Post-Apocalyptic novels come in many forms, with many themes, and many reasons for the world being broken. Some of those novels don’t get too specific and rather focus on the characters. In M.R. Carey’s The Book of Koli, the character of Koli is front and center in a world that has hints of our own. Told in Koli’s unique and engaging voice, the novel is a first-person narrative that is part bildungsroman, part societal examination.
Everything that lives hates us…
Beyond the walls of the small village of Mythen Rood lies an unrecognizable landscape. A place where overgrown forests are filled with choker trees and deadly seeds that will kill you where you stand. And if they don’t get you, one of the dangerous shunned men will.
Koli has lived in Mythen Rood his entire life. He believes the first rule of survival is that you don’t venture too far beyond the walls.
He’s wrong.
In a land called “Ingland,” in a village by the name of “Mythen Rood,” Koli is approaching the age where his fate is set. Mythen Rood is mostly run by the Rampart family, which lends its name to the trilogy as well. At about fifteen years old, all members of the village go through “the Waiting,” and then present themselves and test their “connection” to ancient tech. Koli does not make a connection and is thus relegated to being a woodcutter. The ceremony is organized by the Rampart family and results in members of the Rampart family connecting to the ancient, solar-powered tech, which may not be too much of a surprise. This does not sit well with Koli, so he makes some decisions based on this frustration and the general unfairness of the situation. These results of these decisions don’t sit well with the Ramparts and Koli strikes out beyond the walls of Mythen Rood. He learns that the world has unexpected dangers, but also many wonders he could not have expected.
Let me get one thing out of the way because it is the most obvious to any reader who opens the book. The story, as I mentioned, is told as a first-person narrative through Koli’s unfiltered voice. That could be a determining factor for some people, because Koli’s voice / grammar is somewhat broken English. The editor in me found it very off-putting initially with incorrect tense and phrasings. I nearly set the book aside, but once I was able to get into the rhythm of Koli’s voice there was no turning back. His voice, even when the bad grammar was a little bit of an annoyance, was completely genuine and as honest. Koli came across as reliable narrator. Here I have to give all the credit in the world to Carey and his editor for the amazing consistency maintained in Koli’s voice throughout the novel.
One of the more enjoyable elements of any post-apocalyptic novel for me is the puzzle aspect. Trying to make connections between the world of the broken future the characters inhabit and the real world in which we live. That element was quite strong in The Book of Koli which worked very well as told through Koli’s unique voice.
Although the novel is very much Koli’s story, his supporting cast is very engaging. Ursula, the outcast but wise woman who seems to have more knowledge about the “world before” is a fantastic counter to Koli’s youthful naivete. There’s another supporting character I’d rather not spoil since this character’s introduction and pairing with Koli is one of the strongest elements of the novel. It is a very engaging and powerful protagonist/sidekick relationship, though that is an oversimplification of what it is. Think of their connection similar to Atticus and Oberon in Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Novels.
The Book of Koli is the start of a trilogy, but the novel provides enough closure to the first part of the story. We know Koli pretty well, his “band of friends” (for lack of a better term) is established and I am ready to join them on the next leg of their journey. Carey has told a very engaging and even uplifting story.
Highly recommended
© 2020 Rob H. Bedford
Trade Paperback | Orbit Books
April 2020 | 376 pages
http://www.orbitbooks.net/the-book-of-koli/
Excerpt: http://www.orbitbooks.net/the-book-of-koli/excerpt.php
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