Coldwire by Chloe Gong 📚 A High-Concept Sci-Fi With Big Ideas but Low Engagement

Chloe Gong dominates when she’s in her lane, with historical fantasy, sharp political intrigue, lush world-building. Coldwire steps into new territory: a neon-lit future, digital realms, and corporate corruption. It’s ambitious, high-concept, and full of potential… but it never quite reaches the spark her previous works have.

Despite its clever structure and moments of intrigue, this was a slow burn that never fully ignited, with much of the story weighed down by exposition and uneven pacing.

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To escape rising seas and rampant epidemics, most of society lives “upcountry” in glistening virtual reality, while those who can’t afford the subscription are forced to remain in crumbling “downcountry.”

But upcountry isn’t perfect. A cold war rages between two powerful nations, Medaluo and Atahua—and no one suffers for it more than the Medan orphans in Atahua. Their enrollment at Nile Military Academy is mandatory. Either serve as a soldier or risk being labelled a spy.

Eirale graduated the academy and joined NileCorp’s private forces downcountry, exactly as she was supposed to. Then Atahua’s most wanted anarchist frames her for assassinating a government official, and she’s given a choice: cooperate with him to search for a dangerous program in Medaluo or go down for treason.

Meanwhile, Lia is finishing her last year upcountry at Nile Military Academy. Paired with her academic nemesis for their final assignment, Lia is determined to beat him for valedictorian and prove her worth. But there may be far more at stake when their task to infiltrate Medaluo and track down an Atahuan traitor goes wrong…

Though Eirale and Lia tear through Medaluo on different planes of reality, the two start to suspect they are puzzle pieces in a larger conspiracy—and the closer they get to the truth, the closer their worlds come to a shattering collision.

The narrative splits between two protagonists. First up, Lia, a student preparing for final testing and spends most of the book in Strangeloom, a digital simulation meant to be dangerous… except it isn’t. At least, not convincingly. Because she can exit at any time, her storyline feels low-stakes and, unfortunately, the least engaging. Her rivalry-turned-forced-partnership with her academic competitor adds some texture, but the scavenger-hunt structure makes her chapters feel repetitive and distant.

Eirale, by contrast, is compelling from page one. Older, sharper, and caught up in real-life danger, she’s framed for murder, kidnapped, and forced to work with infamous terrorist Nick Grant. Their mission is then breaking into three highly secure facilities in REAL LIFE which carries actual weight, tension, and mystery. The memory gaps from her last dive into Strangeloom add a layer of intrigue that Lia’s storyline lacks.

The two protagonists are meant to mirror each other, physically travelling similar routes in both worlds, but Eirale’s chapters always felt more alive, more urgent, and simply more interesting. The plot is built around parallel journeys: one in the real world, one in the digital. It’s a clever idea, and the eventual convergence does bring momentum but it takes a long time to get there.

Much of the book is spent explaining how the world works. The exposition is heavy, slowing the pace to a crawl. While Gong is excellent at building dense, layered worlds, sci-fi requires a different rhythm, and here the explanations overwhelm rather than enrich.

The stakes also falter especially in Lia’s storyline, where danger feels largely theoretical. Eirale’s plot is strong enough that it keeps pulling the book forward, but the unevenness between the two makes the pacing feel imbalanced. Often meaning I would put the book down during Lia’s chapters.

The final act ramps up dramatically, delivering twists that set up an exciting future for the series, it’s just a shame the road to get there feels so long. Gong’s prose remains confident and meticulous, but here it leans too explanatory. Instead of revealing the world through action and emotional beats, Coldwire often pauses to explain systems, technologies, or rules.

The dialogue and emotional beats are strongest in Eirale’s chapters, where Gong’s strengths of character tension, political friction, and emotional stakes shine through. But overall, the storytelling feels stretched thin across too much conceptual ground.

This book has its finger firmly on the pulse of modern anxieties, using the themes of the power of mega-corporations, capitalism, profit over humanity, digital ethics, surveillance states and the cost of technological advancement. These themes are the strongest part of Coldwire, giving it teeth even when the pacing wobbles. Gong clearly has something to say here and says it well.

The mirrored journeys of Lia and Eirale highlight questions of identity, agency, and autonomy, though the execution occasionally feels lopsided. This is very much YA/NA sci-fi with cyberpunk edges, leaning more into digital worlds and corporate dystopia than space opera or hard sci-fi.

However, Gong’s natural strengths lie in historical fantasy and political drama, and that disparity shows. Fans of her previous works may find this a tougher read, especially if they’re not already comfortable in the sci-fi genre.

Positives of Coldwire

• Eirale’s chapters are engaging, tense, and full of mystery
• Strong thematic critique of corporate power and digital ethics
• Final twists set up a promising future for the series
• Gong’s character work shines when not weighed down by exposition
  

Negatives of Coldwire

• Heavy world-building exposition slows the pace
• Lia’s storyline feels low-stakes and less compelling
• Uneven structure between the real world and Strangeloom
• Took a long time to fully engage

Coldwire is a clever and ambitious sci-fi debut from Chloe Gong, with standout ideas and dual protagonists but it’s hampered by heavy exposition and uneven pacing. There is a great series brewing here, especially as the plot twists begin unfolding, but this first instalment feels more like groundwork than a fully engaging story.

I received Coldwire by Chloe Gong from the publisher. This is an unbiased and honest review

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