Series: Rampart Trilogy #2 (See my review of book one here!)
Release Date: September 17th 2020
Publisher: Orbit Books
Pages: 445
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

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.

Review

The Book of Koli was one of my favourite books of 2019 and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of book two in the series. The first book ended on such a cliffhanger that I was desperate to find out what was going to happen to Koli next. The Trials of Koli is even more compelling and addictive and I absolutely did not want it to end.

Picking up after the events of book one, the story follows Koli as he continues on his journey across this dystopian landscape where everything is dangerous – even the trees are trying to kill you. Koli is such a brilliant protagonist and it’s fascinating seeing him as he continues to grow, to understand what happened to the world around him. He’s changed so much from the young boy we first meet in the beginning of The Book of Koli. The Trials of Koli gives the reader an opportunity to learn more about the world and what went wrong and I really enjoyed this expansion on the world building. Book two also features Spinner as a POV character which I did not expect – it was really fascinating seeing everything from another person’s perspective.

Just like The Book of Koli, this instalment is quick paced and difficult to put down. Over the course of the two books I’ve become quite attached to Koli as a main character and you really root for him to survive and succeed in such a difficult world. All the characters are well created in this world and I think the fact that you want Koli to survive so bad is a mark of that.

The Rampart Trilogy is shaping up to be a really incredible series and I honestly can’t wait to see what happens in The Fall of Koli. I’m so pleased that the final book is due for publication in March because I am dying to know how it ends. The Book of Koli is a clever story that’s incredibly well executed. If you haven’t had the opportunity to pick up this series now is the perfect time before the release of book three in 2021.