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Cold as Ice #1
Cold as Ice
Twenty-five years ago there was a great interplanetary war in the Solar System. It was a suicidal spasm in which terrible weapons were created and used; in which nine billion people were killed. The rivalries that led to the war are not gone. And a few of those deadly weapons remain—some still orbiting the sun in the debris of destroyed ships, some deliberately placed in storage.
Now Cyrus Mobarak, the man who perfected the fusion engine, is determined to bring human settlement to the protected seas of Europa. Opposing him is Hilda Brandt, Europa's administrator. And caught between them are three remarkable young people: Jon Perry, Camille Hamilton, and Wilsa Sheer.
Now Cyrus Mobarak, the man who perfected the fusion engine, is determined to bring human settlement to the protected seas of Europa. Opposing him is Hilda Brandt, Europa's administrator. And caught between them are three remarkable young people: Jon Perry, Camille Hamilton, and Wilsa Sheer.
372 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
17 people are currently reading
749 people want to read
About the author
Charles Sheffield
216 books171 followersCharles A. Sheffield (June 25, 1935 – November 2, 2002), was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction author. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronomical Society.
His novel The Web Between the Worlds, featuring the construction of a space elevator, was published almost simultaneously with Arthur C. Clarke's novel about that very same subject, The Fountains of Paradise, a coincidence that amused them both.
For some years he was the chief scientist of Earth Satellite Corporation, a company analysing remote sensing satellite data. This resulted in many technical papers and two popular non-fiction books, Earthwatch and Man on Earth, both collections of false colour and enhanced images of Earth from space.
He won the Nebula and Hugo awards for his novelette "Georgia on My Mind" and the 1992 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for his novel Brother to Dragons.
Sheffield was Toastmaster at BucConeer, the 1998 World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore.
He had been writing a column for the Baen Books web site; his last column concerned the discovery of the brain tumour that led to his death.
He was married to writer Nancy Kress.
His novel The Web Between the Worlds, featuring the construction of a space elevator, was published almost simultaneously with Arthur C. Clarke's novel about that very same subject, The Fountains of Paradise, a coincidence that amused them both.
For some years he was the chief scientist of Earth Satellite Corporation, a company analysing remote sensing satellite data. This resulted in many technical papers and two popular non-fiction books, Earthwatch and Man on Earth, both collections of false colour and enhanced images of Earth from space.
He won the Nebula and Hugo awards for his novelette "Georgia on My Mind" and the 1992 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for his novel Brother to Dragons.
Sheffield was Toastmaster at BucConeer, the 1998 World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore.
He had been writing a column for the Baen Books web site; his last column concerned the discovery of the brain tumour that led to his death.
He was married to writer Nancy Kress.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
May 6, 2021
Cold as Ice is the first book in a trilogy by Sheffield, but stands pretty well on its own. It's a hard-science story of the Terra-forming of Europa set in a tense post-war universe of rival political groups with whom the scientists have to contend. The characters are nicely drawn, the plot is quite fast-paced, and the science challenging and interesting. Fun, true -science- -fiction
July 2, 2007
I first read this in High School, so it may be that my opinion of the book is bouyed by the passage of time, but I still think that this is a very engaging and fun book with good science (so far as a mythologist like myself can tell) and enjoyable characters. Reminds me of Arthur C Clarke in many ways (at the very least in the loan of Europa), but with a bit more emphasis on purely human adventure-- perfect for a high school reader. I don't want to give away too much, but here are a few things which engaged me in the book:
-- The emphasis on the unique, special person who does not know where they came from, or how they came to be the way they are-- think Heroes (which I've never seen and only heard about) or X-Men, with a more traditional Sci-Fi twist.
-- Realistic, relatively near-future space opera (though I must admit that though the technology is realistic, the timeline probably isn't). The nuts and bolts that you find in Clarke are here, but with more of a "Star-Wars" feel. Actually, I suspect that you find this flavor in much hard sci-fi, but I primarily associate Sheffield with this.
-- The impression of a larger and more wonderful universe than can be contained in the novel-- though I must admit that this leads in one or two cases to some red herrings which feel as though they were thrown in purely for "wow" effect.
Overall a pleasant read, even if I'm not prepared to label it great literature.
-- The emphasis on the unique, special person who does not know where they came from, or how they came to be the way they are-- think Heroes (which I've never seen and only heard about) or X-Men, with a more traditional Sci-Fi twist.
-- Realistic, relatively near-future space opera (though I must admit that though the technology is realistic, the timeline probably isn't). The nuts and bolts that you find in Clarke are here, but with more of a "Star-Wars" feel. Actually, I suspect that you find this flavor in much hard sci-fi, but I primarily associate Sheffield with this.
-- The impression of a larger and more wonderful universe than can be contained in the novel-- though I must admit that this leads in one or two cases to some red herrings which feel as though they were thrown in purely for "wow" effect.
Overall a pleasant read, even if I'm not prepared to label it great literature.
October 10, 2014
The first in a trio of books, this one explores the consequences of possible exploitation of Jupiter's moon Europa. This, in turn, is set against a backdrop of a post-war aftermath of a conflict between Inner system and Outer system factions. Part of that aftermath is the living result of genetic engineering by the Outer system forces. As I came to expect from Sheffield, the adventures experienced by the characters are grounded in reasonably astute scientific parameters. Enjoyable, and I will now have to read The Ganymede Club and Dark As Day.
January 22, 2025
Really enjoyed this one! Science was good, story was interesting, setting was my nearish-future SciFi sweet spot. Learned a lot about Europa and the Galilean moons. Also love a good story involving submersibles, particularly on alien planets/moons. Reminds me of Subnautica.
July 15, 2009
This is a novel written by a physicist with the focus on physics and not on the plot or characters. In other words, it's science fiction which focuses on the science at the expense of the fiction.
This novel astounded me for its complete lack of any dramatic tension. It's hundreds of pages long and throughout its length, I never got drawn into the story, felt any sympathy or otherwise identified with the characters, and never cared about what was happening. That I finished the book was much more a testament to my disbelief that someone could manage to write such a long story with absolutely no interest to it than to any engagement in the tale. In my experience, there's run-of-the-mill bad writing, say, when there are inconsistencies in a plot, or a character acts in a way completely inconsistent with his nature. There's bad editing, too, such as when a book is published with a lot of grammatical errors, typos, or continuity errors (to borrow the phrase from filmmaking). But this manuscript was stillborn as soon as it was finished, and no amount of editing or re-crafting would have been able to resuscitate it. It boggles the mind why it was published.
This novel astounded me for its complete lack of any dramatic tension. It's hundreds of pages long and throughout its length, I never got drawn into the story, felt any sympathy or otherwise identified with the characters, and never cared about what was happening. That I finished the book was much more a testament to my disbelief that someone could manage to write such a long story with absolutely no interest to it than to any engagement in the tale. In my experience, there's run-of-the-mill bad writing, say, when there are inconsistencies in a plot, or a character acts in a way completely inconsistent with his nature. There's bad editing, too, such as when a book is published with a lot of grammatical errors, typos, or continuity errors (to borrow the phrase from filmmaking). But this manuscript was stillborn as soon as it was finished, and no amount of editing or re-crafting would have been able to resuscitate it. It boggles the mind why it was published.
October 19, 2018
The author has a style his own. I like it, but sometimes I am not sure where he goes with it. He takes his time, but wraps it up at the end and it isn't always satisfying. The tech is great, but the whole story just isn't focused I guess is the best way to put it.
January 15, 2011
Suprisingly good book. Has very little to do with the description on the cover, though.
It is definately hard science fiction, and while the science is believable the politics are sometimes confusing and the characters are flat. For example all extreemely intelligent people love classical music and puzzles, which annoyed me a little.
The story itself is interesting, the setting is very well thought out, and there is always something happening.
I enjoyed the book, though some may not like the style. Not for everyone (especially literary critics), but I thing scientists/engineers will find it pleasant. Someone has to write for us too, you know :)
It is definately hard science fiction, and while the science is believable the politics are sometimes confusing and the characters are flat. For example all extreemely intelligent people love classical music and puzzles, which annoyed me a little.
The story itself is interesting, the setting is very well thought out, and there is always something happening.
I enjoyed the book, though some may not like the style. Not for everyone (especially literary critics), but I thing scientists/engineers will find it pleasant. Someone has to write for us too, you know :)
August 3, 2012
Not a bad read.
Took a while to get going, and to get a grip on all the different characters.
But it did keep me interested; not impossible to put down, but always ready to be picked back up.
The ending was a tad over-done, but satisfying enough.
Took a while to get going, and to get a grip on all the different characters.
But it did keep me interested; not impossible to put down, but always ready to be picked back up.
The ending was a tad over-done, but satisfying enough.
June 17, 2012
May be written by a fellow trying to emulate writers like Heinlein and Clarke and not succeeding. The plot is OK but the characters and dialog seem artificial to a degree that is distracting.
July 13, 2023
Can humanity terraform Europa into a moon better fit for human habitation, or will the potential of alien life mean Jupiter’s moon needs to be preserved for all time? Interesting questions for sure, both of which are brought up in Charles Sheffield’s Cold as Ice hard scifi novel. Unfortunately, the two hooks established early on in the novel are not the direction the story takes, and a potential for a true classic of hard scifi is squandered in a glacially slow plotline. This novel had just enough to keep me interested, though that was largely based on the teased promises of exploring far more interesting concepts. It’s a story that I liked, barely, and one that picks up the pace in the last third of the novel, veering into a plot thread that, while not as interesting as the potential hooks from the beginning, were enjoyable enough.
Cold as Ice begins the story in a solar system beset by a great interplanetary war between Earth and the outer planets. We are set twenty-five years after those events, but the effects of the war still linger. On Earth, Jon Perry and Nell Cotter explore the ocean’s depth in a submersible. Near Ganymede, Camille Hamilton and David Lammerman explore deep space through the eyes of an advanced telescope. In Jupiter’s atmosphere, Wilsa Sheer explores the dense clouds as she is inspired to compose her next orchestra piece. The characters are called from their careers and brought together, sometimes in competition with one another, by the great Cyrus Mobarak, the man who perfected the fusion power system, and Hilda Brandt, Europa’s science administrator. We also have Rustem Battachayria, a reclusive cyber sleuth with an obsession for puzzles and collectible relics from the war.
All interesting characters for sure, except perhaps for Wilsa Sheer, who serves no real purpose in the plot. The story is interesting enough to keep us reading, but much of the novel is getting all the characters into place, which takes too long for the shorter length of this book. The story meanders from one character to another with nothing really happening until near the end. It does get a little more exciting in the climax as the pace picks up and we finally have some movement in the story, as well as some answers to the lingering questions in the plot.
If you’re expecting this book to be about finding life on Europa, or terraforming Europa, this ultimately is not that novel. But man, what an awesome story it would have been if that were the case. Sadly, that doesn’t happen and instead we get an interesting enough novel, but not one that is noteworthy. Would I recommend this novel? Probably not, but I also wouldn’t advise someone against reading it. It was fine. I liked it enough that it barely managed three stars.
Cold as Ice begins the story in a solar system beset by a great interplanetary war between Earth and the outer planets. We are set twenty-five years after those events, but the effects of the war still linger. On Earth, Jon Perry and Nell Cotter explore the ocean’s depth in a submersible. Near Ganymede, Camille Hamilton and David Lammerman explore deep space through the eyes of an advanced telescope. In Jupiter’s atmosphere, Wilsa Sheer explores the dense clouds as she is inspired to compose her next orchestra piece. The characters are called from their careers and brought together, sometimes in competition with one another, by the great Cyrus Mobarak, the man who perfected the fusion power system, and Hilda Brandt, Europa’s science administrator. We also have Rustem Battachayria, a reclusive cyber sleuth with an obsession for puzzles and collectible relics from the war.
All interesting characters for sure, except perhaps for Wilsa Sheer, who serves no real purpose in the plot. The story is interesting enough to keep us reading, but much of the novel is getting all the characters into place, which takes too long for the shorter length of this book. The story meanders from one character to another with nothing really happening until near the end. It does get a little more exciting in the climax as the pace picks up and we finally have some movement in the story, as well as some answers to the lingering questions in the plot.
If you’re expecting this book to be about finding life on Europa, or terraforming Europa, this ultimately is not that novel. But man, what an awesome story it would have been if that were the case. Sadly, that doesn’t happen and instead we get an interesting enough novel, but not one that is noteworthy. Would I recommend this novel? Probably not, but I also wouldn’t advise someone against reading it. It was fine. I liked it enough that it barely managed three stars.
January 3, 2024
7 stars out of 5. When the War is over, a Seeker missile blows up the Pelagic, a Belter ship. Over 20 years later Jon Perry is a leading marine biologist exploring black smokers in a two person submarine under the Antarctic Ocean, Camille Hamilton is searching deep into ancient galaxies for signs of intelligent life, and Wilsa Sheer is composing synthesizer symphonies triggered by new explorations in places like the moons of Jupiter. Suddenly their projects lose funding and they find themselves all on the same Galileian satellites. Nell Cotter is a journalist doing a documentary on Earth's black smokers and is amazed at Jon's navigation skills and maybe a little romantically interested. Tristan Morgan is guiding Wilsa virtually down into clouds of Jupiter as she navigates the little submersible and is amazed by how quickly the musician learns. David Lammerman is more interested in using the massive telescopic arrays for searching out energy sources like quasars but Camille has found something very interesting 11 billion years back in time. What political force has called these three groups of people to Ganymede and Europa? The gamer geniuses Bat, Megachirops, and 'Torquemada' are both major political powers in real life. When Bat's Transport Department is audited he finds the auditor, Yarrow Gobel, is also a Belter War buff who is curious about what the Pelagic was carrying. - Superb hook. Complex plot. The physicist author paints a realistic picture of exploration under heavy atmospheric/oceanic pressure and low gravity.
July 8, 2025
I read this as a scanned paperback on the Internet Archive. I'm not sure what is contributing to my giving it a 3-star rather than a 4-star review. Somehow it just seemed kind of "blah" to me. The action takes place at some point in the future where travel about the solar system has become routine thanks to spacecraft with fusion drives. A devastating war between Earth, Mars, and the "Belters" took place 25 years previously, and the solar system is still recovering. Mankind hasn't yet tried for the stars, but plans are being developed by a group called the "Outward Bounders." A lot of the story takes place on Jupiter's moon Europa, a small and sparsely populated world with a vast liquid ocean concealed under its surface layer of ice. It has been targeted for terraforming by a bazillionaire from Earth, who proposes to use fusion motors to heat the ocean and melt the ice. Others don't want it terraformed. There is a lot of espionage and skullduggery as the competing factions maneuver, and thrown into the mix are three young people who possess extraordinary mental and physical powers. Where did they come from? That would be a spoiler. Maybe the fact that I read a lot of this book in the middle of the night when I had awakened has influenced my opinion of it. I didn't realize until I looked for it on GR that it is the first of a series, but thinking back on the plot elements, it's obvious that there would be sequels. Not sure if I'll look into those. Three out of five stars.
June 2, 2025
Contexte : L'homme a essaimé dans le système solaire et bientôt se constituent 3 factions : Les mondes internes, la ceinture d'astéroïdes et les mondes externes. Puis la guerre éclate avec ses armes monstrueuses et fait 8 milliards de victimes. Un vaisseau malchanceux est ciblé par un missile intelligent juste après la fin de la guerre. Des enfants sont à bord, peux t'on les sauver ?
25 ans plus tard, la vie a suivi son cours dans le système solaire. Et Cyrus Mobarak, l'homme qui a perfectionné la fusion nucléaire, rêve d'implanter un habitat humain dans les mers souterraines d'Europa, un des satellites de Jupiter. Mais il va devoir affronter l'administratrice d'Europa qui veut la protéger, car elle pourrait abriter une vie indigène. Et de jeunes talents vont se trouver impliqués dans ce conflit.
Un roman plus intéressant que passionnant où on est sensibilisé à la vie dans l'espace et sur des corps stellaires à faible gravité. Mais le regard est principalement fixé sur Europa, une lune qui contient un océan immense d'eau sous une couche épaisse de glace. Elle pourrait être propice au développement de la vie. Est-ce le cas ?
J'ai beaucoup aimé. Charles Sheffield est physicien, mais aussi un scientifique tout court qui nous fascine avec des notions appliquées de mathématique, d'informatique et de biologie, entre autres.
25 ans plus tard, la vie a suivi son cours dans le système solaire. Et Cyrus Mobarak, l'homme qui a perfectionné la fusion nucléaire, rêve d'implanter un habitat humain dans les mers souterraines d'Europa, un des satellites de Jupiter. Mais il va devoir affronter l'administratrice d'Europa qui veut la protéger, car elle pourrait abriter une vie indigène. Et de jeunes talents vont se trouver impliqués dans ce conflit.
Un roman plus intéressant que passionnant où on est sensibilisé à la vie dans l'espace et sur des corps stellaires à faible gravité. Mais le regard est principalement fixé sur Europa, une lune qui contient un océan immense d'eau sous une couche épaisse de glace. Elle pourrait être propice au développement de la vie. Est-ce le cas ?
J'ai beaucoup aimé. Charles Sheffield est physicien, mais aussi un scientifique tout court qui nous fascine avec des notions appliquées de mathématique, d'informatique et de biologie, entre autres.
May 4, 2023
After a devastating war between the Belt and the Inner System things have emerged slightly better for the greatly reduced populations with the advent of the portable fusion device by Cyrus Mobarak. This has made the terraforming of the icy moon of Jupiter called Europa possible by heating the frozen seas. However, a rival faction wants to keep Europa free from contamination by Earth in case of native life forms and the deep and Macchiavellian machinations of Mobarak and the bio-engineer Hilda Brandt on opposite sides involves enormous expenditures. Into the mix comes the corpulent and reclusive genius Rustum Battachariya, employed to solve transport problems which seem intractable but who, in his spare time, is a puzzle solver. Bat has come across a 25 year old mystery: at the end of the war a Belter mining ship carrying 19 passengers was destroyed by a Belter Seeker missile, but only ten occupants were accounted for. Apparently nine small escape pods were ejected prior to the destruction of the ship, the Pelagic. Under the ice of Europa, amid disputed reports of native life, the great wartime mystery will be explained in Charles Sheffield’s entertaining novel, which also lays the foundation for a sequel with an unexpected discovery at the edge of the Universe.
September 22, 2020
My first experience reading a "hard" science fiction novel.
Sheffield does a good job at setting up an interesting premise but apart from the unique profile on Bat, falls short on delivering memorable characters. The universe and the recently former acts of civilization ('The Great War') feel large, yet their introductions leave you with more curiosity and questions than anything else. I'll leave that expansion up to books 2 and 3, The Ganymede Club and Dark as Day.
It's obvious to see where the author's strong suit is, as Sheffield was a mathematician and physicist before becoming an author. His description of the various engineering projects on other worlds isn't lengthy but it is coherent, as is the way he described the topography of other worlds, primarily Europa. I found the book to be a fun and easy read, just don't feel bad if you at some point mix up the often one-dimensional characters.
Sheffield does a good job at setting up an interesting premise but apart from the unique profile on Bat, falls short on delivering memorable characters. The universe and the recently former acts of civilization ('The Great War') feel large, yet their introductions leave you with more curiosity and questions than anything else. I'll leave that expansion up to books 2 and 3, The Ganymede Club and Dark as Day.
It's obvious to see where the author's strong suit is, as Sheffield was a mathematician and physicist before becoming an author. His description of the various engineering projects on other worlds isn't lengthy but it is coherent, as is the way he described the topography of other worlds, primarily Europa. I found the book to be a fun and easy read, just don't feel bad if you at some point mix up the often one-dimensional characters.
September 18, 2017
This a science fiction mystery with no real villains not but a lot of suspects. It pits 3 master gamers against each other. The stakes include the development of Europa a moon of Jupiter, the way crimes committed during 1st interplanetary war, and the fate of 3 peculiar individuals.
So have criticized this story for its slow pace and lack of action. Truly great mysteries have this quality. The name of the game here is to figure out how seemingly unrelated characters and events are related. Plodding nature of the book gives the reader a chance figure out the puzzle the author is presenting. I think Sheffield has done an excellent job of crafting a mystery with hard science roots with an interesting African American hero.
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October 23, 2025Twenty-five years ago there was a great interplanetary war in the Solar System. It was a suicidal spasm in which terrible weapons were created and used; in which nine billion people were killed. The rivalries that led to the war are not gone. And a few of those deadly weapons remain--some still orbiting the sun in the debris of destroyed ships,s some deliberately placed in storage.Now Cyrus Mobarak, the man who perfected the fusion engine, is determined to bring human settlement to the protected seas of Europa. Opposing him is Hilda Brandt, Europa's administrator. And caught between them are three remarkable young people: Jon Perry, Camille Hamilton, and Wilsa Sheer.
August 7, 2024
Decent read. It is a nice and quick read, with lots of character development, but not a lot of story arc. The prelude gives a lot to guess about, and the story does not have much involvement until late in the book, the rest is just character and world development. It is book 1 of series but it is a stand alone book in its own right. I enjoyed the read but did feel by mid book that it was going no where and that it was just situational. The end was predictable as well including the twists, but still enjoyable to read.
August 12, 2018
Just finished it and not quite sure what I thought of it. It was entertaining, its universe is well fleshed out, and the characters are memorable. The plot is a little less clear. Themes also aren't very evident, though I may need to spend more time mulling this book over. All-in-all, though, I enjoyed it and would be willing to pick up one of the other books that also take place in the same universe.
September 26, 2019
It took me a while to get into this, to understand who the major characters were and how they were (or weren't) related. But once I did, I really enjoyed it. The characters are interesting, and the science that shapes their lives is clearly explained.
Ultimately, the plot-line revolves around the conflict between those want to develop Europa and those who want to protect it as it is. We don't learn the motives behind some of those preferences until the resolution at the very end.
Ultimately, the plot-line revolves around the conflict between those want to develop Europa and those who want to protect it as it is. We don't learn the motives behind some of those preferences until the resolution at the very end.
September 8, 2021
A fun read. I was surprised by all the twists and turns and the seemingly detailed use of science throughout. I liked most of the characters, but didn't like the need to pair off every character into some sort of romance without any addition to the story. The portrayal of women bounced between spotty and solid, as is expected for this type of sci-fi.
So, in short, the sci-fi, good, the cheesy nature of some of the ideas, fun, the characters and tropes? Eh.
So, in short, the sci-fi, good, the cheesy nature of some of the ideas, fun, the characters and tropes? Eh.
August 1, 2024
I read this book out of order and must admit to preferring the third book in this trilogy. Having said that, this is a solid sci-fi with the focus on some pretty great science. I guess it comes as no surprise as Sheffield is a physicist by trade. I think it might be time to build my Sheffield library if only to meet more memorable characters like The Bat! I recommend this book. I highly recommend Dark as Day which I will review after a faithful re-read.
December 17, 2024
Very much hard a science based SF novel, the first in a trilogy. Cold as Ice is the story of an attempt to terraform Jovian satellite Europa following a space war across the solar system. This side of it is more convincing than the political aspect of the novel, which is basically the issue that the oceans under the Europan ice surface are protected by treaty. It's one of those SF novels that is unlikely to appeal to anyone who isn't interested in the science.
May 3, 2025
It started really strong .. fun to read ... good detail ... then came the 100 different characters that had to be brought together by the end, and all the details that went on and on ... it started as 4*, maybe could be 5*, and by the end I was beyond ready for it to end ... and the ultimate gist of the mystery was kind of meh. Too bad!
August 5, 2018
I really enjoyed the premise of this book. It's a great read, although you can kind of guess the 'kicker' in the end pretty early on. I probably would have given it five stars except for one character (the Bat) who seems a little too omniscient for my tastes. But definitely worth the read.
January 23, 2023
Pretty good. Multiple stories tied together pretty well. The beginning wasn't riveting, but the ending was.
May 1, 2023
Thoughtful - science heavy, mystery. Good read.
November 26, 2024
Zoomed through this. A super fun read, nothing groundbreaking but very enjoyable. 4.7
June 2, 2025
Fast read, interesting characters....ending was a bit anticlimactic.
August 20, 2025
That was good.
Not really sure what else to say.
It was pretty good.
See other reviews for useful review!
Not really sure what else to say.
It was pretty good.
See other reviews for useful review!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews