"A detailed entertaining space opera with friendships, relationships and an investigation into the dark underbelly of the galaxy. "
With detailed world building and multiple narratives and conflicts to face. Cold by J.P. MacDonald is a new gripping space opera for sci-fi fans to enjoy. The start of the novel puts you right in the centre of the action, with Zac returning injured from battle with his friend Lamorak and sent off to warrior training under the watch of Lamorak’s sister Aoife. Putting us straight into the story with no exposition works well for this action driven, fast paced narrative. I liked how context is then threaded into the story through conversations between the characters and the memories that triggers.
Zac being a new and reluctant warrior and spy for the Alliance Security Council creates the perfect atmosphere to introduce the main conflicts. We learn about the intergalactic black markets, the Body Shows and demand for human organs as Zach learns more about his mission, which makes the progress of the story feel natural.
As a Star Wars fan I saw some echoes of those stories in this space opera: A warrior going off for training, a rather motley collection of characters all coming together as a team (a reference to someone kidnapped and held in a tiny bikini) and I think that fans of similar stories would enjoy Cold. It’s a fast paced narrative with plenty of twists and turns and final pages that will have readers keen to know what’s going to happen next.
| Primary Genre | Science Fiction |
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As they delve into a cosmos of secrets, a daring spy's mission collides with a tenacious scientist's quest for truth, revealing an interstellar conspiracy that could rock the foundations of everything they believe in and the galactic order.
In the distant future, in a time when many species of humans exist, the Milky Way is a treacherous expanse where the Galactic Systems Alliance fights against the oppressive Mentu System. On a daring mission to penetrate the depths of the Mentu’s operations, fearless spy Kama Scott-Lake is resolute in her quest to unveil the regime’s horrific trade in live humans for their harvested organs.
Captured, alone, and subjected to experimentation, Kama's only chance for escape rests with Booker, a brilliant Mentu technician with secrets of his own. On the run, the two fugitives must navigate a treacherous path as they stow away on board a Mentu freighter headed for the Cobar System, and the very heart of the enemy’s operations.
Meanwhile, on a remote, icy exoplanet, climatologist Iwa Ross grapples with the haunting loss of her parents and the mysteries surrounding their deaths. Believing that the Alliance Academy she works for is manipulating the data of her frigid world, Iwa sets out to seek the truth, unaware of the chilling reality that links her parents' fate to one of the Mentu’s darkest secrets.
As the clock ticks down, Kama and Iwa must race against an unseen enemy. Will their courage and determination be enough to expose the truth, or will they become the next victims of a galaxy steeped in darkness?
COLD features in the following genres: Indie Author Books, Indie Books We Love, Science Fiction, Science fiction: space opera
COLD is available in Ebook
COLD was written by J.P. MacDonald and published by Glossy Black Books
