In a delightful blend of speculative science in the vein of Michael Crichton and cheesy horror a la Hunter Shea, Cold Storage by David Koepp follows two unlikely heroes as they come face to face with a deadly, adaptive organism whose danger has been all but forgotten.
Decades in the past, the tiny town of Kiwakurra, Australia is decimated by a mutated organism, dubbed Novus, capable of taking over hosts in order to propagate. Two American military specialists bring back a contained sample that is subsequently stored in a mountain warehouse in the deepest depths where the temperature is naturally cold year-round. The temperatures keep the organism in a state of near dormancy. The section housing the danger has been cemented off and forgotten. The warehouse was long since sold to the private sector and turned into storage units. But now those underground depths are warming up thanks to climate change, and Novus has awoken.
I adored this story! I don’t want to give away what the organism really is, but it just made my day. There was enough science plausibility to make this a frightening read, but it was tempered by the interactions of Teacake and Naomi, our two unwitting protagonists, with one another and with the infected. They are both working at the storage complex the night the temperature rise triggered the sensors in sub-basement four. Attempting to locate the source of the alarm, and following it down bring them face to face with Novus. Their call for help brings Roberto Diaz, one of the two military specialists who brought in the organism way back when. He and his former partner are the only ones alive who truly appreciate how dangerous Novus is. Teacake and Naomi are swiftly converted believers though! The three of them have their work cut out for them in containing and neutralising the threat. I really loved how Teacake changed and grew into himself over the course of this single traumatic night, and glad Roberto was able to in turn give Teacake a better future. Highly recommended!
***Reviewed for the Tulsa Book Review.
