Published: March 23, 2021
Publisher: Orbit Books
Series: Rampart Trilogy #3
Genre: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic
Pages: 560 (Paperback)
My Rating: 4.25/5.0
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
The Fall of Koli is the third and final novel in the breathtakingly original Rampart trilogy – set in a strange and deadly world of our own making.
The world that is lost will come back to haunt us . . .
Koli has come a long way since being exiled from his small village of Mythen Rood. In his search for the fabled tech of the old times, he knew he’d be battling strange, terrible beasts and trees that move as fast as whips. But he has already encountered so much more than he bargained for.
Now that Koli and his companions have found the source of the signal they’ve been following – the mysterious “Sword of Albion” – there is hope that their perilous journey will finally be worth something.
Until they unearth terrifying truths about an ancient war . . . and realise that it may have never ended.
I see what everyone meant when they said this book will punch you right in the emotions now. What a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy! While this still isn’t quite a five star read for me (I was not weeping or uncontainably elated at the end) it was an impressive tale from beginning to end and did tug on the heartstrings a bit.
Koli, Ursala, Cup, and Monono are in dire straits when they are pulled from the ocean by the folks aboard the Sword of Albion. Yes, the Sword is a massive, technologically advanced ship with a crew of three. It’s a strange situation, amongst a trilogy full of strange situations and events. Stanley Banner and his parents, Lorraine and Paul, are the only people aboard the ship and honestly, the only reason they rescued our band of misfits is because of Ursala’s Drudge. They want her to repair it so that she might treat Stanley for some unnamed genetic illness. Lorraine and Paul are oddities (and we soon find out why) and Stanley is at times a massive jerk and at others a fairly normal boy, almost as if he were two different people entirely. Unfortunately, it seems as if Koli, Ursala, Cup, and Monono are prisoners aboard the ship until Ursala completes her task.
On the other side of things, we have Spinner’s POV in Mythen Rood. She’s just returned triumphant from a raid by the Peacemaker’s people with a huge new piece of tech, though many of her people were killed or wounded. Spinner’s perspective has been my favorite. She’s tough yet vulnerable and we get to see how she balances her roles as leader, wife, and mother. Spinner’s chapters are definitely the more action packed of the two POVs, though Koli’s certainly don’t lack for tension. The village of Mythen Rood is constantly in a state of preparation for battle, knowing full well that the Peacemaker will make his move soon.
Eventually our characters reunite again after their long journeys and misadventures. The ending was fairly powerful, though I think perhaps it didn’t impact me as strongly as it did other readers. It was bittersweet, yet left me satisfied. This series wouldn’t have felt right with a truly happy, fairytale ending because it’s a post-apocalyptic world and things just don’t happen that way. This was an exciting read, and if you don’t mind the odd vernacular used by certain characters I would highly recommend it!
Powder & Page 
I definitely felt emotional about the ending, but I really loved the characters so much that I couldn’t help but get invested in everything that happened. I’m ready for his next book!
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