A lot is promised in Deep Freeze‘s summary. A sci-fi thriller exploring “humanity’s thirst for immortality” within the bounds of cryogenics. A man being lied to by his doctors. Secrets, puzzles, and a mysterious person or group behind it all. For the most part, it meets these measures. Unfortunately, Deep Freeze was not the book I wanted it to be.
| Title: Deep Freeze | Author: Michael C. Grumley |
| Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller | Publisher: Tor Forge |
| Release Date: March 26, 2024 | Page Count: 336 |
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of the Breakthrough series: In his next near-future thriller, Michael C. Grumley explores humanity’s thirst for immortality—at any cost…
The accident came quickly. With no warning. In the dead of night, a precipitous plunge into a freezing river trapped everyone inside the bus. It was then that Army veteran John Reiff’s life came to an end. Extinguished in the sudden rush of frigid water.
There was no expectation of survival. None. Let alone waking up beneath blinding hospital lights. Struggling to move, or see, or even breathe. But the doctors assure him that everything is normal. That things will improve. And yet, he has this nagging feeling that there’s something they’re not telling him.
As Reiff’s mind and body gradually recover, he becomes certain that the doctors are lying to him. One-by-one, puzzle pieces are slowly falling into place, and he soon realizes that things are not at all what they seem. Critical information is being kept from him. Secrets. Supposedly for his own good. But Who is doing this? Why? And the most important question: can he keep himself alive long enough to uncover the truth?
Review:
The summary for Deep Freeze is written from John Reiff’s perspective, but I wouldn’t call him the main character in the book. The main character in this book is Rachel, a vascular surgeon. Rachel and her colleagues are working in a secret lab to try to reverse cryogenically frozen patients. Their first human test subject is John Reiff, unbeknownst to him.
Rachel is one of the only women characters in this book, and her characterization is honestly a mess. Her personality shifts with the wind, making her feel completely unbelievable. To have such little female representation in the book and then for it to be haphazard was so disappointing. About 70% into the book, we learn that the world has actually hit a dystopian era and that it has been that way for quite some time. How a young woman like Rachel was able to become a medical doctor, let alone a vascular surgeon, in a dystopian society is not explained.
However, the most significant flaws in Deep Freeze, for me, revolved around the animal test subjects. I’m pretty open about the fact that my main potential “no” when reading is animal death, particularly companion animal death. In Deep Freeze, Rachel has various animal test subjects that she cares for. These animals include mice, rabbits, a pig, a small dog, and various-sized monkeys. She even names one of the monkeys after her grandfather. I will not spoil what happens to them, but I will say that not all of them survive. I was not prepared for these deaths. I probably should have known after they were first introduced and just stopped reading then. Alas, next time I will be better prepared.
Audiobook:
The audiobook was a redeeming factor of this book. I enjoyed the narrator, Scott Brick. Scott Brick is in Audible’s Narrator Hall of Fame, so it’s no surprise I liked his narration. He narrated Crichton’s Jurassic Park, which sounds like a fun time.
Final Thoughts:
Man, I wish I had loved this. I really wish I had. I do think there is a reader base for this author – it’s just not me.
Rating: 2.5/5 stars – rounded up to 3 for all starred ratings
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced review copy. All the above thoughts are my own.
#COYER
Audiobook Challenge
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