is much different from what Koli is used to. I won’t tell you too much, but I will mention that there is a fabulous side story involving a boat, and Carey finally tells us more about the killer trees introduced in the first book, and we get to witness the choker seeds firsthand. I absolutely adored the beliefs of the village and what happens to their dead, which also ties into that boat story I mentioned.

There are so many other elements I haven't even mentioned, but I should probably wrap things up so you can start reading this series if you haven’t already. The ending leads right into book three, and you can bet I’ll be waiting impatiently for March 2021, when the series concludes. Highly recommended!

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

I received this book as an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Trials of Koli by M.R. Carey, is book two of the Rampart trilogy. My review of this book is fairly straight forward. Did you like book 1? Get book 2 then. Book 2 continues to build the world and characters we met in Book 1. It also introduces Spinner as a main view point character. I really enjoyed her viewpoint because it allowed us to see the fall out of Koli’s actions in the first book in much greater detail. In some ways, Spinner’s chapters were more interesting then Koli’s. I am interested to see how these two plotlines will intersect in the future.

As for Koli’s plotline, I overall enjoyed it, but felt that it drug in certain spots towards the end of the book. One bit of frustration I had was the dynamic between Monono and Ursula. While the conflict made sense, the resolution did not. It just kinda felt like one character got bored of the other and was like “Meh”. The book also comes to a screeching halt once the trio arrives at a village and not a whole lot happens until nature takes over. The saving grace of Koli’s chapters was Cup, surprisingly enough. Cup was the young girl who followed Koli and Ursula from the caves and Book 1 and was not happy about the death of her leader. It was so enjoyable to see Ursula and Koli begin to trust Cup. It was even more enjoyable to see Cup find her voice and live her truth during the book. You go girl. I really appreciate that M.R. Carey included a transgender character such as Cup and allowed her to find some happiness and sense of self worth in the book. We need more of this representation. And Ursula’s and Cup’s interactions were just precious!

Overall, if you enjoyed Book 1 and were curious about what happens to Mythen Rood after Koli’s departure, Book 2 is definitely a must read for you. Cannot wait for Book 3~~~

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings.  While I try to post no spoilers, if ye haven’t read the first book in this series, the book of koli, then ye might want to skip this.  If ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

So, can I have the third one right now?  Cause dang was this even better than the first.  I gobbled it up in one sitting and need to know what happens next.

The world expands in this installment.  One of the things I loved best was that not only are we following Koli, but we also get to have a new point-of-view from an old character that Koli left behind in the village.  I didn't think I needed to know what was happening there.  I assure ye that I did.  The switching back and forth was excellent and each section ended on these awesome cliffhangers where ye wanted more but also needed too see what was happening in the other part of the world too.  I didn't know which parts I would rather be in.  So fun.

I continued to love the writing in the degraded language.  I loved watching Koli's group turn into a found family.  I loved all the characters' personal growth.  I loved the plants and monsters.  I loved the AI and tech and the surprises in that regard.  Actually, I loved all the surprises.  I just plain loved this book.

No major plot points from me because of the joy of watching the story unfold.  Just know that ye have to read book one first.  I am avidly waiting for the conclusion of the trilogy.  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank ye Orbit Books!

"The Trials of Koli" is the second novel in M R. Carey’s Rampart trilogy. I consider part one - "The Book of Koli" - as one of the best books I read in 2020, so I naturally requested the ARC of the sequel as soon as I saw it was available.

The story is set in a dystopian future, although it is difficult to ascertain just how far in the future. It is far enough that the composition of Earth's biosphere has been dramatically altered (due to human tinkering) and plant and animal life have become massively deadly to humans. The drastically reduced surviving population's only source of protecting themselves are the rare remnants of high-tech weaponry, held and operated by the chosen few.

In the first volume, our main protagonist, Koli, had been forced to leave the protection of his village and try to survive in this hostile environment. When we last saw him, Koli, alongside his companions (his iPod-like AI Monono, elder Ursala, her high-tech Drudge, and their prisoner, young Cup) ventured out in search of mythical London, where they hoped to find a way to help humanity survive.

In the sequel, the focus of the story widens in multiple ways. As the group travels through the post-apocalyptic landscape, they encounter other human communities - some friendly, some hostile - who have taken different paths towards survival. They come across new and wondrous tech, horrifying evidence of humanity's demise in destroyed cities, and as they go on, we learn more details about the mysterious Unfinished War.

If you are "dystopian fatigued" and would hesitate before picking up this series, let me reassure you - the world is just a backdrop, in its heart the book is about the human characters and their evolution. Over the course of their journey, the characters are forced to form an uneasy alliance, which eventually blossoms into a loyal family. Koli has always been a very sympathetic character, and remains intriguingly soft-hearted yet immensely tough in matters of survival.

The biggest surprise, as I was reading, was discovering that volume two of the series splits the POV of the story and goes back and forth between Koli and Spinner. It immeasurably enriches the narration. Not only do we find out more about what is happening at Mytheen Rood, the community where Koli has been exiled from, we actually "get in the head of" Spinner, discovering her motivations and how she truly feels about Koli, Haidon, and the Ramparts.

Spinner's voice is also very distinct from Koli's. They both speak in a dialect, but since she tells the story from the perspective of many years, hers is more refined. Some viewers find the characters' speech unsettling, erroneously comparing it to slang, but in my opinion the unusual grammar and vocabulary add a certain rhythm to the story, and I find its cadence quite inviting and comforting.

I am anxiously awaiting the release of the final book in the series!

4.5 Wow! Koli and crew goes through lots (thus the titular "Trials") on their way to London for the search for the Sword of Albion. The bonus is that we also get to see Mythen Rood from Spinner's perspective as she learns the truth of the Ramparts and begins to find her own way in alternating segments.
I loved this follow up dystopian story to the first Book of Koli! The characters growth, as well as more of the pieces we can put together of what they call tech and what happened to create the world they now live in are fascinating. And Monono is always a hoot!
I can't wait for the next one after this semi-cliffhanger ending. (It does wrap up the larger story in the 2nd book and advances their adventures just enough to give you a teaser for the final book.) Highly recommended series so far!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy for review.

When I read The Book of Koli, I wasn't sure where this sequel would go. It could have easily been trite, with easy-to-see "twists" and the usual types of adversity. Luckily, it was not.

This book differs from The Book of Koli in that it has two narrators - Koli, and Spinner, who remained in Mythen Rood. I was surprised to have a second narrator show up after a first novel with only a single narrator, but my distrust of it soon vanished as I got used to it. Spinner has her own narrative to tell, and it needs to be told now so that it can dovetail with Koli's narrative in the next book. Spinner's voice was as clear as Koli's was.

I am always impressed at how Koli's ingenuity (and Spinner's as well). So often, first person narrators tout their own cleverness. These do not, and I appreciate it. Perhaps it's that they realize there's a lot they don't know. I enjoy hearing their thoughts as they speak, rather than in their thoughts before.

World-building continues to be great in this book. Bits more of the fallen world are revealed, but not too much at a time.

I can't wait to see how this story concludes.

I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Trials of Koli, second book of The Rampart Trilogy, is again following Koli on his adventures, picking up where the first book left off. The Trials of Koli continues to be the story of a young man, trying to find his place in the world, trying to survive in a world where nature has turned against people, and humanity is limited.

The Trials of Koli feels much the same as The Book of Koli, told mostly from Koli’s perspective, telling his story. The Trials of Koli does differ from The Book of Koli though, that we get a new point of view this time around, with Spinner having her own sections. Having a second point of view in this book did add a lot more to the story, being able to see what is going on in Koli’s hometown, adding on to the Ramparts story, letting the reader learn more about the technology and how the world has changed. One thing that I didn’t love about having a second point of view though, is Spinner’s story starts from before The Book of Koli. We’re told a lot of things from the first book all over again, but from Spinner’s side of things, which I didn’t feel added a whole lot to the overall story. While it did eventually lead into new plot and story lines, it took me a while to get used to Spinner and to see the relevance of her chapters.

The writing is also very similar to The Book of Koli, having it’s own form of slang and language, which, much like the first, takes a few pages to get into the groove of. If you were to read the books back to back, there wouldn’t be much of an issue getting into the style of writing, but depending on the gap between when you read the books, there will be that little bit to readjust to the writing style.

Despite the slow start for me getting into the book, mostly because of the chapters from Spinners perspective, I really enjoyed being back with Koli. I found myself speed reading through Spinners chapters to get back to his storyline, and everything about his adventures was so engaging. There’s a lot of excitement, stress, and innocent naïveté from Koli as he learns about the world and travels, that just shines through the book. He’s such a genuinely interesting character to view the world through, and it’s such a great way to form the world building of the story.

If you enjoyed The Book of Koli, The Trials of Koli is absolutely a must read. The continuing story of The Ramparts Trilogy is such an innovative, delightful read, Koli is one of those characters you can’t help but love, and the world that M.R.Carey has built is so fascinating. If you have any interest in nature gone wrong, fantastical things, post-apocalyptic or dystopian stories, the trilogy is one that everyone needs to experience.

Once I caught up to the status of the world the book is set in (far future, post war & lost tech) I really enjoyed the story being woven. The tales of Kohi and Spinner seem to be happening in about the same time frame but in separate locations and I was excited to have more of each story and look forward to when they intertwine again.

Mr.Carey, you have blown me away! Applause for this wonderfully written story. If you haven’t read the first book in the series, The Book if Koli do yourself a favour and read it. Its a dystopian high fantasy that really would make a good movie. That being said, Trials of Koli starts right where the first part ends and continues the ongoing adventure of Koli, Cup & Ursula. I noticed faster story pace than the first book and loved the rich development of characters, ominous surroundings and evolved beings. Its classic Carey.
4.25/5⭐️
Excited for 3rd book!
Thank you Orbit books, MR Carey & Netgalley for the arc. This review is my own honest opinion.

If you loved The Book of Koli, as I did, this sequel is simply a MUST READ. You will find everything you liked about the first volume present here, and then some. If you have not read The Book of Koli I do not recommend starting here. Do yourself a favor and go get the first one right away, then come back to me. This review contains spoilers for Book of Koli, but not for Trials.

Koli was forced out of his village, Mythen Rood pretty early on in the first volume, and if you wondered what the fallout of his exile would be, here are your answers. Trials splits the POV equally between Koli, and Spinner, Koli's unrequited love interest from the first novel. Although she speaks with the same dialect as Koli, she has a much different voice, and her own personality. For me, she had a lot to answer for after choosing Haijon over Koli in the first book, and she finally gets to have her say. Her chapters quickly reveal that her heart always belonged to Haijon. There was never a love triangle, and although she was aware of Koli's feelings she never shared them. I left the first book hoping that if and when Koli returned to Mythen Rood he would reconcile with Spinner and they could be together. After hearing her side I realized that was never an option, and they will never have a future. Spinner makes her own mind up about how she will live her own life, and neither the love struck Koli, or a sentimental reader will sway her from what and who she wants. The certainty of how she dismisses any notion of being with Koli is a strong feminist statement, followed up by telling her own story where even her beloved husband, a Rampart himself, takes a backseat to her leadership. Spinner is an absolute boss and I love her chapters every bit as much as I love Koli's.

Meanwhile, Koli's story picks up right where it left off. Koli, Ursala, Cup, and Monono are searching for the lost city of London to find out who or what "The Sword of Albion" is. Koli is still leading his party from behind, without strength or intelligence, but with an empathy and a moral compass that is uncompromising even under threat of death. The naivety and wonder that he felt first leaving Mythen Rood only grows more intense as he first encounters the ruins Birmagen, a major 20th Century British City, and the ocean. He is still a poor fighter, he's still not too smart, and he still cries. A lot. Koli is a different kind of hero, and his emotional vulnerability constantly makes his companions self reflective. They are much more focused on their own survival, while Koli insists that they are a community, and must remain so.

This second book allows Cup's story to shine more than the first. Her background is only briefly touched on in the first book, so you may not remember that Cup was run out of her village, Half-Axe, for being "crossed" or transgender. As she nears puberty and begins to show physical signs of her male hormones, her identity becomes a crisis. I can't ever remember of a sci-fi or fantasy novel ever taking on the issue of gender transition with as much clarity and confident moral high ground as The Trials of Koli. In one scene Monono and Ursala are discussing whether or not she should be given hormone treatment to block the onset of male puberty. Monono lays it out as simply as authoritatively as can be, "you should let her make the choice. And doing nothing, by the way, is making the choice for her. It's not a neutral option. There is no neutral option." It's a powerful example for anyone who hasn't had the privilege of knowing a transgender person in real life.

Monono continues to grow and to struggle with the question of whether or not she is a person, and what the nature of humanity is. Her's is the classic story of artificial intelligence coming to the verge of natural intelligence that has been told many times over, but rarely with so much personality. She is essentially an Ipod inhabited by a 20th Century Japanese pop singer. It's hard to discount her humanity when she is snarky, moody, funny, and clearly loves Koli, even if she is only a collection of circuits and wires made to transmit data, as Ursala likes to point out.

The four of them continue to grow closer, and each grows within themselves as they all go through "The Trials". The end leaves you in more of a cliff-hanger than is ideal, but it's a very short wait until March when the trilogy will conclude with The Fall of Koli. I've very much enjoyed the first two and will follow up with the third as soon as I can get my hands on an advanced readers copy.

Even better than the first one. If you're not reading this series, get on it! It's awesome. I believe the third book comes out in March and I can't wait!

Wow. This series. I honestly loved the first book, for people who love really voicey writing, this series is for you. I especially love the way the linguistic drift is shown. It does a great job of showing that time has passed and yet still being able to play off the readers own knowledge. Brilliant. Now, this book is definitely a second book. And if you haven’t read the first one… START THERE. I mean it, I doubt you’ll enjoy this one if you haven’t read and enjoyed the first. I loved the continued development of the characters, and I especially loved the sub-plot with Cup. I do wish Cup being excluded hadn’t been used to further the plot, because I want her to have all the happiness, and I think it could’ve been written another way. I do enjoy that Ursala, Koli and Momo are all so supportive of her.

As for Spinner’s inclusion. I was very confused at first, but once I realized what was going on, I really really appreciated the other perspective and finding out what happened with Mythen Rood after Koli left. There are big changes happening in Mythen Rood and it’s so great to see. Also, I guess since we’re still in COVID times… there’s inclusion of a pandemic in the book, just in case anyone’s going to find that stressful to read about. And the worldbuilding. The deeper I get into this series, the more I love the worldbuilding. It’s clear there are so many layers to it, and the way both Spinner and Koli are so unreliable, it’s absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait for the next book. I need to know what happened with the Unfinished War and what happened to humanity!

So, I have one qualm that I wanna mention. I think I get understandably nervous whenever there’s an Indigenous coded community in science fiction, cause it’s almost always poorly done. And yeah, I got tense when I got to Many Fishes, especially when we were introduced to some of the characters and they used kind of stereotypically native names. But for the most part, it was okay. It’s a community that’s not transphobic, and they seem to be pretty giving and caring people, they certainly don’t fall into many of the tropes seen by this type of community in SFF. But, admittedly, there were two things that bothered me (also spoilers! Skip the end if you don’t want to be spoiled!) first, when Cup’s boyfriend gets ‘questioned’ and beaten, nope didn’t like that, that felt gross. And then there’s the way that the Singer for the community was written. Now, she’s clearly meant to be a healer/spiritual leader… and unfortunately? I don’t think she was written with very much care. It almost felt like the book was scoffing at her beliefs, which… for an Indigenous reader? Didn’t feel great. And really to set up a spiritual, Indigenous coded character as the bad guy like that, in a way in which she’s not even shown as three-dimensional? I dunno. I just don’t think it’s great and it really bothered me. I still loved the book, but yeah, it left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyway, I’m gonna say, if you liked the first book in this series, definitely give this one ago, and if this sounds interesting and you’re a fan of very voicey and unreliable narrators… WELL. Check out the first book!

As with The Book of Koli, M. R. Carey has crafted a rich world, with its own language and customs, and beautifully detailed characters. This is the sequel I had been waiting for, ever since I got my hands on an ARC of book 1. I always seem to count down the days until M. R. Carey releases another book. Awesome job.

Thank you so much to Orbit and Netgalley for an arc in advance! Here is my honest review. A modified (more rambling) version of this review has already been posted to Goodreads.

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The story by this point had a clearer direction. There is a journey that our cast of characters are going on so there's less setting of the scene. There's definitely more world expansion but we come across it as Koli does. These are the benefits of your main character never having left his incredibly small village. I was looking forward to this installment because we have a more found family/rag tag group working towards a common goal and if that isn't my favorite trope I don't know what is. And this group is quite diverse in terms of personalities and backgrounds so there were some fun moments too. I actually found this one more fun and easier to get through, not that I had huge troubles in the first installment.

Spinner's POV: So we got a new perspective added to this book and I'm a little conflicted on it. Spinner as a character intrigued me from the first book because I didn't understand her motivations. Specifically, why she did the things she did to Koli. I thought I was frustrated with her but I think I was frustrated because I didn't know why. So we got that here and I grew to not "like" her but understand her. She does still feel a little bland to me. What I know about her is that she has a conscience and loves Haijon.

Her perspective also added a bit of behind the scenes for what's going on in Mythen Rood while Koli is off on his adventures and while I think it was entertaining I'm not sure how it added to Koli's story overall. I'm assuming that what she's doing in Mythen Rood somehow is gonna connect back to Koli, but I couldn't care less about the people of Koli's home village since some are absolutely terrible and deserve to suffer a little.



Something that I really wanted in this installment was more natural threats to our characters. So we got that here. I just love when mother nature is a bad b*tch ♥



Trans Character and Transphobia: I'm 99% sure I completely forgot one of our main characters is a trans-girl because all of our characters seemed like they already knew this before it was brought up in this book so that's on me. None of our main characters display any transphobic behaviors to the best of my memory. I actually think they're a very good support system for our trans character since she did have a bad upbringing and other people mentioned were transphobic. I've seen some reviews on how bigotry is not always necessary in SFF. I totally agree in settings where it wouldn't be a normal jump to that, e.g. an SFF world that never held Christian beliefs. I do think, that given the context of this story, that it doesn't make sense for all that bigotry to just vanish. Hate is a learned behavior and it's not like all humans disappeared, some survived the downfall of society and so did some of their hate. I can see why other people would just like to read a book without having to read these type of experiences. I thought it was handled well but I would encourage other readers to look for own-voices reviews as I'm a cis-woman.

I love Ursala and Monono with all my heart and if anything happens to them I'll riot.


Tldr: I definitely think the story grew so much more in this book and it breaks the tradition of the "middle book syndrome". If you liked the first, The Book of Koli, well enough I think you're going to come across a faster paced and richer story in this installment.

This is a great series. Definitely one to read in order, so start with The Book of Koli for sure. (Spoilers for the first book in the series below...)

This one starts where that one left off, with Koli, Ursula, and Cup continuing on their adventure to find what is creating the broadcast that Ursula picked up. I loved reading more about all the dangers and pitfalls of the world that they live in; strange, super evolved animals and genetically modified wildlife, roving armies intent on stealing all technology they can find, etc.

Something else I really enjoyed about this book is that interspersed with the chapters about Koli are chapters about Spinner, who is back in Mythen Rood. In the first book of this series I had wondered about what Koli's tech and banishment had meant for his community, and this book delivers on that front. Spinner is married, she lives among the Ramparts, and then slowly starts to learn their secrets. And Mythen Rood might be forever changed as a result of Koli and Spinner.

I love this world that Carey has built, and I'm excited for the third, yet I wish there would be more than just one more!

You very much need to have read the first book to fully enjoy this one. I did not and thus felt at sea in the beginning. Told from the point of view of Koli and Spinner, it's a dystopian tale, It's set in post-apocalyptic UK. There's interesting world building (although I suspect most of that happened in the first book) and characters I found myself worrying about. An interesting read.

The Book of Koli, book 1 of Carey’s Rampart trilogy, was excellent. The Trials of Koli was a significant step up.


I expected a harrowing journey across post-apocalyptic England, the (admittedly highly specific) subgenre Carey already showed his mastery of in The Girl With All the Gifts and The Boy on the Bridge. I expected more of the awesome counterpoint between the post-apocalyptic civilization and Monono’s peppy Japanese pop star personality. I did not expect a strident and moving book about trans rights, and I did not expect Koli would go from being the protagonist to being the co-protagonist. The other is Spinner, the girl from his home village. I was not expecting events there to be given nigh-co-equal status with Koli’s story - it honestly caught me completely off-guard. But it gives a wonderful balance to the story, and puts me in anticipation of things coming full circle in a way I hadn’t realized I wasn’t expecting.


Koli’s story proceeds much as I expected: he and his companions are going on their journey to London. Along the way they deal with the dangers of the countryside (the world of these books can be compared to that of The Fifth Season, with biology instead of geology being the thing that wants to kill everyone). They meet not-nice people and nice people and overcome assorted and sundry obstacles. The best part of it is the relationship among Koli, Monono, Ursula, and Cup. There’s a tremendous amount of mistrust there, which isn’t surprising given how The Book of Koli, but the way the relationship develops is absolutely awesome.


Spinner’s story is one that, in retrospect, I should have seen coming. The fallout of the events of Book of Koli for their village was obviously going to be huge, and I don’t why I just kind of assumed we’d seen the last of them. And meanwhile, they’re under threat from that Peacemaker guy ruling the nearby town of Halifax Half-ax. The vague and ominous references to him in Book of Koli really should have clued me in that was going to come up again, as well.


What about the trans rights thing? Well, as you may recall (I totally didn’t) from Book of Koli, Cup is a trans woman. I’d forgotten because Koli didn’t have any prejudices in that regard: Cup felt she was a girl, presented as a girl, so as far as Koli was concerned she was a girl. Genitals weren’t relevant to that, and sometimes nature just got that mixed up. So Koli spent much more time worrying about her shooting him than he spent worrying about which bathroom she should be allowed to use, and I didn’t give it any thought either. That kind of prejudice-free world can be a refreshing, wonderful read, and in hindsight that’s pretty much how I’d filed it away mentally (despite Cup’s references to being forced to run away from home by her abusive non-accepting parents). This book takes a different approach. Cup deals with judgement for being who she is, and it’s probably my favorite sequence of the book. She also goes through puberty (later than normal because of poor nutrition), which is often very challenging for trans teens, and that is handled wonderfully.


So, yeah, this was absolutely wonderful. Looking forward (with some trepidation, given the title) to the trilogy wrapping up in The Fall of Koli.