Book Review: Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley
Disclaimer: The version of this book I read was an Advanced Reader Copy provided to me in exchange for a review.
I do take the time to read all of the emails I get pitching books that authors/agents/publishers want me to review. However; I very rarely accept the ARCs or promise reviews for them. In part because my posting schedule has been so spotty over the last two years that I don’t want to commit to something I can’t follow through with, and in part because I already have a pretty lengthy TBR as is, but this one really stuck out to me and I decided to give it a try.
Deep Freeze is a near future sci-fi thriller where the main character, John Reiff suffers an accident that leaves him submerged in freezing water seemingly with an impossible chance at survival. He then wakes up in a hospital where secrets are clearly being kept from him. He soon realizes that his life may be in danger if he doesn’t quickly figure out who to trust. The story is told in part from his perspective and in part from the perspective of the researchers and doctors who worked to bring him back to life. Grumley uses this novel to tell an action packed story, but he also takes the opportunity to prompt the reader to ponder why people desire immortality at all and what that even looks like. For instance, is it worthwhile to live forever if it doesn’t come with the vitality of youth?
This was a fairly fast and gripping read for me. The short chapters made the pacing of the story feel more exciting especially with alternating POVs. I felt that the author toed the line pretty well between explaining the more scientific aspects of the work being done while staying accessible to those without any previous knowledge on the subject.
This book is clearly set up for a series, but this story was also wrapped up enough to leave the reader satisfied. In fact, it almost felt like a prequel with how much you can clearly tell it’s aiming to become something much bigger. I would actually love to read a prequel novella following any of the characters through their personal histories or large scale changes to society that had occurred in the 20 years prior to the main story in this book.
Partially because it feels like we’ve only scratched the surface of the characters and the status of civilization but there’s space for that to be fleshed out in subsequent books. Really, most of my critiques were out of a desire for more information and more world building and I’m happy to continue reading the series as it’s released to give Grumley the opportunity to provide that additional information.
Overall, it’s a fun read and one that kept me hooked enough to read “just one more chapter” late at night when I should have been sleeping instead. I’d recommend this to readers of Andy Weir or Blake Crouch, or anyone looking to dip their toe into science fiction but who may be intimidated by the subject matter. I gave this one 4/5 stars.
If you’re interested in reading Deep Freeze you can purchase it here from my favorite bookstore.
