A review by stromberg
Cold Rising: A Cold Rush Novella by Rohan O'Duill

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This fast-moving novella both embraces and complicates classic Golden Age sci-fi tropes. Instead of a “self-reliant individualist, armed with trusty blaster and trusty spaceship, who uses pluck, grit, and ingenuity to save the galaxy all by himself,” we have a pair of protagonists who catalyse change rather than causing it.

Whether it be the smothered heart of an emotionless corporate agent, or a subterranean working class sweating under rapacious exploitation, when a system is groaning for change, sometimes all it takes is a spark—a spark of love, or of hope.

Along the way, there are fistfights and shootouts, deep-space espionage, riots and labour struggles, underground struggles for survival, and the flowering of an unlikely but deep love—all in a read so quick you might finish it in a day.