DNF at 12%.

Even though this has an interesting premise and setting, I couldn't get past the writing style and language. I understand it's a plot device that separates the future time period of the book from the current time, but it detracts too much from the story when I have to reread multiple lines and scratch my head at the meaning of certain words.

For example, "et" seems to be the past tense for "eat." And almost all irregular verbs are treated as regular verbs ("knew" is "knowed," "it fit" is "it fitted," etc.).

Maybe someday if I want a challenge I'll continue reading this, but right now I want to read for leisure and enjoyment, and this book doesn't cut it.

For any fans of Jeff Vandermeer, PICK UP THIS BOOK. I knew M.R. Carey could write, but he just took a trip into Weirdville that's making me reconsider my place of residence. (Who am I kidding: I've lived in Weirdville for years.)

I don't feel like I can say anything about the plot without giving away the fine details that come out organically through Koli's narration. Instead, I'll provide some bullet-point style notes.

Worldbuilding? There. Bam. Perfect. I felt the dread and the close air, and I will never look the same at either gene splicing or dense forests. That won't stop me from going into them, but I'll feel those hairs on the back of my neck go up. Every little story that Koli told added to the world in such a conversational way that believing it became a natural instinct. The disbelief got suspended and stayed that way with me.

Characters? Yeah, I thought there were a couple arrogant putzes, but they really start out as teenagers in this story. They felt real and complex enough, so that's what mattered most. And, ugh. My heart.

Dialogue? Natural, even with the dialect. Sometimes a story's geographical linguistic characteristics can be more of a detriment than a blessing, but the way Koli and his people spoke took me right into the north of England. (If I assume correctly.) The natural way it fit into the story served it instead of taking anything away.

Sorry to be cliche, but this book blew my mind. I thought the biggest threat would be something I could see coming, but nope. Which I just LOVED. I've already started recommending it to anyone I can.

Well done. Just amazing.

I have been a fan of Carey's writing for years now - of both his Felix Castor series and the books under the "M.R." name. This dystopian fiction kicks off a new series, set in the far future, after the collapse of the world as we know it. Society continues on, but as Koli starts the narration set in the small town where he grew up, Mythen Rood. There the people rely on a few relics of technology, but otherwise life feels similar to a Middle Ages town - though they are threatened by genetically modified trees that can walk and have a thirst for blood.

The book reads in a sort of oral history style, with a lot of grammatical style choices that take a bit of getting used to for the reader. I think that an audio version would probably be easier to get into though I did start to really appreciate the style in print format as well and I do think that some of the spellings would be lost in an audio adaptation.

Koli makes for a likable young hero and the world building here is detailed and thorough. It ends, not exactly on a cliffhanger, with enough hints of where the next book will go that makes me really not be able to wait! I am really excited to see what will happen next. I really did like it - and I especially like Koli's relationships (with the DreamSleeve in particular). There's also a lot of modern diversity - sexual as well as physical - which gives this a modern feel despite the fact that the town boasts careers like tanning and woodworking. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next installment! I really am looking forward to it!

I received an ARC from Orbit Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm truly struggling with how to review this title. The concept feels new and fresh and I'm eager to see where it is going, but this book almost felt like it spent the entire novel trying to set up plot for what is coming later with very little immediate payoff for the reader. But that said, this world is captivating, the characters are engaging, and I kept turning pages even though there wasn't an intense, compelling reason to continue doing so.

I always enjoy reading dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels that feel just adjacent to the world in which we currently live. I feed off of that feeling like the world I'm reading about is just one mistake, one catastrophe away from being reality. Carey is a master at creating these worlds that are peppered with enough of the familiar to keep you guessing and make you feel almost at home, but not quite. There's something subtly stressful and uncomfortable about it and I can't deny that it always makes me curious to know all the ins and outs of what horrors caused the shift between realities.

All said, the world-building is immersive and engaging. The characters feel deeper than the reader gets to see from our narrator's limited POV, but I think that will shift as we move deeper into the series. The story moves slowly, building up carefully around you until you suddenly realize you are surrounded, completely invested and unable to turn back. I won't say I fell in love with this book, but I can't deny that it drew me in and made me curious for more.

I really dug this book. It's the first thing I read by Carey (though, I've been wanting to check out Girl with all the Gifts for a while now - and now I definitely will after this one). Great world building and great characters. Excited to check out the rest in the trilogy. Recommended

thoroughly entertaining! The Book of Koli has intricate, well thought out world building. M.R. Carey's character driven opener to the Rampart Trilogy had me hooked from the opening and i can't wait for the next book.

i absolutely loved the girl with all the gifts so i was SO stoked for this one. i should have read it the minute i was approved, but how was i to know we'd be where we currently are when the book published, lol. i don't know if it was me, the book, the whole societal shitstorm pandemic thing and it's just not the best time to read a book like this.... who knows. either way, i liked it but didn't love it, i struggled to get into it and stay into it. however, i did like it overall and i can see myself continuing the series as long as the world is back to 'normal' by then.

The Book of Koli is a book I have been very excited for since I first heard about it earlier this year.  I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, given this is my first time reading Carey, but I am thrilled to report he did not disappoint.

The world presented here is one of the more unique worlds I think I've encountered. It's set in a future earth in which trees and plants have become deadly to humans.  On sunny days the trees are active (physically active!), so the village must wait for the rainy, grey days to venture out and do their hunting.  Most of the world's human population has died out, so people live in villages few and far between. 

These villages are run by people with the "magical" ability to wake up tech.  No one knows how the tech chooses who it will work for or why.  These leaders are known as Ramparts.  Koli, our MC, dreams of becoming Koli Rampart, wielding his own tech and joining the ranks of leaders and lawmakers.  The overall result is a strange mix of antiquated societal structure combined with some far future dystopian technology.

The voice of Koli is very strong.  It almost reminded me of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.  The grammar is often incorrect, the sentences run on in stream of consciousness style.  While it might bother some readers, I found it somewhat endearing, and easy to connect with Koli as a character.  I also enjoyed the other characters, Ursala-From-Elsewhere and Monono Aware (A-wa-ray).   Ursala especially, with her intelligence and compassion, but also the prickly and unapproachable exterior.

The plot moves along at a breakneck pace.  I found the book almost impossible to put down and read it in just a couple of days.  That's the fastest I've read a book all year.  The plot twists and turns and propels Koli from one peril to the next.  From about the midway point on- Koli's situation never feels safe.  He cannot take a break to rest, his future is uncertain, and he is surrounded by danger, either from nearby people, animals, or plants.

I also loved the very natural way in which this story is told.  It feels like you might be sitting down with an old friend to hear where they've been and what they've been up to the past ten years.  Details are woven in about the past through Monono, explaining pieces of what happened to the world and what it was like before it ended.

I do wish we had been able to learn a little more about the natural environment.  I'm curious about the killer trees and the way some animals have evolved over time.  The plot appears to be leading away from village life to an adventure on the road, so I'm hopeful we'll see more of this in book two.  (And thank goodness we only have to wait until September for it!).

I highly recommend The Book of Koli.  It is brilliantly written, with fully realized characters and detailed world-building.  It releases on April 14, 2020 and can be found on GoodReads, or preordered on Amazon.  Thank you to Orbit Books, who supplied an electronic review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl With All the Gifts and The Boy on the Bridge were books that I loved and that have stayed with me. Now, Carey has a new trilogy, the first of which is The Book of Koli.

Koli begins by telling us that he has to start at the beginning to tell his tale. He then recounts his life in Mythen Rood, a small village that struggles to keep safe in a post-apocalyptic world.

At first, he is Koli Woodsmith, and describes his family, friendships, and much about how the village operates. Then, at fifteen young people take a new name, and he becomes Koli Waiting. Those who turn fifteen take the name Waiting as they are housed together waiting for the test that will determine whether of not they become Rampart. Most young people desperately want to become Rampart because a Rampart can "awaken" the few pieces of tech that have survived. The Ramparts have a rarefied place in society and are charged with the protection of the village in several ways because certain tech weapons have "wakened" to them.

The beginning is a little slow, but as Koli reveals information in his own particular order, mentioning characters and events, then saying he will get to them later, as he attempts to tell his story in a chronological frame. Gradually the narrative picks up speed and interest until the reader is immersed in Koli's world and events.

Koli suffers a disappointment at the Testing and realizes he is not able to become a Rampart, and when this is followed by another disappointment, circumstances combine to reveal a shocking truth: the Testing is not fair and has never been. Koli, frustrated and angry, makes some choices that will have consequences and long-term effects.

There is an honesty to Koli's account of events. He includes his mistakes and his shame for some of his behavior, even though he acknowledges his youth, his immaturity, and his lack of knowledge (a result of the isolation of the village). He gives accurate descriptions of his friends and fellow villagers instead of vilifying them. The coming-of-age element is an important part of the narrative, especially as Koli meets Ursula and Monomo, and begins what Joseph Campbell refers to as the heroes journey.

OK. The Book of Koli was a fascinating beginning to the Rampart Trilogy, and if you have enjoyed M.R. Carey's previous books, you may find this one as intriguing and thought-provoking as The Girl With All the Gifts and The Boy on the Bridge. I can't wait for the next one. Recommended!

NetGalley/Orbit Books
Dystopian/Science Fiction. April 14, 2020. Print length: 416 pages.

I was SO PSYCHED for this book. I haven’t read any of Mike Carey’s stuff written under M.R. Carey (although I have the e-book of The Girl With All the Gifts somewhere in the war zone of my Kindle bookshelf, and someday I will bore you all with my abiding love for the Constantine Hellblazer series, and in particular, Carey’s contribution to same), so this was it for me. Number one. And I didn’t love it. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate it, I just struggled to get into it. It may be as simple as: don’t read a dystopian-type book in the middle of a total societal shitstorm the likes of which haven’t been seen before in your lifetime, but regardless, I really struggled to stay immersed in this story.

I’m actually pretty bummed out that I felt as middle-of-the-road about it as I did. As I alluded to, I’ve got a history of loving Carey’s work – and it definitely doesn’t stop at Hellblazer, that’s just the crux of it for me. I know he’s an incredibly talented writer. I think it sucks that I wasn’t into The Book of Koli.

The story, and the writing are solid, but I found it hard to focus on a lot of the dialogue since the people have a very unique way of speaking. I liked the role that technology played in the world, and felt that all of the lore was fully fleshed out and everything made sense, I just…couldn’t seem to make myself stay invested in Koli specifically, or in what was happening to him. I liked Monono and Ursala much more than Koli. I don’t know what it was about him specifically that failed to resonate with me, but…I mostly felt like whatever happened to him happened to him, and as long as Ursala and the Dreamsleeve lived, that was what really mattered.

As an aside to this extremely organized stream-of-consciousness review, I did really enjoy the cult aspect of the story. That was an unexpected bit of fun. I actually wish that they had played more heavily into the overall story. Instead they felt like nothing more than a roadside attraction, which is too bad.

On the off chance that the disconnect is due to the incredible levels of anxiety that current events are causing me, I do fully intend to re-read this book after it officially releases and the worldwide pandemic business slows its roll a hair. You know, when I’m able to give the ol’ anxieties some time off. Maybe that will be a better time to read about a time after the fall of man and the rise of…murder plants.

Idk, you guys. I love Mike Carey’s work, but I think this one in particular might just not be for me. I mean, killer plants, generations-post-warfare-based-apocalypse and cults couldn’t hold my interest. There’s just something about this one that doesn’t do it for me. BUT – as I’ve said, Mike Carey is a hell of a writer, so I still recommend checking this one out (or anything else he’s written for that matter).

I absolutely loved this book, set in a future world where old tech is rare and viewed as practically magical, and where trees can move, hunt, and kill. Koli is an amazing main character, and the plot is terrific. Can't wait for book #2!

I ended up DNF'ing this book due to the way it was written. I get where the author was going and appreciate that the wording was done in a way that really brought the character to life. However, becasue of this it was hard to read and it was actually taking me away from the story.

The synopsis sounds so interesting and I may possibly try this on audio if there is one for this book later on. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get far enough into this book to enjoy the parts I was originally excited to read about.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Publishers for aproving me for this title in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I had a better review to give. I generally try not leave a review if I haven't consumed enough of the story to give fair feedback.

I'm giving this a 3 star because it still sounds like an interesting read. I'm sure plenty of people will appreciae it.

The Book of Koli by M. R. Carey is a highly recommended dystopian coming-of-age tale and the start of a new trilogy.

Teenage Koli Woodsmith lives in the small village of Mythen Rood in a postapocalyptic place called Ingland (U.K.) during a time when murderous, genetically modified trees, plants, and creatures or shunned men outside the protected city walls will kill you. Mythen Rood is governed and protected by the Ramparts, which one family controls. They also control the old tech that is used to protect the village. Koli learns a secret that results in his banishment from the village, which normally means certain death in the hostile wilderness. But Koli has a secret helper and an ally in Ursala, a traveling doctor.

This is Koli's story and he is the narrator. The dialect he uses may be a problem for some readers. I had times when it annoyed me quite a bit while reading; much of my annoyance was due to the poor grammar and syntax. You will have to ascertain your ability to overlook a whole lot of word usage like, "Of course I knowed it." or I could of brung I recently learned in real life that my tolerance is low for this over time. Overlooking this and the slow start to the action will pay off later. The world building is interesting and the characters are unique. Old tech (tech we'd understand) needs to be figured out by someone who doesn't have a clue.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Hachette Book Group.
After publication the review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I received an ARC of The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey. It is a dystopian novel about a small walled- off community that lives in fear of trees and other dangerous creatures beyond their borders. Koli, a boy of fifteen finds out a secret that threatens to change the hierarchy of the community and is exiled by the leaders to prevent the secret from coming to light. We then follow the adventure outside the walls.

This had the misfortune of being read as I learned the pandemic was spreading to my country. Due to the anxiety and fear of the pandemic, reading a dystopian was not the best idea for me and therefore it took me almost a month to finish. I will try to be as objective as possible.

This story has a very slow start. While the blurb mentions that Koli will leave the safety of the walled community, it doesn't happen until nearly halfway into the book. Once he does, the story picks up and is actually quite thrilling. One stylistic choice I didn't care for is the way Koli and the others talk.
They constantly speak with poor grammar, similar to a toddler. I "et" instead of "ate" or I "shooted" instead of "shot." I did get over this after a while but it did impact my enjoyment. On the other hand, one thing I think Carey did well was his world building. He invented new creatures, plants, and technology which helped me envision the world. Overall, I gave this book three stars. It is the first in a series and I will most likely pick up the next one. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an ARC. This book will be published on April 14th, 2020.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

Title: the book of koli

Author: M. R. Carey

Publisher: Orbit Books

Publication Date: TODAY!! (paperback/e-book)

ISBN: 978-0316477536

Source: NetGalley

"She forgot about how bad things was for us for a while, and I guess I did too.  It never stops amazing me how a story can deliver you out of your own self, even in the worst of times. - the book of koli"

Aye, this story did indeed deliver me out of me own self.  I am surviving and really can't complain about me personal life right now.  But I am filled with worry about me family, friends, and fellow humans that be struggling because of the pandemic.  I have been failing to focus on reading all year but dang March was rough.  So it was with both surprise and delight that a sci-fi dystopian would be the book that I could a) finish; b) really enjoy; and c) thoroughly take me away from worry for a small while.

Now I chose to read this knowing nothing about the plot other than it is written by an author that I love and that it dealt with killer plants.  Well I have to admit that I was slightly taken aback because I thought I would get more of a thriller about killer plants and instead it be a coming of age story with a slight YA feel.  There is also a writing style of degraded language that took an adjustment until I was able to go with the flow.

However, the story, world building, and characters quickly won me over and the current era's woes faded away while experiencing the future centuries from now.  I ended up loving the language, world, and especially the side characters.  Now no offense to Koli but favorites were Ursula and Monono.  I particularly loved the framing of the plot and how Koli was able to tell the story while reflecting from within.  I even loved the switches in time frames.  I was never confused but always eager to find out how everything was going to work out.

The only minor complaints are the cult section which wasn't all that original and the momentum slowing down in parts but I was extremely satisfied with this read and how it ended.  I cannot wait for the next installment in the fall.

So lastly . . .

Thank ye Orbit Books!

Sorry, not sorry, DNFed this at 17 percent. My brain got mad at me and then I heard a buzzing noise and that's it. This is too painful to continue. I hope it gets better. Since I loved "The Girl With All the Gifts" and was meh to annoyed with "The Boy on the Bridge." The writing is what killed this book for me. I get what the author was going for, but you have to think through doing "gimmicky" things in your books if it's going to make some to most of your readers want to tear their hair out. This reminds me of a book I read last year which for some reason decided to highlight certain words in red. No idea what the hell was happening there and it was distracting.

"The Book of Koli" is M.R. Carey's first book in his "Rampart" trilogy. In this new world we follow Koli who is a young boy living among trees and seeds that can kill. Yes, someone trees are able to just murder people. So they are like the Ents in "The Lord of the Rings" or actually this book is similar to "The Happening" but somehow more annoying.

I can't even speak to the characters in this book. Told via Koli's POV we are stuck in the head of a young boy named Koli. Carey has the writing follow Koli's thoughts and since Koli doesn't speak full sentences or proper grammar you find yourself re-reading sentences over and over again to get the proper meaning. I mean my eyes glazed over when we had Koli explaining why he apparently says "road" as "rood". Deep breath. I cannot right now. I am in the house, listening to music to keep my ire and anxiety down and this book is making me anxious and stressed.

The nitty-gritty: A stellar start to a new series, The Book of Koli surprised me in just about every possible way.

I’ve read every one of M.R. Carey’s books—or at least the books he’s written under the name M.R. Carey (he has an urban fantasy series written as Mike Carey that I’m dying to read!)—and I couldn't wait to read his latest, the first in a dystopian trilogy that takes place in a future England. And wow, I loved this! The story ended up being much different than I expected, but I love when authors can surprise me. I went in thinking this was going to be about killer trees and plants, but honestly, there is very little of that in this series opener. Instead, The Book of Koli is a character driven story about the fantastical adventures of Koli Woodsmith, a young boy on the cusp of adulthood who makes some bad choices and pays the price.

In a far future “Ingland,” Koli Woodsmith lives with his family in the village of Mythen Rood, surrounded by a forest full of dangerous trees, plants and animals. Koli’s family works in the sawmill, cutting down trees and preparing them to use as building materials—that is, after the planks have been thoroughly soaked in poison to kill the tree completely. When the story begins, Koli has turned fifteen and is now of age to participate in the “testing,” when he will have the chance to try to wake up one of the treasured pieces of tech owned by the village. If he can sync with the tech, he will become a Rampart, one of the village elite who control the tech and protect the village. If not, he’s destined to be a Woodsmith for the rest of his life, a fate he’s not too keen on.

The results of the testing lead Koli on an unexpected adventure, one that will change his life forever.

I know this is a very vague story recap, but I thought it best in order to avoid spoilers. This is a tale that’s worth discovering for yourself, a tale with many surprises. The Book of Koli is told in first person by Koli himself, and the story is infused with his particular voice. I do want to address Koli’s voice first, just to get it out of the way. I’ve read all sorts of reviews where the reader either couldn’t finish the book or just didn’t enjoy it because of Koli’s odd, uneducated way of speaking. But for me, I had the opposite experience. I thought his voice made the story even better, and I’m very happy that Carey chose this unusual and bold approach. Once you get into the groove, you too may find Koli’s sing-song cadence works well with this world, a world that has fallen apart and is trying to find its way back. As an example, here's a snippet of Koli's voice:

I got a story to tell you. I've been meaning to make a start for a long while now, and this is me doing it, but I'm warning you it might be a bumpy road. I never done nothing like this before, so I got no map, as it were, and I can't figure how much of what happened to me is worth telling.

The setting at first appears to be your typical post-apocalyptic world: small villages dot the countryside, with very few people left after wars and other catastrophes have decimated the planet. Over the course of time, trees and plants have become almost sentient and are a mortal threat to humans. For this reason, villages have walls around them to keep out the deadly flora, and hunting expeditions outside the wall are timed to coincide with cloudy, cold days, when the trees aren’t as big a threat. But despite the hardscrabble life of the villagers, in Mythen Rood there are at least four pieces of “tech” from the old world, tech that still works and acts as weapons to protect the village. It’s this tech that lies at the heart of this story and colors everything that Koli does. And in order to keep the surprise, I’m not even going to talk too much about the tech—although I badly want to!—but I will say this: I absolutely loved two pieces of tech in the story. One is called a drudge (I want a drudge of my own so badly!) and is owned by another favorite character of mine named Ursala, and the other is a DreamSleeve. And the DreamSleeve has a name, and her name is Monono Aware. I don’t think I’ve loved a character more than Monono, she’s become my new favorite book character. Monono has a completely different voice than Koli and I have to include a bit of it here, simply because I know you’ll fall in love and want to find out more about her:

“What work are we gonna do, Monono?”

“I’m going to sharpen your taste buds to a point, Cody-bou. But basics first. This is ‘Poker Face’ by the lady named Gaga. Twice.

“First time, just listen. Second time, you dance.”

I know that makes no sense if you haven’t read the book, but trust me. You are going to love Monono too.

Carey is such a great storyteller, and I love the way Koli often gets sidetracked as he’s explaining something. These asides felt so natural, as if he were saying “Oh, I haven’t told you about that thing yet, have I? Don’t worry, that part’s coming up soon…” There’s also a wonderful tale-within-a-tale about Monono’s journey into the internet. That’s all I’m going to say about that, but look out for it, it’s sort of mind blowing!

Koli, Monono and Ursala wind up together on a quest of sorts, and a thrilling and terrifying climax eventually finds our characters preparing for—you guessed it—the next book in the series. I loved the direction Carey took at the end, which isn’t a cliffhanger at all, but rather the first steps into the sequel. This is one of my favorite types of endings: lots of things are wrapped up satisfactorily but the author also gives us a glimpse into the characters’ next adventure. I can hardly wait for The Trials of Koli, which luckily isn’t that far away—it comes out in September.

Readers who are already fans of M.R. Carey will not want to miss this, and new readers should take heed: this book might turn you into a fan as well. Highly recommended!

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

Fully formatted review at Novellives.Com -Thank you to Orbit for a copy in exchange for an honest review
Also posted at all links in my profile, as always

Art Imitates Life

I think a lot of authors (not necessarily M.R Carey because well he's M.R. Carey) need to breathe. Sure, they've been writing about plagues, dystopian societies and apocalyptic world fates for years, but that doesn't mean they should be panicking now.  The world has always believed in art imitating life. Ok, maybe not Oscar Wilde, but he's an outlier. The Book of Koli, the first book in the Rampart Trilogy is, as Carey mentioned in his interview with me (linked above), a part of a trend of story lines where mother nature takes some form of revenge on humanity, because it is on the minds of anyone who is paying attention, authors included.

What is essential for not just Carey, but all those spinning the tales of these scary times, is what they do with them. Everyone has their own lens and their own voice. What you do with that voice is what makes each story unique and critical. The Book of Koli is the beginning of what promises to be a very unique take on the immediate and long-term devastation of our current state of in-actions. Also, it may just point to a direction of what hope might linger, if mother nature ever decided to give us another chance.

True Story

Seriously. Not that anyone will believe me but that's cool. I have a balcony/patio/whatever you want to call it (the mountain lion showed up on that night without being invited). That part everyone knows. Anyway. I can go out on that still because it is private, and no one is there (well before I got sick). Anyhow, The Book of Koli was the last book I really read when it was nice out and I started to not feel well. And I dropped it off the balcony. There was someone walking their dog. I'm on the second floor. So, it wasn't loud. They might have looked over. It wasn't some grand huge thing, except I had to go get it. And the guy who lives below me wasn't out. So, no big deal.

As I walked down the steps, to pick up the book and walked back up the steps I cursed Carey in English and Italian I realized what Carey had done. And why it mattered so much.

There In Lies The Torment- The Structure

See, The Book of Koli is a memoir. Instead of the unreliable narrator or that slow roll of unknowing like The Girl with All the Gifts? You get a narrator who knows the whole damn story. And you know he knows the whole damn story. And you are just reading along till you get...

In the end, the trouble come anyway, but that telling will have to wait for now.

And then Koli just goes on with the story. Like he didn't just tell you something horrendous was coming but no he isn't going to tell you about that now. He's just going to wait because he has to wait. NO, NO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT. 

And so that is how the structure of The Book of Koli runs. Told from the perspective of Koli, a mostly illiterate member of a very post-apocalyptic world where nature has the hast the ability to devour people. This memoir starts with his time in Mythen Rood. In order to make it as realistic as possible everything is explained in very simplistic terms. The grammar and phonetics are often choppy and purposely incorrect. It stays true to Koli's voice, which has a dialect and description for a world where language has dropped off dramatically.

While Koli is a teenager, he still represents the "every man". He is frustrated with his lot in life. He sees what is going on around him and he wants more. The love of his life married his best friend. The place in society he wants to be a part of won't have him. And the path that is set forth for him? It just isn't enough. He knows everyone accepts their life and their place in it. And he knows that he should accept his. So, he tries.

So, I did what fools always have done since time was time, which is I pissed in my own milk and then complained about the taste of it.

If that isn't one of the quotes of the year? I'll be shocked.

That has to be one of the easiest feelings to relate to, ever. At some point in everyone's life, you've felt like that. If not? You just haven't ever wanted something bad enough.

Act One

Mythen Rood is a structured society. Everyone has their part. Some work with wood, some gather food, and some protect or keep watch. Ramparts use electronics from our era to do most of the protecting and hunting outside the walls that protect the community. This technology is from our era and the future. While, they wield it, it is widely unknown to them. Koli does his best to describe it in exact and literal terms.

This "magical" technology will seem very logical to readers and there are those at Mythen Rood who will make a power grab after figuring out some of the secrets behind the "magic." The tension builds around the introduction of an outsider who is much more educated. She comes with medical supplies and travels from community to community. Ursula helps many. She is both respected and disliked. The feeling is mutual, as she doesn't care to stay around people much other than helping them.

Ursula is a very complex and brilliantly written character. It is easy to both respect her and completely distrust her, despise her, even. However, much about her speech, her knowledge, her level of technology and what she says gives clues to so much going on beyond the walls of Mythen Rood, if you pay attention. This is the first half of the Book of Koli. And as much as I can tell you without giving too much away.

Thank you to Orbit for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Act Two

Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot I can say about act two other than it is really what sets up the rest of the series. For reasons that you will have to find out for yourself, Koli travels beyond the walls of Mythen Rood (it says that much in the summary). Many hidden secrets that are kept from the entirety of Mythen Rood come to light, along with another pending danger to what remains of the entire planet.

What happens to him beyond that point would give away much more than I'm willing to say.

Overall:

Two overall worlds built in The Book of Koli. Mythen Rood and beyond the wall. Both are done distinctively and utilizing not just site and the physicality of the places but primal fear. There is a palpable fear and creepiness of everything around you being alive and a threat, which especially grows beyond the walls that is physically debilitating to read. Within that there are minor worlds that come into play that are equally built-up and flushed out. Each are unique and some taking turns I definitely never saw coming.

I would imagine that throughout the series there is much more of this to come, or at least I would hope so. If that is the case, I believe it will be a phenomenal ride.

There are three major characters - Koli, Ursula and Monono- a voice AI for the Sony Dreamsleeve technology from Act 1. Character? Well you'll just have to figure that out in Act 2

The second book, The Trials of Koli, is due out in September. And it is just going to keep building through The Fall of Koli, next April.

There is a lot to love about this book. And it's a fantastic start to a series!

First off, it’s a master class in voice. Straight up one of the most voicey books I’ve read in a long time. And I honestly think it wasn’t overdone. At first, I was like, oh I dunno if I’m gonna last with this, but over time, I got used it, and before I knew it, Koli’s voice was stuck in my head and I got carried away by his story.

I think Koli is a fantastic protagonist. And I loved how his naivety plays off the reader's knowledge. He’s one of those protagonists that is sort of an accidental hero, but it worked for me. The things that he does make perfect sense—in a really frustrating way in which you can definitely guess that the shit is gonna hit the fan—but they made sense for his goals and what he wanted.

And I think my final praise is for the world-building in this book. I don’t want to say too much so I don’t spoil it (though maybe it’s obvious after the first few pages?), but I thought the book did a great job of showing the world through Koli’s eyes, rather than through what the reader would expect. And of course, this is a book that does the lie that the characters believe very well, and I just love that. I am also very eager to see where the next book goes! And additional aside, I was very pleased to see trans secondary characters, and though there is clearly transphobia in the world, neither of them are misgendered or deadnamed on-page (that I noticed!).

Overall, I’d recommend this one to anyone who’s loving the post-apocalyptic sci-fi trend in the book world for the past while. Another great book with oodles of voice and a brilliantly constructed world.
(this review will be posted on my blog on March 31, 2020)

just not for me. couldn't get my head in the right mind frame right now to get involved. thanks to the author and publisher for the opportunity. I can see a lot of promise moving forward but I need to put this one aside for another time.