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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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:
No
In Cold People, we get to explore one of the pentultimate 'what-if's': What if an alien species discovered us and decided to claim our planet as their own? However, there is not one confrontational scene between the actual aliens and humans. Instead, the new visitors have one message: you have 30 days to reach Antarctica. They don't give any stipulations or fine details, and the entire human race is left to race to the bottom of the earth for survival.
What follows is an interesting exploration of human survival, will and love. This is not a book about aliens, but rather, it is a love story, a survival story and a story of hope for the human race.
What follows is an interesting exploration of human survival, will and love. This is not a book about aliens, but rather, it is a love story, a survival story and a story of hope for the human race.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This speculative/science fiction was a big departure from my normal reading. Aliens take over the earth and banish all of humanity to Antarctica where they must learn to rebuild a society at the extreme edge of the earth. This was an intriguing plot and I think very well written. I struggled with character development and found some of the character actions to not be less than believable in terms of human psychology. The ending seemed a bit rushed and I felt like there was so much detail to explore in this premise that it was too much for a single book. I think this could have done well as a series. None the less, I did find it to be entertaining enough to finish in a timely manner, so I give it three stars.
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Eh... 3.5 stars - rounded up. The premise was better than the execution on this one for me. Starts out with an alien invasion in 2023/2024 where all the people of the earth are given a short time to evacuate to Antarctica. Alternates with 2044 and deals with the communities and culture the refugees have created. Ended up more sci-fi than I expected, but parts of the story were enthralling. I honestly also wished for a map of the continent - since I've only ever imagined it as a big pile of ice and didn't quite understand the geography and landscape. A reassuring read in January when it was -15 degrees outside.
Liza, a med student, is on vacation with her family in Lisbon when suddenly alien spaceships appear in the air and a message is on every television: Humans are required to move to Antarctica within the next 30 days, and that's going to be their new home, as the aliens are taking over the planet. So, off goes Liza, eventually arriving safely, and then we jump 20 years into the future to learn about the genetic experiments that the new Antarctica refugees have been doing to create humans who can better tolerate the cold.
I read this for my husband's book club. Even though the ideas were interesting, I kept coming back to the superficial characterizations and the way it felt like the author had just written scenes to go with events, as if he were writing the novelization of an action movie rather than a real novel. The process of reading it was entertaining enough, but overall the book felt choppy and the conclusions weren't satisfying.
I read this for my husband's book club. Even though the ideas were interesting, I kept coming back to the superficial characterizations and the way it felt like the author had just written scenes to go with events, as if he were writing the novelization of an action movie rather than a real novel. The process of reading it was entertaining enough, but overall the book felt choppy and the conclusions weren't satisfying.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Can the last remnants of the earth's people survive on Antartica, the earth's harshest continent? This fast-paced, original story imagines that possibility. The author examines the question of what is important, love or survival of the fittest.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide