Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
fairly angsty (which can be put down to being YA), but still pretty good! quite an even balance between scifi and fantasy, which was cool
A science-fiction action adventure on a frozen planet with lots of wolves and bears and a dangerous Iditarod-type race across the tundra. Certainly a winner for the right reader!! Unique world, kick-ass female characters, excellent animal companions!
I loved the ebook version of this, but had to tap out of the audiobook because the narration wasn't working for me (it seemed like it really needed to be run through a de-esser).
A desperate girl, a feral wolf, and the frozen wasteland of a planet they are stranded on. Sena Korhosen has had to live a difficult life, as the daughter of a racers who have died tragically she has sworn to never become a racer herself. After angering a local gangster she is given the ultimatum, heal the boss’s fighter wolf Iska in one month or be turned over to be forced to race to her death. She is offered a different deal though, a team of scientists offer to pay her way off her frozen planet if she helps them to the finish line of the planet’s infamous sled race. With no options and a need for money and to get away from the crime boss, Sena takes up with the scientists and helping navigate the treacherous tundra. Soon a battle for survival on the frontier begins and the bond between Sena and Iska grow as both girl and wolf work to survive the icy hell. This is a story about survival, found family, and the bond that grows between a girl and a wolf in a twist on the classical survival stories of the frontier. Filled with fighting people, monsters, and the icy weather, this was an interesting read. Sena has had to deal with so much and only wants to find a way off the frozen planet she is stranded in, with so little cash and job opportunities, she finds herself backed into a corner of resorting to thieving. The bond between Sena and Iska was the most pivotal aspect of the book and I always enjoy reading a story about a person and an animal bonding with one another. Iska is a wolf bred to fight, wounded, and mistreated, so when Sena comes in to her life both of them find an understanding between each other.
*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
3.5 stars
Ever since her mothers' death, Sena has wanted nothing more than to get off her frozen planet. She makes her living as a thief. As soon as she gets enough money, she will leave.
Unfortunately, she crosses the wrong person and must bargain for her survival.
This is a survival story, a found family story, and an adventure story.
I thought this was pretty good. It's very fast paced and I loved the characters. Hopefully there will be another book about Sena and Iska.
I received a copy from Net Galley.
Ever since her mothers' death, Sena has wanted nothing more than to get off her frozen planet. She makes her living as a thief. As soon as she gets enough money, she will leave.
Unfortunately, she crosses the wrong person and must bargain for her survival.
This is a survival story, a found family story, and an adventure story.
I thought this was pretty good. It's very fast paced and I loved the characters. Hopefully there will be another book about Sena and Iska.
I received a copy from Net Galley.
This was nothing like I thought it would be. Granted I didn’t read the synopsis and judging/assumed solely off of the cover but still! This definitely leans more sci-fi than fantasy but I still really enjoyed the story! The world building was very unique and I could definitely see endless possibilities in this world! I really liked the characters and see some of my wolf/husky in Iska
Oh my, this is one wild ride. It starts out moving fast and never looks back. Tundar is a cold, hard planet with few choices and Sena wants off it. But there aren't many ways to earn the money for a ticket, so she supplements her earnings with some pocket pickings, which can get a girl in trouble, and does she get in trouble. Big time. This is the classic story of One Thing Leading Into Another and somehow loner Sena has appropriated what appear to be scientist friends, a fighting wolf carrying her dead mother's name and they all are joined on a deadly race she swore she would never participate in. How'd that happen?
This is a rip-roaring good adventure with well-drawn, believable characters and world-building. The planet is harsh, and its native inhabitants even nastier than the human baddies. This race makes the Iditarod look like kid's stuff. And there's always the opposing team willing to kill you if the locals don't.... The race itself is only a small part of the story, the grand climax as it were. There's lots of Sena getting in and out of trouble, getting to know the scientists, and more importantly, she and the reader getting to know Iska, the wolf, a really splendid character unto herself. The whole story, the people and the setting are more complex than the blurb lets on, and makes for a very rewarding reading experience. Highly recommended.
My copy was an ARC from Net-Galley
And for those of you who don't care how many humans are killed as long as the dog/wolf/animal lives:
SPOILER ALERT
YES, Iska is still there at the end of the book. This book is safe to read. Whew!
This is a rip-roaring good adventure with well-drawn, believable characters and world-building. The planet is harsh, and its native inhabitants even nastier than the human baddies. This race makes the Iditarod look like kid's stuff. And there's always the opposing team willing to kill you if the locals don't.... The race itself is only a small part of the story, the grand climax as it were. There's lots of Sena getting in and out of trouble, getting to know the scientists, and more importantly, she and the reader getting to know Iska, the wolf, a really splendid character unto herself. The whole story, the people and the setting are more complex than the blurb lets on, and makes for a very rewarding reading experience. Highly recommended.
My copy was an ARC from Net-Galley
And for those of you who don't care how many humans are killed as long as the dog/wolf/animal lives:
SPOILER ALERT
YES, Iska is still there at the end of the book. This book is safe to read. Whew!
3.5 stars.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves had an interesting premise. Sena lives on this tundra-like planet where they have a yearly dog-sled race that is more dangerous than what you’d expect here on Earth. She’s an orphan after her mothers both died in a race five years ago and since then, she’s vowed to never participate or race. A series of unfortunate events means she’s forced to race or stay and be murdered by the underground Kingpin after she’s stolen and freed his winning fighting wolf.
But it took half the book for the action to start. The pacing was so slow, I nearly gave up before the race even began. Once the race starts, the story flew by. Sena and her wolf Iska do everything they can to survive and finish, and this story felt like it was more about the relationships Sena forms with her wolf and the racers she’s with and less about the actual race.
But that’s not entirely a bad thing, as I grew to adore some of the characters Sena meets and befriends. Overall, this was an intriguing read, but I almost missed the interesting parts as the pacing was so slow to get the story moving.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the review copy!
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves had an interesting premise. Sena lives on this tundra-like planet where they have a yearly dog-sled race that is more dangerous than what you’d expect here on Earth. She’s an orphan after her mothers both died in a race five years ago and since then, she’s vowed to never participate or race. A series of unfortunate events means she’s forced to race or stay and be murdered by the underground Kingpin after she’s stolen and freed his winning fighting wolf.
But it took half the book for the action to start. The pacing was so slow, I nearly gave up before the race even began. Once the race starts, the story flew by. Sena and her wolf Iska do everything they can to survive and finish, and this story felt like it was more about the relationships Sena forms with her wolf and the racers she’s with and less about the actual race.
But that’s not entirely a bad thing, as I grew to adore some of the characters Sena meets and befriends. Overall, this was an intriguing read, but I almost missed the interesting parts as the pacing was so slow to get the story moving.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the review copy!
The world building in this book was very unique. Think sci-fi meets Arctic sled racing? I thought that the politics and economy were interesting. The characters were likable and I wouldn’t mind a sequel. A very fun, interesting, non-romantic YA read.
DNF @ 26%
I'm leaving this unrated because I feel this is more a "it's me not you" for DNFing this book. Ten years ago, when I was more enamored with YA, I probably would've given this 4 stars. Now I have different standards.
Sena is an orphan on Tundar, an arctic planet controlled by corporations and crime syndicates. Tundar is a dystopian mix of Alaska and Scandinavia. One of her mothers was a champion racer, while the other was a scavver - a member of the original group who settled the planet who were somehow closer to nature/understood the planet better but now are a persecuted group by the second wave of settlers (scavvers seem to be a stand-in for Scandinavia's indigenous people, the Sami). Sena is the typical surly/loner heroine common in YA books. She has three main personality traits: she picks pockets, she wants to get off the planet (to go where and do what - doesn't matter. Just be anywhere but on Tundar), and she wants nothing to do with the race (since her mothers both vanished on their final race), despite her natural talent for vonenwolves/her scavva knowledge about surviving on Tundar. The race is an annual dogsledding (I mean vonenwolfsledding) event to get to a precious excocarbon deposit. It's a mix of the Iditarod and the Gold Rush.
The book description makes it sound like the race is the main plot. But over a 1/4 of the way into the book, I have still not reached the point that Sena decides to join the race with the she-wolf Iska. Given that the first quarter contains a lot of repetition, it should have been edited to get to the race portion faster. There are only so many scenes needed of Sena picking pockets (badly - she is often caught), Sena thinking about how much she wants to get off Tundar (which is why she is picking pockets - apparently that is the most lucrative job she can think of?!?! Even though it seems like she could make a lot more money by doing the race), and being told that she should take part in the race, but refusing because of her mothers' apparent deaths in the race (I'm betting they are not really dead).
It is clear that I didn't connect with this book or Sena, but this book has potential. Long does a good job with the world-building of Tundar and the concept of a sci fi dogsled race with high stakes and danger is a good one. There are quite a few YA tropes (including Sena's entire persona - why is every disaffected orphan a pickpocket these days?!?), but tropes are used for a reason - they're popular and part of the industry standard. This book didn't work for me, but I could see it working for other readers.
I'm leaving this unrated because I feel this is more a "it's me not you" for DNFing this book. Ten years ago, when I was more enamored with YA, I probably would've given this 4 stars. Now I have different standards.
Sena is an orphan on Tundar, an arctic planet controlled by corporations and crime syndicates. Tundar is a dystopian mix of Alaska and Scandinavia. One of her mothers was a champion racer, while the other was a scavver - a member of the original group who settled the planet who were somehow closer to nature/understood the planet better but now are a persecuted group by the second wave of settlers (scavvers seem to be a stand-in for Scandinavia's indigenous people, the Sami). Sena is the typical surly/loner heroine common in YA books. She has three main personality traits: she picks pockets, she wants to get off the planet (to go where and do what - doesn't matter. Just be anywhere but on Tundar), and she wants nothing to do with the race (since her mothers both vanished on their final race), despite her natural talent for vonenwolves/her scavva knowledge about surviving on Tundar. The race is an annual dogsledding (I mean vonenwolfsledding) event to get to a precious excocarbon deposit. It's a mix of the Iditarod and the Gold Rush.
The book description makes it sound like the race is the main plot. But over a 1/4 of the way into the book, I have still not reached the point that Sena decides to join the race with the she-wolf Iska. Given that the first quarter contains a lot of repetition, it should have been edited to get to the race portion faster. There are only so many scenes needed of Sena picking pockets (badly - she is often caught), Sena thinking about how much she wants to get off Tundar (which is why she is picking pockets - apparently that is the most lucrative job she can think of?!?! Even though it seems like she could make a lot more money by doing the race), and being told that she should take part in the race, but refusing because of her mothers' apparent deaths in the race (I'm betting they are not really dead).
It is clear that I didn't connect with this book or Sena, but this book has potential. Long does a good job with the world-building of Tundar and the concept of a sci fi dogsled race with high stakes and danger is a good one. There are quite a few YA tropes (including Sena's entire persona - why is every disaffected orphan a pickpocket these days?!?), but tropes are used for a reason - they're popular and part of the industry standard. This book didn't work for me, but I could see it working for other readers.