The Book of Koli – M.R. Carey

Beyond the walls of the small village of Mythen Rood lies an unrecognizable world. A world where overgrown forests are filled with choker trees and deadly vines and seeds that will kill you where you stand. And if they don’t get you, one of the dangerous shunned men will.

Koli has lived in Mythen Rood his entire life. He knows the first rule of survival is that you don’t venture beyond the walls.

What he doesn’t know is – what happens when you aren’t given a choice?

I’m a bit of a fan of Mr Carey’s books. The Girl With All The Gifts was splendid, and The Boy on The Bridge even better. Someone Like Me was astonishing.

And here we have The Book of Koli, the first part of his new Rampart trilogy. And boy, is it good. Koli is a young man on the cusp of adulthood, in a post-apocalyptic dystopia where nature is out to get you. He’s lived in the (relatively) safe haven of Mythen Rood, a small walled settlement in the Calder valley in Yorkshire. Ruled over by the Ramparts, the few select people who can make the old tech respond to their touch, they’re cut off from the world.

I love a good post-apocalyptic dystopia, and Carey is particularly good at them. Koli’s exploration of what it means to become a man in such a world are fascinating, and I loved his unique voice in this story. It’s a slow, gentle start but the action ramps up after the first third and you’re soon rattling along at breakneck pace.

I’m glad that books 2 and 3 of the trilogy are being published this year, as I can’t wait to follow Koli on his adventures in the world, dangerous as they are.

Highly recommended.

The Book of Koli by M. R. Carey is published by Orbit and is out now. Many thanks to Nazia Khatun at Orbit for the advance copy of the book to review, and to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour.