The Trials of Koli by M.R. Carey – Review

Published: September 17, 2020

Publisher: Orbit Books

Series: Rampart Trilogy #2

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 445 (Paperback)

My Rating: 3.0/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

The Trials of Koli is the second novel in M R. Carey’s breathtakingly original Rampart trilogy, set in a strange and deadly world of our own making.

Beyond the walls of Koli’s small village lies a fearsome landscape filled with choker trees, vicious beasts and shunned men. As an exile, Koli’s been forced to journey out into this mysterious, hostile world. But he heard a story, once. A story about lost London, and the mysterious tech of the Old Times that may still be there. If Koli can find it, there may still be a way for him to redeem himself – by saving what’s left of humankind.

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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.