I am anti-social and have a dark personality. I have no redeeming qualties and nothing to offer, therefore I could never have what I wanted
- Novala Takemoto
Cold People is Tom Rob Smith’s fifth novel, but in the years since his bestselling debut, Child 44, he has also developed a parallel award-winning career as a screenwriter, and the influence of a more visual form is subtly felt throughout this cinematic speculative fiction about the future of humanity.
The premise is classic disaster movie territory, almost to the point of cliche: an alien invasion threatens to wipe humanity from the face of the Earth. The planet’s population is given 30 days to relocate to Antarctica, which will become a vast reservation for the remnants of the species; there they will either die out or adapt, depending on their willingness to work together. But the alien overlords are not the focus of Smith’s interest here; they are no more than a device to effect this revolutionary reinvention not only of human society, but of humanity itself.
Cold People by Tom Rob Smith review – a chilling vision of a new society
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Meritocracy is make-believe. It’s all about who you know.