Coldwire

Cyberpunk dystopian is back people! And Chloe Gong is leading the chare, and I couldn't be more happy about it!

Coldwire by Chloe Gong is a YA dystopian novel about what happens when humanity flees to the virtual world, in order to escape from their deteriorating reality. The future is loading… To escape rising seas and rampant epidemics, most of society lives “upcountry” in glistening virtual reality, while those who can’t afford the subscription are forced to remain in crumbling “downcountry.” But upcountry isn’t perfect. A cold war rages between two powerful nations, Medaluo and Atahua—and no one suffers for it more than the Medan orphans in Atahua. Their enrollment at Nile Military Academy is mandatory. Either serve as a soldier or risk being labelled a spy. Eirale graduated the academy and joined NileCorp’s private forces downcountry, exactly as she was supposed to. Then Atahua’s most wanted anarchist frames her for assassinating a government official, and she’s given a choice: cooperate with him to search for a dangerous program in Medaluo or go down for treason. Meanwhile, Lia is finishing her last year upcountry at Nile Military Academy. Paired with her academic nemesis for their final assignment, Lia is determined to beat him for valedictorian and prove her worth. But there may be far more at stake when their task to infiltrate Medaluo and track down an Atahuan traitor goes wrong… Though Eirale and Lia tear through Medaluo on different planes of reality, the two start to suspect they are puzzle pieces in a larger conspiracy—and the closer they get to the truth, the closer their worlds come to a shattering collision.

Listen, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always the biggest fan of YA dystopian novels (and I blame it on the over consumption of them throughout my own teen years. I'm looking at you Divergent, Uglies, Matched, Angelfall (but never you, Hunger Games, never you)). But with the release of this novel, I found my love once more. Coldwire is a novel that reminds just how near the future of our world is to becoming our reality. The characters are complex, the plot (though a bit confusing to follow at times) is riveting, and the world is utterly haunting. What I liked most about this book, is how entirely twisted that ending is. (And I promise I won't spoil anything, but if you are familiar with Gong's work, you know how her series tend to trend.)

The one thing I found quite fickle with Coldwire is the layers upon layers of jargon and complex worldbuilding Gong had built throughout. And though I am quite verse in keeping up with weird names strewn throughout fantasy and science fiction novels, Coldwire is one that I needed to make a glossary to keep up with all of the things. But that's not a diss on Gong, but instead just shows the amount of love she poured into this novel and the world she created.

Regardless, Coldwire by Chloe Gong is a novel that reminds us what it truly means to be human (and at times, inhuman). I can't wait to read the next installment to this series, as I have been with every single one of Gong's novels.