anastasiaf's review against another edition
3.75
Interesting enough - I like the idea of a weird world.
I like that we get pay off for some mysteries relatively quickly - ex. whatever is following Koli about midway through the book
Really visceral reaction to the underground people and just wanted the story to stop being there (I could also smell the stink and feel the gross of being there)
I love the diversity of characters
I think I had a better time than some others as I listened to the audiobook which helped with the language.
soundy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dreamofbookspines's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Torn between 3.5 and 4 but liked it enough to start the second book in the series immediately upon finishing. Like other books by Carey, it's sometimes hard to follow until you have the aha moment. Still not there but intrigued for sure.
theshaggyshepherd's review against another edition
5.0
The Book of Koli // by M.R. Carey
I’ve been dancing around reading this book for a while now. I was not sure if I was ready to jump into another series where I knew more books were coming out soon because I just have so many other books to read. But something just told me I needed to do it so I did. And am I glad that I did! I read almost the entire book in just one day and stayed up until 1am to finish it. I haven’t done that in years!
Koli, the narrator, drew me right in. I was hooked from the very first chapter on! Carey chooses his words so well. The writing was so beautiful that I highlighted sentences and whole passages in every chapter. There were so many highlights, that eventually I just told myself to stop with it all together because the entire book would glow in the end.
I am a big fan of dystopian stories but I did not even realize that this was one in the beginning! All I knew about this book was from the blurb and there honestly was not much information in that so I had no idea what was coming. The book reminded me a little bit of Zoo by James Patterson with nature banding together against the humans and even animals forming organized packs against them and their intelligence having evolved so much that revenge and placating via gifts were concepts they understood.
As I said, dystopia was not something I expected here so when technology started to appear, I was thoroughly confused at first. I had a rough time trying to figure out a general time period that this may have been set in or modeled after until then but it made so much more sense later. Koli did an incredible job explaining the time period, their living situation, the technology they know about, and everything else we needed to know to understand his story. It is written like a diary for future readers or as if he was verbally telling you this story much later and he wanted to make sure we really understood everything in case things were different again by the time we found his story. I really enjoyed that part.
I don’t want to give too much away because I actually think it was good not knowing a lot going in but the way the technology was integrated into society as well as against societies was very interesting. I am also a big fan of familiars and while that is probably not the right word to use here, it still felt similar to that, which was a lot of fun. The integration of and references to specific music was very well done as well.
The last thing I want to mention is that I am really enjoying the mention of more diverse characters in my reading lately and this one was no exception. But I do find it necessary to put a warning in [look away now for the rest of this paragraph if you don’t like even tiny spoilers!]: While Koli himself is very accepting of trans characters, some people in his society are not so there is talk about physical abuse towards those characters at least twice in this book and it seems to be based off of their religion.
This book is written to be a trilogy and it is obvious in the slow (but interesting!) start as well as the way it is left open-ended. Due to the changes of the English language over time (or maybe it is due to illiteracy of the majority of the population?), some people may enjoy this more as an audiobook, though I found it flowed very well and did not distract from the story. Some of his spellings even made me laugh out loud! I did listen to an excerpt of the audiobook though for my friend and the narrator sounded really awesome. I am very excited for the next book, The Trials of Koli, which will be released tomorrow, and am happy because the wait for the third book, The Fall of Koli, is not too far behind either.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been dancing around reading this book for a while now. I was not sure if I was ready to jump into another series where I knew more books were coming out soon because I just have so many other books to read. But something just told me I needed to do it so I did. And am I glad that I did! I read almost the entire book in just one day and stayed up until 1am to finish it. I haven’t done that in years!
Koli, the narrator, drew me right in. I was hooked from the very first chapter on! Carey chooses his words so well. The writing was so beautiful that I highlighted sentences and whole passages in every chapter. There were so many highlights, that eventually I just told myself to stop with it all together because the entire book would glow in the end.
I am a big fan of dystopian stories but I did not even realize that this was one in the beginning! All I knew about this book was from the blurb and there honestly was not much information in that so I had no idea what was coming. The book reminded me a little bit of Zoo by James Patterson with nature banding together against the humans and even animals forming organized packs against them and their intelligence having evolved so much that revenge and placating via gifts were concepts they understood.
As I said, dystopia was not something I expected here so when technology started to appear, I was thoroughly confused at first. I had a rough time trying to figure out a general time period that this may have been set in or modeled after until then but it made so much more sense later. Koli did an incredible job explaining the time period, their living situation, the technology they know about, and everything else we needed to know to understand his story. It is written like a diary for future readers or as if he was verbally telling you this story much later and he wanted to make sure we really understood everything in case things were different again by the time we found his story. I really enjoyed that part.
I don’t want to give too much away because I actually think it was good not knowing a lot going in but the way the technology was integrated into society as well as against societies was very interesting. I am also a big fan of familiars and while that is probably not the right word to use here, it still felt similar to that, which was a lot of fun. The integration of and references to specific music was very well done as well.
The last thing I want to mention is that I am really enjoying the mention of more diverse characters in my reading lately and this one was no exception. But I do find it necessary to put a warning in [look away now for the rest of this paragraph if you don’t like even tiny spoilers!]: While Koli himself is very accepting of trans characters, some people in his society are not so there is talk about physical abuse towards those characters at least twice in this book and it seems to be based off of their religion.
This book is written to be a trilogy and it is obvious in the slow (but interesting!) start as well as the way it is left open-ended. Due to the changes of the English language over time (or maybe it is due to illiteracy of the majority of the population?), some people may enjoy this more as an audiobook, though I found it flowed very well and did not distract from the story. Some of his spellings even made me laugh out loud! I did listen to an excerpt of the audiobook though for my friend and the narrator sounded really awesome. I am very excited for the next book, The Trials of Koli, which will be released tomorrow, and am happy because the wait for the third book, The Fall of Koli, is not too far behind either.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a fan of M.R. Carey, but somehow I did not notice The Book of Koli. Luckily, it got picked in 'SciFi and Fantasy Book Club' so I did not miss it.
When I started reading, at first I was not a fan. I planned to get it done but predicted a 2-star rating. But as the story developed I liked it more and more.
The Book of Koli is not like the rest of M.R. Carey's book I have read, which were all easy to read. It needs a bit of a slower reading so you can ponder over the wordplay.
DISLIKES:
✘ Man-killing plants and animals. It's partially explained, but I still could not buy it. (And, yes this is from the same person who read and liked [b:The Day of the Triffids|530965|The Day of the Triffids|John Wyndham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320530145l/530965._SY75_.jpg|188517]. :D)
✘ The main characters could have been better done. Some side-characters were more life-like to me than Koli. :D
✘ Almost every chapter ends in tension-builder. Like:
"And the times that was coming next was not what you would call good. Not for me anyway."
LIKES:
✔ Storytelling type of narration
✔ The use of language to show us how much time has gone by. I loved the subtle change of grammar and how some words/names changed through time. Like, when you read a book written 200-300 years ago and there are slight differences. Since this is the book from the future, it's logical that the English language is not the same.
✔ The way society has changed. I found >i>The Book of Koli to be, one of the most realistic books about post-apocalyptic society. (I am ignoring killer flora and fauna lol)
✔ Monono - I have a huge girl-crush. <3
"I have a cute Japanese accent," Monono said, "It's probably that."
This is one of those times when I wish Goodreads had 4.5 stars rating. The Book of Koli & [b:The Girl With All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl With All the Gifts (The Girl With All the Gifts, #1)|M.R. Carey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403033579l/17235026._SY75_.jpg|23753235] share #1 place on my M.R. Carey top list. :)
I will definitely read the sequel!
When I started reading, at first I was not a fan. I planned to get it done but predicted a 2-star rating. But as the story developed I liked it more and more.
The Book of Koli is not like the rest of M.R. Carey's book I have read, which were all easy to read. It needs a bit of a slower reading so you can ponder over the wordplay.
DISLIKES:
✘ Man-killing plants and animals. It's partially explained, but I still could not buy it. (And, yes this is from the same person who read and liked [b:The Day of the Triffids|530965|The Day of the Triffids|John Wyndham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320530145l/530965._SY75_.jpg|188517]. :D)
✘ The main characters could have been better done. Some side-characters were more life-like to me than Koli. :D
✘ Almost every chapter ends in tension-builder. Like:
"And the times that was coming next was not what you would call good. Not for me anyway."
LIKES:
✔ Storytelling type of narration
✔ The use of language to show us how much time has gone by. I loved the subtle change of grammar and how some words/names changed through time. Like, when you read a book written 200-300 years ago and there are slight differences. Since this is the book from the future, it's logical that the English language is not the same.
✔ The way society has changed. I found >i>The Book of Koli to be, one of the most realistic books about post-apocalyptic society. (I am ignoring killer flora and fauna lol)
✔ Monono - I have a huge girl-crush. <3
Spoiler
Ursala blinked. "Are you an AI?" she asked. "You don't sound like any of the ones I've heard.""I have a cute Japanese accent," Monono said, "It's probably that."
This is one of those times when I wish Goodreads had 4.5 stars rating. The Book of Koli & [b:The Girl With All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl With All the Gifts (The Girl With All the Gifts, #1)|M.R. Carey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403033579l/17235026._SY75_.jpg|23753235] share #1 place on my M.R. Carey top list. :)
I will definitely read the sequel!
tia_54's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
geekmom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was fresh and original and completely sucked me in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Confinement, Cursing, and Blood
alwroteabook's review against another edition
5.0
Here's the review, only a few months late - https://www.alwroteabook.com/2020/07/14/the-book-of-koli-by-mr-carey/
torisaur's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed the terrifying universe this book takes place in! The odd language of the first person narration takes some time to get used to; the clever inclusion of corrupted placenames ("Yewkay", "Duglass", "Ingland" etc.) was interesting to pick up on! Looking forward to reading the next instalment in this trilogy.