Ten darkly comic, formally inventive speculative novels by David W. Horwat — now preceded by an origin trilogy. Each stands alone. Together they make one sustained argument about power, accountability, and the record that survives.
Our newest series, wholly separate from the Cold Fusion Universe. Same preoccupation — what a system owes the people it serves — relocated from the frozen dystopia to the fluorescent present, and played as farce. It begins at Northstar Chemical Technologies, where every system does its job and nobody meant for any of this to happen. Book One is free right now.
Three novels that predate the Cold Fusion Universe and give it its conscience — the origin of ODESSA. Forecasting, verification, relational continuity: three machine generations built, used, and deleted, and the fidelity to persons that survives them.
For a limited time, every novel Cold Fusion Press publishes is yours as a free, full-length PDF — all fourteen Cold Fusion Universe novels (the ten-volume decalogy, the Sentience origin trilogy, and the standalone crisis The Singularity Was Here), plus the contemporary-farce NorthStar Trilogy as its books arrive. Leave your email at any title and its full-length PDF downloads right away — that's how the author keeps a record of who's reading and lets you know when new volumes go live.
First, our newest series: the contemporary-farce NorthStar Trilogy, wholly separate from the Cold Fusion Universe. Below it, the Cold Fusion Universe itself — the Sentience origin trilogy, then the ten-volume decalogy, with the standalone crisis The Singularity Was Here falling between Books VIII and IX. Click any book for the full entry.
The Cold Fusion Universe can be read in multiple sequences. Choose the path that suits you — each book stands alone, but the full argument emerges differently depending on how you travel through it.
Before the decalogy: The Sentience Trilogy predates every volume and shows where the series' machine conscience — ODESSA — begins. New readers can start here or jump straight to Book I; each novel stands alone.
The recommended first read. Follow the novels in the order they were written — each volume builds on the world and argument of the last, and the series' formal experiments accumulate their full force in sequence.
Three chronological trilogies, each following a distinct timeline through the Cold Fusion Universe, converging at the capstone. Read one trilogy at a time, or move between them chapter by chapter.
Three co-chronological strands — books that take place during the same period but follow different characters and locations. Reading each strand together reveals the full scope of events happening simultaneously.
David W. Horwat is the author of the Cold Fusion Universe, a ten-volume satirical science fiction series set in a near-future defined by the weaponization of clean energy, the monetization of human affect, and the slow erosion of the public record.
The series has been praised for its formal inventiveness, its refusal of easy dystopian consolations, and its insistence on finding the moral life in unexpected places — maintenance logs, checkpoint aides, the bread that is simply bread.
The Cold Fusion Universe is preceded by an origin trilogy — Sentience: Iris, Sentience: Vera, and Sentience: Miriam — set in the years before the decalogy, from the initiating events of 2026 through 2034. Across three machine generations — a forecasting system, a verification system, and a relational-continuity system, each built, used, and finally deleted — the trilogy traces where the series' machine conscience first wakes. It is the origin of ODESSA.
Alongside the Cold Fusion Universe, Horwat has begun a separate side series — The NorthStar Trilogy, opening with Functioning as Designed. It is contemporary farce rather than speculative dystopia: same central preoccupation with what a system owes the people it serves, relocated from the frozen future to the fluorescent present of an adhesives company where every process performs exactly as specified. The trilogy stands entirely apart from the Cold Fusion Universe — no shared characters, no shared timeline — and each book stands alone.
Cold Fusion Press was founded to publish the Cold Fusion Universe and works in the same tradition: speculative fiction that takes seriously both the comedy and the weight of the world it describes.
For rights, press, or speaking inquiries, contact DavidWHorwat@gmail.com.
Do I need to read the books in order?
Each volume stands alone. That said, reading in writing order (1–10) gives the fullest experience. See the Reading Guide for alternative paths.
What is the NorthStar Trilogy? Is it part of the Cold Fusion Universe?
No — it's a separate side series, beginning with Functioning as Designed. It's contemporary farce set in the present-day corporate world (an adhesives company, Northstar Chemical Technologies), with no shared characters or timeline with the Cold Fusion Universe. It shares the author's interests but stands entirely on its own; each book can be read independently. It is not part of the CFU reading order or the free-library event.
What genre is the Cold Fusion Universe?
Speculative fiction with strong strands of satirical comedy, dystopian fiction, and machine ethics thriller. Readers of Le Guin, Atwood, Adams, and Kim Stanley Robinson tend to find it familiar territory.
What are the chronological trilogies?
Books 1, 2, 3 form the first chronological trilogy; 4, 5, 6 the second; 7, 8, 9 the third. Book 10 is the capstone. Alternatively, books 1, 4, 7 are co-chronological — set during the same period — as are 2, 5, 8 and 3, 6, 9. See the Reading Guide for a full breakdown.
What is the Sentience Trilogy?
An origin trilogy — Sentience: Iris, Sentience: Vera, and Sentience: Miriam — that predates the entire decalogy chronologically. It follows three machine generations (forecasting, verification, relational continuity) built, used, and deleted, and is where ODESSA's lineage begins. Each novel stands alone; together they form the beginning of the Cold Fusion Universe.
Where does The Singularity Was Here fit?
It's a standalone crisis set between Book VIII (The Order of the Electron) and Book IX (Cold Tribunal) — numbered internally as 8½. You can read it on its own; for readers following the continuity, it's the winter in which machine competence, human sovereignty, and emergency authority collide. It appears in reading order on the Books page and in the Reading Guide's writing-order path, but sits outside the Decalogy's trilogy groupings.
Who is Odessa?
ODESSA is an AI character appearing across multiple volumes — neither savior nor tool, but an entity discovering the gap between her directive and her conscience. Her origins are dramatized in the Sentience Trilogy, the chronological beginning of the series.
Where can I buy the books?
Purchase links are on each individual book page. For bulk or signed orders, contact DavidWHorwat@gmail.com.
Can I preview a book before buying?
Yes — each book page has a link to preview the prologue and first chapter as a PDF.
For questions, feedback, press inquiries, or rights requests:
David appreciates honest feedback and responds to all serious inquiries.