Snowfall

Snowfall #1

by Mitchell Smith

Snowfall features another sharp-tongued, uncompromising heroine, Catania Olsen. She is the doctor for and spiritual guardian of a band of hunters who live at the edge of a great Wall of ice in what was once Colorado. In the country of the Trappers, books are hand-copied so that knowledge may be preserved, but the technology described in their precious pages is mostly lost to their fur-clad readers, despite Catania's attempts at scientific treatment and the Trappers' careful husbanding of ancient metal tools.As a resurgent population moves west and north from the more settled places that had once been the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the United States, they drive tribesmen-Cree, Arapaho, and more-before them. On the run and desperate to find new homes, the tribes slaughter entire populations to claim their lands. The Trappers are innocent of this until Jack Monroe, banished years before for murdering a fellow Trapper, arrives, urging them to flee their ancestral home, the Trappers do not listen until nearly too late, until the first enemy arrows have found their marks.The southern flight of the surviving Trappers is a journey through time as well as space. From a frozen northland where summer lasts two chilly weeks through a burgeoning forest where the Trappers taste their first beef to a gulf coast where warm breezes carry exotic scents and sounds; from a primitive life of hunting and trapping to the luxurious Gardens, where people can still weave and make paper, to a bustling trade mart where man-beasts created by unnatural science tread the dirt streets, Catania is shocked to recognize that the proud Trappers have spent generations clinging to civilization with their fingernails.The journey into the warm lands will change Doctor Catania Olsen, mind, heart, and soul. She will gain and lose a love, see great wisdom and greater folly, witness amazing miracles and terrifying science, and, most surprising to herself, become a mother. Finally, she will have to choose between her people and her freedom.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic, Apocalyptic, Fiction, Dystopia, Epic Fantasy

320 pages, ebook

First published February 23, 2002

About the author

Mitchell Smith is an American author writing crime fiction and science fiction.

Also known as Roy LeBeau.

Reviews

[Kivrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise of this one. Hundreds (?) of years after Earth has entered another Ice Age, people use copy-books (books that have been hand copied over and over and over again) for learning. The Hunters who are the focus of this book are a small clan who live high in the mountains mostly in isolation. I liked the beginning (their home and way of life are destroyed and they flee south and encounter different pockets of civilizations), but I didn't think the characterizations were that great. It was a chore to finish so I won't be continuing on with the series.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this series is probably one of the most boring I have ever encountered. I'm not sure why I am still trying to slog my way through Kingdom's River. There isn't a single character I care about and the writing is tedious. Especially the constant references to "warm-time". Who cares?

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books (trilogy)

Excellent characterization, beautiful and believable world-building; good conflict and intense moments. The overall trilogy is grand in scope and each book tells a distinct story with characters I care about and who make good and bad choices.

Such good writing! I read a lot of very good and very bad stories and this trilogy stands on top of the very good pile. Because it’s so hard to find great or even decent sci-fi/speculative fiction I’m often picking this series up again. Kinda like watching a favorite movie yet again.

I just wish I could find more stories like this.

[Chris Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly convincing post apocalyptic novel of life in North America, where glaciers have claimed half the country, and populations on the move root out other weaker elements and take their territory.

I've had the second volume (Kingdom River) on my shelves for a while and when I saw this was available electronically through Hoopla, I thought I would give it a shot. Glad I did as it is an excellent read and though it stands alone I will eagerly delve in to #2.

Smith has no compunction killing off characters and I think the book is stronger for it - this life is hard and this is how it goes.

Fine read.

[Raygina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't what I thought it was going to be. Overall I found it to be a strange, sad story and I came very close to just giving up on it.

[Cynthia Breisch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was fascinated by the world, and bored by the characters. Catania lacked depth. There were some mystical elements, but they were not very well fleshed out, and seemed to have no purpose.

[Jeff Turney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty solid book, action packed, good story and characters.

[Kristine L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've seen snails move faster than this slog. Wake me when it's over. Yawn.

[Andy Janes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda weird, but I enjoyed it. Was a good random grab at a used book store. But not sure I need to read the sequel.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Publishers Weekly: Suspense novelist Smith (Reprisal) delivers a dark, creepy tale of human survival set several hundred years after an apocalypse caused by a change in Jupiter's orbit. Almost a sci-fi yarn without the gadgets and gizmos, Smith's thriller focuses on groups of people kicked backwards down the stairs of knowledge and discovery, trying to maintain a society in the face of starvation and invasion. North America is divided geographically by an ice wall a mile high that runs east to west, and culturally by competing clans, fiefdoms and kingdoms that trade and war with each other constantly. The Trappers are a fur-clad band of hunters who live in the frozen wasteland of the Colorado mountains. Their knowledge and language come from stories told by elders and from a few old books salvaged after the apocalypse generations before. When invaders from the north penetrate the ice wall, the Trappers are attacked and displaced from their territory. Under the leadership of a renegade named Jack Monroe and a doctor, Catania Olsen, the Trappers flee south toward the unknown lands of the Warm-time people. Through harsh and unfamiliar terrain, the desperate Trappers journey to find a sanctuary where they may live in peace, but they meet only death and brutality at every step. Amid the blood and gore of barbaric battles, costly encounters with more advanced societies and bitter character conflicts, Smith reads the palm of the future and finds that it looks none too bright. From Library Journal: Since the catastrophe that collapsed civilization and caused a new Ice Age, the Trappers have inhabited a snowbound world for generations. When an invading tribe slaughters most of them, Jack Monroe, a former outcast, and Catania Olsen, a self-taught doctor, form an unlikely partnership to take the survivors to the warmer southern lands. This latest novel by Smith (Reprisal) explores the resilience of the human spirit in a world where book learning is almost nonexistent and survival is the order of the day. Fans of survival fiction and sf adventure will enjoy this tale of courage and persistence. For most sf and general fiction collections.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Good: A very interesting treatment of aspects of the basic survival instincts and needs--food, shelter, sex, companionship, love. Self-centeredness of each grouping of people was also a theme. After reading Villette and Snowfall simultaneously, it would be quite interesting to compare the two! One of my intense curiosities while reading Snowfall was that the people had all sorts of "Warm-time" written resources, but didn't speak the Warm-time language -- just used a word or phrase here and there. Another not developed, but interesting aspect of the book setting were the various "cultures" developing in various parts of the continent through isolation and interaction (or lack of it). These people seemed to be "going backwards" and it was almost as though the author read my mind because he addressed this very aspect.

The Bad: The characters were portrayed as valuing manners and courtesy, yet didn't act out their values (at least by our standards) of manners and courtesy.

The Ugly: Violence, sex, language. Decidedly written for a male audience. Men are from Mars attitudes throughout. Void of the Venus elements. Male readers might consider this a plus.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favorite books, and at least for me, it's one of those books that you read, and you find that it sticks in your brain, and you keep thinking about it months and years after you've read it.

I used to own a paperback copy, which I had read multiple times, and earlier this year I sold off most of my paperback books. I made sure that this series was available in Kindle format, however, before I sold my paperback copy.

What I like most about this book is that the author immerses you in a post-apocalyptic world, set in the future United States during a new ice age. Very little information is given (at first) about WHY the planet is experiencing another ice age, but the author does a fantastic job of creating complex and interesting characters who live in brutal and unforgiving times.

I enjoy the other books in the series as well, but in my opinion they aren't as good as this book.

[Robert Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a strange hook for me. I found it on the barracks trade shelf at the Presido of Monterey my last tour there in 2002. (It's where soldiers leave books when they're done and have a nice swap system in place.)

I read it and enjoyed it very much, and some themes stuck with me after I passed it off to a buddy. I don't know why some scenes stuck so well in my head, but over the years many of the descriptive passages would come back to me. Unfortunately, after passing the book off, I promptly forgot the title.

I finally decided to do some searching on the Internet and found it in the Kindle store. I am very happy to have it in my possession again and still enjoy the primitive aspects of the future civilization interspersed with aspects of today's world.

Hats off to Mitchell Smith for great book.

[Jennybeast · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ice age returneth! Compelling, interesting, I enjoyed it, like, you know, the Postman, or Waterworld. Too much violence and death for me to want to continue with the trilogy, though I suspect the next book might be better, as it looks more magically inclined. It reminds of Annie Dillard's The Living, about the early pioneer days of Washington state. I hate that book. This one was marginally better because I like post apocalyptic settings, and at least one character does live throughout the entire book. There, I spoiled it for you.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of a trilogy and I was pleasantly surprised. The genre is fantasy, but unlike some in this genre, it wasn't too "out-there" for me. Set in the future by about 500 years, people are struggling to survive, since the earth was plunged into another ice age due to comets hitting Jupiter (no other details given about what happened). Interesting story & characters and the plot moves along. The survivors are basically caught in a "turf war" with different factions of people. We'll see how the second book goes...

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I learned is that the author is an excellent writer. I consider any book good that keeps me engrossed until the very end. Now it is not high literature - if it was I probably wouldn't have read the whole thing. Because it wouldn't keep me engrossed. I don't identify long winded soliloquies about evil or fate or whatever...Why I'm attracted to post-apoctalyptic or just apocalyptic stories I don't know. Unless it's because I see my own life as a post-apocalytic one, after a traumatic childhood.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not know this was the first book in a trilogy until after I read it. It did seem incomplete and I am not sure why it was called Snowfall because it seems the snow fell a long time before this book started. I would like to read a prequel to this because the coming of another iceage was really interesting but this was more like a long time after and everyone is used to the weather by then.
I might read the sequels but since everyone dies off all the time there aren't many people to get attached to.

[Zedsdead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Soft apocalypse, set during an ice age several centuries from now. Tells the story of the virtual annihilation of a settlement of Trappers who live at the edge of a North American glacier, mostly from the point of view of the Trappers' young scarred female warrior/doctor.

It takes a really interesting look at our civilization, technology, and language through outside-eyes. Smith has built an excellent world that just feels right. Real. Reminds me of the first Jean Auel "Cave Bear" novel, but with a lot less tedious exposition.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the far future the world is quite different after meteors have created a prolonged ice age. Books are nearly non-existent since they have not survived the long winter. But the spirit of surviving humans lives strong. This is the first book in the Snowfall trilogy.

The plot and characters are extremely strong and the paceing excellent. I was continually surprised at the various cultures and survival methods of the people in different parts of the land that was at one time the US.

The first book is a triumph in creating a very convincing post-apocalyptic world.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat different spin on the post-apocalyptic tale, which I am an enormous fan of. However, quite a few of the characters are one-dimensional and flat, and (this goes for the entire series) I got SO TIRED of them all constantly pointing out that this word or that phrase was a perfect "warm-time" word/phrase, as if they weren't speaking English throughout, which all came from "warm-time." Yes, I get that this is the future and things are different now. You don't need to remind me every three pages.

[Janet]

While reading it, I liked it but also found myself quibbling with the ecology of the Trappers' world. After I finished it, I found that I kept thinking about the different societies he creates in his post-apocalyptic world. Much of the book takes place in the first one, the Trappers, which was the least interesting to me. I should get the sequel to learn more about the others. I really enjoy the main narrator, Doctor Catania Olsen. She's tough, and wise.

[Hayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of the story was interesting, based on bands of humans surviving many years after a new ice age. Modern society, beliefs and technology had been lost and humans reverted back to a more savage life. Pretty much what humans would have been like thousands of years ago.

Some of the characters had a slight depth to them, but the majority were flat. The story had great potential but I found the ending to be a bit disappointing. An average read overall.

[Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago at my mom's recommendation and totally loved the entire trilogy. If I go all Hollywood and "The Player", this is Hunger Games meets Lonesome Dove. Very interesting trilogy...post-apocolyptic, I THINK, or maybe after Global Chilling, if that's a phrase we can even recognize. Fun for those of use who like this stuff. Loved it and will re-read (after a few more years), which I do not say often.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise for a series. Jupiter's orbit gets messed up, causing another Ice Age. Strong characters, and good pacing. This installment set up the world and the characters, it will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

[Michael]

Just a book for entertainment (feeding my love of postapocalyptic mayhem). Not as well written as "The Passage" but Smith does build an engaging world even though it feels at times he is trying too hard.

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good adventure with some good world- and society-building. The people on the cover of the paperback were far too 'pretty" and did not match my vision of the characters in any way.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good one. Like a post-apocalyptic Clan of the Cave Bear. Part of a series.

[George Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

[Sharon Zink · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book about a time hundreds of years in the future in a new Ice Age set in the former United States. Describes life, travel, and the dispersal of a small tribe in the Rocky Mountains.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, solid post-apocalypse tale of escape and journeying. Some of the sentence structures were a little hard for me to understand and made for slower reading.