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Cold Storage
For readers of Andy Weir and Noah Hawley comes an astonishing debut by the screenwriter of Jurassic Park: a wild and terrifying adventure about three strangers who must work together to contain a highly contagious, deadly organism.
When Pentagon bioterror operative Roberto Diaz was sent to investigate a suspected biochemical attack, he found something far worse: a highly mutative organism capable of extinction-level destruction. He contained it and buried it in cold storage deep beneath a little-used military repository.
Now, after decades of festering in a forgotten sub-basement, the specimen has found its way out and is on a lethal feeding frenzy. Only Diaz knows how to stop it.
He races across the country to help two unwitting security guards—one an ex-con, the other a single mother. Over one harrowing night, the unlikely trio must figure out how to quarantine this horror again. All they have is luck, fearlessness, and a mordant sense of humor. Will that be enough to save all of humanity?
When Pentagon bioterror operative Roberto Diaz was sent to investigate a suspected biochemical attack, he found something far worse: a highly mutative organism capable of extinction-level destruction. He contained it and buried it in cold storage deep beneath a little-used military repository.
Now, after decades of festering in a forgotten sub-basement, the specimen has found its way out and is on a lethal feeding frenzy. Only Diaz knows how to stop it.
He races across the country to help two unwitting security guards—one an ex-con, the other a single mother. Over one harrowing night, the unlikely trio must figure out how to quarantine this horror again. All they have is luck, fearlessness, and a mordant sense of humor. Will that be enough to save all of humanity?
308 pages, Hardcover
First published September 3, 2019
About the author
David Koepp
22 books580 followersDavid Koepp is a celebrated American screenwriter and director best known for his work on Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, Panic Room, War of the Worlds and Mission: Impossible. His work on screen has grossed over $6 billion worldwide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,196 reviews
April 3, 2020
Deliciously Terrifying!
Two bio-terrorism operatives are called on to investigate and handle a situation involving an isolated community (26 people) in Australia. Many years before, a NASA explorative space vehicle had exploded and some remnants landed in this country and for some reason this supposedly Harmless Container was left there. (Really?) A call came in with a claim that a man had fallen gravely ill after cleaning the outside of the unit and now there is a foreign substance leaking out of the container. Imagine what happens next!
Fast forward 30 years later. Robert Diaz, one of the original operatives is called out of retirement to again investigate this long buried deadly matter. It seems that the the alarm system has been activated for unknown speculative reasons since the organism was buried 300 ft underground using every safeguard and precaution that the government and science had to offer. The deadly organism (fungus) was stored and buried under an old warehouse that is currently used as a storage unit facility. Only the government knows what is underground and they are the only ones with access entry if it was ever needed, and it is crucial to all life forms in general for the right agents with the right tools and weapons be sent underground before this situation becomes a monster of their own making. Why would the alarm sound after 30 years? Electrical problem? Security breach? What was so important that the government buried this substance instead of destroying it? Why would Diaz be the only person to send on this mission instead of a younger soldier? All questions will be answered and so much more will be revealed if you just sit down and read this excitng, rapid fire book!
I don't have enough words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. It was fast and furious, cleverly researched and written with humor blending in along the way. I can't believe this was David Koepp's debut book, because he did a stellar job of describing and capturing the personalities of the quirky characters and the dangers that were involved for everyone. I am so glad that this is a fictional thriller because this was a crazy and scary story!
I want to thank the publisher Harper Collins Books and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this very exciting book!
I highly recommend this book to any reader but especially those who enjoy Michael Crichton, Christopher Golden and Jeremy Bates! If you enjoy great writing and science fiction, please don't hesitate giving this a read!
I have given this scary ride of a book 4 1/2 Terrifying 🌟🌟🌟🌟✴ Stars!!
Two bio-terrorism operatives are called on to investigate and handle a situation involving an isolated community (26 people) in Australia. Many years before, a NASA explorative space vehicle had exploded and some remnants landed in this country and for some reason this supposedly Harmless Container was left there. (Really?) A call came in with a claim that a man had fallen gravely ill after cleaning the outside of the unit and now there is a foreign substance leaking out of the container. Imagine what happens next!
Fast forward 30 years later. Robert Diaz, one of the original operatives is called out of retirement to again investigate this long buried deadly matter. It seems that the the alarm system has been activated for unknown speculative reasons since the organism was buried 300 ft underground using every safeguard and precaution that the government and science had to offer. The deadly organism (fungus) was stored and buried under an old warehouse that is currently used as a storage unit facility. Only the government knows what is underground and they are the only ones with access entry if it was ever needed, and it is crucial to all life forms in general for the right agents with the right tools and weapons be sent underground before this situation becomes a monster of their own making. Why would the alarm sound after 30 years? Electrical problem? Security breach? What was so important that the government buried this substance instead of destroying it? Why would Diaz be the only person to send on this mission instead of a younger soldier? All questions will be answered and so much more will be revealed if you just sit down and read this excitng, rapid fire book!
I don't have enough words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. It was fast and furious, cleverly researched and written with humor blending in along the way. I can't believe this was David Koepp's debut book, because he did a stellar job of describing and capturing the personalities of the quirky characters and the dangers that were involved for everyone. I am so glad that this is a fictional thriller because this was a crazy and scary story!
I want to thank the publisher Harper Collins Books and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this very exciting book!
I highly recommend this book to any reader but especially those who enjoy Michael Crichton, Christopher Golden and Jeremy Bates! If you enjoy great writing and science fiction, please don't hesitate giving this a read!
I have given this scary ride of a book 4 1/2 Terrifying 🌟🌟🌟🌟✴ Stars!!
September 12, 2019
A fun read, if at times totally unbelievable, but hey this is fiction, and it's meant to entertain, right? And entertain this book does. A fungus that has killed everyone in a remote town in Western Australia has been languishing in a contained facility underground in Kansas. The facility is then concealed, and forgotten, and a storage unit is built on top of it. End of story right? No way, this fungus has ideas of it's own. It escapes it's containers and decides to run rampant.
Two down on their luck security guards are left in charge of the storage units the night the fungus decides to run amok. With the help of a retired military operative, who tried to warn the government about the danger this facility poses, the three have to try to contain the fungus and save the world.
A highly amusing story, complete with deer riding in elevators and exploding cats, suspend your beliefs and enjoy the ride of this one. It wont disappoint.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
My thanks to HQ Fiction for an uncorrected proof to read and review. The opinions are entirely my own.
Two down on their luck security guards are left in charge of the storage units the night the fungus decides to run amok. With the help of a retired military operative, who tried to warn the government about the danger this facility poses, the three have to try to contain the fungus and save the world.
A highly amusing story, complete with deer riding in elevators and exploding cats, suspend your beliefs and enjoy the ride of this one. It wont disappoint.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
My thanks to HQ Fiction for an uncorrected proof to read and review. The opinions are entirely my own.
August 13, 2020
Yikes, I did not like this one at all. DNF. I rarely give one star, I’m hesitant to because I know what it feels like (being an author). This book sounded like something I’d enjoy, and I purchased the hardcover. Now this may just be my taste because I am an author. I’m a big proponent of the Fictive Dream, it’s mandatory for the books I read. Cold Storage is written in omniscient point of view while utilizing (at times) the reminiscent voice as well (Ten years later they wouldn’t…). And this omniscient voice also head-jumps, sometime three characters on one page. There is no chance at all for a fictive dream. What this felt like to me was a screenplay with a detailed treatment cut up and interjected when needed.
January 25, 2024
I haven't read a sci-fi thriller in a while. Cold Storage was a marvelous dive back into the genre. This was like The Andromeda Strain on steroids. A fungus is among us and it is super scary and fast growing. A duo from a secret government agency is on the case, these two are a smooth running and competent team and the fungus need to watch out. This was fun with well drawn characters, nasty descriptions and comedy to lighten the doom and gloom. I read it in a few days and loved it all.
June 9, 2019
I'm terrified and horrified and that is exactly how I want to feel after reading a science fiction book!
Deep in the Australian outback festered a fungi that thrived on the atmosphere around it. The highly mutative mucus infected the small and isolated settlement of people who resided there, incubating and expanding inside their bodies and taking over the neural pathways to ensure their new hosts did their bidding.
Pentagon bioterror operative Roberto Diaz and his partner eradicated the terrifying threat by razing the area it was contained in to the ground. One small sample survived and was kept contained and chilled in an underground cold storage facility it could never escape from. Decades later, the earth's core temperature as risen and this bacterial strain is back with a vengeance. This time, however, it has evolved.
The killer virus, possible post-apocalyptic trope is much featured in media but no-one has done it quite like David Koepp! I'm not sure why I was surprised how sublimely brilliant this was, given that Koepp was the screenwriter responsible for blockbuster hits such as Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Mission: Impossible. This book, however, exemplifies his adaptability to be a great writer, in other mediums.
Every sentence was perfectly crafted and honed for ultimate suspense and intrigue. Reading on tenterhooks is the only expression I can conjure that will adequately describe reading this book! There was violence and gore in abundance (which are not to be read on a full stomach!), but also sound scientific backing and authentic characters, who were not your typical cookie-cutter heroes and heroines, to make the entire thing feel terrifyingly believable. This evoked the cinematic experience and is definitely a story-line that needs to be adapted. I think Koepp might know someone who could be just the guy to do it...
Deep in the Australian outback festered a fungi that thrived on the atmosphere around it. The highly mutative mucus infected the small and isolated settlement of people who resided there, incubating and expanding inside their bodies and taking over the neural pathways to ensure their new hosts did their bidding.
Pentagon bioterror operative Roberto Diaz and his partner eradicated the terrifying threat by razing the area it was contained in to the ground. One small sample survived and was kept contained and chilled in an underground cold storage facility it could never escape from. Decades later, the earth's core temperature as risen and this bacterial strain is back with a vengeance. This time, however, it has evolved.
The killer virus, possible post-apocalyptic trope is much featured in media but no-one has done it quite like David Koepp! I'm not sure why I was surprised how sublimely brilliant this was, given that Koepp was the screenwriter responsible for blockbuster hits such as Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Mission: Impossible. This book, however, exemplifies his adaptability to be a great writer, in other mediums.
Every sentence was perfectly crafted and honed for ultimate suspense and intrigue. Reading on tenterhooks is the only expression I can conjure that will adequately describe reading this book! There was violence and gore in abundance (which are not to be read on a full stomach!), but also sound scientific backing and authentic characters, who were not your typical cookie-cutter heroes and heroines, to make the entire thing feel terrifyingly believable. This evoked the cinematic experience and is definitely a story-line that needs to be adapted. I think Koepp might know someone who could be just the guy to do it...
October 3, 2020
Cordyceps novus had tasted humans, and it wanted more.
Cordyceps novus, a fungus accidentally sent into space on Skylab, mutates into a 100% lethal nightmare with an astonishing growth rate. After Skylab crashes in Australia in 1979, the fungus later wipes out a remote Outback town. A secret branch of the US military is able to stop the fungus and destroy it in the wild, preserving one sample in cold storage deep underground in a remote Kansas mine. But once out of sight and out of mind, people forgot what they were dealing with.
The idea for the plot comes straight out of The Andromeda Strain, but the tone couldn’t be more different. Cold Storage is fast, entertaining, and has a really fun narrative voice:
...and that dumbass deer—sorry, that beautiful creature of God—that thing’s character was drawn within the limitations of a non-sentient brain. It stood there, unmoving, as the car closed the last fifty feet on it; it just hunched there, watching Death come hurtling at it, staring at the car like, well, like exactly what it was, there’s a goddamn good reason for that cliché, so maybe it was fitting that the first thing that hit the deer was the headlight.
Written by the screenplay writer of numerous Hollywood blockbusters (Jurassic Park 1 and 2, and Spider-Man among many others), this book reads as much like a movie novelization as any original novel I’ve ever read. Recommended.
April 22, 2021
All that hand-washing and disinfecting seems so futile when you get to see how a disease can spread FROM THE PATHOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW OF THE CONTAGION ITSELF. It only takes one tiny speck of a fungus/virus/bacteria hellbent on making its way into a delicious human body, and *bam* you're infected.
Are you also a goner, soon to explode like an overfilled balloon of green sticky fungal goo? Let's hope that only happens in bioterror horror movies and novels -- like this one -- but the horrible potential is always tickling the back of our minds.
If that "but what if?" tickle is something you enjoy, then you will love David Koepp's Cold Storage. If you are already freaking out over the rampant spread of COVID-19 right now, this is absolutely NOT the book for you.
Are you also a goner, soon to explode like an overfilled balloon of green sticky fungal goo? Let's hope that only happens in bioterror horror movies and novels -- like this one -- but the horrible potential is always tickling the back of our minds.
If that "but what if?" tickle is something you enjoy, then you will love David Koepp's Cold Storage. If you are already freaking out over the rampant spread of COVID-19 right now, this is absolutely NOT the book for you.
October 29, 2019
David Koepp began his career as a screenwriter and there's definitely a strong "summer action movie" vibe throughout this book.
In short, fungus! Anyone who's spent some time watching/reading/playing in the zombie apocalypse genre is likely already familiar with the Cordyceps fungus; but this time it's been to space and picked up some brand new habits. The book begins when the plans to keep it under wraps fail.
My rating is a pretty solid "liked it" - there's nothing hugely wrong with Cold Storage, but equally there's nothing hugely right. David Koepp does write excellently unlikeable characters for when he needs to kill someone off - his protagonists could have been a little more well-rounded, though. We got some amazing back story on one of them - only for us to never hear from her point of view again. Most loose ends were wrapped up, without any annoying "but they had forgotten THIS" at the end - thank you, because that trope is TIRED. There were some loose ends that simply weren't addressed though, which does give some wiggle room in the event of a sequel.
All in all - a good read, one which will probably be much more popular than the rating I gave it. Definitely a fun read, but expect some flaws.
In short, fungus! Anyone who's spent some time watching/reading/playing in the zombie apocalypse genre is likely already familiar with the Cordyceps fungus; but this time it's been to space and picked up some brand new habits. The book begins when the plans to keep it under wraps fail.
My rating is a pretty solid "liked it" - there's nothing hugely wrong with Cold Storage, but equally there's nothing hugely right. David Koepp does write excellently unlikeable characters for when he needs to kill someone off - his protagonists could have been a little more well-rounded, though. We got some amazing back story on one of them - only for us to never hear from her point of view again. Most loose ends were wrapped up, without any annoying "but they had forgotten THIS" at the end - thank you, because that trope is TIRED. There were some loose ends that simply weren't addressed though, which does give some wiggle room in the event of a sequel.
All in all - a good read, one which will probably be much more popular than the rating I gave it. Definitely a fun read, but expect some flaws.
January 5, 2020
I remember when David Cronenberg announced his novel Consumed, there was some eyebrow-raising in the literary community. Shouldn’t the serious business of writing be left to serious professionals, as opposed to dilettante dabblers? Turned out that Consumed was a literary distillation of an ultimate Cronenberg movie.
Now we have that most looked down upon of writers, the screenwriter, having the temerity to turn his hand to penmanship. The screenwriter in questions is David Koepp, the ninth most successful of all time, according to Wikipedia, with $2.3 billion in US box office receipts.
Koepp has penned Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World (1997), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Mission: Impossible (1996), Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), Spider-Man (2002), War of the Worlds (2005), and Angels & Demons (2009). He has also dabbled in directing, from Secret Window (2004) to You Should Have Left (2019).
All popcorn movies, of course. And make no mistake about it, Cold Storage is a popcorn novel, what used to be dismissively referred to as an ‘airport thriller’ (probably referring to books on racks in airports for bored travellers to buy to while away the time).
But this is gourmet popcorn. I inhaled Cold Storage in under two days, and thought little else while reading it, so desperate was I to find out how our hero gets to the ex-military cold storage facility in time to assist the two lowly security workers there to prevent a global meltdown from a fungal parasite brought back to earth in wreckage from the Skylab crash.
That is all you need to know about the plot, suffice it to say that, once you start reading this, you won’t be able to put it down until the perfect beat on the final page. What is so great about Koepp’s writing is that he foregrounds his characters in the action, which allows the reader to identify with them and their fate. Including Mr. Scroggins the cat.
The science bits are also integrated cleverly with the characterisation, which avoids the problem of info-dumping and slowing down what is meant to be a breakneck narrative at the end of the day, not a science lecture.
What also surprised me is how funny this book is. Koepp knows that the savvy reader will find his plot ridiculous and derivative, which it is on both counts, but he invests it with such energy and wit that the reader is effectively seduced into loving every improbable second of it.
Including the gross-out bits, of which there are plenty. It is perhaps no surprise that Koepp is a very visual writer, able to evoke both action and character beats with an impressive economy of style.
Yes, serious Literature has a place and a purpose, but so has a novel like Cold Storage, which briefly whisks one away from one’s problems to contemplate the impact of something as dastardly as cordyceps novus on our ordinary lives.
As a side note, it will be interesting to read The Andromeda Evolution after this, Daniel H. Wilson’s follow-up to the Michael Crichton classic. I suspect that this will be a far more contemplative SF novel, as opposed to Koepp’s irreverent and fun take on the sub-genre.
Now we have that most looked down upon of writers, the screenwriter, having the temerity to turn his hand to penmanship. The screenwriter in questions is David Koepp, the ninth most successful of all time, according to Wikipedia, with $2.3 billion in US box office receipts.
Koepp has penned Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World (1997), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Mission: Impossible (1996), Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), Spider-Man (2002), War of the Worlds (2005), and Angels & Demons (2009). He has also dabbled in directing, from Secret Window (2004) to You Should Have Left (2019).
All popcorn movies, of course. And make no mistake about it, Cold Storage is a popcorn novel, what used to be dismissively referred to as an ‘airport thriller’ (probably referring to books on racks in airports for bored travellers to buy to while away the time).
But this is gourmet popcorn. I inhaled Cold Storage in under two days, and thought little else while reading it, so desperate was I to find out how our hero gets to the ex-military cold storage facility in time to assist the two lowly security workers there to prevent a global meltdown from a fungal parasite brought back to earth in wreckage from the Skylab crash.
That is all you need to know about the plot, suffice it to say that, once you start reading this, you won’t be able to put it down until the perfect beat on the final page. What is so great about Koepp’s writing is that he foregrounds his characters in the action, which allows the reader to identify with them and their fate. Including Mr. Scroggins the cat.
The science bits are also integrated cleverly with the characterisation, which avoids the problem of info-dumping and slowing down what is meant to be a breakneck narrative at the end of the day, not a science lecture.
What also surprised me is how funny this book is. Koepp knows that the savvy reader will find his plot ridiculous and derivative, which it is on both counts, but he invests it with such energy and wit that the reader is effectively seduced into loving every improbable second of it.
Including the gross-out bits, of which there are plenty. It is perhaps no surprise that Koepp is a very visual writer, able to evoke both action and character beats with an impressive economy of style.
Yes, serious Literature has a place and a purpose, but so has a novel like Cold Storage, which briefly whisks one away from one’s problems to contemplate the impact of something as dastardly as cordyceps novus on our ordinary lives.
As a side note, it will be interesting to read The Andromeda Evolution after this, Daniel H. Wilson’s follow-up to the Michael Crichton classic. I suspect that this will be a far more contemplative SF novel, as opposed to Koepp’s irreverent and fun take on the sub-genre.
September 22, 2019
Cold Storage by David Koepp is not the sort of book I would normally have picked up. But I was intrigued when I received a copy from Harlequin Australia as part of the HQ Book Club. I am now very pleased have picked this book up. David Koepp is a screenwriter who has worked on Jurassic Park and Mission Impossible to name a few. This was clearly evident in this book, and it would also be a fantastic movie.
This was a very quick and hard to put down read. The story flowed really well and left you wanting to keep reading. It is a very entertaining read, at times dark and disturbing and at others funny and light (in particular the deer in the elevator!! You need to read this book for that scene alone!!). In the beginning I was worried that I was not going to like it, there was allot of scientific words and jargon but once I got through that I really enjoyed it. I was also surprised when the characters visited Australia, always something that catches my attention being an Aussie.
A piece of space lab debris is showing some bizarre signs and the experts are sent to investigate. This brings them to a remote part of Western Australia. When they get there they find a lot of dead bodies and a deadly organism living on the space junk. They destroy the town but not before taking a sample. This sample is returned to the US and kept in a secure underground military unit. Years later the experts are once again called to stop this deadly organism spreading.
Thanks to Harlequin Books Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased. Give this book a go even if you don't usually read this genre. You will be pleasantly surprised.
This was a very quick and hard to put down read. The story flowed really well and left you wanting to keep reading. It is a very entertaining read, at times dark and disturbing and at others funny and light (in particular the deer in the elevator!! You need to read this book for that scene alone!!). In the beginning I was worried that I was not going to like it, there was allot of scientific words and jargon but once I got through that I really enjoyed it. I was also surprised when the characters visited Australia, always something that catches my attention being an Aussie.
A piece of space lab debris is showing some bizarre signs and the experts are sent to investigate. This brings them to a remote part of Western Australia. When they get there they find a lot of dead bodies and a deadly organism living on the space junk. They destroy the town but not before taking a sample. This sample is returned to the US and kept in a secure underground military unit. Years later the experts are once again called to stop this deadly organism spreading.
Thanks to Harlequin Books Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased. Give this book a go even if you don't usually read this genre. You will be pleasantly surprised.
September 2, 2019
This book comes with great pedigree as the author wrote the screenplay for ‘Jurassic Park’, it also comes with great premise.....a ‘eat all’ fungi is discovered in the 80’s in Australia but is ‘managed’ and contained and ‘no questions asked’ and what remains of the fungi is then sealed away hundreds of feet down in a ‘black site’ mountainy thing.....so far so good.....the mountainy thing is sold on as a ‘rent out locker facility’ and the contents hundreds of feet down are ‘forgotten’....then the fungi ‘escapes’ and causes havoc!
The description of the fungi, how it evolves, infects and spreads is morbidly fascinating have to say and the research done amazing, however, the characters are insipid, the dialogue uninspiring and the plot follow through enough to raise your eyebrows every few paragraphs, I did read on some reviews how readers had loved the humour in the book, I didn’t realise there had been any so do wonder if I missed the point altogether but wasn’t as far as know a comedy book!!
Great idea, fab research, not my kind
of delivery of both
3/10
2 Stars
June 10, 2022
Fun fast paced storyline. Some people may enjoy this more than I did. I think that is all I'm going to say. Fun but kinda meh.
September 19, 2019
Australian outback, 1987. Pentagon bioterror operative Roberto Diaz and his partner Trini Romano have been sent to Kiwirrkurra to a town where all the residents were dying. All they know that in 1979 a Skylab Space Station fell out of the sky and a chunk of it landed in Kiwirrkurra, after years of the piece sitting in the ground as a souvenir, it began to rust.
A local resident cleaned the piece of Skylab awakening the fungus inside which eventually would kill the entire village, and one of the people sent to make it safe.
A small sample of the fungus – Cordyceps Novus was stored in forgotten sub-basement in Kansas, hoping that it would stay buried forever. Unfortunately, the earth heated up and sixteen-years after the sample was buried the site was deemed a cold war site and could be built on.
Now in 2019 Teacake and Naomi are security guards at the storage facility built on the grounds. An alarm can be heard beeping and the two investigate, unwittingly putting themselves in danger. Roberto Diaz is now retired but the Pentagon wants him on route to the facility to check out what is happening as their monitors are showing activity with the fungus.
It’s now up to Teacake, Naomi, and Roberto to stop the fungus spreading and save the world.
I’m not much of a sci-fi fan but I like a good mystery/thriller and the synopsis intrigued me so I jumped at the chance to read it. The book is certainly different from anything I’ve read before. I enjoyed the build-up to the case and was both intrigued and a little frightened at what this fungus could do to both people and animals – there is a great scene featuring a cat and a deer.
The book ebbs and flows when it comes to pace. The character development I was a bit unsure of as we get to read snippets about Roberto and his life and career, yet Teacake and Naomi we get all their backstory and emotions, sometimes a little too much and I started skipping over these sections as I didn’t feel they added anything to the plot.
Unsurprisingly given that this book has been written by a screenwriter I could certainly see this being made into a movie as everything was perfectly easy to visualise along the way, intelligently written springs to mind.
It’s a book I will remember and I enjoyed it immensely and read it in just a couple of days. There were times when I was shocked and moments which made me giggle, there were sections which went over my head and others that put me on the edge of my seat.
It’s quite weird because I would say this book verged on the far-fetched, unbelievable and also far too realistic at times too. You will have to read it to understand what I mean. If you enjoy sci-fi/science-based books that have an air of a thriller to them, plenty of action throughout, and are very entertaining, then this is the book for you.
A local resident cleaned the piece of Skylab awakening the fungus inside which eventually would kill the entire village, and one of the people sent to make it safe.
A small sample of the fungus – Cordyceps Novus was stored in forgotten sub-basement in Kansas, hoping that it would stay buried forever. Unfortunately, the earth heated up and sixteen-years after the sample was buried the site was deemed a cold war site and could be built on.
Now in 2019 Teacake and Naomi are security guards at the storage facility built on the grounds. An alarm can be heard beeping and the two investigate, unwittingly putting themselves in danger. Roberto Diaz is now retired but the Pentagon wants him on route to the facility to check out what is happening as their monitors are showing activity with the fungus.
It’s now up to Teacake, Naomi, and Roberto to stop the fungus spreading and save the world.
I’m not much of a sci-fi fan but I like a good mystery/thriller and the synopsis intrigued me so I jumped at the chance to read it. The book is certainly different from anything I’ve read before. I enjoyed the build-up to the case and was both intrigued and a little frightened at what this fungus could do to both people and animals – there is a great scene featuring a cat and a deer.
The book ebbs and flows when it comes to pace. The character development I was a bit unsure of as we get to read snippets about Roberto and his life and career, yet Teacake and Naomi we get all their backstory and emotions, sometimes a little too much and I started skipping over these sections as I didn’t feel they added anything to the plot.
Unsurprisingly given that this book has been written by a screenwriter I could certainly see this being made into a movie as everything was perfectly easy to visualise along the way, intelligently written springs to mind.
It’s a book I will remember and I enjoyed it immensely and read it in just a couple of days. There were times when I was shocked and moments which made me giggle, there were sections which went over my head and others that put me on the edge of my seat.
It’s quite weird because I would say this book verged on the far-fetched, unbelievable and also far too realistic at times too. You will have to read it to understand what I mean. If you enjoy sci-fi/science-based books that have an air of a thriller to them, plenty of action throughout, and are very entertaining, then this is the book for you.
February 3, 2022
A fast-paced sci-fi thriller with humor. Some killer fungus found in Australia in the 80s then was "safely" kept in cold storage in the US until it wasn't cold enough...
Pretty light on the science side, but it's still a lot of fun. 3.5 stars
Disclaimer: I couldn't get into it at all on the first try and returned it to the library. Months later I found out Rupert Friend, 😍 was the narrator so I borrowed it again and enjoyed it the second time. (Not biased at all!😉)
Pretty light on the science side, but it's still a lot of fun. 3.5 stars
Disclaimer: I couldn't get into it at all on the first try and returned it to the library. Months later I found out Rupert Friend, 😍 was the narrator so I borrowed it again and enjoyed it the second time. (Not biased at all!😉)
September 10, 2019
What’s your guess as to whether humanity will be saved by the heroes of this book? I think I must have misread the blurb for this book because I was expecting an intelligent bio thriller and instead I got a dumb horror story with fungus-created zombies. There’s way too much back story for the characters and a lame love story. Big disappointment.
Want to read
May 28, 2019oh my god. i am going to be run ragged at BEA this year, apparently.
WATCH OUT FOR MY GRABBY HANDS, BOOTH-TENDERS!
WATCH OUT FOR MY GRABBY HANDS, BOOTH-TENDERS!
September 19, 2019
Three people on a plane flying to the vast outback in Western Australia where they suspected something terrible was happening. But what they actually found was much worse. The fungi that was mutating – quickly – had already killed all the small town’s inhabitants. Could it be contained? Would the complete destruction of the town eliminate the threat?
It was years later when Roberto Diaz – from the original three - was called in to save humanity from the fungi that had once again found its way into the open air and was proving to be lethal. Could Diaz and two others outwit the deadly organism which killed in a matter of minutes?
Cold Storage is the debut novel by David Koepp and it was definitely weird! Science fiction; also leans toward horror; some humour; plenty of action; gruesome descriptions; and some way-over-the-top “stuff”. It didn’t do it for me I’m afraid – not my type of read. BUT for fans of the above, you’ll love it! Recommended.
With thanks to Harper Collins AU for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
It was years later when Roberto Diaz – from the original three - was called in to save humanity from the fungi that had once again found its way into the open air and was proving to be lethal. Could Diaz and two others outwit the deadly organism which killed in a matter of minutes?
Cold Storage is the debut novel by David Koepp and it was definitely weird! Science fiction; also leans toward horror; some humour; plenty of action; gruesome descriptions; and some way-over-the-top “stuff”. It didn’t do it for me I’m afraid – not my type of read. BUT for fans of the above, you’ll love it! Recommended.
With thanks to Harper Collins AU for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
November 17, 2021
Boring, predictable and full of cliches. Reminds a lot of b-category sci-fi movies - same characters, plot-twists and general vibes. It's like the author didn't even try to create something original.
March 13, 2021
Solid 4 stars - The first chapter terrified me so much I not only almost DNF but felt compelled to burn it in the fireplace. Not because it was bad, because it was TOO good. It felt real, like I was living it, like the sickness in this book could come out and get me (yep, total hostile biological invasion shit going on here)
I'm glad I continued because not only was it legit scary but funny too! Lord knows I needed those bits of humor to keep me from wanting to phyically destroy it again 😆
It was also really fun seeing the events unfold from so many perspectives, including the hostile biological villian!
Honestly it could have been longer. Would have loved a little more backstory and even afterward story on these characters, they were all likable. Also the very last sentence left me disappointed, I know I know such a little thing to whine about but with a story this good you tend to get nit picky.
I'm glad I continued because not only was it legit scary but funny too! Lord knows I needed those bits of humor to keep me from wanting to phyically destroy it again 😆
It was also really fun seeing the events unfold from so many perspectives, including the hostile biological villian!
Honestly it could have been longer. Would have loved a little more backstory and even afterward story on these characters, they were all likable. Also the very last sentence left me disappointed, I know I know such a little thing to whine about but with a story this good you tend to get nit picky.
January 16, 2020
David Koepp’s novel Cold Storage deals with a killer fungus on the loose. The fungus is on a rampage to complete its biological programming—to spawn and spawn again (something that will wipe humans out and spell the end of all mankind). Not knowing that much about this type of organism, I enlisted the assistance of well-established fun guys (Ex-NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski, and celebrated actress Jennifer Garner) to give me their feedback. Sadly, these fun guys came up short and did not provide me any help whatsoever with my review.
Gronk pretty much just drank all my beer, played rap music so loud my neighbors called the cops, and prank-called every contact stored in my iPhone (even dear ole Aunt Ethel who is 98 and was sleeping!!!). I quickly came to the conclusion that this fun guy cannot compare to the fungus in Cold Storage. Yes, Gronk can shotgun 23 Natty Lights in under 5 minutes however he can’t take over a dead deer, reanimate its body and then chase unsuspecting night watchmen.
Jennifer Garner was even worse. Her wackiness startled my dear ole Aunt Ethel causing her to drop her titanium walker onto my dog Mr. Snugglepaws (who is also 98 – but in dog years—and was sleeping), while cooking her patented banana bread she caught the oven on fire, and she parked her enormous bright orange monster pick-up truck in the middle of my yard completely tearing up the landscaping. She too was not enough of a fun guy to compete with Cold Storage’s fungus. While Garner can make a DIY mailbox Halloween costumes from scratch and post silly videos on Instagram, she can’t readjust her molecules to burn through a Hazmat boot and infect an agent. Fail!
Cold Storage tells the tale of two storage facility guards who are unaware of the lethal space-fungus that has escaped from its vault and is now infecting anyone and anything it can get its grubby fungus fingers on! A retired special ops agent is on the way, but will he get there before this seething biological organism wipes out the world?
Cold Storage reads like a cross between Michael Crichton when he still wrote interesting novels and Robin Cook before his horrific demise. Koepp, a successful writer of the moving pictures has a flare for writing characters we can all root for. His writing is often funny and always riveting. This book reminded me of the summer blockbusters created by Steven Spielberg. Cold Storage is a fast, funny, and enjoyable ride.
Gronk pretty much just drank all my beer, played rap music so loud my neighbors called the cops, and prank-called every contact stored in my iPhone (even dear ole Aunt Ethel who is 98 and was sleeping!!!). I quickly came to the conclusion that this fun guy cannot compare to the fungus in Cold Storage. Yes, Gronk can shotgun 23 Natty Lights in under 5 minutes however he can’t take over a dead deer, reanimate its body and then chase unsuspecting night watchmen.
Jennifer Garner was even worse. Her wackiness startled my dear ole Aunt Ethel causing her to drop her titanium walker onto my dog Mr. Snugglepaws (who is also 98 – but in dog years—and was sleeping), while cooking her patented banana bread she caught the oven on fire, and she parked her enormous bright orange monster pick-up truck in the middle of my yard completely tearing up the landscaping. She too was not enough of a fun guy to compete with Cold Storage’s fungus. While Garner can make a DIY mailbox Halloween costumes from scratch and post silly videos on Instagram, she can’t readjust her molecules to burn through a Hazmat boot and infect an agent. Fail!
Cold Storage tells the tale of two storage facility guards who are unaware of the lethal space-fungus that has escaped from its vault and is now infecting anyone and anything it can get its grubby fungus fingers on! A retired special ops agent is on the way, but will he get there before this seething biological organism wipes out the world?
Cold Storage reads like a cross between Michael Crichton when he still wrote interesting novels and Robin Cook before his horrific demise. Koepp, a successful writer of the moving pictures has a flare for writing characters we can all root for. His writing is often funny and always riveting. This book reminded me of the summer blockbusters created by Steven Spielberg. Cold Storage is a fast, funny, and enjoyable ride.
December 30, 2019
Quality literature? probably not...
Wholely original? not really...
Scientifically accurate? nope...
Funny, edge-of-you-seat-thrilling, unapologetic fun? Hell yes!!
Wholely original? not really...
Scientifically accurate? nope...
Funny, edge-of-you-seat-thrilling, unapologetic fun? Hell yes!!
September 24, 2020
David Koepp’s nasty-but-fun little horror-comedy novel “Cold Storage” will make one rethink putting mushrooms on your pizza ever again.
The story starts in 1987, Australian outback. A chunk of Skylab crashlands near a small town where every inhabitant has suddenly died. Roberto Diaz and a team of U.S. military bio-terror investigators arrive to find that a seemingly innocuous fungus has mutated into a horrific super-fungal extinction-level biohazard. They manage to contain it, barely.
Fast forward thirty-two years. Two twenty-something security guards---one a pothead ex-con and the other a single mother putting herself through vet school---stumbles upon a deep subbasement beneath the storage rental place in which they work. Something is beeping down there. According to the outdated computers, there is a “breach” in sublevel 4.
Hundreds of miles away, a sixty-something-year-old Diaz is awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call he prayed he would never get.
Thus begins a fast-paced, exciting, hilarious, and strangely moving B-grade space-fungus monster movie/romantic comedy that, despite the fact that it probably shouldn’t, works extremely well.
Take Michael Crichton’s “The Andromeda Strain”, throw in the old 1958 Steve McQueen classic “The Blob”, a pinch of Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard, and, for good measure, an adorable contemporary rom-com (in my mind, I dream-cast Donald Glover and Amanda Seyfried in the lead roles), and you have the makings for one of the most fun horror novels by a debut author that I have read in years.
I can’t wait for the inevitable movie.
The story starts in 1987, Australian outback. A chunk of Skylab crashlands near a small town where every inhabitant has suddenly died. Roberto Diaz and a team of U.S. military bio-terror investigators arrive to find that a seemingly innocuous fungus has mutated into a horrific super-fungal extinction-level biohazard. They manage to contain it, barely.
Fast forward thirty-two years. Two twenty-something security guards---one a pothead ex-con and the other a single mother putting herself through vet school---stumbles upon a deep subbasement beneath the storage rental place in which they work. Something is beeping down there. According to the outdated computers, there is a “breach” in sublevel 4.
Hundreds of miles away, a sixty-something-year-old Diaz is awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call he prayed he would never get.
Thus begins a fast-paced, exciting, hilarious, and strangely moving B-grade space-fungus monster movie/romantic comedy that, despite the fact that it probably shouldn’t, works extremely well.
Take Michael Crichton’s “The Andromeda Strain”, throw in the old 1958 Steve McQueen classic “The Blob”, a pinch of Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard, and, for good measure, an adorable contemporary rom-com (in my mind, I dream-cast Donald Glover and Amanda Seyfried in the lead roles), and you have the makings for one of the most fun horror novels by a debut author that I have read in years.
I can’t wait for the inevitable movie.
July 30, 2021
I never thought I’d hear myself say this. And you’re going to think I’m nuts. But ok here it goes. Zombies are real! Yes. I said it. Zombies are real. Don’t laugh at me and don’t shake your head in protest because what I say is a fact. Yes friends, zombies are 100% real.
You’re probably thinking right now as you read my review, “this chic is certifiably crazy!” Ok, perhaps but that’s a debate for another day. Just know this, I would not shit you! I only speak the truth. And it’s an absolute fact, the dead really do walk - zombies are real.
If you don’t believe me, pick up this freakishly fantastic read by David Koepp titled Cold Storage. But I must warn you, it’s horrifically scary due to it’s factual infusion of science coupled with a light salting of urban legend satire - together it pulls at your inner child to make a tasty, decadent adult dish of a phobia - a dish best served cold.
Cold Storage is hands down a 5+star read and the newest addition to my favorite books of all time list. But I must warn you - read it with caution. Heed my warning that Cold Storage is a book to which nightmares are made of. It is my hope that you will read and enjoy it as much as I did. And another positive, after you’ve read Cold Storage, you like myself, will be 💯 prepared for the future zombie apocalypse. 5+stars❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👏🏻👏🏻
You’re probably thinking right now as you read my review, “this chic is certifiably crazy!” Ok, perhaps but that’s a debate for another day. Just know this, I would not shit you! I only speak the truth. And it’s an absolute fact, the dead really do walk - zombies are real.
If you don’t believe me, pick up this freakishly fantastic read by David Koepp titled Cold Storage. But I must warn you, it’s horrifically scary due to it’s factual infusion of science coupled with a light salting of urban legend satire - together it pulls at your inner child to make a tasty, decadent adult dish of a phobia - a dish best served cold.
Cold Storage is hands down a 5+star read and the newest addition to my favorite books of all time list. But I must warn you - read it with caution. Heed my warning that Cold Storage is a book to which nightmares are made of. It is my hope that you will read and enjoy it as much as I did. And another positive, after you’ve read Cold Storage, you like myself, will be 💯 prepared for the future zombie apocalypse. 5+stars❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👏🏻👏🏻
October 5, 2019
A highly mutative and contagious organism sample is contained and buried in a military cold storage sub-basement repository after killing all the residents of a remote Western Australian town.
Long forgotten and decades later the facility has become a self storage unit facility for people’s belongings or their personal ‘ junk’. The security guards on night duty monitoring the security screens at the storage facility stumble upon a hidden sub-basement after hearing an unknown sensor beeping in a hidden control panel. They climb down to the hidden sub-basement and discover the organism has found it’s way out of its confinement and is on a feeding rampage as well as a wild deer roaming the hallways and using the lift!
Roberto Diaz a former bioterrorism operative that was involved in the first encounter decades ago is summoned out of his retirement to investigate. There was no bioweapon anywhere with anything even remotely close to the kind of lethality in this organism. Naomi Williams and Travis ‘ Teacake’ Meacham the security guards at the facility, an unlikely pair assist Diaz to contain the fungus and it’s ‘hosts'.
The story is terrifying and cleverly written science fiction with some comical elements thrown in as well as some oddball but likeable characters, it was a page turner for me and an entertaining read.
Thank you to Netgalley & Harlequin Australia for the ARC
Long forgotten and decades later the facility has become a self storage unit facility for people’s belongings or their personal ‘ junk’. The security guards on night duty monitoring the security screens at the storage facility stumble upon a hidden sub-basement after hearing an unknown sensor beeping in a hidden control panel. They climb down to the hidden sub-basement and discover the organism has found it’s way out of its confinement and is on a feeding rampage as well as a wild deer roaming the hallways and using the lift!
Roberto Diaz a former bioterrorism operative that was involved in the first encounter decades ago is summoned out of his retirement to investigate. There was no bioweapon anywhere with anything even remotely close to the kind of lethality in this organism. Naomi Williams and Travis ‘ Teacake’ Meacham the security guards at the facility, an unlikely pair assist Diaz to contain the fungus and it’s ‘hosts'.
The story is terrifying and cleverly written science fiction with some comical elements thrown in as well as some oddball but likeable characters, it was a page turner for me and an entertaining read.
Thank you to Netgalley & Harlequin Australia for the ARC
September 22, 2019
*3-3.5 stars. Look out! The fungus is among us! This is a nail-biting, page-turning thriller about a fungus that returns from a space mission having learned some fast-growing, oozy adaptations and threatens life on Earth as we know it. It is contained by a government agency and then forgotten about until thirty years later, when it finds a way to be free again. Three unlikely characters team up to try to contain it. The tension builds and builds but is occasionally relieved by a funny moment and a light touch of romance.
David Koepp is well known for his exciting, edge-of-your-seat screenwriting (think Jurassic Park and many others) and those writing talents show in his debut novel, right down to the tick-tick-tick ending. I'm sure someone will see great movie potential here.
David Koepp is well known for his exciting, edge-of-your-seat screenwriting (think Jurassic Park and many others) and those writing talents show in his debut novel, right down to the tick-tick-tick ending. I'm sure someone will see great movie potential here.
June 16, 2023
3.5*
Jurassic Park scenaristo debiutas. Neblogas, bet galvoju, gal filmas visgi būtų įdomesnis. Man trūko įtampos...nors tas elnias lifte...
Trys nepažystamieji bando gelbėti planetą...na, ne nuo viruso, bet nuo žudančio visą kas gyva grybelio, kuris bando pasprukti iš prieš kelis dešimtmečius palaidoto po žeme rūsio.
Jurassic Park scenaristo debiutas. Neblogas, bet galvoju, gal filmas visgi būtų įdomesnis. Man trūko įtampos...nors tas elnias lifte...
Trys nepažystamieji bando gelbėti planetą...na, ne nuo viruso, bet nuo žudančio visą kas gyva grybelio, kuris bando pasprukti iš prieš kelis dešimtmečius palaidoto po žeme rūsio.
August 12, 2019
This is one riotous read that made me laugh with 'did that just happen' moments and kept me entertained from start to finish.
Set in a small town in Australia, a local man has made a little extra cash over the years by displaying bits of wreckage from spaceships that have broken upon returning to Earth from missions in space. Well, one too many rub ups to make a bit gleam a little just sets off a reaction with a hi-jacker that had returned with it. The deadly organism thrives on any living thing in order to rapidly expand. Bioterror Operative Roberto Diaz becomes the hero of the hour, destroying the whole town and containing a sample of the fungus in an underground government storage facility.
Decades later Diaz receives the dreaded call to say it is on the loose again. The determined fungus had found a way out. Diaz heads for the facility while two young security employees try to hold the fort and stay alive.
There are some spectacular moments as the fungus learns from its hosts, some which make quite hilarious moments. Loved the thoughts of the deer from death to well death and the bizarre ways that it managed to get around.
A very entertaining read, very visual, violent but at times lighthearted. There were even backdrop stories on the characters and time for a little romance to blossom. A brilliant read. Hope to see more from this talented writer.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e=copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.
Set in a small town in Australia, a local man has made a little extra cash over the years by displaying bits of wreckage from spaceships that have broken upon returning to Earth from missions in space. Well, one too many rub ups to make a bit gleam a little just sets off a reaction with a hi-jacker that had returned with it. The deadly organism thrives on any living thing in order to rapidly expand. Bioterror Operative Roberto Diaz becomes the hero of the hour, destroying the whole town and containing a sample of the fungus in an underground government storage facility.
Decades later Diaz receives the dreaded call to say it is on the loose again. The determined fungus had found a way out. Diaz heads for the facility while two young security employees try to hold the fort and stay alive.
There are some spectacular moments as the fungus learns from its hosts, some which make quite hilarious moments. Loved the thoughts of the deer from death to well death and the bizarre ways that it managed to get around.
A very entertaining read, very visual, violent but at times lighthearted. There were even backdrop stories on the characters and time for a little romance to blossom. A brilliant read. Hope to see more from this talented writer.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e=copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.
May 10, 2019
Cold Storage is a book that is very light on the character development but heavy on the plot and action. We meet a group of agents who are investigating a fungal bioterror that takes over people's bodies and causes horrific things to happen. The book follows a series of characters as they deal with the fungus. The book has some shocking moments and some interesting twists and turns but the book was a bit too light on the emotional investment that I like to experience when reading most novels.
October 18, 2021
Recommended by Blake Crouch and Stephen King, this was the perfect encapsulation of an organic biohazard emergency.
A fungus accidentally sent into space on Skylab, mutates and becomes 100% lethal with a newfound taste for humans.
If that's not enough to pique your interest, the author is also a successful screenwriter behind a couple movies you may have heard of, including Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, Spider Man and War of the Worlds to name a few.
Highly recommend and really hope this gets made into a movie.
A fungus accidentally sent into space on Skylab, mutates and becomes 100% lethal with a newfound taste for humans.
If that's not enough to pique your interest, the author is also a successful screenwriter behind a couple movies you may have heard of, including Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, Spider Man and War of the Worlds to name a few.
Highly recommend and really hope this gets made into a movie.
January 20, 2024
I was entertained and creeped out at the same time. Laughs and cringes (the good kind).
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