The Trials Of Koli (Rampart Trilogy Book Two) by M.R. Carey

The Trials of Koli (The Rampart Trilogy Book Two) by 

M. R. Carey.

Published 15th September 2020 by Orbit Books.

From the cover of the book:

Koli never planned to set foot outside his small village. He knew that beyond its walls lay a fearsome landscape filled with choker trees, vicious beasts and Shunned men. 

But when he was exiled, he had no choice but to journey out into this strange world where every moment is a fight for survival.

And it's not just Koli's life that is threatened. Whole villages just like his are dying out.

But Koli heard a story, once. A story about lost London, and the mysterious tech of the Old Times that may still be there. If he can find it, there may still be a way for him to change his own fate - by saving the lives of those who are left.

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The Trials of Koli continues the story from the first book in The Rampart Trilogy, The Book of Koli, published in April 2020 - which introduced us to the terrifying post-apocalyptic world of Ingland, with its few surviving human communities, in which nature has turned against mankind. 

This one carries on seamlessly from book one - which you really do have to have read before getting to this one, so make sure you have (and it's very enjoyable, so why wouldn't you...?).  This time around we follow Koli after he has been exiled from his village, Mythen Road, for stealing tech and also the narrative of Spinner, who Koli fell in love with in the first instalment of this trilogy but has left behind - the two parts of the story swap back and forth between each other throughout.

Koli and his companions Ursala and Cup, who he met in book one, are on a quest to follow a mysterious radio signal to old London, where they hope to find more survivors who will help to save the future of the human race - with the intriguing Dreamsleeve Monono (a sentient piece of tech that Koli stole from the village) along for the ride. But this is a terrifying place and danger lurks around every corner as they try to reach their destination - this is going to be far from easy.

Spinner's part in the tale shows us about the life Koli has left behind and why he is so invested in the fight for survival. Spinner has married another - one who has become a Rampart Knife - and her story gives us a very interesting insight into the world of Rampart Hold. Danger of a different kind is headed the way of Spinner's people and she has an interesting role to play in helping to save them.

The second book in a trilogy can be a tricky thing, as it has to bridge the story between introductory world building and the big flashy finale, but M.R. Carey has managed to pull off the balancing trick well in this book and keeps the action rolling all the way through both sides of the story to the cliff-hanger of an ending that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

I don't want to say too much about the story itself, for fear of spoilers, but be assured that this is every bit as good as the first book and will leave you yearning for the final part of the trilogy, The Fall of Koli, which will be arriving on March 2021.

If you like your sci-fi/fantasy on the dystopian side, with good world building and plenty of thrills and chills, then this is the series for you. There some very interesting moments of humour along the way too, as the humans of Koli's world try to fathom out what some of the technology that has been left behind was actually used for!

The Trials of Koli is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to M.R. Carey and Orbit Books for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

M. R. Carey has been making up stories for most of his life. His novel The Girl With All the Gifts was a word-of-mouth bestseller and is now a major motion picture based on his own screenplay.

Under the name Mike Carey he has written for both DC and Marvel, including critically acclaimed runs on Lucifer, Hellblazer and X-Men. His creator-owned series The Unwritten appeared regularly in the New York Times graphic fiction bestseller list.

He also has several previous novels, games, radio plays, and TV and movie screenplays to his credit.