Daniel A. Cohen’s Coldmaker is an intriguing story set in the city of Paphos – a place where the sun burns bright and Cold is the most valuable commodity. Micah, a Jadan slave, is forced to run errands all over the city, enduring beatings and criticisms from the nobles and taskmasters. As Micah spends his nights sneaking out in search of bits and pieces to tinker with, he encounters much more than he expects. When rebellion begins sweeping through the Jadan barracks, Paphos is soon rife with tension. Will Micah be able to survive the rebellion and discover the secrets of the Cold?

Coldmaker has a really intriguing premise and I was fascinated by the world and the idea of cold being the most valuable thing in the city. The story was engaging and I enjoyed learning more about the world and the power structure in place. Micah is an interesting protagonist – he’s a very likable character who wants to help make the lives of his fellow Jadans easier. Whilst I really liked Micah I didn’t really connect with any of the secondary characters and I wasn’t the biggest fan of Shilah who I found a bit on the irritating side.

Coldmaker is an enjoyable read, one that ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and I’m intrigued to see where the series will go from here. If you’re a fan of dystopian YA books like The Hunger Games this will be a book you absolutely fall in love with.

An interesting start to a new series. It has an interesting premise, pretty well executed. The characters are interesting and well-rounded, and it moves at decent pace. Recommended if you're looking for something a bit different.

I really enjoyed this dystopian first installment of what I suspect will be another trilogy. Set in a world in the desert without cold as we know it and water/cold air reserved for the upper caste, while the rest of the population are enslaved, this is the is the story of a young inventor who stumbles onto a secret that will change his world view, and possibly the world itself. While the novel posts many questions about the world, the characters are very well developed and the story arc is interesting. In other words, this is a dystopian page turner that will ,make you hanker for the next installment as soon as you have finished the last page.

This is a review I've been sitting on for a while. I wanted to wait to write it, and have come back to it a couple of times so I could get perspective and dig into what I was reading rather than just respond to the initial assumptions I'd made upon finishing the book and I think this really helped me to look at this book in a new way.


Let me just start with how much I love this cover, it is a beautiful simple piece of art that hints at crux of the book and was what initially drew me into the book. The paperback version is more fantasy rooted but also excellently tells a story about what to expect here and I think it works just as well.






Fantasy I find, falls into a lot of expected tropes, relying on a basic form and structure. Usually this includes some level of class oppression and the rise up of a hero. There's a vagrant that lives on the edges, and elusive swarve figure who comes in to support our hero and so here we find ourselves in familiar ground Coldmaker. For me it then becomes about our connection to the characters, the way the plot involves and ultimately what sets this story apart. Coldmaker brought in a really interesting element into the mix that added a completely fresh take on the genre.


The issue I had with the formulaic structure was why do we keep seeing people trapped and residing to complacency. They suffer from a lack of drive and exist. But the more I think about it the more I realise that this is actually a valid reflection of life, it is so easy to get settled in a difficult situation, to accept your place and work to make sure you get through each day. This then becomes ingrained generation after generation to a people who are scared to do anything but work to live and when you're a slave your option are extremely limited. When you start to accept this you start to build up the plight of the people of Paphos and you're quickly brought in and dragged down by this world. And the HEAT.


Living in England we complain about the weather whatever it is..it's too hot, it's too cold, so I can't begin to imagine having to live in such constant heat. Spout wouldn't be the only one with that nickname. To help the slaves survive their 'kind' overlord (barf) rations out cold, a gift from the Crier taken away from the Jadan people. What an interesting idea Cold is. Equatable to a precious gem in its form, structure and reverence, I loved how the Cold affected and influenced the lives of everyone and how it had such multi functional purposes. Criers above this is the kind of ideology I can get into, I want to know more, I want to explore its history and see what more Cold can do.


Through Micha's eyes we get to explore Paphos and the world around us starts to build. I felt it was very well constructed, you were able to build a picture without too much being given and you could see Micha running through the streets collecting wares for his rich clients. Micha has this spark of wanting something more, of realising that there was more potential out in the world and not letting the restrictions around you stop you. His illegal tinkering show his is a creative mind, a wondering mind. It is unfortunate however as Rumpelstiltskin says "All Magic comes with a price" and so here the price of Micha's creativity comes at a brutal price. Punishment in Paphos is brutal and it is often a punishment shared.


So much discord can only contains people's anger for so long and so the seeds of revolution start to be sown. Revolutionist graffiti starts popping up in the city, a mysterious girl has appeared to galvanize Micha, and a noble has given himself over to encouraging the tinker in Micha full licence to flourish. This path of righteousness won't be an easy journey however, and I can only imagine what perils they will face. This was very much a set up novel, drawing you in and sweating you out right to the end and I'm on board for whats to come!

Review soon to be posted on the blog

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!

In a world which is blazing hot, cold falls from the sky at night to be collected by the slave-class Jadans and used by the Nobles. One class live in luxury; the other in desperate need. The balance kept by a religion which reinforces the Jadans lower status. In the city of Paphos though, things are changing. A young Jadan boy, Micah, has a knack for 'tinkering', making objects from salvaged rubbish. One night, out hunting for useful scraps, he sees an odd girl - a Jadan from her appearance, though not bent in submission as he and everyone he knows is, but walking tall and straight, as if she had as much right to as the Nobles. Is she in some way linked to the signs of rebellion appearing throughout the city? From his first glimpse of her, Micah's life certainly begins to change.

Coldmaker is a brilliant book. Well-drawn characters, a story-line which doesn't follow the expected path, gruelling heat that you can almost feel, and excellent world-building - for me, the stand-out feature of the book.
Firstly there are the weird climatic conditions that plague Paphos. I must admit I'd at first imagined the Cold that falls at night to be something like hail, but it turns out to be a more complex thing, capable of being stored in its natural state, kept as treasure, or used for both cooling water, buildings, and gardens, and powering the inventions that Micah makes.
Then there's the class system. The Nobles are in charge; the Jadans kept like slaves. A lot of dystopian novels have a similar set-up of a ruling class virtually enslaving the rest of the population, and I often wonder why the 'slaves' don't rebel. The clever bit here is the invention of a religious system in which the Jadans are considered the cause of the annihilating heat, therefore always 'unworthy' of the benefits of the Cold, and permanently subservient to the Nobles. Punishment is random and brutal, but, indoctrinated from an early age, the Jadans fear worse if they rebel. Micah has to take a psychological leap to understand that he won't be struck down for challenging the status quo, and I found his development fascinating.
At the same time, it's a compelling adventure, full of danger and tension, which doesn't pan out quite as I think you'd expect.


Crossing the boundaries of adult and young adult fiction, this is an excellent read for anyone looking for a new dystopian 'fix'.

Let’s start with concept, because I think that’s the most powerful thing in this book. In this setting cold is a physical thing you can find, obtain and own – I’m not explaining it well, but the book does. It is one of the best uses of ‘here’s a weird idea I’ll write a book about it’ I’ve ever found.

The reason I think it works so well is that Daniel A. Cohen writes heat so wonderfully well. Even reading at a freezing bus stop first thing in the morning you can feel the blistering heat of this fantasy world. An extension of this is that Cohen is phenomenal at writing the pain his characters feel. You wince for them when they’re whipped or left to dehydrate. It makes for not only an immersive experience, but also characters that you desperately want to help. I was deep into this world by the end of the book and I think that’s a testament to Cohen’s writing talents.

What I liked is that this didn’t become ‘rich person saviour’-esque. There’s an element of that to it, which could have turned me completely off the book as a whole, but it is in general held in balance with an understanding that it is the Jadan who are the main characters in this story.

The one thing that sent it from being an instant 5 star to a four? The romance. I hate to be that person and for some people I know that romance is an important element to a story but for me this was so tacked on and didn’t serve the story at all. I think if the idea of romance being forbidden had been instilled more in the setting it might have been more effective. In general I think this could have waited for the sequel (please say there is a sequel) because there was barely enough time for the reader to get to know the characters, let alone for the characters to get to know each other. I actually rolled my eyes when the kiss happened because for me it didn’t feel like it was adding anything to the story or to the character. I’m making a bigger deal of it than I perhaps should, plenty of books I love have somewhat pointless romances, particularly in the beginnings to series, but it annoys me that this book, which I otherwise loved, had such a flaw.

If you like strange fantasy settings and rebellions this is definitely a book for you, I’d be interested to see how someone reading it in another season or who lived in a hotter climate might find it!

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Set on a planet which is mostly desert, the Nobles have control of the cold and the lowly Jadens get the merest leftovers. Micah is an unusual boy. Scavenging amongst the rubbish at night he tinkers, creating forbidden mechanical inventions. Death is a constant threat but then so is rebellion.

The bottom line of this book is not disimilar to many post-apocalypic type books. However, there is no guarantee that this is earth and it is approximately 800 years after the cataclysmic event - whatever that was. This event has become shrouded in a religion where the Nobles deserve the cold and the water but the Jadens, who angered the gods, are unworthy. This society is structured well though there were some questions around it which I am still puzzled by - why can't the Jaden create things? I also struggled with the exact nature of the cold which seemed to be a sort of ice but not quite.

It always takes a while to explain a world to the reader and this can get a little tedious. I found that this book managed to avoid the tedium and explained things well as the story progressed. There wasn't a point in which I thought about giving up and I found myself thinking about this book whilst doing other things.

Micah is a clever lad in many ways but has no real foresight on how to make radical changes. However with the help of two friends he is forced to see that real change needs to happen and soon. Tinkering with mechanics and making little inventions is not enough to change the world!

I have read a good number of this type of book and would rate this well above average. The world, its social structure and religion do stand up well and more or less make sense. The characters are well constructed from the main characters including Micah to his Father, Abe and his friends amongst the Jadens. A vast majority of the characters are likeable and I found it very easy to be behind Micah and the cause of the Jadens. I liked the fact that Micah is a slightly reluctant hero and not really sure of the direction he should be taking.

The ending of this book came to a great climax which fitted well with the story. There is obviously another book to follow on and I shall be keen to read this. I feel that some of my queries will be answered as Micah discovers more about the history of his world and the structure of the society.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

The cover and the premise inspired me to want to read this, alas, it took me quite some time to get into the world that the author had built for us. Paradoxically it does grab you from the start, a hot tired boy living in a world of stark differences due to your station in this world, spends his nights rummaging through rubbish to find scraps of food and materials for his inventions.


This is a tale of differences, domination and courage.


It is not the first story to tell of the rich and poor, the haves and the have nots, of a world in which a human requirement is taken away or forbidden wether it be heat or cold in this book, or air ( referencing Sarah Crossan 'breathe' ) but I am glad that I pushed myself through this, as the writer builds the story well during the read and leaves you with a definate ending you just know a second one is coming.

Please do not get me wrong, it was not badly written at all, it just took me time to get used to the charecters and the world that they lived in, sometimes for me, it just all snaps into place, other times it takes a little work, of back tracking and reminding myself who was who and what was what.

I think the author has a great imagination in the way he has built his world and I wish that I could do something like that, so I salute him!


I most likely will re read it at some point and if it comes out on audio then will listen, as i will look forward to see how the narrator 'reads' the charecters, wether it be the same voices i had in my mind when reading for myself.
All in all a well written and fleshed out tale that i for one am glad to have read.

It is not my favourite book of the year, but the time reading it was not lost, as I am glad to have been given the opportunity to read it and store it in my 'I have read that' section in my brain!

Thank you for taking the time to drop by and have a booktastic day!

The idea of what maybe a post apocalyptic world which is blazingly hot and makes "cold" an exceptionally valuable commodity intrigued me. I'd not come across the idea before. This book follows Micah in such a world. He is effectively the lowest of the low and, in the hierarchy of the world, is "unworthy". He is bright, he tinkers and is an inventor.

Micah uses his talents and meets folk who are interested in those talents while a slave to the Nobles which is essentially what Jadens are. The big question - other than how to keep cool - is whether the Jadens should be subservient to the Nobles. The Nobles currently rule by fear and abuse of power claiming to have the right from their religion and the Khat.

This is a book I really wanted to enjoy. The story outline looked interesting and different. However I never really found myself fully engaged with the story. I've taken a little time after finishing this to try and work out why. It took me a little while to understand the rules and power structure of this world. I'm actually still not sure that I fully grasp why the world is the way it is but it has been like it for 800 years. I found a number of the characters interesting but they did not seem fully developed for me.

Micah's inventions bother me. They often seem remarkable and there is not always much information on how they work or how he came to the conclusion that they would work. My final point is on the general tone of the book. Everything I've read about it suggests it is an adult book. There are aspects of the treatment of Jadens that make for uneasy reading. However, while I realise that Micah is a young teenager, the tone of the story feels like it is aimed more at a YA market. Not a bad read but I would have loved it to be better.