Cold People

Written 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).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Feb 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9781797145709

Tom Rob Smith

Tom Rob Smith is the author of the acclaimed Child 44 trilogy. Child 44 itself was a global publishing sensation, selling over two million copies. It was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Prize and won the CWA Steel Dagger Award. His most recent novel, The Farm, was a #1 international bestseller. Tom also writes for television and won a Writer’s Guild Award for best adapted series and an Emmy and Golden Globe for best limited series with American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. He is also the creator and executive producer of FX’s suspense thriller series Class of ’09.

Reviews for Cold People

[Zaiden Gokhool · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book that kept me glued to my AirPods thorough. The premise of this book is unique and refreshing and I didn’t really know what to expect. The story is prescient and felt like it could be a potential future we’re we faced with similar circumstances. Excellent and well though out, this is one of the best sci-fi books I’ve read in a long time.

[Rlynoyb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the beginning but lost interest towards the end. It supports my own theory that scientists don’t know jack and should not interfere or intervene with humans, animals or nature. Nature will take care of itself and in the real world we live in climate alarmists might be doing more harm than they know.

[jcs671 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don’t know how to describe this novel—sort of a dystopian love story. I didn’t know what to expect and enjoyed the twists and turns.
I wanted a strong protagonist to align with the humans and finished disappointed by the lack—but not disappointed in the ending.