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katykelly 's review for:
Cold People
by Tom Rob Smith
An 'after the event' apocalypse - how humanity copes... do we?
Everyone has seen disaster movies or read the books - volcanoes, too-close-for comfort pandemics, zombies. We usually see the here-and-now action of how several protagonists cope with the drama and horror of living through these times.
Smith barely touches on the days of his own created world-ending invasion - the day aliens come to Earth and pretty much hand down an eviction order. Yes, we watch as humanity scrambles for the only allowable home - Antarctica. Yes, we see supplies, masterpieces and monuments flown in.
But this story looks at the aftermath of how and why humanity moves onward from here, two decades on. How the species would cope, develop, and look forward to life on a frozen continent for a population physically and emotionally unadapted for such an extreme.
Through the lens of the couple brought together on the day of the ultimatum - Liza and Atto, now doctor and fisherman, and through their daughter, the engineered ice-adapted Echo who must find her place between her parents' lives and her own capabilities. Through the life and passion of Yotam, now caretaker to the small population of genetic experiments birthed to help humankind cope with the cold through their adapted skins, organs and brains. Through these stories is the frightening dystopic situation that will have you reaching for more layers as well as checking the skies.
This was so easy to envision, and so well conveyed through multiple viewpoints. We never get to see the aliens who take over the planet for reasons of their own, we only know that humankind cannot but comply.
Seeing Man start again, using as much ingenuity as is left along with what resources they have saved for themselves is both inspiring and saddening, but the social experiment their new society becomes is also very interesting. I loved reading the descriptions of how people coped, organised themselves, worked in multiple disciplines and self-police, how food is distributed and even how former Presidents acquit themselves following the breakdown of their hierarchies.
The main story itself is chilling (ironically termed). But almost predictable from our experiences as humans - I won't spoil anything here. I found this intelligently constructed and hard to put down. The book leaves a sliver of light at the end for a follow-up and I do hope we meet the characters again to find out what might happen after these events. There is more story to tell.
Terrifying, fascinating and cinematic. So many questions.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
Everyone has seen disaster movies or read the books - volcanoes, too-close-for comfort pandemics, zombies. We usually see the here-and-now action of how several protagonists cope with the drama and horror of living through these times.
Smith barely touches on the days of his own created world-ending invasion - the day aliens come to Earth and pretty much hand down an eviction order. Yes, we watch as humanity scrambles for the only allowable home - Antarctica. Yes, we see supplies, masterpieces and monuments flown in.
But this story looks at the aftermath of how and why humanity moves onward from here, two decades on. How the species would cope, develop, and look forward to life on a frozen continent for a population physically and emotionally unadapted for such an extreme.
Through the lens of the couple brought together on the day of the ultimatum - Liza and Atto, now doctor and fisherman, and through their daughter, the engineered ice-adapted Echo who must find her place between her parents' lives and her own capabilities. Through the life and passion of Yotam, now caretaker to the small population of genetic experiments birthed to help humankind cope with the cold through their adapted skins, organs and brains. Through these stories is the frightening dystopic situation that will have you reaching for more layers as well as checking the skies.
This was so easy to envision, and so well conveyed through multiple viewpoints. We never get to see the aliens who take over the planet for reasons of their own, we only know that humankind cannot but comply.
Seeing Man start again, using as much ingenuity as is left along with what resources they have saved for themselves is both inspiring and saddening, but the social experiment their new society becomes is also very interesting. I loved reading the descriptions of how people coped, organised themselves, worked in multiple disciplines and self-police, how food is distributed and even how former Presidents acquit themselves following the breakdown of their hierarchies.
The main story itself is chilling (ironically termed). But almost predictable from our experiences as humans - I won't spoil anything here. I found this intelligently constructed and hard to put down. The book leaves a sliver of light at the end for a follow-up and I do hope we meet the characters again to find out what might happen after these events. There is more story to tell.
Terrifying, fascinating and cinematic. So many questions.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.