COLD BLOODED: A Cold Rush Novella

by Rohan O'Duill, Marten Norr (illustrator)

“Don’t mistake my silence for weakness. No one plans a murder out loud.”

Veteran Marine Mint only worries about one thing—herself. But after being ordered back to the front lines, she has a decision to make—stand up and do the right thing, or finally get what she always wanted.

Fifteen-year-old Frida lives in deep space on a pirate vessel. Her father is a dissident warrior who fights the corporations running the system. When a corporation battle cruiser catches up to the ageing pirate vessel, death appears to be the only escape.

A gripping tale of war, survival, and corporate exploitation in the depths of space. Filled with bone-crunching action and unexpected twists, 'Cold Blooded' will keep you on the edge of your seat until the bloody end. Melding the best of 'The Expanse' style deep-space battles and corporate greed with the class struggle of 'Red Rising', fans will love this riveting sci-fi adventure. Grab your copy now.

Cold Blooded is part of the Cold Rush universe, but can be read as standalone and in any order. The book is printed in a dyslexic friendly font, making the page count slightly longer than normal.

Genres: Science Fiction

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2025

About the author

Rohan is an Irish science fiction author descended from the oral storytellers of both the ancient Celts and Vikings… probably. Telling stories has been an essential part of human culture for thousands of years. Stories give us joy but they also teach us lessons and pass wisdom down through the generations.

That yearning to become a storyteller started young in Rohan, but a school system designed for academics and not the chaotic brilliance of a dyslexic mind stymied that aspiration.

But that smoldering desire to pass on stories, to express his creative soul, couldn't be contained. Inspired by the words of Rohan’s doppelganger Commander Riker, “Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy,” he started to write. At first Rohan spewed words onto the page like he had contracted the simian flu. But, with the help of his friends, Rohan began to sculpt those words into something palpable, something both ancient and new. An invite to everyone to share in the story and, most importantly, have some fun.

Reviews

[Rohan O'Duill · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the author of this book it would not be right to rate the book itself. But I can tell you that I loved every minute of creating this novella.
This was the first time I worked with an editor the whole way through a project. And while I'm sure I broke his heart on many occasions he never let it show.
I had so much fun creating this book with my editor Dale Stromberg and my beta readers Zilla Novikov, Rachel A Rosen, Nick Snape, TK Topin, Tucker Lieberman and Bryan Chaffin.
And on top of that it was so rewarding to work with the artists Lonnie Busch, Marten Norr and Rachel A Rosen to bring the multiple covers and interior illustrations to life.
Thanks to the team at Lower Decks Press comprising of Emma and Jason.
What an amazing journey this has been. Thanks so much to everyone else who supported me along the way. I can't mention all of you, but you know who you are. ❤️❤️❤️

[I. Merey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woof, the heinous get punished heinously! I gulped this book--I'm a fan of action and perhaps relate a bit too much to the tired characters that still got a fight (or three) left in 'em. >.> Mint is a middle-aged Marine hanging out in a fairly cushy training job, beyond the outer reaches of our solar system (AKA, the Cold). Bjorn is her ex friend-in-arms who's gone pirate: COLD-BLOODED follows their paths crossing again, forced to marionette in lethal space-skirmishes for valuable minerals and with psychopathically rich masters they must appease. O'Duill's writing is fun and cuts to the chase, but doesn't skimp on character development and real emotion. [Another, perhaps rather weird? aside is that the author manages to get in some DISTURBING imagery, so if you enjoy Equilibrium sashimi-ing the guy's face clean off type off ....CREATIVE violence, you'll get that in here too!] But it's not gratuitous: COLD-BLOODED punishes the wicked, but shows it's the (however imperfect) good who have to live and die by their machinations. Despite the deep-space setting, O'Duill's novella hits a chord that's dangerously current... There's blood, there's guts, there's sweat... there's tears. Read it!! [Also: MINT <33333333333333333333333333333]

[Rachel Ashera Rosen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Military sci-fi with intelligence and heart, "Cold Blooded" is a fast-paced, brutal followup to the first Cold Rush novella, "Cold Rising" (you don't need to read them in order). A tale of corporate greed, resistance, and madness in the unforgiving environment of space, come for the Marines vs. pirates pew pew pew, and stay for the absolutely devastating ending. Witty and badass, this story never loses sight of either the cruelty of physics or the humanity of its characters.

[Zilla Novikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rohan delivers another epic space adventure - this time with mechs and a race for meteorites. His trademark wit and sense of fun are on full display with captivating characters, and the plot keeps you hooked. Loved it!

[T.K. Toppin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast-paced military sci-fi/space opera with heart. Delving into the human perspective and fallout effects from corporate greed, politics, and machinations. We follow the life of Mint, a hardened and seasoned officer as she just tries to navigate through life closed off and in numbness. She soon realises that this isn't the way as forces seem determined to change the course of her life. From cold rush games in full mech suits, to determine which side conquers a mineral-rich asteroids, visceral action and truly memorable characters. After reading the first book in the Cold Rush series, I was eager to dig into this this...and was not disappointed!

[Pete Aldin · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first glance, this appears to be a YA book (mainly because it's short and it has that beautiful cover art), but it isn't. This is Grimdark adult sci-fi at its finest. Graphic, bloody, raw, frenetic at times, large-than-life but also believable.

With Cold Blooded, author Rohan O'Duill cuts out all the fluff and focuses on the two essentials of an engaging story: character and plot. The one drives the other, always, in harmony with each other.

Mint is a character I can relate to in the beginning: older, jaded by year upon year of watching the same mistakes made around her without any ability to affect the decision-making of higher ups. She is true to her own code in the midst of this, and as the book progresses, is forced away from that code and onto a deeper, hitherto ignored one.

This book has it all: sociopathic bureaucracy and leadership, corporate battles over resources, gladiatorial combat, and deeper down the contrast between those who've pragmatically given into the way things are with those actively battling against it.

I loved the acceptance of and use of physics in this book, particularly during zero-g fighting. I enjoyed the final climactic battle.

But one of my favourite things about this was its embracing of consequences. Some authors go for flesh wounds (or for ridiculously implausible wounds to shoulders and stomachs that are easily healed). No spoilers, folks, but when people get hurt in this book, THEY GET HURT. And they stay hurt. Just like in real life.

Very good book.

[D.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really solid read. Second novel by Rohan O'Duill and just as engaging as the first.
Was left a bit shellshocked though. This universe is brutal and takes no prisoners (and if they do they tend to be executed one way or another) ... can't wait for the next one.

[Ian Welke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, fast paced, great mech scifi. Can't wait to read the sequel.

[Lori Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as a review copy from Booksirens, this is an honest review. Cold Blooded is a breathtaking adventure colored not only by the expansive universe Frida, Bjorn or for fiery willed soldier named Mint call home; but for the poignant complications each face over the course of the story with none of choices being either black and white.


Highly recommended.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping read from the first paragraph, I was transported to the Cold and immersed entirely in its world and characters. It pure happenstance that had just finished The Foundation Trilogy (again) the day I started reading this and I felt I’d got a free upgrade to 1st class. The only problem is waiting for another installment.

[Macdara Glynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well paced and enjoyable world building

From the early shorts to the recent novellas, there is obviously a large world in the mind of the author, and we are being guided along into its various factions, cultures and social orders. All these seen from a first person perspective of individuals. Great world building.

We are building towards something big in the world, but as a standalone book Cold Blooded is great fun. Well paced and reaches a wild conclusion.

More please!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free.
I wanted to first start off by warning any potential future readers that this book contains elements of LGBTQ+ and some non-traditional gender related topics that some readers may not want to engage with, particularly since there is no indication of this until chapter 4, unlike in the first book where this was disclosed in the synopsis. Most of the LGBTQ+ topics are okay from a story perspective, but on the non-traditional gender topics, those felt shoehorned into the story just to check a box, because those topics were a non-consequential sub-plot in the story. These themes however are mild and don’t appear often in the plot.
I really liked the idea of the plot where corporations have skirmishes, Cold Rushes, over asteroid mining rights; it is so dystopian, but it fits so well and is believable. On top of this, it is also televised which deepens the dystopian nature of this culture. This is also set against the backdrop of our solar system and in the shadow of the aftermath of an AI war. The topic of the AI war wasn’t mentioned much, but enough to be relatable to where we maybe heading in real life where a rouge AI causes all sorts of problems for humanity.
The author did a great job with world building, from the harsh mining operations on Mars, to posh stations like Neptune, to “rebellion” activist ships held together with scraps and a prayer, I felt immersed in these places. There were brief discussions of child labor on places like Mars, mostly from Mint recalling her past. This had a core foundation to who Mint was and shaped a lot of her choices throughout the story.
I enjoyed Mint’s personality; she doesn’t take crap from anyone and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. I also admire her principals, such as, keeping the stabilizing bar in her older-generation mech suit, even when all of Mint’s comrades had theirs removed. Her reason for doing this is the pain of the bar digging into her reminds her that outside of her suit, “a whole world of pain awaited [her].” I appreciate the juxtaposed nature of Mint’s post on Neptune Station compared to her being a traditionalist with an old suit, yet she is surrounded with a lot of new tech and suits. One of my favorite environmental aspects was how Mint described the officer’s lounge on Neptune Station, where one entire wall featured a giant display of Neptune’s surface instead of an actual window because the station was continuously spinning to create gravity. This was very believable and the way this and similar elements were put into the story, contributed to the realism and immersion.
I was disappointed that this book wasn’t longer, and it would have been nice to see some of the secondary characters developed more, particularly Cartag. But, I would have also liked to see more from the “shadow” mechs throughout the story too. Also, it does feel like some problems were rushed through fairly quickly, which doesn’t feel realistic because the story clearly makes it seem that most of the marines are dumb. The story also orbited around the idea of “Cold Rush” mining operations but didn’t really get us into the action as much as I would have liked, both in details of the skirmishes and the amount of Cold Rushes we get to read about (even if they were recalled from past events).
The way the chapters were organized were a little annoying and could have been done better, but it was mostly a stylistic choice, and a minor inconvenience. I do however, appreciate that the author had a dyslexia friendly font, which made it nice to read.

[Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold Blooded by Rohan O'Duill transports readers to a vividly imagined future where corporate powers dominate the solar system, wielding unparalleled influence. At the heart of this dynamic setting is Mint, a skilled yet detached marine mech pilot. Once content as an instructor, she is thrust back into action, navigating the chaos of the "Cold Rushes." Her journey takes an unexpected turn when she reunites with her former colleague, Bjorn—now a pirate—and his spirited daughter, Frida. Unexpectedly, Mint finds herself as Frida's reluctant guardian, forcing her to balance survival, loyalty to her friend, and her obligations to her corporate overlords.

What sets Cold Blooded apart is its remarkable ability to function both as a prequel and as a self-contained narrative. Striking a delicate balance, the story seamlessly establishes a foundation for the larger series while delivering a complete and compelling tale in its own right. Far from feeling like a mere setup, the book captivates with dynamic characters, unpredictable plot twists, and gripping conflicts. O'Duill’s storytelling ensures that Cold Blooded stands firmly on its own, an achievement worthy of high praise. Equally impressive is the depth and intricacy of the book's science fiction elements. The richly detailed futuristic worlds, advanced technologies, and innovative equipment are described with a precision that immerses the reader. Every aspect of this universe feels meticulously crafted, reflecting the author’s dedication to thoughtful world-building. The result is a setting that feels authentic and alive, adding a tangible sense of realism to the narrative.

Cold Blooded by Rohan O'Duill offers a thrilling blend of fast-paced action and intricate science fiction, making it an ideal pick for fans of the genre. Whether you’re new to O'Duill's work or already familiar with his universe, this novel delivers an engaging and satisfying experience. Highly recommended for readers who crave immersive storytelling and high-stakes adventure.

[I.K. Stokbaek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold Blooded is set in our solar system in the 24th century, and cooperations are out there mining asteroids, and they’re deploying marines in mech suits to fight for the rocks and the rights to mine them.

I think this is a cool premise. While it’s not set on earth, it shows a plausible dystopian future. The author does a great job of creating an atmosphere of life in a world that is harsh and dangerous and cold for the majority of people, while the elites are playing games with humanity’s future and ordinary people’s lives.

The main character is a kickass lady in her fifties. She’s a marine, and she has depth and history, and I loved this character. Mint is assigned to look after an elite villain called Cartag. I didn’t like the way Cartag was written. I didn’t really understand his motivations, and he didn’t feel quite fleshed out. He was just evil and crazy for the sake of it.

There are other characters that were good. Bjorn, the rebel terrorist, who had more morals than one can really afford to have out there in the cold. And his daughter Frida, who is sort of just dragged along. Nobody asks her. She just wants to live her life and be an normal teenager, and I think her story was quite poignant.

I didn’t realise until the end that there are more books set in this world, and there’s a larger story connected with the events in Cold Blooded. This book works perfectly fine as a standalone, but I wouldn’t mind seeing these characters again, so that’s cool.

Overall, an enjoyable read. The ending was savage. I liked it.

[Luke Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cold Blooded is a military science fiction novella written by Rohan O’Duill. It follows Mint, a marine mech pilot as she is pulled away from her role as an instructor and back into battle. Set far into the future in a world where corporations have all but taken over the solar system and profit rules.

Cold Blooded has a lot of imagination, with plenty of cool ideas floating around its pages. Like a lot of military sci-fi, it is packed with military bravado and tough language that evoke images of Aliens or Predator. Even if the language can feel a little over the top at times and the dialogue needs a little tightening up, it still nevertheless manages to convey the toughness of the universe in which it exists.

Where the novella starts to fall away is in its execution. Cold Blooded could have benefited from being a little longer so that it could spend more time developing the characters. While Mint, Bjorn and Frida do get some characterisation and development, the minor characters are left in the cold. Cartag, one of the main antagonists, is thrown into the mix with very little introduction and as such his presence is hardly felt beyond being a minor thorn in Mint's side.

Combine that with the tendency for obstacles to be nothing but minor inconveniences that are easily solved within a couple chapters, and we have a novella that feels rushed and undercooked.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Nick Snape · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold Blooded – what did I just read? One of the finest military action sci-fi novellas out there. O’Duill takes a sideways look at corporate greed, human desperation and sideswipe at how those with ethical standards are hunted and harried into submission. This is all wrapped up in a superbly structured story that drags the reader in and beats them over the head with brilliant action and characters you either root deeply for, or cheer when they finally get what’s coming to them. Amid all this is Mint who emerges as the central Marine around which the book revolves, and she has to be my favourite character of any military sci-fi book I’ve read (and that’s a lot). And no, she’s not perfect, but that’s the point. A novella that drops you over a huge, mineral-rich asteroid and watches you fight to the finish line. Military sci-fi done right. A superb take on corporation greed and madness in the uncaring vacuum of cold space. And in Mint, a true kick-ass character you can fully relate to. Simply superb.

[T Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate Cold Blooded as a 3 for me only, not necessarily for others. The thing is, I found the story to be very entertaining, even if a based on an old premise. Above the law mega corporations vs the government. I'm been reading SiFi for over 70 years, the so my personal standards are different from others.

If you can overlook my objections it is well worth a read. Characters 5 stars, pacing 5 stars, also backstory 5 stars.

So why the 3 stars? 3 reasons.
1. Obvious the author is not an American. Arse vs ass :) butt (pun intended) an American knows a Marine would never call another Marine a "Soldier" . I was one - 67 / 71.
2. The use of woke pronouns to indicate 3rd person singular individual in one chapter . But only one, thankfully. Judging response? Same in sample.
3. The description of the actions at the end bordered on sadistic-porn.

[Michael O’Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

COLD-BLOODED a great military sci-fi tale with memorable characters and fresh ideas on a possible future mankind in space. Mint is a great protagonist who gets caught up in drama and intrigue of profiteering, piracy, and privilege. And you’ll love hating on Cartag and Vreni unless, of course, you have a cold-blooded streak of sadism running through you.

The last military science fiction series I read was John Scalzi’s Old Man's War and once I started that series, I churned through it. O’Duill’s storytelling is comparable. He packs a lot into this novella. I’ll be picking up COLD RISING, the first in his Cold Rush series.

[A.L. MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This military sci fi book absolutely grabbed me and ramped up the intensity with every page. I love the concept of the mech suit battles - cold rushes - revolving around claiming mineral-rich asteroids. I really enjoyed Mint's interactions with Frida. Bjorn was a favorite too. Cartag is such a dirt bag it was enjoyable to hate him. The politics of this world are very neat and I liked how the threads of competing ambitions entwined at the end. The ending is a gobsmacker too. I really had fun reading this book.

[Bill Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was a blast! I loved the idea of these warring corporations for minerals on asteroids where marines in giant mechs fight each other. There is a ton of characterization in this short tale, lots of action, a mustache twirling possible villain/possible comrade in arms, and gallons of blood. Honestly, I wasn't sure where this story was going because there were a number of lane shifts (I won't say twists because they weren't really drastic turns) but the ending was phenomenal. I did NOT see part of the ending coming and it was bloody fantastic. Great sci-fi novella, highly recommend!

[Kath Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was instantly transported to Mint's world, fascinated by the hard edge she has built in the Cold. The action scenes were thrilling - the book was impossible to put down. I cheered for her fight against the corporations, loved the relationship building with Frida. I can't wait to read more from this author in this world, and others. A compelling read.

[Annette Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold Blooded was my first introduction to the work of Rohan O'Duill and I could not help but be impressed by the amount of storytelling and character development he was able to pack into a short book. I have not read a lot of military sci-fi and I was not sure that this book would be such a good fit for me, but I found myself engrossed in the corporate rivalries and the layers of backstabbing and betrayal certainly kept me guessing. Mint is a really engaging character, fast witted and even quicker to mouth off, she is a tough no nonsense bad ass bitch and I adored her. Seeing her past catch up with her and force her to make some very hard decisions brought her humanity to the fore, and made the devastating ending of the book even more brutal and heart breaking - readers if you need a happy ever after this is not the book for you. Though Mint was my favourite, I really enjoyed several of the other characters, most notably Bjorn and his daughter Frida. For readers who are looking for action there are some vividly described fight scenes, some involving Mech suits while others are a little closer to hand to hand combat and there is no squeamishness when it comes to describing the bloody and brutal consequences of those fights. It really did not take long for me to be hooked by the storytelling in this novella and once I finished I found myself wishing it was not over and heading off to buy the previous novella, Cold Rising because I need more stories in this world and from this author.

[Dale Stromberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tightly focussed, hard-bitten adventure tale has a clear love for the high-tech gear and enterprising pluck of Golden Age sci-fi (bone-crunching mech suit beat-em-ups!) but is also animated by a clear working class consciousness, a modern awareness of identity and social justice, and an unflinching recognition of the insatiable exploitations of capitalism. We get corporate intrigue in a libertarian hellscape with strong world-building, all cycloning round the characters of Mint and Bjorn. Mint is a randy, tough, foulmouthed fighter with neither the time nor the crayons to explain shit to you, but her uncomfortable complicity with the system forms a dichotomy with Bjorn’s driven resistance to that system, a resistance both courageous and quixotic. When meaningful resistance seems almost suicidal, what in the world can possible drive us to resist? Mint might just find out.

(Note: this is a compact novella with, in the print edition, a longish page count closer to a novel; this is because the print edition makes use of larger, dyslexic-friendly text.)

[Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cold is big and the distances are "bloody long." "I HAVE NEITHER THE TIME NOR THE CRAYONS TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU —" No, wait, that's Mint's line. I do have some time. On Mint's first day on the MUSC, a ship with 30,000 people, "instead of being shot into the Cold like a human missile, she would get to observe from the bridge." Or so she thinks, but before long, she does far more than observe. She's a shooting star in a tablesmashing spacefight. Heroic and action-packed! Content warning for space violence.