The Cooling by JG Cook is a climate thriller that really got under my skin.

Set in 2028, it follows five former classmates who once marched as teenage climate strikers and are now building careers within the climate world.

When they reunite in Brussels, each of them is gradually pulled into HaKolektiv, a covert movement aiming to take down the Progress Network, a powerful organisation protecting fossil fuel interests.

At the same time, Rosy operates in the shadows, using violence and extortion to climb the Network’s ranks while an engineered global cooling stalls climate action worldwide.

What I found most compelling was how uncomfortable this book made me feel. It is smart, tense and morally messy, constantly asking where activism ends and extremism begins.

The idea of a manufactured cooling used to silence climate urgency felt chillingly plausible, and Azuka’s attempts to turn the enemy’s own strategies against them kept me fully engaged.

This is not a comforting read, but it is a thought provoking one. I finished it unsettled and impressed, and it has stayed with me far longer than I expected.

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