When two titans of the genre (and two of my favorite authors) —Brad Thor and Ward Larsen—join forces, the result is a seismic event in the world of thrillers. Cold Zero, arriving February 10, 2026, is an icy, high-stakes political thriller centered on a technological battle between the United States and China that culminates in a winner-takes-all fight in the unforgiving, frozen wilderness of the North Pole. The narrative launches with a bang: Hemisphere Airlines Flight 777, an advanced jetliner carrying a revolutionary piece of technology capable of upending the global balance of power, is sabotaged and crash-lands on the Arctic ice. This catastrophe immediately transforms into a deadly international incident, as Washington, and Beijing launch a desperate race to secure the device—and its creator—from the wreckage. The novel seamlessly blends the authors' expertise, featuring Thor's characteristic geopolitical brinkmanship and Larsen's intimate, realistic knowledge of aviation and survival, creating a read that is genuinely impossible to put down.
The core of the relentless action lies with protagonists CIA operative Kasey Sheridan and the plane's former fighter pilot turned first officer, Brett Sharpe. They are immediately trapped between surviving the brutal environment and protecting the top-secret technology from rival special forces closing in from all sides. Thor and Larsen excel at building terrifyingly plausible tension, utilizing the vast, frozen landscape not just as a backdrop but as an active, lethal antagonist—every gust of wind, every crack in the ice ratchets up the danger. The struggle for survival against the elements—the sub-zero temperatures, the isolation, and the collapsing ice—is as compelling as the firefights against human adversaries (and the threat of a deadly polar bear). This dual-layered conflict ensures a relentless pace where the stakes are constantly escalating to an almost unbearable degree.
Ultimately, Cold Zero is an adrenaline-fueled modern thriller that is poised to stand out in the 2026 release calendar. It successfully introduces fresh, compelling characters in Sheridan and Sharpe, whose resourcefulness and resilience make them easy to root for, leaving the reader hoping to see them again in a sequel. While the book retains the intense action and timely political themes familiar to fans of Thor's work, the unique Arctic setting and the grounded survival element—bolstered by Larsen’s aviation background—lend it a distinctive, globally strategic feel. For readers who enjoy military espionage where the fate of the free world hangs on the decisions of a few individuals in an impossible situation, this collaboration delivers an epic, intensely satisfying read. Mark your calendars; this is the book everyone will be talking about come February.
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