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A review by alisonburnis
Cold Earth by Sarah Moss
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Six researchers, five archeologists and a literature PhD, go to Greenland for a dig. They plan to spend six weeks in a remote site, and then they will go back to their respective homes. As they’re all preparing to head to the site, news of a new virus starts to surface. Cut off from the world, they don’t know how bad it’s getting until their computer stops connecting to the internet and their satellite phone doesn’t have a connection.
Not only that, but Nina, the literature PhD, has been acting very strange for most of their time out there. A friend of Yianni’s, the leader of the dig, it’s not totally related to her work but she thought it would be fun. And it’s fine - until she starts to hear things and see things. Catriona, a Scottish researcher believes her, but Ruth, Ben and Jim, the others, are skeptical.
Moss is the queen of creating dread, and in this, her debut novel, it’s on display. The pandemic is distant, which made me wonder about anyone who was cut off from the world at the beginning of COVID-19. The book takes the form of letters that each person writes to a person in their lives, a goodbye letter, in case they never end going home. I didn’t plan to read this in one evening, but I did - it was that riveting.
Not only that, but Nina, the literature PhD, has been acting very strange for most of their time out there. A friend of Yianni’s, the leader of the dig, it’s not totally related to her work but she thought it would be fun. And it’s fine - until she starts to hear things and see things. Catriona, a Scottish researcher believes her, but Ruth, Ben and Jim, the others, are skeptical.
Moss is the queen of creating dread, and in this, her debut novel, it’s on display. The pandemic is distant, which made me wonder about anyone who was cut off from the world at the beginning of COVID-19. The book takes the form of letters that each person writes to a person in their lives, a goodbye letter, in case they never end going home. I didn’t plan to read this in one evening, but I did - it was that riveting.