Sally Strange reviewed The Book of Koli by M. R. Carey
A near-perfect entry in the genre of young adults finding themselves in a post-ecopocalypse
5 stars
M. R. Carey imagines a distant future resulting from humans' attempts at genetically engineering trees to grow faster in order to cope with global warming and environmental degradation: the trees get the taste for blood. They learn to hunt and trap both animals and humans. The forests become dangerous places where humans can only venture on cloudy days when the trees move more slowly.
This is the world of Koli. A world where people almost never leave the village in which they are born, and where occasional remnants of the technological wonders built centuries past can confer amazing power on the holder of the "tech", as they call it. Koli is just a boy in love at the beginning of the story, a foolish boy who is well-intentioned but also rather selfish at times. His virtues are that he truly does not wish to cause anyone harm. That's kind of …
M. R. Carey imagines a distant future resulting from humans' attempts at genetically engineering trees to grow faster in order to cope with global warming and environmental degradation: the trees get the taste for blood. They learn to hunt and trap both animals and humans. The forests become dangerous places where humans can only venture on cloudy days when the trees move more slowly.
This is the world of Koli. A world where people almost never leave the village in which they are born, and where occasional remnants of the technological wonders built centuries past can confer amazing power on the holder of the "tech", as they call it. Koli is just a boy in love at the beginning of the story, a foolish boy who is well-intentioned but also rather selfish at times. His virtues are that he truly does not wish to cause anyone harm. That's kind of it. I have seen other reviewers calling this a turnoff, but I quite enjoyed the turnabout of having a tale of adventure starring a boy, becoming a man, who succeeds in his quests because he is kind, soft-hearted, and sensitive.
Another complaint I have seen is about "bad grammar." This, I think, is more apparent if you read rather than listen to the book. I have only taken it in as an audiobook and the narrator is excellent, and the "bad grammar" makes perfect sense when spoken aloud. Carey is simply trying to put the reader into Koli's illiterate mind, and set the scene of a distant future with language drift over time. Try the audiobook if that sort of thing bothers you, because really: it is a fantastic story.
