Cold

Sometimes the worst offense is simply to stay alive.

A generations’ ship barely survived a run of catastrophic upheavals—both from the outside and from within. Now, swept along by the shockwave after the birth of a new star into the unknown, the crippled ship—the only world its inhabitants have ever known—remains a zone of war.

While the new captain, Perseval, struggles to endure and make sense of the recent trauma, surviving mutineers refuse to stop threatening the crew and even the ship’s safety.

Meanwhile, Perseval’s relatives, Tristen and Benedict, carry out a deadly high-risk hunt for the traitor, playing cat-and-mouse with him, as the ship’s systems begin to update and reconfigure in strange, dangerous ways. But the most ingenious danger has been lurking where no one thought to look.

And this ruthless enemy may forever alter the ship’s very shape—if a mismatched group of heroes can’t stop it.

“Revelations about those who built the ship, family conflicts, and long-buried secrets of a closed order of priest-navigators come together in a thrilling continuation of Ashes. While Bear’s voice echoes both Zelazny and Mervyn Peake, her writing style is entirely her own, and the troubles of House Connon are painted in distinct, unmistakable tones.” – Yale Books

“A vivid science-fiction author, clearly ahead of many of her contemporaries.” – SFReviews

“‘Cold’ is more than just a sequel: you should read it at least for the richness of the world and the depth of the characters.” – Goodreads

“A continuation that won’t disappoint fans of the series.” – Eyrie

“The author combines sweeping science-fiction ideas with an energetic plot and inventiveness, giving imagination free rein.” – Strange Horizons