Cold Storage

by David Koepp

This book pulled me in so much and so quickly. It was hard to put down. The only down side of this book to me was that I felt the ending was lacking. It was such a short ending without much description. Where the rest of the book was so full of description and details you felt you were in the story with them. Apart from the poor ending the rest of the book is really good, but maybe the ending has been left this way on purpose as I’m sure there could be another book.

You can also tell that the author David Koepp is a screen writer and director. He has worked on  Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, Panic Room among others. This book could so easily be a film that I would go an watch.

This story starts in December 1987 where Roberto Diaz and Trini Romano work for the US Government. For a department called Defence Nuclear Agency, they basically deal and eliminate nuclear and bio threats.

On this particular mission they are sent to Australia. Where a fungus has been found, but the reason this fungus is so different to its original strain found on earth is that it was sent up into space for scientists to experiment on. Except the space craft crashed back down to earth from space. So the fungus had gone through some changes due to this. Luckily even though the wreckage was spread far and wide the canister the fungus was in landed in a remote community in the Australian outback.

When Roberto and Trini landed they were met by a scientist that dealt with fungus and other hazardous biological species. Once they reached the small community it was quiet with no signs of life as though everyone had left but the cars were still about.

They eventually found the people, they had all been infected with the fungus, but the most worrying thing was that the fungus had seemed to take over the people. As though it was still evolving. They found every single person had gone as high as they could which in this small community was the roofs of their houses. Where their bodies had finally exploded as if to spread the fungus on the wind.

After managing to contain the canister filled with the fungus and getting it ready to be safely transport. The scientist that helped them started showing signs of being infected she managed to take Roberto’s gun and she shot herself so as not to spread the fungus.

On returning to the USA they contained the canister and put it in to deep storage. In a secret government fall out bunker, where the fungus would be kept cool and would cause no other problems.

Now to the Present Day

The secret fall out bunker has been sold off as the US Government didn’t need it anymore. However before it was sold they blocked off the lower chambers, so whoever bought it had no idea that there were lower levels.

The bunker was now a place where people stored their possessions knowing that they’d be safe as it has 24/7 security. Two of the security guards on duty the night when the fungus became very active and started spreading faster than it ever had, are Teacake (who has a bit of a dubious past) and Naomi who has only recently started working at the facility so she can support her child.

This particular night Naomi went over to Teacake’s side of the facility as she was board and needed something to make the hours pass by. When Naomi reached Teacake, he asked her if she could hear a beeping sound. She said she could but neither of them could make out where it was coming from. They eventually realised that it was coming from the wall behind them, but there wasn’t meant to be anything behind this wall!

At first they didn’t know what to do but after a short time they both agreed that if they made a small hole in the wall that they could get something to cover it up so they would be in trouble for wrecking the place and loose their jobs.

While Teacake and Naomi are busy making their own investigations in to the noise. Roberto Diaz was being called out of retirement. As there were only a couple of people in the know as to exactly what was being kept in the old fall out bunker.

Before Roberto Diaz manages to get to the facility Teacake and Naomi are having a nightmare of an evening. They eventually find where the beeping is coming from and end up making a huge mess of the wall. Where they discover a map of the Bunker, which also shows lower levels that they didn’t know about.

Due to this new map they were able to workout a way to get down to the disused levels, where they come across a rat king, that was covered in this green mould. The mould was spreading over all over the walls and ceilings of the tunnel they found themselves in.

They eventually got back up to the normal levels of the facility, everything is in chaos, the further they get back to their post. People are going mad and exploding. Will Roberto Diaz make it to the facility in time to stop the fungus from taking over the world?

Teacake spoke first. “The f***ing deer just took the f***ing elevator” Naomi looked around, as if seeing the wall on either side of her for the first time. “What the hell is this place?”

Quote from Cold Storage by David Koepp.

Pages: 320, Publication Date: 19 September 2019, My Rating: