As someone who has loved the AI characters in the Illuminae Files and Skyward series Monono was a welcome addition and I like how she is used to tell Koli and the reader more about the time before. Monono is a piece of tech (a Sony Dreamsleeve media player) who develops from a preloaded replica of sugary Tokyo pop star to an AI with her own mind, once she explores the ‘internet’.

In my last review I neglected to tell you about my favourite character. I think the introduction of Spinner’s narrative makes this a stronger book because we get to still see the home that Koli is fighting for. The “Everything that lives hates us“ tagline definitely comes into play with killer trees, beasts, warring settlements and now the red death – what is it with 2020 and plagues (check out my review of Hollowpox tomorrow!). Her early chapters go over part of the story from book one so you could potentially pick up at book two but I wouldn’t really recommend it. No biggie.īut in this book we also get the point of view of Spinner, Koli’s childhood friend and one time ‘tumble’ as she settles into her new life with her husband in the Rampart Hold back at Mythen Rood, the settlement Koli was ousted from. His grand idea is to see if it is habitable in order to bring different tribes together to expand the gene pool and keep the human race alive. Koli is travelling along with Ursala and Cup and Monono to try and find London. I found myself comfortably slipping back into his presence and the story picks up where it left off. I really enjoyed Koli’s voice in the first one so I was eager to delve back in to see what happens next in his journey. He also has several previous novels, two radio plays and a number of TV and movie screenplays to his credit. His creator-owned books regularly appear I’m the New York Times graphic fiction bestseller list. Under the name Mike Carey he has written for both DC and Marvel, including critically acclaimed runs of X-Men and Fantastic Four, Marvel’s flagship superhero titles. 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. MR Carey has been making up stories for most of his life. If Koli can find it, there may still be a way to redeem himself – by saving what’s left of humankind.

A story about lost London, and the mysterious tech of the Old Times that might still be there. As an exile, Koli’s been forced to journey out into this mysterious, hostile world. Beyond the walls of Koli’s small village lies a fearsome landscape filled with choker trees, vicious beasts and shunned men.

The book of koli review