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Contributor #0.5
Creators
When the imminent collapse of the world’s food system threatens to all but eradicate the human race, it’s up to nineteen-year-old Liang Zhang to determine which of his company’s employees will live and which will die.
Liang and the other Job Creators have only weeks to choose which of their staff and families to move into the domes, the last refuges on the barren planet. Despite their best efforts, the Job Creators are unable to keep their selection project under wraps, spurring violent protests against the privileged few.
Now, Liang must race: against starvation, against insurrection, and against his own conscience.
A YA novella of approximately 80 pages, Creators is a prequel to the Contributor trilogy.
Liang and the other Job Creators have only weeks to choose which of their staff and families to move into the domes, the last refuges on the barren planet. Despite their best efforts, the Job Creators are unable to keep their selection project under wraps, spurring violent protests against the privileged few.
Now, Liang must race: against starvation, against insurrection, and against his own conscience.
A YA novella of approximately 80 pages, Creators is a prequel to the Contributor trilogy.
Nook
First published January 1, 2012
17 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Ciacchella
38 books160 followersNicole has never met a genre she doesn't like. She dabbles in everything from science fiction to contemporary rom-coms to fantasy fiction.
Nicole has previously published under the pen names Elizabeth Darcy and Anne Wentworth, but is no longer using those names.
Nicole has had a lifelong passion for the written word. As a child, one of her most treasured Christmas gifts was an electric typewriter, which enabled her to crank out her stories even more quickly than she could with a pen. Naturally, the personal computer is one of her favorite inventions. When she isn't writing, Nicole can usually be found curled up in a chair, whiling away the hours with a good book.
One of Nicole's other great passions is travel, and she has visited Europe, as well as traveling to many of the fifty states. Her favorite trips include visits to Paris, Maui, and various parts of Belgium. She feels fortunate that she is married to a native Belgian, as it gives her plenty of reasons to visit Europe as often as possible. Also, it gives her an excuse to eat Belgian waffles regularly.
Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole lives there still with her husband and two beautiful children. She thinks Michigan is the greatest state in the country, and Michigan State University is the greatest university in the world.
Nicole has previously published under the pen names Elizabeth Darcy and Anne Wentworth, but is no longer using those names.
Nicole has had a lifelong passion for the written word. As a child, one of her most treasured Christmas gifts was an electric typewriter, which enabled her to crank out her stories even more quickly than she could with a pen. Naturally, the personal computer is one of her favorite inventions. When she isn't writing, Nicole can usually be found curled up in a chair, whiling away the hours with a good book.
One of Nicole's other great passions is travel, and she has visited Europe, as well as traveling to many of the fifty states. Her favorite trips include visits to Paris, Maui, and various parts of Belgium. She feels fortunate that she is married to a native Belgian, as it gives her plenty of reasons to visit Europe as often as possible. Also, it gives her an excuse to eat Belgian waffles regularly.
Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole lives there still with her husband and two beautiful children. She thinks Michigan is the greatest state in the country, and Michigan State University is the greatest university in the world.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 30, 2023
Scrolling through my books, looking for something to read, I came across Creators by Nicole Ciacchella, a ninety page novella in the Contributor series. I find the cover and title interesting, making me curious, and I do love apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. When I saw it was about the food system being threatened, I thought….could this be a portent about what is to come for us?
With all the ecological damage being done to the planet, the overpopulation, what happens when there isn’t enough left for everyone to survive? Who makes the choice of who to save and who to leave to their own devices? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Well, we shall see. Even good people have to make hard choices. Would you choose to stay behind and let someone else have your spot?
A lot of my emotions rose to the surface. I felt disgust for those who had no thought for anyone but themselves, empathy for those knowing what is going on and having to make difficult choices, despair for those who figure things out and know they are being left to fend for themselves, almost no food, no water, the planet a barren landscape.
What would I do? What would you do? Does throwing ourselves to the wolves benefit anyone? How do we live with ourselves?
Glad I have Contributor, Book I, by Nicole Ciacchella to see what happens next.
With all the ecological damage being done to the planet, the overpopulation, what happens when there isn’t enough left for everyone to survive? Who makes the choice of who to save and who to leave to their own devices? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Well, we shall see. Even good people have to make hard choices. Would you choose to stay behind and let someone else have your spot?
A lot of my emotions rose to the surface. I felt disgust for those who had no thought for anyone but themselves, empathy for those knowing what is going on and having to make difficult choices, despair for those who figure things out and know they are being left to fend for themselves, almost no food, no water, the planet a barren landscape.
What would I do? What would you do? Does throwing ourselves to the wolves benefit anyone? How do we live with ourselves?
Glad I have Contributor, Book I, by Nicole Ciacchella to see what happens next.
July 1, 2013
4.5
The food system on Earth is collapsing despite the best efforts of the Job Creators and their staff of Contributors to find ways to feed the masses. The human race is about to be wiped out and the only way to save it is to choose the ones who will be admitted to the newly constructed Domes.
With the death of his father, 19-year-old Liang Zhang’s shoulders now have the unenviable responsibility of choosing who to allow into his company’s Dome. Each family, each person, is evaluated and he must make the final decision as to who lives and who dies because the Dome will only sustain 125,000 people and the population needs to be diverse to take care of the jobs that need doing. Every person needs to Contribute in order to qualify for the limited resources. I wouldn’t want to make those decisions. Would you? Liang Zhang sure doesn’t, but he must. Time is running out.
After reading Contributor I saw that there was a prequel short available, one that describes how and why the Domes came about. This short story is filled with tension, lots of tension and a thousand, a million, terrible choices that must be made. To top it off those choices land squarely on a 19-year-old. I can’t imagine making those choices at the age I am now, making them at 19 seems grossly unfair. To be put into that position before you have had a chance to really live will shape a person for the rest of their life. But will it be a good thing or a bad thing? Will it give the person a God-complex, break his mind or remind him that life is precious and those left behind should never be forgotten? What do you think it would do to you?
*Book source ~ Picked up for free on Amazon.
The food system on Earth is collapsing despite the best efforts of the Job Creators and their staff of Contributors to find ways to feed the masses. The human race is about to be wiped out and the only way to save it is to choose the ones who will be admitted to the newly constructed Domes.
With the death of his father, 19-year-old Liang Zhang’s shoulders now have the unenviable responsibility of choosing who to allow into his company’s Dome. Each family, each person, is evaluated and he must make the final decision as to who lives and who dies because the Dome will only sustain 125,000 people and the population needs to be diverse to take care of the jobs that need doing. Every person needs to Contribute in order to qualify for the limited resources. I wouldn’t want to make those decisions. Would you? Liang Zhang sure doesn’t, but he must. Time is running out.
After reading Contributor I saw that there was a prequel short available, one that describes how and why the Domes came about. This short story is filled with tension, lots of tension and a thousand, a million, terrible choices that must be made. To top it off those choices land squarely on a 19-year-old. I can’t imagine making those choices at the age I am now, making them at 19 seems grossly unfair. To be put into that position before you have had a chance to really live will shape a person for the rest of their life. But will it be a good thing or a bad thing? Will it give the person a God-complex, break his mind or remind him that life is precious and those left behind should never be forgotten? What do you think it would do to you?
*Book source ~ Picked up for free on Amazon.
Read
February 10, 2014Creators is a prequel novella to Contributor and Infiltrator, both of which are available now on Amazon. When I wrote Contributor, I hadn't planned on doing a prequel, but I really enjoyed writing Creators as it gave me a chance to shine a light on the way the world is structured without being info-dumpy about it. I admit that I'm not a fan of the infodump, so I try to avoid it in my books as much as possible.
Want notification of when book three in the trilogy releases? Join my mailing list: Nicole C's Book Babbles!
Want notification of when book three in the trilogy releases? Join my mailing list: Nicole C's Book Babbles!
May 1, 2013
Really loved this book as well. It gave a LOT of insight into the "dome world". I really hope maybe somehow the characters get a little tied into the Contributor series (if they are still alive I am not sure how much time has passed, I'm not sure if we do know, or if I forgot). It's a really great book though to explain a lot!! Definitely a must read series! I am going to be DYING for #2!!!!
March 2, 2013
Review to come.
January 29, 2021
An interesting, if a little slow, short story that serves as a prequel to the Contributor series. Unlike a lot of prequels, this one can be read entirely without knowledge of the main series. While it's open-ended, it's the kind that makes you want to know more and gives some kind of closure rather than a horrible cliffhanger.
It's your basic YA dystopian setting: The world on the brink of ecological collapse and big multi-corporations are making their plans to "save" humanity on their own terms. However, unlike a lot of YA that makes easy villains of scheming businessmen, this one focuses on the emotional state of those few unenviable elites who have to make some tough decisions as their world comes crashing down around them.
In any other YA series, I'd have expected at least one of the "Creators" (those who run the big companies and provide jobs in exchange for food and shelter) to be some callous, cackling villain, but for once these people are portrayed as conflicted and human. It's a nice touch that even adults are allowed to be human sometimes! If you're going to take the usual tricks and tropes, might as well make them your own in the way this author has done.
It can feel quite slow going, what with most of the events centred around the Creators holding meetings to discuss the crisis unfolding, but we also get some personal moment from the young Creator Liang and his sister Mei.
Well written if a little low-octane for a YA dystopian read, it's the perfect taster to a new series.
It's your basic YA dystopian setting: The world on the brink of ecological collapse and big multi-corporations are making their plans to "save" humanity on their own terms. However, unlike a lot of YA that makes easy villains of scheming businessmen, this one focuses on the emotional state of those few unenviable elites who have to make some tough decisions as their world comes crashing down around them.
In any other YA series, I'd have expected at least one of the "Creators" (those who run the big companies and provide jobs in exchange for food and shelter) to be some callous, cackling villain, but for once these people are portrayed as conflicted and human. It's a nice touch that even adults are allowed to be human sometimes! If you're going to take the usual tricks and tropes, might as well make them your own in the way this author has done.
It can feel quite slow going, what with most of the events centred around the Creators holding meetings to discuss the crisis unfolding, but we also get some personal moment from the young Creator Liang and his sister Mei.
Well written if a little low-octane for a YA dystopian read, it's the perfect taster to a new series.
June 16, 2022
Food for thought
When I finished this book I was unsure if I was terrified or just found it very interesting! Terrified, because it could actually happen. I'm pretty sure I hope I never see it, but I liked that the concept, as well as the emotional reactions of the characters, were included in the story. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.
When I finished this book I was unsure if I was terrified or just found it very interesting! Terrified, because it could actually happen. I'm pretty sure I hope I never see it, but I liked that the concept, as well as the emotional reactions of the characters, were included in the story. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.
May 4, 2018
Excellently Devastating!
Disturbing, but seriously thought provoking, whilst oddly engaging!
How would we act if we found ourselves in this situation...the world changing beyond our comprehension!
Well done, Nicole!
Disturbing, but seriously thought provoking, whilst oddly engaging!
How would we act if we found ourselves in this situation...the world changing beyond our comprehension!
Well done, Nicole!
June 16, 2018
It was interesting to see how the series started. The creators were not likable people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2022
A compelling story.
A very good book. There were a few slow bits but nothing that would take a star off. I do recommend.
A very good book. There were a few slow bits but nothing that would take a star off. I do recommend.
December 9, 2023
Was quite good - would happily read more
August 20, 2018
I would change rating to 3.5 but I am going to round down. This is a good short story with great context for the trilogy without giving anything away for the trilogy. I didn't care for some of the names in this book, example: I was always thinking of his assistant as a girl and having to fix it in my brain each time I read the name...see if you do the same.
March 3, 2017
In Earth's future, natural resources have been used up and hard choices must be made as to who will survive. There are the Creators who have come up with the plan to extend what resources are left. The only problem is that they have miscalculated and the resources have been all but expended. The only recourse are to enter pre established domes built for survival of the human race, but the general population is very upset because not everyone can be saved, hence the dilemma.
March 19, 2014
Creators (Contributor 0.5)
Creators is a prequel to the Contributor series by Nicole Ciacchella. It starts off with a scary realization, and ends with a promise of a great new series. It's a free taste of the world before Contributor, which I've just begin reading after I finished this. I've been spellbound ever since.
This novella really makes you think "what if". There are so many threats today: war, terrorists, disease, asteroids, and more. What if the thing we need to fear the most is something that most of us take for granted? What if the thing we need to fear the most is something we must have in order to survive? What if we take a look at a threat that so many people in the world are already facing....lack of food? This short book really opened my eyes to a future that we may already be creating, eerily enough. There are millions of people on Earth who don't have enough to eat already. Add in the pollution & all the other environmental damage we've been loading our planet down with. Then factor in the truth that we PAY farmers NOT TO FARM. A few horrific years of bad weather later and we could end up, all of us, in the position of the group in the book Creators. I found this story chilling and eye opening.
I highly recommend this book, and after you read it download a sample of Contributor. I'm pretty sure, like myself after reading the 6 chapter sample, you'll be hungry for more. No pun intended.
Creators is a prequel to the Contributor series by Nicole Ciacchella. It starts off with a scary realization, and ends with a promise of a great new series. It's a free taste of the world before Contributor, which I've just begin reading after I finished this. I've been spellbound ever since.
This novella really makes you think "what if". There are so many threats today: war, terrorists, disease, asteroids, and more. What if the thing we need to fear the most is something that most of us take for granted? What if the thing we need to fear the most is something we must have in order to survive? What if we take a look at a threat that so many people in the world are already facing....lack of food? This short book really opened my eyes to a future that we may already be creating, eerily enough. There are millions of people on Earth who don't have enough to eat already. Add in the pollution & all the other environmental damage we've been loading our planet down with. Then factor in the truth that we PAY farmers NOT TO FARM. A few horrific years of bad weather later and we could end up, all of us, in the position of the group in the book Creators. I found this story chilling and eye opening.
I highly recommend this book, and after you read it download a sample of Contributor. I'm pretty sure, like myself after reading the 6 chapter sample, you'll be hungry for more. No pun intended.
June 14, 2014
Creators is a prequel to Contributor in which Liang Zhang must struggle with his company's failure to provide enough food for the world. He must make tough decisions that ultimately ends with the creation of the Zhang dome. This is a short, quick read that really shows the turmoil the world went through and what difficult decisions the job creators had to make in dealing with the food collapse and the solution of the domes.
I really enjoyed this and it gave a lot of good backstory to what what shown in the rest of the trilogy. You really root for Zhang and what he goes through (inheriting the mess from his father), as well as what the other job creators did. You can see how they start with good intentions when first creating the domes. This story is centered on Zhang so we don't get a whole lot of insight into Magnum other than their creation of transports and security.
This is a good read for anyone who has read the other books and I highly recommend it.
I really enjoyed this and it gave a lot of good backstory to what what shown in the rest of the trilogy. You really root for Zhang and what he goes through (inheriting the mess from his father), as well as what the other job creators did. You can see how they start with good intentions when first creating the domes. This story is centered on Zhang so we don't get a whole lot of insight into Magnum other than their creation of transports and security.
This is a good read for anyone who has read the other books and I highly recommend it.
June 9, 2015
I found this prequel to be very interesting and it really made me want to read the series. Unfortunately, when I went and read the synopsis for the first book, it doesn't have any of the same characters in it. And although I found the premise to be interesting, I actually really wanted to continue reading about the individuals in Creators. Admittedly, I will not be reading the series but would still recommend the prequel as a really good dystopian story. As long as you don't mind there not being a real ending. Since the series doesn't involve really any of the characters from the prequel, you would be getting a cliff hanger with the prequel whether you read the series or not.
November 11, 2014
2.5 stars
(Downloaded for free from Amazon.co.uk)
I just read this, but I can’t say much of it really went in. This was basically a short story about evaluating people to determine who would be of greatest worth in the domes, in a necessary culling of people, as the domes would only be able to support a certain number. It was literally a case of get rid, or everybody dies. Other than that though, I didn’t really pick much up. It went in, and right back out again.
5 out of 10.
(Downloaded for free from Amazon.co.uk)
I just read this, but I can’t say much of it really went in. This was basically a short story about evaluating people to determine who would be of greatest worth in the domes, in a necessary culling of people, as the domes would only be able to support a certain number. It was literally a case of get rid, or everybody dies. Other than that though, I didn’t really pick much up. It went in, and right back out again.
5 out of 10.
October 9, 2014
I loved this prequel. It gives a very realistic depiction of how people (both in charge and on the street) would react to a horrible realization such as not having enough food. It must be tough to make such hard decisions and I don't envy the Creators in this novel. I'm excited to read book one!
May 18, 2016
Creator - Contributor prequel
It's always wonderful to get an idea of the World your diving into, especially one as seemingly complex as this one. I hope that the prequel some somehow has a connection to future books. I can see Mei as a free thinker.
It's always wonderful to get an idea of the World your diving into, especially one as seemingly complex as this one. I hope that the prequel some somehow has a connection to future books. I can see Mei as a free thinker.
August 3, 2014
SO GOOD!
SO GOOD!
Absolutely enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more about the domes and what happens to the dome inhabitants and those left outside!
SO GOOD!
Absolutely enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more about the domes and what happens to the dome inhabitants and those left outside!
April 6, 2017
This short novella was interesting, yet also very undeveloped. What happened to the world to make it that way? That question is never answered and although it might be answered in the series that follows this book, it makes this book feel incomplete. A party of a story, but not quite a story in itself.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews