A review by warloujoyce
Cold Wind by Nicola Griffith

3.0

You can tell a lot about a culture from its metaphors: the world is fragile, breakable, spillable as an egg. People felt it. Beyond the warmth and light cast by the holiday they sensed predators roaming the dark. It made people long to be with their own kind. Even those who were not usually lonely hungered to belong.

Cold Wind is a short story about predators and preys, and how it is not always easy to determine which is which.

With that said, it contained a twist I did not see coming. The author also infuses the tale with an ominous vibe from the get go – a factor that appealed to me.

What I liked about it is the beautiful prose which, admittedly, bordered on flowery and dragging in several parts. It is possibly the aspect that will turn off a lot of readers. However, even though I liked that component, the story in general just didn’t pull me in completely. I was disengaged the entire time. I don’t know if it’s just me. Perhaps I read it a wrong time. Nonetheless, I’ll stick with that 3.5 rating.