Zhang Tao, Chief of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) in China, is furious. Not only did his officers lose one of the most important scientists in the country, but they did so in a humiliating way on the streets of Hong Kong. Heads will likely roll, possibly even his own, in Brad Thor and Ward Larsen’s new thriller novel, “Cold Zero.”
On the other side of the Pearl River Estuary, an ultra-luxury aircraft is just departing from Macau. On board is Zhang Tao’s missing quarry—Dr. Chen Lee. Lee was the top computer scientist working in China until he decided to defect to the United States. He’s being assisted by two agents from the CIA, Kasey Sheridan and Walter Ho.
After weeks of planning and risking their lives working in the shadows, they’ve succeeded in securing Dr. Lee and—more importantly—the black briefcase he carries. The case has the only prototype of a program called Tianhou, or Sky Fire; this is a control system that uses advanced artificial intelligence to conduct cyber and electronic warfare operations.
Kasey and Walter have already seen how powerful the system is. Dr. Lee has just used it to bypass the MSS’s security mainframe. Its existence is a massive game-changer, and, thankfully, it’s now on its way to America. Finally, they think, they can relax a little.
Desperate Sabotage
However, Chief Zhang Tao has one trick still up his sleeve. With him is Wu Mei, Dr. Chen’s lead researcher. Wu can send a signal to disable the plane while it’s over the Arctic Circle, bringing it down in a frozen wasteland with little chance of survival for those onboard.
Flying above a heavy storm at the North Pole, First Officer Brett Sharpe still misses his last job, which was flying F-22 Raptors in the Air Force. Long-haul flying over the Arctic can’t really compare with traveling at supersonic speed. At the end of his military career, he was forced into an administrative post. He said no thanks to all that. At least he’s back to flying now, though with a lot less excitement.
All that changes when his engines fail, and the crew realizes they must land on the ice floes below. By a miracle, Sharpe and a handful of passengers survive the crash landing. Unfortunately, they are stranded hundreds of miles away from any human settlements, and he isn’t even sure that his mayday call got out.
Plus, he has no idea that the Chinese, the Russians, and the Americans are all frantically trying to get to them first to secure an invaluable black briefcase which he didn’t even know he was ferrying aboard his plane.
Thor-Larsen Partnership
Brad Thor is an American thriller novelist best known for his bestselling series featuring counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath. If for no other reason, this is why thriller writers everywhere should be jealous of Thor’s name. It just screams male-oriented action novel, doesn’t it?
He’s a native Chicagoan who began his career in media and politics before turning to fiction. His debut novel was 2002’s “The Lions of Lucerne,” which introduced his Harvath character. Thor’s books quickly attracted a large readership among fans of political and espionage thrillers. Successive series blended intelligence operations, geopolitics, and fast-paced action.
“Cold Zero” is a bit of an outlier for Thor, since this marks his first co-authored work. The man he chose to partner with makes a lot of sense once you know his bio. Ward Larsen was already a bestselling author, and he will be adding his name to the Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan novel series in May. That he’s also a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, a federal law enforcement officer, an airline captain, and a trained aircraft accident investigator makes him an obvious asset for this kind of story.
Jackhammer-Like Action
While there are some mildly interesting characters in “Cold Zero” (Zhang Tao sits at the top here, a former torture victim with a viciously painful nerve condition), its authors have relied heavily on the plot to drive this story, and they’ve done a great job.
The pacing is exceptionally tight, and the action beats feel realistic and not forced. This book is one of the better examples in recent years of a thriller that’s as close to a cinematic experience on paper as it could be.
After reading it, it’s hardly surprising to learn that Netflix had already greenlighted a film adaptation before it was published. “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto has been tapped to adapt the screenplay, with Peter Berg (“Lone Survivor,” “Patriots Day”) co-producing.
Overall, the book is unlikely to appear on many Top 10 lists for the year, but it’s hard to care while you’re enjoying the non-stop action, the daring escapes, and the exceptionally cool (ahem) setting. Much more than a survival story, “Cold Zero” is a first-rate military thriller that delivers on every promise it makes.
‘Cold Zero’
By Brad Thor with Ward Larsen
Atria/Emily Bestler Books: Feb. 10, 2026
Hardcover, 352 pages
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