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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was 100% a painfully terrible book full of plot holes, contradictions, and the most poorly written novel I have ever read. Skip.
I'm not even sure I'd read anything by this author (even though this isn't his normal genre).
I'm not even sure I'd read anything by this author (even though this isn't his normal genre).
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loved the writing style and wanted to pick up this book to carry on reading. Yes it’s sci-fi, but the balance between reality and the wildly fantastical genetic engineering bugged me at times. Putting that aside, an enjoyable read.
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm not sure how to rate this. I know I will be thinking about it for a long time, but there were parts that I just wanted to get through them versus experience. Nothing horrible, just trying to imagine mass migration and putting myself in their shoes with two small children....was not great.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Cold People by Tom Rob Smith is a post apocalyptic science fiction novel which takes place nearly exclusively in the antarctic continent. It began very promising, with the arrival of an alien fleet that forces humankind to relocate to Antarctica. This introduction was quite suspenseful, with our main characters rushing to find passage to the southern most continent at any cost, and just barely making it before the alien deadline arrives. The remainder of the book take place twenty years later, where the remnants of humanity are trapped in Antarctica and trying to survive by breeding genetic hybrids.
The bulk of the novel focuses on these Antarctic hybrids, the titular Cold People, and if they will be able to live side by side the last surviving members of humanity. I found this plot line much less convincing than the race for survival which began the novel. In fact I think it would have been more interesting to learn how humanity adapted to the antarctic conditions, and to hear more about the tragic struggle which they found themselves in right after being trapped in Antarctica. But, since this novel is more about now the Cold People came to be in the first place, the second half of the novel is mostly about the genetic engineering of ice adapted human/animal hybrids. It still confounds me why they thought that was the last best hope for humanity.
So to conclude, a novel with a promising start, great concept, but a mediocre finish and follow-through, and thus a lot of wasted potential. 2.5/5
The bulk of the novel focuses on these Antarctic hybrids, the titular Cold People, and if they will be able to live side by side the last surviving members of humanity. I found this plot line much less convincing than the race for survival which began the novel. In fact I think it would have been more interesting to learn how humanity adapted to the antarctic conditions, and to hear more about the tragic struggle which they found themselves in right after being trapped in Antarctica. But, since this novel is more about now the Cold People came to be in the first place, the second half of the novel is mostly about the genetic engineering of ice adapted human/animal hybrids. It still confounds me why they thought that was the last best hope for humanity.
So to conclude, a novel with a promising start, great concept, but a mediocre finish and follow-through, and thus a lot of wasted potential. 2.5/5
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.
“We were good at war once, we could be again” is going to stick with me for a long time
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
Yes
Liza is on holiday in Europe with her parents and sister when she meets a mysterious tour guide that she is drawn to. Arturo takes her on a boat ride and when they return, the city is deserted with everyone gathered indoors looking at screens. Aliens have arrived and they only have one message- humanity has 30 days to get to Antarctica. No explanation of the consequences. But the ships in the sky are very real, satellites are all out and even the worst of humanity’s weapons no longer work.
But this is not really a tale of the journey as after just a short time we jump 20 years into the future and the story of what humans are doing to survive in one of the harshest places on earth. Genetic engineering is the new focus of the entire human population, and The Cold People project is seen to be the future of civilisation.
Firstly can I say that I’m a zoologist by training, and teach genetics on a regular basis, so found the over simplified “of course we can just change a bit here and there and a person will suddenly be born with scales and cold resistance but everything else is pretty normal” really grating at times. But suspending belief (there are omnipotent aliens invading after all), I can skip over that as believable enough. But although the plot is gripping, I just found the lack of any conclusions frustrating.
There’s multiple characters introduced, a back story for them and then something happens in present day. There’s the Cold People and their potential to be a danger, the aliens and the question as to whether people can go back to the rest of the world, as well as Echo and her family’s place in the world. But I just didn’t feel that anything was really resolved! We don’t even know whether the aliens are really a threat past the deadline. All in all, well written and yet I can’t help but feel something was missing.
But this is not really a tale of the journey as after just a short time we jump 20 years into the future and the story of what humans are doing to survive in one of the harshest places on earth. Genetic engineering is the new focus of the entire human population, and The Cold People project is seen to be the future of civilisation.
Firstly can I say that I’m a zoologist by training, and teach genetics on a regular basis, so found the over simplified “of course we can just change a bit here and there and a person will suddenly be born with scales and cold resistance but everything else is pretty normal” really grating at times. But suspending belief (there are omnipotent aliens invading after all), I can skip over that as believable enough. But although the plot is gripping, I just found the lack of any conclusions frustrating.
There’s multiple characters introduced, a back story for them and then something happens in present day. There’s the Cold People and their potential to be a danger, the aliens and the question as to whether people can go back to the rest of the world, as well as Echo and her family’s place in the world. But I just didn’t feel that anything was really resolved! We don’t even know whether the aliens are really a threat past the deadline. All in all, well written and yet I can’t help but feel something was missing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Homophobia, Infertility, Suicide, Grief, Deportation
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Classism
This was weird. And took a long time to build the foundation. But then halfway through I had to know how it ended.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated