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Project Earth #2
Keepers
Two sisters, one from a megacity and one from the wilderness, work together to protect the wilderness and the reintroduction of wolves from a group more interested in private property than public good. In a future Earth that's run by brilliant green cities separated by open land held in common for the good of wild things, two sisters must work together across and between the vastly different environments to root out dangers to both. They must protect the cities and the wild from the Returners, who prefer the toxic past to the difficult present. The older sister, Lou, her protector Shuska, and biologist friend Matchiko have reputations as successful rugged environmentalists. They must stay safe, listen, work, and sleuth out hidden nests of Returners. Oh, and save a few wolves along the way. In the meantime, Lou's younger sister, Coryn, is learning that working for the most powerful woman behind the scenes in a megacity is far harder than it looks. When the Returners threaten the city, the sisters must find a way to preserve both their ways of life. Keepers asks, Do humans have enough creativity, responsibility, and generosity to survive?
- GenresScience Fiction
466 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2018
3 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Cooper
127 books144 followersBrenda Cooper writes science fiction,fantasy, and poetry.
Brenda's most recent novels are EDGE of DARK and SPEAR OF LIGHT from Pyr and POST from ESpec Books. Edge of Dark won the 2016 Endeavour Award for a notable science fiction or fantasy novel by a Northwest author.
Other recent novels include the duology THE CREATIVE FIRE and THE DIAMOND DEEP, also from Pyr.
Brenda released two collections in 2015. Her all science fiction CRACKING THE SKY came out from Fairwood Press and her all-fantasy ebook collection BEYOND THE WATERFALL DOOR was created through a six-author Kickstarter project.
Brenda is the author of the Endeavor award winner for 2008: THE SILVER SHIP AND THE SEA, and of two sequels, READING THE WIND and WINGS OF CREATION. She has written a novel with Larry Niven, called BUILDING HARLEQUIN's MOON, and a solo stand-alone novel, MAYAN DECEMBER. She has numerous stories that have published in a variety of magazines, from Nature to Asimov's. Many of her stories have been selected for Year's Best anthologies.
By day, Brenda is the City of Kirkland’s CIO, and at night and in early morning hours, she’s a futurist and writer. She lives in the pacific northwest o the United States of America.
Brenda's most recent novels are EDGE of DARK and SPEAR OF LIGHT from Pyr and POST from ESpec Books. Edge of Dark won the 2016 Endeavour Award for a notable science fiction or fantasy novel by a Northwest author.
Other recent novels include the duology THE CREATIVE FIRE and THE DIAMOND DEEP, also from Pyr.
Brenda released two collections in 2015. Her all science fiction CRACKING THE SKY came out from Fairwood Press and her all-fantasy ebook collection BEYOND THE WATERFALL DOOR was created through a six-author Kickstarter project.
Brenda is the author of the Endeavor award winner for 2008: THE SILVER SHIP AND THE SEA, and of two sequels, READING THE WIND and WINGS OF CREATION. She has written a novel with Larry Niven, called BUILDING HARLEQUIN's MOON, and a solo stand-alone novel, MAYAN DECEMBER. She has numerous stories that have published in a variety of magazines, from Nature to Asimov's. Many of her stories have been selected for Year's Best anthologies.
By day, Brenda is the City of Kirkland’s CIO, and at night and in early morning hours, she’s a futurist and writer. She lives in the pacific northwest o the United States of America.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 6, 2018
Brenda Cooper has been an uneven writer throughout her career, sometimes delivering quality science fiction and other times falling well short of that mark -- and sadly, "Keepers" lands in the latter category (and really should be a 2.5).
The premise of both books is a near future in which a few cities in the United States forcibly removed all the people and cattle from almost the entire country, and now those who live outside the technologically advanced and almost utopian cities are technically outlaws. Only Wilders -- those charged with removing human artifacts such as roads, buildings and vineyards -- are supposed to be outside the cities, but naturally there are those who slip through the cracks.
One such group is the Returners, who want to go back to the way things were, and "Keepers" involves the struggle between the Returners and the new order. At the center are sisters Lou and Coryn Williams, who were raised as poor orphans in Seacouver but through a series of unlikely occurrences find themselves in positions of authority even though both are quite young (Coryn is a teen-ager).
It's also worth noting that all of the central characters are female, and even Coryn's love interest is cisgender (referred to as "they" throughout) and it's never clear if Imre is male or female -- and it's also made clear that doesn't matter.
But regardless of the political slant of the book, it rises or falls on the story and the characters, and neither are particularly compelling. Coryn just happens to be "breathtakingly beautiful," an elite distance runner, and makes major decisions about the future of billions of people as an adolescent. Lou is equally capable, though both are challenged by the Returners and their actions.
Cooper's intentions are good, and her past work suggests she can produce quality scifi -- but unfortunately, "Keepers" does not reach that standard.
The premise of both books is a near future in which a few cities in the United States forcibly removed all the people and cattle from almost the entire country, and now those who live outside the technologically advanced and almost utopian cities are technically outlaws. Only Wilders -- those charged with removing human artifacts such as roads, buildings and vineyards -- are supposed to be outside the cities, but naturally there are those who slip through the cracks.
One such group is the Returners, who want to go back to the way things were, and "Keepers" involves the struggle between the Returners and the new order. At the center are sisters Lou and Coryn Williams, who were raised as poor orphans in Seacouver but through a series of unlikely occurrences find themselves in positions of authority even though both are quite young (Coryn is a teen-ager).
It's also worth noting that all of the central characters are female, and even Coryn's love interest is cisgender (referred to as "they" throughout) and it's never clear if Imre is male or female -- and it's also made clear that doesn't matter.
But regardless of the political slant of the book, it rises or falls on the story and the characters, and neither are particularly compelling. Coryn just happens to be "breathtakingly beautiful," an elite distance runner, and makes major decisions about the future of billions of people as an adolescent. Lou is equally capable, though both are challenged by the Returners and their actions.
Cooper's intentions are good, and her past work suggests she can produce quality scifi -- but unfortunately, "Keepers" does not reach that standard.
August 4, 2018
Errors in grammar and occasional portions of nonsense text were annoyances but the real problem for me was in the juvenile vocabulary and the general lack of details in describing the technology elements. The main characters come off as shallow and immature.
The same issues were present in the first book in the series—Wilders.
I liked the premise for the series but I have concluded the books are not written for adult science fiction readers.
The same issues were present in the first book in the series—Wilders.
I liked the premise for the series but I have concluded the books are not written for adult science fiction readers.
June 30, 2019
Really good, I like the representation of the non-standard male-female gender relationships, and that the leading characters are about women saving the world as they know it. So refreshing. The is probably more of a YA audience, maybe? But I’m still glad I read it as an adult.
October 7, 2018
Enjoyed this story of two sisters try to save the environment and a city together.
August 28, 2021
this is book 2. I like it better than book 1. I enjoy the local aspect, set in Washington State. The element of uncertainty is very pervasive and is uncomfortable for me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews