Without warning an alien force arrives & tells the inhabitants that they have thirty days to reach Antarctica before they take over the rest of the world. Needless to say there is a great panic to get to the inhospitable ice world where there is any chance of survival. The start of the story follows Liza- an American medical student on holiday with her family in Portugal & Atto, a local fisherman. I expected the story of the exodus to be a bit more detailed but before long the story skips twenty years into the future & how they are surviving. The Scientific base is working to save humanity by genetically adapting life to survive. But are these creations human any more!

This is a difficult book to review. It was gripping enough to read to the end, however there was one big question left unanswered- the reader never knows why the aliens came & took over(presumably not for an interplanetary motorway!) Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. I'd give it 3.5 starts- rounded up to 4.

Although this isn’t the type of storyline I usually go for, I loved Child 44 and The Farm so requested it from Netgalley because of the author.
Although the characters were interesting as was the storyline, I have to admit it hasn’t converted me to this genre.
However, I do hope to read more books by this author on the back of the previous two.

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Thought I might take a chance with this sc-if which is not my preferred genre because I’ve heard a lot of praise for the author at book group meetings. Unfortunately it didn’t hold my interest once the aliens arrived.
I’m not the best judge on if it was too far fetched but it did seem that way to me. Plus I’ve been trying to decide if a super tanker could hold one hundred thousand people on its deck and that’s been a total distraction!

This is the first book I did not finish. I really like all of his other books but this one is extremely too far fetched for me.

The start is alright but the part where the aliens showed up did not do anything for me. Then flashforward 20 years and the survivers have created a new kind of human able to withstand the extreme temperatures. This was really too much and just incomprehensible.

The writing was also a bit off compared to his other books. Just plain descriptive and not really story like with actual characters in it.

I stopped after 145 pages, I just couldn't read on at all.

A very ambitious science-fantasy story about humanity's struggle to survive following banishment to Antarctica by an alien race. Lots going on (maybe a little too much, in my humble opinion) but certainly worth a read. 3.5 stars

Well this is certainly different to what I've been reading recently and I wasn't quite sure where it was headed in all honesty as it makes a few significant changes following different people at various stages.
The initial part of the book flowed along nicely until the abrupt stand-off with an alien's ultimatum of humanity re-locating to Antarctica or facing extermination. Queue a scrabble to get to Antarctica, which was interesting in itself.
Once arrived the next stage of the book takes shape, but this quickly shifts to other character's stories and a shift in pace each time. The changes in pace stumbled me a little bit with the character shifts. You're just settling into a phase of the story and it changed to something else. As such I don't think it flowed as well as it could have.
However, the change of perspective's did keep the story fresh and overall reached a dramatic conclusion.
It didn't feel as cinematic as perhaps it could have been as it felt a bit like a blockbuster movie story without much atmosphere but plenty of action and just enough back-fill.
I enjoyed it overall. Many thanks for the ARC.

Reading this when the wind is blowing and it’s raining outside seems prescient. However, this novel didn’t leave me with a warm feeling! Enough of the bad jokes, this just wasn’t for me. The novel follows a collection of characters as a climatic event forces them to move to the South Pole. I enjoyed the opening struggle to get there before disaster strikes, however, the reason for having to go in the first instance left me cold. I promise no more puns. Jump to the future and we’re following the remains of humanity as they’ve learnt to survive in this inhospitable terrain. The more I reflect, the more I realise I did not enjoy this novel - it was easy to read but characters were thin and the plot, to me, just did not hold my attention. This is not anything like Tom Rob Smiths other novels so I’d recommend this novel if you like post-apocalypse with a dystopian feel then go for it.

Cold People by Tom Rob Smith is about an incident where aliens arrive and tell humanity they have 30 days to reach Antarctica, the only place they are allowed to live. I found the first 100 pages really exciting, after that the format changes to two timelines. I thought the direction the author took was an interesting one, and not one that I saw coming, The story was well written and the characters well developed and I enjoyed the book overall, even if it did feel a bit long at times and even if the science was a bit unrealistic to me. However, I would have liked to know more about the aliens, which seem to just be a catalyst for the story and the ending felt unfinished. This book will be one I will think about for some time and I'd be interested to read a sequel if there is one.

This is one of the most amazing and imaginative Sci/Fi books I have read for sometime.Based in reality because is possible for something like this to happen, frightening though that thought is.. A great cast of characters and very well described story and I had no problem with visualisation.. Excellent read!

Cold People By Tom Rob Smith
An enjoyable enough book if a little goofy in places.
I have read all of Mr. Smith's books and enjoyed them all Cold people tells the tale of humanity's struggle to survive after being forced to flee the planet by Alien invaders and settle on Antarctica.
I wasn't a fan of the ending and not sure Id pick up the sequel if one is writing.

It's an ok read and keeps you interested and turning the page.

Like to thank Netgalley for the ARC kindly provided by author/publisher.

Last year I read Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith @tomrobsmith and I was really taken by the writing style, characterisation, and found that Smith has a very atmospheric way of describing everything. He is particularly good at detailing the climate. Cold People is definitely no exception. ⁣
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Aliens have taken over the world and have given humankind 30 days to get to Antarctica where they shall be allowed to live. Classed as the most extreme place to live, humanity is forced to challenge themselves and everything they know to adapt to life on the ice, survive and face the future knowing that humanity’s existence depends on their ability to keep living. Billions of people die and scientific experts set themselves the challenge of tampering with human DNA to create humans that can live in the cold by playing with complex biological mechanisms and setting in motion a version of humanity that far exceeds what they hoped for. ⁣
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I flew through this one in just over two days and couldn’t put it down, I even dreamed about it. This novel challenged me in more ways than one and I was constantly wondering where Smith was going to take us next. My favourite trope in any apocalyptic fiction is a study of humanity and behaviour, and Cold People certainly did not shy away from this. I especially liked the intricate exploration of family, of cold adapted children being adopted into ‘normal’ families, as well as the dynamics and difficulties of ‘otherness’, and questioning of what humanity even means. ⁣
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I found Cold People to be an excellent portrayal of what can be done when brilliant story telling is allowed to go to those dark places. I rated this one 4 stars and Cold People is easily now one of my favourite books and I know I will be talking about this one for years to come.
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Thank you to @netgalley for this review copy.

Tom Rob Smith is one of the best thriller writers out there - the Leo Demidov trilogy is just superb, and The Farm is a gripping read. Cold People is his first novel in about a decade, and for me, it was worth the wait. Compelling, cleverly written, and hugely readable. In other authors hands, some moments here would have read as a little silly - but there's a steady hand on the reins here, and it works wonderfully well

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Schuster for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was right up my street, I love a dystopian novel. The concept wasn’t something I had encountered before and I would be keen to read a sequel if there were to be one as I really enjoyed the universe created by the author. The contrast between the normalcy of life and the invasion in the first part of the book was startling, even though I knew it was coming! There were quite a lot of things that seemed unrealistic to me but I was able to overlook them because I genuinely enjoyed the story and writing style.

Cold people was an enjoyable read. I think this story would appeal to many people, especially fans of apocalypse style novels.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. What a fascinating, terrifying read. I do hope that a sequel will be written.

In a departure from his previous historical thrillers, this time Smith centres his adventure in the present day, with the onset of an alien invasion. A command for all of humanity to relocate to Antarctica;, perhaps in a nod to global warming and our climate catastrophe; witnesses a desperate evacuation with futile trips for many as the deadline passes.

Aside from the set up, this novel should not be mistaken for a science fiction story, rather it is an exploration of the hubris of man and their mistaken belief that they can best and manipulate mother nature without consequence.

Fast paced and compelling.

This is a very original story and a timeless story. It made me think about classic science fiction and something very contemporary.
It starts strongs and I couldn't put it down as I wanted to know what was going to happen and if the human race was going to survive.
Well plotted, tense, and well written.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Love a bit of dystopian fiction and this doesn’t disappoint.

The book is fast paced and chaotic in parts. The characters carry the story after the event that kicks the whole story off and this is ultimately a chilling, unnerving book that is well worth a read.

This is a fabulous book and it was one that I found so addictive. This is a mix of post-apocalypse, dystopian, sci-fi and thriller and I adored it. Earth has been visited by alien crafts, and they have sent a message saying that the only place humans can live is the Antarctic, they have 30 days to get there.

This book follows the journey that the human race makes as it tries to work out who gets to go, each country has their own criteria and priorities. There are also individuals who make their own way as well. It is a group of individuals that are the main focus as they make their journey to the frozen south.

With most people not having any experience of living in extreme conditions there are deaths. Billions die as there is only a small percentage of the race that can actually make the journey. While people try to build a life they are starting to worry about what will happen to the human race in the future. This is where the story for me got really interesting and also gripping as science becomes more involved in the fight to keep the human race alive.

I adored this so much about this book and it does lean towards many different genres. The way people organise themselves, govern and also find new ways to manage and exist. Antarctica has research facilities so it is a given that there are going to be scientists and experiments involved, these are so intriguing and they start to add a more sci-fi and thriller edge to an already gripping story.

What starts with a chance meeting ends in a story of survival and the author brings in so many twists and unexpected dilemmas that provide a dilemma. At times this almost felt like the story was verging on a horror story but with the obvious sci-fi leaning. While aliens are mentioned they are not really part of the story. Not much is known about them or why they targeted humans as the threat but left all other creatures alive. You can make your own mind up about that one! This story instead focuses on Antarctica and the residents of this isolated land.

This is a story that really captured my imagination and the author has such a wonderful way with words that I was able to imagine his descriptions. This is one of those books that I could visualise and see being made into a film or series. Imaginative, full of suspense and a thriller that I would definitely recommend.