''Cold as Ice'' (1992) is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel by

Charles Sheffield Charles Sheffield (25 June 1935 – 2 November 2002), was an English-born mathematician, physicist, and science-fiction writer who served as a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical ...

. The setting takes place in the late 21st century with humans having colonized the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

, and a terrible

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

recently resolved in which 50% of humanity was wiped out. The plot follows an eclectic group of characters sorting out a mystery initiated during the early days of the war. Like most of Sheffield's books, in addition to hard scifi descriptions of a convincing future world, intricate psychologies of the major characters play a crucial role. ''Cold as Ice'' has been through six editions and remains in print more than twenty years after initial publication.

References

1992 American novels Novels by Charles Sheffield 1992 science fiction novels Fiction about the Solar System Hard science fiction American post-apocalyptic novels Fiction about outer space Tor Books books {{1990s-sf-novel-stub