When aliens finally come to earth they so so with an ultimatum - the human inhabitants have thirty days to reach Antarctica. And so begins a desperate scramble to reach the bottom of the earth. Some countries send royalty, politicians and army, others as many citizens as they can. Cruise ships load beyond capacity, oligarchs fly in comfort, all headed in a huge convey south while the vast majority of humanity await their fate. Amongst the exodus are Liza, an American who had been holidaying in Portugal, and Atto, the Portuguese fisherman she had just been on a date with. So far, so good - this is an alien invasion novel, right?

Wrong. The invasion sets the stage but then we hear nothing more about the aliens, they don't monitor Antarctica and the humans can't leave - those that do never return to their loved ones. Their aim, their plans remain unknown. Instead this is a novel about survival, about science, a homage to Frankenstein - whose creation was last seen heading this way after all - as rules and moral guidance disappear under a need to survive at all cost, whatever the cost.

Tom Rob Smith writes in a cinematic style, always telling not showing, laying the story and scene before the reader. It can take an adjustment but once in this is a compelling, unusual, disturbing novel questioning what it means to be human. Recommended.

This book sounded really interesting, and different. Maybe it was too different, it just didn't work for me. I didn't connect to the characters and found myself skipping parts of the book. Not a good read for me, sorry.

Aliens invade the earth and give humanity 30 days to get to Antarctica, the one place they will be allowed to live. The race to get to Antarctica is thrilling and scary and I was fully invested in this post-apocalyptic struggle. However, once they have arrived in Antarctica and the story jumps forward I was not as interested in the establishment of this new world. An interesting story, but I didn't really connect with any of the characters.

Thoroughly enjoyable inventive Sci Fi / dystopian fiction .i wasn’t sure to begin with what was going to happen in this book and found the first few chapters rather confusing because of this .From the moment the aliens arrive and the worlds population has to move to the South Pole to escape destruction I was caught up in the story and didn’t want to put it down
The initial story of the worlds’s destruction and mass exodus was exciting and inventive I wanted to know more about the lives of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances ,the book however went even further than I was expecting with the addition of a new race of people who had had their genetics altered to become more adapted to the cold .I have to admit to finding these sections rather less engrossing as they became more and more far fetched and speculative .somehow it was a step too far for me
As so much happens there is less time for the emotional relationships of characters to be given as much time to develop and I missed this element in the story .
The author has an easily real accessible prose style and I’m sure this book will do very well
I read an early copy on NetGalley Uk the book is published in the Uk 1st March 2023 by Simon and Schuster Uk

Tom Rob Smith's novels are usually enjoyable and I'm an admirer of his narrative style, so I've been trying to work out what it is about this novel that is less enjoyable. It is, of course, a different type of novel in terms of content - genre, even - to his others, but I don't think it's that, particularly. There are still the excellent elements of 'Rob Smith-ness' in the writing here, but because of the genre, there is quite a lot of unnecessary explanation, and I wondered who the writer was explaining it to: himself, or us, the reader. The result is a hiccuppy structure. Irritating, sometimes. Perhaps because of this, getting to grips with the plot was a bit of a chore and, perhaps it was because of this over-explaining tactic, that the characters seemed underdeveloped and a bit thin.

I think it is a marvellous idea, and it could, and should have been fascinating, but I must admit to not feeling it. Avid Rob Smith fans might disagree. My grateful thanks, though, to the publishers and to NetGalley for the ARC.

I would struggle to be able to review this book due to issues with the file/download. The issues stopped the flow of the book. The issues are:
- Missing words in the middle of sentences
- Stop/start sentences on different lines (e.g. location 2571)
- No clear definition of chapters.

I’m not sure if it was a file/download issue but there were lots of gaps and stops/starts which really ruined the flow. I would love the chance to read a better version as the description of the book appeals to me. I would be more than happy to re-read the book with a better file or as a physical book as the book topic and genre are of interest to me.

I have reviewed Cold People for book recommendation site LoveReading.co.uk. I have chosen it as both a Star Book and Liz Pick of the Month for the month of publication. For full review please see the LoveReading website.

Well I didn’t expect that!

Having read Tom Rob Smith, I knew to expect high quality writing and I knew I was going to read something that was quite a departure from his usual crime and Russian set books but that was just completely… strange.

When the aliens turn up….. humanity rolls on its back and says tickle my belly.. and without one single question, or attempt to fight the new oppressive force, tens of millions people race to Antarctica without so much as a coat to start a new life, don’t even mention the water and food situation.

So once that huge plot full of holes so large I’m surprised the alien ships didn’t fall through them they get to Antarctica. Then it jumps forward 20 years and all manner of silliness ensues!

Now I know it’s fiction, I know I know but really…,, it’s all set up for a trilogy or a series… not one I’ll be following.

2 stars for the sheer quality of writing. 1 star for the rest.

Driven by the cold.......

When you have to deal with the cold, you strive for action in order to keep warm and that is what Tom Rob Smith gives us. His story is driven by continuous action over a period of 2o years. Unfortunately for me it never delves deep into the characters who remain skimming the surface. I kept trying to rewrite the story to try and put my finger on why I was not comfortable on my reading sofa which I do not think is a good sign.

I wanted to read this because I've heard good things about his Child 44 which I still intend to try just to see what he did with the characters there.

An ARC kindly provided by author/publisher via Netgalley

I'm a huge fan of Tom Rob Smith's novels, having read his previous books multiple times. His pace and style of writing make his novels gripping and hugely enjoyable from beginning to end.

However, Cold People is a departure from his usual genres and whilst the writing is still fantastic, the story didn't grip me as much as his previous works. Part of this comes down to pacing - the flow of the story is frequently interrupted to explain futuristic developments - most of which can be inferred from context and are therefore unnecessary. Also, whilst the initial story of humanity's desperate bid for survival and journey to Antarctica is thrilling, the story falls off upon arrival with too many unnecessary characters, poor character development and a story that plods along with an obvious open-ended conclusion. If there's a book two, I'll be giving it a miss.

Overall, fantastic writing but disappointing plot and I unfortunately can't recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for the ARC.