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renae064's review against another edition
4.0
I almost didn't pick this up because I heard there was no actual resolution and no hope of a third book for some reason, BUT I really wanted to know what happened after Zero Repeat Forever, so I bought this book anyway, hoping my small contribution would inspire the publishers to go for a third book lol. That seems to be the only reason I leave reviews these days -- because I want sequels!!
I loved Cold Falling White. It's pretty long, but it didn't feel that way while I was reading it because it was so captivating. I love all the characters. The plot was great. I really want to know what happens next. It honestly seems a little unfair to all of us readers if we don't get to know what happens next. Just sayin'.
I loved Cold Falling White. It's pretty long, but it didn't feel that way while I was reading it because it was so captivating. I love all the characters. The plot was great. I really want to know what happens next. It honestly seems a little unfair to all of us readers if we don't get to know what happens next. Just sayin'.
Spoiler
I love the twist, but why is every alien book I pick up not actually about extraterrestrials?!k_lenn's review
First of all, I love Canadian books. As soon as I read a reference to Canada my heart gets all warm and fuzzy, like a kid in a candy store. Wholesome patriotism, if you will.
When I saw this book on NetGalley, I was immediately intrigued. The cover looks super cool and the synopsis— though generally not something I’d usually pick up— sounded great. My biggest issue (which eventually branched off into other, more detrimental issues) was that there was nothing on the NetGalley page that indicated this was the second instalment of a duology. If there had been, I wouldn’t have chosen to read this. I enjoyed the writing and there was enough information to keep me from being *too* confused, but I couldn’t really connect with the characters or the world. I feel like the first instalment of a sci-fi series is where most of the world-building occurs, so it’s pretty vital to understanding what’s happening, and I think the author assumed you already had a relationship with the characters so there isn't much information on them.
I also felt like it was a tad long and hard to get into, but that’s probably for the same reason I listed above. Not a bad book overall, but I won’t be rating it publicly on Goodreads or bookstores just because my judgement is a bit unfair since I went into it unprepared.
A big thank you to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, for allowing me to read this title in exchange for an honest review.
When I saw this book on NetGalley, I was immediately intrigued. The cover looks super cool and the synopsis— though generally not something I’d usually pick up— sounded great. My biggest issue (which eventually branched off into other, more detrimental issues) was that there was nothing on the NetGalley page that indicated this was the second instalment of a duology. If there had been, I wouldn’t have chosen to read this. I enjoyed the writing and there was enough information to keep me from being *too* confused, but I couldn’t really connect with the characters or the world. I feel like the first instalment of a sci-fi series is where most of the world-building occurs, so it’s pretty vital to understanding what’s happening, and I think the author assumed you already had a relationship with the characters so there isn't much information on them.
I also felt like it was a tad long and hard to get into, but that’s probably for the same reason I listed above. Not a bad book overall, but I won’t be rating it publicly on Goodreads or bookstores just because my judgement is a bit unfair since I went into it unprepared.
A big thank you to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, for allowing me to read this title in exchange for an honest review.
amybraunauthor's review
4.0
COLD FALLING WHITE is an action-packed sequel with complex characters, challenging relationships, and interesting themes. The writing is solid and there are great twists. And yet, something inside me couldn’t quite connect with the characters or what was happening to them.
The characters, while complex, didn’t have many traits that endeared me to them. I tried and it was very interesting to see them struggle with their changes and who they had once been. August is my favourite character of all of them, but I feel he was out of the picture for far too long. I liked Raven better in this sequel but still couldn’t quite cross the path into genuinely liking her. Xander had great moments but he seemed to be more transitory in his plot: Intense situations were happening, and then he would suddenly leave. From a character standpoint it makes sense, but led to some unfulfilling arcs down the line.
The plot focused on the journeys of the characters and seemed a little slow to my tastes. That isn’t to say it didn’t fit the setting of the book or the character’s actions, or that the action scenes themselves were not thrilling. The overall pacing wasn’t to my style.
Where I really struggled was the ending. I’m not sure if there is a third book coming but I hope there is because there are so many unanswered questions and unresolved conflicts that I would have wanted to see concluded.
While the book is written with great prose and dialogue, it was ultimately not to my taste. However, if you are looking for an exciting mix of drama, sci-fi, and apocalyptic stories, this could be the book for you!
The characters, while complex, didn’t have many traits that endeared me to them. I tried and it was very interesting to see them struggle with their changes and who they had once been. August is my favourite character of all of them, but I feel he was out of the picture for far too long. I liked Raven better in this sequel but still couldn’t quite cross the path into genuinely liking her. Xander had great moments but he seemed to be more transitory in his plot: Intense situations were happening, and then he would suddenly leave. From a character standpoint it makes sense, but led to some unfulfilling arcs down the line.
The plot focused on the journeys of the characters and seemed a little slow to my tastes. That isn’t to say it didn’t fit the setting of the book or the character’s actions, or that the action scenes themselves were not thrilling. The overall pacing wasn’t to my style.
Where I really struggled was the ending. I’m not sure if there is a third book coming but I hope there is because there are so many unanswered questions and unresolved conflicts that I would have wanted to see concluded.
While the book is written with great prose and dialogue, it was ultimately not to my taste. However, if you are looking for an exciting mix of drama, sci-fi, and apocalyptic stories, this could be the book for you!
questa's review against another edition
5.0
I really hope the 3rd one gets published because I'm really loving this series so far!
rakoerose's review
5.0
I must admit with how this series is such a comfort-food type of book, it’s not surprising I loved it.
The Nahx can cry, and they can grieve. If people knew that, I wonder if things would be different.
Prendergast does a great job of depicting humans in all their messy, sometimes-fucked-up glory. Which makes the little moments of beauty all the more impactful. August and Raven are still a bright spot I know I’ll want to return to over and over. I love their dynamic, especially as they develop mutual protection. I do agree with some other reviews that at some points Xander’s pov seemed to bolster the length, but I really don’t mind his perspective at all. He’s remarkably level headed when you consider all the shit he’s gone through. It’s admirable!
I also want to say, now that I have more knowledge of ASL, I could “picture” the Nahx signs way more clearly. I almost wish we had more descriptions, though I realize that would get messily complicated to maintain in the series. But just a few? Like “promise” and “forever” are ones I’m dying to know.
If I could beg for two things it’d be: 1) a release date for the next book and 2) a novella or even just a short story about Aurora and Nova. I’m endlessly pleased with how much representation Prendergast has seamlessly woven into this series and I’d love to see that duo’s story in particular!
A quick aside: that ending? Took me tf out, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
The Nahx can cry, and they can grieve. If people knew that, I wonder if things would be different.
Prendergast does a great job of depicting humans in all their messy, sometimes-fucked-up glory. Which makes the little moments of beauty all the more impactful. August and Raven are still a bright spot I know I’ll want to return to over and over. I love their dynamic, especially as they develop mutual protection. I do agree with some other reviews that at some points Xander’s pov seemed to bolster the length, but I really don’t mind his perspective at all. He’s remarkably level headed when you consider all the shit he’s gone through. It’s admirable!
I also want to say, now that I have more knowledge of ASL, I could “picture” the Nahx signs way more clearly. I almost wish we had more descriptions, though I realize that would get messily complicated to maintain in the series. But just a few? Like “promise” and “forever” are ones I’m dying to know.
If I could beg for two things it’d be: 1) a release date for the next book and 2) a novella or even just a short story about Aurora and Nova. I’m endlessly pleased with how much representation Prendergast has seamlessly woven into this series and I’d love to see that duo’s story in particular!
A quick aside: that ending? Took me tf out, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
mfh1979's review against another edition
4.0
I need Raven and August... to be... the other story is interesting I suppose... but it is NOT what I want!
Oh! So good!! Leaving me on tenterhooks as the most epic part of this epic story unfolds.
Oh! So good!! Leaving me on tenterhooks as the most epic part of this epic story unfolds.
kynan's review against another edition
2.0
TL;DR: A requisite sequel that unfortunately doesn't do the job that the first book asked of it.
TL: I liked [b:Zero Repeat Forever|28945665|Zero Repeat Forever (The Nahx Invasions, #1)|Gabrielle S. Prendergast|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485819276l/28945665._SY75_.jpg|49168220], it had promise...that it didn't quite deliver on. I thought that perhaps the sequel would feature the delivery of that promise but in the end I came away with the feeling that Ms Prendergast, whilst brainstorming the genesis of the Nahx, generated a set of, unfortunately conflicting, ideas, all of which she fell in love with and then attempted to ram them all into the story.
There's nary a beat missed between the end of "Zero Repeat Forever" and "Cold Falling White". There's an immediate answer to the rather obvious "Did Raven die?" question, although that plotline is put on ice for a while to allow Xander to run as the protagonist for a while. We follow along as August fulfills his promise to Raven that he'd help Xander get out. What follows is your more typical "humans really suck in tight situations" post-apocalypse community setup until things get cracking again as (the unsurprising) stage two of the Nahx invasion kicks off.
It's pretty hard to talk about much of the majority of the book as it would definitely be somewhat spoilery in terms of what happens, and with whom it happens. So, restricting myself to generalisations I'll just say that this is very much a continuation of the first book. We catch up with the members of the cast that managed to make it through book 1 (an almost vanishingly small set!) and meet some of their new acquaintances. The aforementioned post-apocalyptic living occurs and we get a front row seat for what happens next.
Unfortunately what happens next does provide an answer to the existence of the Nahx, actually, it appears to provide a couple and I'm not sure they're not exclusive of each other. I will say this: I really liked the revealed reason for the Nahx invasion, it's a super-cool Godzilla-Lovecraftian mashup annnnnd, it's the reason that there are questions asking whether this book is a duology only. You can expect an ending to the all the minor plot points, what you aren't going to get is the answer I came looking for: namely what are the Nahx and why'd they come and lay such a whacky smackdown on the poor old Earthlings?
The problem I had is that, cool high-level reasons aside, the mechanics and low-level reasons for the Nahx presence just don't hold up to the internal logic provided for their presence and weird social setup. In much the same way that modern skeptics point out that any species with the technical nous to actually make it to Earth are highly unlikely to want anything we've got to offer (or anything that we're not offering either - even as a source of protein it's a looooong way to come for a snack). Also, given what we know of non-faster-than-light-travel it's an equally unlikely distance to travel just to hide in forests and occasionally steal and traumatize someone. Through that lens, the very existence of the Nahx is...questionable at best. There're plenty more examples of that kind of weird internal inconsistency in the behaviour of various parties in this book but, if you're willing to overlook that then this book is similar to the first.
The other thing that was somewhat annoying was that, if you found Raven and August's bipolar flip-flopping relationship infurating in "Zero Repeat Forverever", strap-in, because there's going to be a whole lot more sets of people doing almost calculatedly sadistic things to one another. I suspect that this is meant to portray normal human relationships, and people do say really nasty things to each other in real life, I'm not saying they don't, but I don't think that all relationships are quite as out of control as they appear to be in this world. A little bit of actual talking and interaction would've smoothed out more than a few rough spots in these folk's relationships.
Overall, I didn't find this book as compelling as the first and that, combined with the partial satiation of the closure-chasing that brought me here and the continuation of some of the things that nagged me from book 1 are what resulted in the 2-star rating. It was OK, given the existing bond with the characters that was built in the prequel, but there wasn't a whole lot of sane newness here, and no new ground was trod. If another in the series comes along then I'll maybe check it out, or maybe I'll just re-read [b:Armor|102327|Armor|John Steakley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1337817762l/102327._SY75_.jpg|604650].
TL: I liked [b:Zero Repeat Forever|28945665|Zero Repeat Forever (The Nahx Invasions, #1)|Gabrielle S. Prendergast|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485819276l/28945665._SY75_.jpg|49168220], it had promise...that it didn't quite deliver on. I thought that perhaps the sequel would feature the delivery of that promise but in the end I came away with the feeling that Ms Prendergast, whilst brainstorming the genesis of the Nahx, generated a set of, unfortunately conflicting, ideas, all of which she fell in love with and then attempted to ram them all into the story.
There's nary a beat missed between the end of "Zero Repeat Forever" and "Cold Falling White". There's an immediate answer to the rather obvious "Did Raven die?" question, although that plotline is put on ice for a while to allow Xander to run as the protagonist for a while. We follow along as August fulfills his promise to Raven that he'd help Xander get out. What follows is your more typical "humans really suck in tight situations" post-apocalypse community setup until things get cracking again as (the unsurprising) stage two of the Nahx invasion kicks off.
It's pretty hard to talk about much of the majority of the book as it would definitely be somewhat spoilery in terms of what happens, and with whom it happens. So, restricting myself to generalisations I'll just say that this is very much a continuation of the first book. We catch up with the members of the cast that managed to make it through book 1 (an almost vanishingly small set!) and meet some of their new acquaintances. The aforementioned post-apocalyptic living occurs and we get a front row seat for what happens next.
Unfortunately what happens next does provide an answer to the existence of the Nahx, actually, it appears to provide a couple and I'm not sure they're not exclusive of each other. I will say this: I really liked the revealed reason for the Nahx invasion, it's a super-cool Godzilla-Lovecraftian mashup annnnnd, it's the reason that there are questions asking whether this book is a duology only. You can expect an ending to the all the minor plot points, what you aren't going to get is the answer I came looking for: namely what are the Nahx and why'd they come and lay such a whacky smackdown on the poor old Earthlings?
The problem I had is that, cool high-level reasons aside, the mechanics and low-level reasons for the Nahx presence just don't hold up to the internal logic provided for their presence and weird social setup. In much the same way that modern skeptics point out that any species with the technical nous to actually make it to Earth are highly unlikely to want anything we've got to offer (or anything that we're not offering either - even as a source of protein it's a looooong way to come for a snack). Also, given what we know of non-faster-than-light-travel it's an equally unlikely distance to travel just to hide in forests and occasionally steal and traumatize someone. Through that lens, the very existence of the Nahx is...questionable at best. There're plenty more examples of that kind of weird internal inconsistency in the behaviour of various parties in this book but, if you're willing to overlook that then this book is similar to the first.
The other thing that was somewhat annoying was that, if you found Raven and August's bipolar flip-flopping relationship infurating in "Zero Repeat Forverever", strap-in, because there's going to be a whole lot more sets of people doing almost calculatedly sadistic things to one another. I suspect that this is meant to portray normal human relationships, and people do say really nasty things to each other in real life, I'm not saying they don't, but I don't think that all relationships are quite as out of control as they appear to be in this world. A little bit of actual talking and interaction would've smoothed out more than a few rough spots in these folk's relationships.
Overall, I didn't find this book as compelling as the first and that, combined with the partial satiation of the closure-chasing that brought me here and the continuation of some of the things that nagged me from book 1 are what resulted in the 2-star rating. It was OK, given the existing bond with the characters that was built in the prequel, but there wasn't a whole lot of sane newness here, and no new ground was trod. If another in the series comes along then I'll maybe check it out, or maybe I'll just re-read [b:Armor|102327|Armor|John Steakley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1337817762l/102327._SY75_.jpg|604650].
madiemayhem's review against another edition
5.0
I THOUGHT THIS WAS A DUOLOGY AND THEN IT ENDS ON A CLIFFHANGER?!? AND IT WAS RELEASED IN 2019?!? WHERE IS THE 3RD BOOK?!! I NEED IT
bodehoover's review against another edition
2.0
I was really disappointed since the first book exceeded my expectations. Sadly this one was bland lacked any suspense. After seemingly pointless plot, the ending was mediocre at best and did not inspire me to continue with the series.
milly_2022's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.0