Cold People

By: Tom Rob Smith

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

* “A zany, wildly gripping, dark futuristic fantasy.” —Vogue, Most Anticipated Books of the Year * “Fascinating…a propulsive ride…through a well-built world.” —The Christian Science Monitor *

From the brilliant, bestselling author of Child 44 and creator of the FX series Class of ’09 comes a “cinematic” (The Washington Post), “captivating…[and] “brilliantly conceived postapocalyptic story” (Booklist, starred review) about an Antarctic colony of global apocalypse survivors seeking to reinvent civilization under the most extreme conditions imaginable.

The world has fallen. Without warning, a mysterious and omnipotent force has claimed the planet for their own. There are no negotiations, no demands, no reasons given for their actions. All they have is a message: humanity has thirty days to reach the one place on Earth where they will be allowed to exist…Antarctica.

Cold People follows the perilous journeys of a handful of those who endure the frantic exodus to the most extreme environment on the planet. But their goal is not merely to survive the present. Because as they cling to life on the ice, the remnants of their past swept away, they must also confront the urgent challenge: can they change and evolve rapidly enough to ensure humanity’s future? Can they build a new society in the sub-zero cold?

Original and imaginative, as profoundly intimate as it is grand in scope, Cold People is a “spellbinding…speculative masterpiece” (Library Journal, starred review) that’s “chilling in so many ways” (Los Angeles Times).

Critic reviews

"It's the end of the world as we know it in this chilling audiobook. And what better guide to the apocalypse could listeners have than talented narrator Rebecca Lowman? She's a capable choice to portray — well, only the entirety of what remains of humanity. That's because Earth has been invaded, and humans have been informed they have 30 days to reach a new reservation on Antarctica — or else. Lowman must voice characters from all around the globe, including the new genetically cold-adapted versions of humankind. This she does flawlessly, mixing accents and inflections to differentiate among the large cast. What results is an audio adventure that will have listeners frozen with fear."

Intriguing Concept

Caught my attention immediately. I enjoyed the very creative idea and the characters. As with many books there were some gaps and some “throw away” people. But, overall it was exciting and thought provoking.

Really enjoyed this

Good character development. Hope it has a sequel! Did not give it five stars because at times it felt a tad disjointed, but I think (hope) that this was just because the author is setting up a series.

Constant movement of the story.

The story was good. Unexpected ending. Wish we were told more about the Aliens. Wish for a happier ending.

Clearly written for screen adaptation

It felt at times like reading a script for a movie, which I'm sure it will become. This is not unusual; these days most action books are written with videos in mind. But it would've been nice to flesh out some of the characters and events, so that it would feel more like reading a book.

A very cinematic experience

One of the best post apocalyptic stories I’ve read. Great character development, no real villains just normal humans & others doing what must be done to survive. Human nature is a scary thing… worth the credit.