Daniel A. Cohen

I received an e-arc of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, and I am very glad to say I was not disappointed. Coldmaker delivers an original fantasy with social justice undertones. We're in Paphos, where Sun makes the heat unbearable and Cold falls from the sky, but only for a select category of people. Jadans are enslaved by the Nobles as punishment for their actions many centuries before, which, according to the sacred books, are the whole reason why the world has turned into an immense desert and whole species of animals have vanished entirely.

The world building here was amazing. I could almost feel the heat while reading! The societal structure is explained very clearly, but without ever feeling lecture-y, which is often an issue I have with fantasy books. Jadans are subjected to all sort of abuses at the hands of Nobles and taskmasters, but meekly accept because "it is the Crier's will". When a mysterious Jadan dares rebel, however, the whole system receives a massive shock, initiating a chain reaction that might end with freedom... or massacre. The idea behind this society is absolutely brilliant, and raises so many interesting points on freedom, equality, power dynamics, labour... It's incredibly hard to explore any of these without risking some major spoilers, so I'll stop here!

Word of warning: the author is evil, and had me tearing up more than once. Learn from my mistakes: do not, I repeat DO NOT like the characters. No one is safe!!! Also, on a rather more serious note, be prepared if you are a highly sensitive person, as some of the ill-treatment received by the Jadans is described in quite some detail. It's not graphic at any point and it was necessary within the story and the world-building, but may disturb some people.

Overall, a really solid start to a new, original fantasy series. There is never a boring moment, and the cast of characters is varied and absolutely fabulous. Our narrator and main character, Micah, is funny, caring, brilliant and overall adorable, and I cannot wait to if and how he will manage to free his people from slavery restore Cold to Paphos!… (más)

The alternately racy and moralistic narrative recounts the adventures of a young woman from rural Massachusetts who is seduced by a false-hearted lover, flees to Boston, and is entrapped in a brothel. She eventually escapes by disguising herself as a man and serves with distinction on board the U.S. frigate Constitution during the War of 1812. After subsequent onshore adventures in and out of male dress, she is happily married to a wealthy New York gentleman. The Female Marine reflects early-nineteenth-century anxieties concerning changing gender norms, the expansion of urban prostitution, the growth of Boston's African American community, and feelings of guilt aroused by New England's notoriously unpatriotic activities during the War of 1812.… (más)

It reads a bit like fantasy but it's post-apocalypse. The apocalypse happened when, according to the rulers, the Jadans angered the crier and that ripped cold away. Now cold is a commodity, the land is a desert and the rivers boil and the Jadans are the slaves of petty Nobles who have the power of life and death over the Jadans. The Jadans are raised in communal houses, taken from their parents and given to others to raise. Their lives are nasty, brutish and short and things are grim.

Micah escapes the dorm at night, looking for things to (illegally) tinker with and to try to make his life, and the life of others better. He encounters are more rebellious Jadan and realises that life isn't always obvious.

It's interesting and the characters are well drawn but the world is a mystery. I didn't really get what was going on and why and eventually I just was underwhelmed by it all. I am curious to know what's going on but I don't really feel an urgency to find the next book.… (más)

This book had me at colored-coded bookmarks. I knew from right then that Jacob Deer and I are kindred spirits. Jacob Deer is like your average teen. He likes to read, loves animals, and is the 'chosen one'. Actually he's nothing like your average teen. After all his best friend is an elderly librarian, Mr. Maddock. Mr. Maddock has been keeping secrets, the most important secret is that Jacob is the key to a mythical flower that is said to illuminate the potential in all that it reaches. Mr Maddock sends Jacob, his granddaughter Sophia, and military trained Diego, in search of this flower. The adventure begins here because they are not the only ones looking for this flower. They travel to Tibet with a crazy pilot named Rosie. The characters are great each in their own way. Even the evil characters are great. My favorite character, besides my kindred spirit Jacob, is Clark. Clark is a comic book loving genius. I loved the story line. It was adventurous, humorous, and exciting to the very end. It has a few twists and turns that keep you guessing. I really enjoyed this book.… (más)