Cyber warfare, citywide virtual reality recreations, AI applications, political and immigrant conflict, cadet academy and post-grade school placements, Chloe Gong’s novel Coldwire has a lot of fascinating elements going on. Marketed as a YA cyberpunk dystopian series debut, this book is full of excellent ideas with a story that mixes action with deeper social commentary. Though it possesses excellent material in theory, unfortunately the messy handling of its world-building and an assortment of storytelling shortcomings hold Coldwire back from being the exciting book by all accounts it should be. Set in a futuristic, technologically advanced world, the story has a dual-perspective presentation. Eirale is a contracted NileCorp soldier who is part of a response team firmly situated in Downcountry, aka the physical real world. Eirale’s team is assigned to capture an anarchist figurehead Nik Grant who is seen as a threat to both the country of Atahua as well as the NileCorp organization, a private business turned political asset who has developed a virtual reality recreation of the real world referred to as Upcountry. Meanwhile cadet-in-training Lia Sullivan attends the Nile Military Academy, a government mandated requirement for all orphaned children or wards from the opposing country Medaluo. The last…
