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Ruby's Song #1
The Creative Fire
Ruby Martin expects to spend her days repairing robots while avoiding the dangerous peacekeeping forces that roam the corridors of the generation ship the Creative Fire....
The social structure of the ship is rigidly divided, with Ruby and her friends on the bottom. Then a ship-wide accident gives Ruby a chance to fight for the freedom she craves. Her enemies are numerous, well armed, and knowledgeable. Her weapons are a fabulous voice, a quick mind, and a deep stubbornness. Complicating it all - an unreliable AI and an enigmatic man she met - and kissed - exactly once - who may hold the key to her success. If Ruby can't transform from a rebellious teen to the leader of a revolution, she and all her friends will lose all say in their future. Like the historical Evita Peron, Ruby rises from the dregs of society to hold incredible popularity and power. Her story is about love and lust and need and a thirst for knowledge and influence so deep that it burns.
The social structure of the ship is rigidly divided, with Ruby and her friends on the bottom. Then a ship-wide accident gives Ruby a chance to fight for the freedom she craves. Her enemies are numerous, well armed, and knowledgeable. Her weapons are a fabulous voice, a quick mind, and a deep stubbornness. Complicating it all - an unreliable AI and an enigmatic man she met - and kissed - exactly once - who may hold the key to her success. If Ruby can't transform from a rebellious teen to the leader of a revolution, she and all her friends will lose all say in their future. Like the historical Evita Peron, Ruby rises from the dregs of society to hold incredible popularity and power. Her story is about love and lust and need and a thirst for knowledge and influence so deep that it burns.
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First published January 1, 2012
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About the author
Brenda Cooper
127 books145 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 - 30 of 47 reviews
November 23, 2015
19/11 - I'm mostly enjoying this, but there are some irritations. Sometimes the writing is choppy, staccato. Cooper writes a few too many one or two word sentences, which pretty much go against the normal rules of sentence structure and grammar - a sentence is made up of a couple of specific things, a single word sentence simply can't contain all those things. Even worse is her persistence in calling a place common, as in "We're going to common", "I'll meet you at common", "Common was full of people". Why can she not use the word the? In this context 'common' is a room where people gather, rather like a living room. "I'm going to living room" is not a correct sentence, so why does Cooper think she can write it like that just because she's using an alternate word and it's set in a different galaxy than ours? You can't make up the rules of grammar to suit yourself (well you can, but people are going to notice and complain and lower their ratings of your book).
I don't really like Ruby. Even though she denies it to herself and Dayn, it does feel like she abandoned the rest of the grays to get what she wanted - the chance to sing and have everyone hear her (to me that feels more like an attention-grabbing teen than the disarmingly young leader of a revolution). She stirred the students up into an attempted revolution, but when everything went wrong she was the only one lucky enough to get a lifeline out of there. She seemed to forget about them pretty quickly, only having the occasional guilt pang. She's more focused on Fox and what he thinks of her and if he might be getting tired of her.
The cover does have nice artwork, but it doesn't show a very true representation of the Ruby that the book describes. The woman on the cover is way too old to be the 16/17-year-old that Cooper describes Ruby as, she looks like she's in her 30s (at least). At no point in time has Ruby, or anyone else, been described as having a gun. At the very beginning the Reds are said to carry stunners, but I have a hard time believing a gun that's nearly as long as Ruby is tall would be just a stunner. The gun in the picture is definitely a high powered weapon, a machine gun or the laser equivalent (depending on their technology).
Even though I'm still interested in continuing the book, I would be less interested if I hadn't read the first book in the spinoff series, Edge of Dark. I was in the minority that really enjoyed that book and so I want to finish this and the sequel in order to better understand Ruby, as she and the events that surround her were referenced a number of times in that book (and I assume, will be in the rest of the series). To be continued...
23/11 - I was quite disappointed with this book. I was looking for an explanation for why Ruby is considered a heroic rebel leader in Edge of Dark. What I got was a teenager who didn't want to follow the logical advice of people more knowledgeable and more experienced than her and the characters looking up to another heroic rebel leader from sometime in the past, whose experiences aren't well explained for unexplained reasons. I also got even more unanswered questions regarding why things are the way they are - no one remembers anything from before their lifetime (no history books, nothing taught in education classes), and the AI running the ship, Ix, is buggy and refuses to explain anything properly unless you ask the exact right question. No one knows what the ship looks like from the outside, most of the people on the ship had no idea why they were on a ship or where they were going, and all information is disseminated so that no one person knows more than a small portion of the whole truth. I found all that secrecy completely ridiculous and counter-intuitive to successfully completing their mission (which also wasn't properly explained but seemed to have something to do with exploring a few planets in different star systems and taking some samples, for unknown reasons).
If you haven't read or finished this book, don't read the synopsis for the next one, unless (like me) you get bored with this book and just want to know the main points of what's going to happen in the end. The synopsis reveals pretty much all the 'cliff hanger' moments of the end of this book, of which there are a few. The book ended very abruptly, it felt like it was a chapter ending, but there were no more pages. I have The Diamond Deep waiting for me, so I think I'll just skim it to see what the final conclusion is, but I'm glad I read Edge of Dark first. I never would have continued if this was the first of Cooper's books that I was reading.
I don't really like Ruby. Even though she denies it to herself and Dayn, it does feel like she abandoned the rest of the grays to get what she wanted - the chance to sing and have everyone hear her (to me that feels more like an attention-grabbing teen than the disarmingly young leader of a revolution). She stirred the students up into an attempted revolution, but when everything went wrong she was the only one lucky enough to get a lifeline out of there. She seemed to forget about them pretty quickly, only having the occasional guilt pang. She's more focused on Fox and what he thinks of her and if he might be getting tired of her.
The cover does have nice artwork, but it doesn't show a very true representation of the Ruby that the book describes. The woman on the cover is way too old to be the 16/17-year-old that Cooper describes Ruby as, she looks like she's in her 30s (at least). At no point in time has Ruby, or anyone else, been described as having a gun. At the very beginning the Reds are said to carry stunners, but I have a hard time believing a gun that's nearly as long as Ruby is tall would be just a stunner. The gun in the picture is definitely a high powered weapon, a machine gun or the laser equivalent (depending on their technology).
Even though I'm still interested in continuing the book, I would be less interested if I hadn't read the first book in the spinoff series, Edge of Dark. I was in the minority that really enjoyed that book and so I want to finish this and the sequel in order to better understand Ruby, as she and the events that surround her were referenced a number of times in that book (and I assume, will be in the rest of the series). To be continued...
23/11 - I was quite disappointed with this book. I was looking for an explanation for why Ruby is considered a heroic rebel leader in Edge of Dark. What I got was a teenager who didn't want to follow the logical advice of people more knowledgeable and more experienced than her and the characters looking up to another heroic rebel leader from sometime in the past, whose experiences aren't well explained for unexplained reasons. I also got even more unanswered questions regarding why things are the way they are - no one remembers anything from before their lifetime (no history books, nothing taught in education classes), and the AI running the ship, Ix, is buggy and refuses to explain anything properly unless you ask the exact right question. No one knows what the ship looks like from the outside, most of the people on the ship had no idea why they were on a ship or where they were going, and all information is disseminated so that no one person knows more than a small portion of the whole truth. I found all that secrecy completely ridiculous and counter-intuitive to successfully completing their mission (which also wasn't properly explained but seemed to have something to do with exploring a few planets in different star systems and taking some samples, for unknown reasons).
If you haven't read or finished this book, don't read the synopsis for the next one, unless (like me) you get bored with this book and just want to know the main points of what's going to happen in the end. The synopsis reveals pretty much all the 'cliff hanger' moments of the end of this book, of which there are a few. The book ended very abruptly, it felt like it was a chapter ending, but there were no more pages. I have The Diamond Deep waiting for me, so I think I'll just skim it to see what the final conclusion is, but I'm glad I read Edge of Dark first. I never would have continued if this was the first of Cooper's books that I was reading.
May 3, 2020
Two stars on a good day. Ruby is a gray (people are known by the color of their uniform). She’s apprenticing in robot repair and is almost finished with her last year of school when the section of the ship she lives on, Creative Fire, starts to come apart at the seams. At the moment it happens she’s walking in a simulated park and, within seconds, the roof splits open and a blue falls through. It’s the first time she’s met one since they’re trapped in the park alone for some time, they get to know each other a little bit. Ruby’s always had the notion of freeing grays from their lives of servitude to the reds and little seen blues, but meeting Fox lights a bit of a fire under her to pursue her dreams of total freedom.
After the near catastrophe in Ruby’s pod she’s separated from her mother and two brothers, none of whom she’s really close too, but is able to stay with her two best friends Marcelle and Onor. Following the class finals Ruby’s plans to inspire other grays her age come to a head, but the results aren’t what she hoped for and she’s stuck with a job that will likely lead to injury or death.
Help comes from Fox, the blue she met when her pod fell apart. He takes her from her area to where he and other blues live. Turns out Fox’s job is music production and he has Ruby record a song, then several more; they hope to use them to galvanize the people who don’t want the status quo to stay as it is, especially since there are rumors that they’ll be returning to Adiamo, the home planet their predecessors left many generations ago.
When I won this book from Goodreads, judging from the blurb and the cover, I thought that Ruby was about 20 years old, but she’s 16 (though she keeps saying she became an adult, but I wasn’t sure if it was because she graduated or turned 17) and, at times, she seems a lot younger than that. I honestly never connected with her character and felt she was a brat a lot of the time. She made it seem like she learned from her mother’s mistakes, especially with men, but then she basically fancies herself in love with Fox after one meeting and assumes he feels the same way and jumps right into a relationship, among other things, with him. Then, it seemed like every single guy she met, no matter how old they were (oh, and it sounds like Fox is a good 10 years older than her, which isn’t awful, but when your 16/17? Eww.) turned her on at some point or another. It made her come off as really fickle, naïve, a little stupid and definitely slutty.
This wasn’t my biggest problem with Ruby and the book though. I didn’t get at all why everyone thought she was so important to an uprising. Everyone said she was so influential, one person even said he’d heard she was a genius, but it seemed like all she brought to the table was her ability to sing. Big whoop. She didn’t have a hand in planning anything and let herself be led around by Fox and his friends. Towards the end, once she’s . It seemed that Onor and his group were much more instrumental in everything that happened.
Another thing that ticked me off with this book was that it, literally, fell apart. I think I was on page 17 when the binding started coming off. Then, pages started falling out. The reason it took me months to read this was because I took it to a relative’s house over Thanksgiving and, by that time, it was down to about 75 pages barely being held together; I had put a magazine on top of it and totally forgot about it because it was so flat. If you’re going to make a book, even an ARC, try not to make it total crap.
Another thing that this book had against it was that I kept comparing it to Maria V. Snyder’s Inside, and this book was lacking. Snyder’s heroine was a much stronger main character and far more likeable. Though I didn’t enjoy the sequel as much, I’d still recommend Snyder’s books over this one and I don’t plan on reading the sequel.
After the near catastrophe in Ruby’s pod she’s separated from her mother and two brothers, none of whom she’s really close too, but is able to stay with her two best friends Marcelle and Onor. Following the class finals Ruby’s plans to inspire other grays her age come to a head, but the results aren’t what she hoped for and she’s stuck with a job that will likely lead to injury or death.
Help comes from Fox, the blue she met when her pod fell apart. He takes her from her area to where he and other blues live. Turns out Fox’s job is music production and he has Ruby record a song, then several more; they hope to use them to galvanize the people who don’t want the status quo to stay as it is, especially since there are rumors that they’ll be returning to Adiamo, the home planet their predecessors left many generations ago.
When I won this book from Goodreads, judging from the blurb and the cover, I thought that Ruby was about 20 years old, but she’s 16 (though she keeps saying she became an adult, but I wasn’t sure if it was because she graduated or turned 17) and, at times, she seems a lot younger than that. I honestly never connected with her character and felt she was a brat a lot of the time. She made it seem like she learned from her mother’s mistakes, especially with men, but then she basically fancies herself in love with Fox after one meeting and assumes he feels the same way and jumps right into a relationship, among other things, with him. Then, it seemed like every single guy she met, no matter how old they were (oh, and it sounds like Fox is a good 10 years older than her, which isn’t awful, but when your 16/17? Eww.) turned her on at some point or another. It made her come off as really fickle, naïve, a little stupid and definitely slutty.
This wasn’t my biggest problem with Ruby and the book though. I didn’t get at all why everyone thought she was so important to an uprising. Everyone said she was so influential, one person even said he’d heard she was a genius, but it seemed like all she brought to the table was her ability to sing. Big whoop. She didn’t have a hand in planning anything and let herself be led around by Fox and his friends. Towards the end, once she’s . It seemed that Onor and his group were much more instrumental in everything that happened.
Another thing that ticked me off with this book was that it, literally, fell apart. I think I was on page 17 when the binding started coming off. Then, pages started falling out. The reason it took me months to read this was because I took it to a relative’s house over Thanksgiving and, by that time, it was down to about 75 pages barely being held together; I had put a magazine on top of it and totally forgot about it because it was so flat. If you’re going to make a book, even an ARC, try not to make it total crap.
Another thing that this book had against it was that I kept comparing it to Maria V. Snyder’s Inside, and this book was lacking. Snyder’s heroine was a much stronger main character and far more likeable. Though I didn’t enjoy the sequel as much, I’d still recommend Snyder’s books over this one and I don’t plan on reading the sequel.
December 17, 2012
What I appreciated most about Brenda Cooper's book The Creative Fire was the many layers of her writing. As I read each chapter, it seemed like a new secret came out, something that revealed the world of Ruby Martin and her shipmates just a little more, but not enough to reveal what the story ending was going to be. I also liked that Ruby was a multi-faceted heroine. To me, it seems that feminine characters nowadays only show one part of their psyche. Either they're only defined by being with a man or they only want to see how they can impact the world, and there is no attention paid to any other relationships they have. I didn't see that with this character which is why I appreciated her so much.
I also liked the complexity of the plot. At first, it was frustrating not knowing everything that was going on, but then I realized that accurately portraying everything on the ship would make the book very large and would take a lot of the suspense out of the storyline. And there would also not be very much of a story for the upcoming books in the saga which I am looking forward to.
If you are interested in science fiction, relationships, and reading a book that keeps you guessing until the very end, I can wholeheartedly recommend The Creative Fire.
I also liked the complexity of the plot. At first, it was frustrating not knowing everything that was going on, but then I realized that accurately portraying everything on the ship would make the book very large and would take a lot of the suspense out of the storyline. And there would also not be very much of a story for the upcoming books in the saga which I am looking forward to.
If you are interested in science fiction, relationships, and reading a book that keeps you guessing until the very end, I can wholeheartedly recommend The Creative Fire.
February 19, 2016
Well, I made it partway through this book, but it was just so boring! What I didn't realize when I started was that this book was intended from the start to be the first in an ongoing series!
Most series that I have liked started out as a single, stand alone book... for example, the Dresden Files, Wheel of Time, and so on. The first book is just a really good book, all by itself! However, sometimes an author will get it into his or her head that they have this grand story to tell, then bore the hell out of you in the first book as they trickle story at you so that they don't run out. What that means is that you have a whole lot of nothing going on, just a lot of story teases for events that the author has no intention of happening for who knows how long... certainly not in this book!
And if that's not what's happening... it's just a really boring book, with a lot of not very believable elements.
Most series that I have liked started out as a single, stand alone book... for example, the Dresden Files, Wheel of Time, and so on. The first book is just a really good book, all by itself! However, sometimes an author will get it into his or her head that they have this grand story to tell, then bore the hell out of you in the first book as they trickle story at you so that they don't run out. What that means is that you have a whole lot of nothing going on, just a lot of story teases for events that the author has no intention of happening for who knows how long... certainly not in this book!
And if that's not what's happening... it's just a really boring book, with a lot of not very believable elements.
December 17, 2012
I had high hopes for this read—I mean c'mon, look at that cover! But I was sadly mistaken, and I stumbled down this treacherously thin plot with even thinner characters. The lack of details was irritating (isn't she supposed to be leading this revolution? Why do we never see or learn anything worthwhile? What on earth is going on, if anything...?), most of the dialogue and descriptions are completely inane (why do I have to know what everyone smells like? I really don't care to know about someone's sweat), and Ruby is not only uninteresting, but extremely predictable as she blunders her way through a character arc that anybody could have seen coming. Not only that, but it seems to wrap up quite nicely at the end in preparation for the next book? I just can't.
August 10, 2018
3 stars
There were so many promising ideas for this book; the premise is cool and a few of the characters seemed really interesting but we never got to know more about those characters and we never really got the revolutionary explosion the title and premise promised.
All in all it was just a thoroughly frustrating and disappointing read.
There were so many promising ideas for this book; the premise is cool and a few of the characters seemed really interesting but we never got to know more about those characters and we never really got the revolutionary explosion the title and premise promised.
All in all it was just a thoroughly frustrating and disappointing read.
October 29, 2013
Why the hell did Ruby have warm fuzzy sex feelings for every single powerful guy she ran across? Why oh why, would Ruby work so hard to be free and then then keep partnering up with the most powerful man?
Doesn't make sense! Certainly the climax of the book should not be Ruby handing power over to her latest conquest, and then visiting "the people" to prove how in touch her man is with the real workers.
Ruby was smart, talented, willing to fight and put herself in danger, and still gave up her power, influence and body to whomever looked like the best option.
This is not a book laying out a path for women that I'd want my futuristic children to follow.
Doesn't make sense! Certainly the climax of the book should not be Ruby handing power over to her latest conquest, and then visiting "the people" to prove how in touch her man is with the real workers.
Ruby was smart, talented, willing to fight and put herself in danger, and still gave up her power, influence and body to whomever looked like the best option.
This is not a book laying out a path for women that I'd want my futuristic children to follow.
December 6, 2012
Meh.
April 11, 2014
100 % loved it. I brought the second one once I was 30 % though. It can be read as a standalone book! Will write a review tomorrow.
Read my full review: http://wp.me/p40HVI-nc
Read my full review: http://wp.me/p40HVI-nc
January 21, 2016
I accidentally read the second book in the series first, then I read this book. I absolutely love the series! Brenda Cooper develops her characters so well, I feel like I know them.
May 1, 2020
Mild spoilers for generalized plot arcs, but mostly a rant.
As for the story.... it's like tea. The bag was put in the water for too short a time to get the real flavor and potential it could've been. I say save yourself the time you would expend reading this to find a different, better book.
This book feels like the light, antsy, sweat smell obsessed version of the "Lower decks" episode from Star Trek Next Gen. Why should we care about the "progress" made if these infants aren't learning anything along the way? Ani points out to our glorified protagonist that she has access to what she doesn't know - what blues can teach their children. Does she take it? No. Instead we're treated to descriptions of how this randy little teenager is attracted to nearly any guy with an ounce of power she meets. She throws herself at the first guy she meets, begging for better life for only herself, for better clothes, and a chance to sing. We're treated with the billionth time that Ruby HAS to fix her hair after running around the ship. Sounds like a hero to me!
We're told Ruby is smart, but never shown ANY evidence of it. She is given everything rather than making any progress on her own. Or she trades progress for sex, can't really make the distinction... she makes kids study for a test. Wow. Good job.
I think this is the lowest I have ever scored a book. I may even have taken an extra star off for how the clunky writing wasted my time. I think the only worse book I have read cover to cover was Bridge to Terabithia, thanks to an elementary teacher.
I wanted to like this book. The nifty cover? Mostly symbolic. We never see her being a badass who uses her brain to fix something to save the ship. Instead, we get a "singer" who Fox autotuned into a celebrity as he used an idiot teenage victim.
Oh wait, Fox has barely any power? Hm... time to sleep our way to the top! "No, not going to be like my raped amd murdered friend Nona or my mom, trading favors for sex at all. I mean uhm... heeeeey Mr Colins.... wait not enough power there. Joel! You'll do you wrinkly old man. Oh, I can get you they greys Mr Joel. Haha, jk, I am going to go off on my own and get captured for an extremely anticlimactic finale". If she did anything besides get in the way and be a vain teen, she might be likable. But she doesn't.
END OF SPOILERS
There are soooo many YA books out there that are good, noble, interesting with more complex characters worthy of your time and money spent. Please instead try:
Frostblood-Fireblood-Nightblood
Ash Princess- Lady Smoke- Ember Queen by Laura Sebastian
Red Queen series by Victoria Averyard
The Custard Protocol series by Gail Carringer
As for the story.... it's like tea. The bag was put in the water for too short a time to get the real flavor and potential it could've been. I say save yourself the time you would expend reading this to find a different, better book.
This book feels like the light, antsy, sweat smell obsessed version of the "Lower decks" episode from Star Trek Next Gen. Why should we care about the "progress" made if these infants aren't learning anything along the way? Ani points out to our glorified protagonist that she has access to what she doesn't know - what blues can teach their children. Does she take it? No. Instead we're treated to descriptions of how this randy little teenager is attracted to nearly any guy with an ounce of power she meets. She throws herself at the first guy she meets, begging for better life for only herself, for better clothes, and a chance to sing. We're treated with the billionth time that Ruby HAS to fix her hair after running around the ship. Sounds like a hero to me!
We're told Ruby is smart, but never shown ANY evidence of it. She is given everything rather than making any progress on her own. Or she trades progress for sex, can't really make the distinction... she makes kids study for a test. Wow. Good job.
I think this is the lowest I have ever scored a book. I may even have taken an extra star off for how the clunky writing wasted my time. I think the only worse book I have read cover to cover was Bridge to Terabithia, thanks to an elementary teacher.
I wanted to like this book. The nifty cover? Mostly symbolic. We never see her being a badass who uses her brain to fix something to save the ship. Instead, we get a "singer" who Fox autotuned into a celebrity as he used an idiot teenage victim.
Oh wait, Fox has barely any power? Hm... time to sleep our way to the top! "No, not going to be like my raped amd murdered friend Nona or my mom, trading favors for sex at all. I mean uhm... heeeeey Mr Colins.... wait not enough power there. Joel! You'll do you wrinkly old man. Oh, I can get you they greys Mr Joel. Haha, jk, I am going to go off on my own and get captured for an extremely anticlimactic finale". If she did anything besides get in the way and be a vain teen, she might be likable. But she doesn't.
END OF SPOILERS
There are soooo many YA books out there that are good, noble, interesting with more complex characters worthy of your time and money spent. Please instead try:
Frostblood-Fireblood-Nightblood
Ash Princess- Lady Smoke- Ember Queen by Laura Sebastian
Red Queen series by Victoria Averyard
The Custard Protocol series by Gail Carringer
February 5, 2023
The concept of this book is so great and I’m deeply disappointed at the writing. We have no background information to really understand the deep need for revolution. Of course the Greys are treated badly by the Reds but the characters make it seem like there’s so much going on that we don’t know. We spent maybe two pages establishing the crappiness before the sky literally rips apart. Why is Ruby the revolutionary? There’s nothing special about her other than the fact that she is a good singer. We have no basis for why she is essentially the Katniss of this story. She just mentions she can sing so now she is the face of government overthrow? Why is everyone licking their lips all the time and why are we describing how skinny people are? Does that really matter? The author spends so long describing pieces that we don’t care about and not enough time talking about what we want. I still have no idea about the power structure of the ship, it’s history, Lila Red, why Ruby is so important, what stim really is (alcohol, tea, other?), the video game of the home planet, the “test”, Ix (good, bad, what?) and so much else. I get it’s a series but we have to have SOME answers here in order to feel connected and WANT to read the rest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2013
Originally posted at http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2013...
The Creative Fire was one of the latest releases in the YA line up of Pyr. I hadn't been able to read it that time but this month the second book in Ruby's Song, The Diamond Deep, will be released so time to catch up on this series! The first thing that cannot escape you is the stunning cover art of the book! just look at that. But what really got me going for Ruby's Song is the whole promise and the idea behind the series. Telling the whole story in the lines of Evita Peron. One single girl to make a whole difference. The Creative Fire is written by Brenda Cooper, who has written numerous short stories and other novels.
The story of The Creative Fire is one to get into easily and from the start you follow the main protagonist Ruby Martin. You already get to learn about the strict rules of society. The story takes place on a giant spaceship named The Creative Fire who is journeying home. The society herein is strictly divided and Ruby and her friends are simple grays, people who live in the bottom quarters of the ship and carry out menial tasks repairing things, but it is they, the grays, that keep the ship functioning. Besides the grays you have the blues and the reds, they live higher up in the ship and have lives or luxury compared to Ruby and her friends. When an accident occurs, Ruby seizes this chance to climb up higher and start a revolution to unite all the colors, but this comes at a price... and is much hard to realize than Ruby had thought.
The whole concept of what happens in The Creative Fire was executed in a nice detail, especially when you take into account that the whole story takes place on a spaceship and that the mood is to take control. The whole story thus takes place in an isolated area and this added for me quite another level to the whole story, because when things go wrong, they often go wrong horribly or that there is often no point to return. The rise of Ruby from the dregs of society to the higher rungs was mostly done in the first part of the book and in this you really see the hardships of the grays and they are treated as just workers. Ruby has one gift that will aid her in her journey, her voice, and this is recognized by Fox who rescues her from the gray levels, but from this point onwards Ruby's live will be different... Fox is a character hard to pin down of what his plan with Ruby are. And part of Ruby's transformation from rebel to leader owes to the events that happen in the second part of the book. I have to be honest and if I have to compare the first, second and third part of the book with each other, the second part of the book did feel a bit without a clear lead. Yes you see Ruby in the higher societies developing, but I missed something special here to really take the story further. Just the mentionings of the recordings in the studio and playing them felt a bit empty. But. Yes there is a but, the transition from the second to the third part of the story works to directly liven up the whole story once more and this sees all that has been built up in the earlier parts of the story start to collide. The third part of the book showed a lot of twists and turns and true natures of characters. This where the whole story was living up to, the final collision and to find unite, but like I said upfront if it were just that easy. Ruby's path to unite isn't easy and she even finds herself capture by the opposition.
Now for the main protagonist Ruby Martin. I found her a most interesting character and when you look at her from the beginning and compare to how she is in the end there are plenty of changes that have fortified her character as a true leader (and this is something that I wanted to see, a simple claim to rise through society is easy so say but doing it can be harder). In the beginning she comes over as a fragile girl, but she has a certain rebel feeling to her characters, she thinks that the grays are treated unfair. What makes her great is that even though she is now taken to the higher levels of society she isn't forgetting her past and there are a few moments when you see Ruby reflecting on her friends and how she wished they were just beside her. In the end of the book Ruby has completely changed and has grown into a confident young leader with one goal in mind. This was the transition I was hope to see and it was carried out in full detail. But the focus isn't only on Ruby, there are a few other characters that you follow throughout The Creative Fire. One of them is Oron, a gray friend of Ruby who has a secret crush on Ruby. His storyline offers much more insight into what goes on behind the scenes, Oron is determined to protect Ruby that she sees no harm. Another character that I found untrustworthy was Fox, the guy who picked up Ruby. He felt just like a slick guy in a suite. Not to be trusted! Besides Fox and Oron the cast is filled with a lot of memorable characters that will stick with you once you finish the story.
From start to finish The Creative Fire is a interesting story. Inspired by Evita Peron, Brenda Cooper neatly translated her story into a futuristic setting. Exploring perhaps even more themes than in the original. The story definitely draws a lot of strength from the creative writing style of Brenda Cooper and how she has divided the story into different parts. But where The Creative Fire excels in are the many great characters and how they are shows individually and in groups. The characters that take the forefront of the story are fully fleshed out but even the characters that just make an appearance feel like that have much more going on in the character. Brenda Cooper has made Ruby the star of the show but the others are just as memorable. The ending of the story sees some important developments and I actually thought that it would be over... but it seems not just yet. The Creative Fire is the first in a duology, The Diamond Deep, the second book was released earlier this month.
The Creative Fire was one of the latest releases in the YA line up of Pyr. I hadn't been able to read it that time but this month the second book in Ruby's Song, The Diamond Deep, will be released so time to catch up on this series! The first thing that cannot escape you is the stunning cover art of the book! just look at that. But what really got me going for Ruby's Song is the whole promise and the idea behind the series. Telling the whole story in the lines of Evita Peron. One single girl to make a whole difference. The Creative Fire is written by Brenda Cooper, who has written numerous short stories and other novels.
The story of The Creative Fire is one to get into easily and from the start you follow the main protagonist Ruby Martin. You already get to learn about the strict rules of society. The story takes place on a giant spaceship named The Creative Fire who is journeying home. The society herein is strictly divided and Ruby and her friends are simple grays, people who live in the bottom quarters of the ship and carry out menial tasks repairing things, but it is they, the grays, that keep the ship functioning. Besides the grays you have the blues and the reds, they live higher up in the ship and have lives or luxury compared to Ruby and her friends. When an accident occurs, Ruby seizes this chance to climb up higher and start a revolution to unite all the colors, but this comes at a price... and is much hard to realize than Ruby had thought.
The whole concept of what happens in The Creative Fire was executed in a nice detail, especially when you take into account that the whole story takes place on a spaceship and that the mood is to take control. The whole story thus takes place in an isolated area and this added for me quite another level to the whole story, because when things go wrong, they often go wrong horribly or that there is often no point to return. The rise of Ruby from the dregs of society to the higher rungs was mostly done in the first part of the book and in this you really see the hardships of the grays and they are treated as just workers. Ruby has one gift that will aid her in her journey, her voice, and this is recognized by Fox who rescues her from the gray levels, but from this point onwards Ruby's live will be different... Fox is a character hard to pin down of what his plan with Ruby are. And part of Ruby's transformation from rebel to leader owes to the events that happen in the second part of the book. I have to be honest and if I have to compare the first, second and third part of the book with each other, the second part of the book did feel a bit without a clear lead. Yes you see Ruby in the higher societies developing, but I missed something special here to really take the story further. Just the mentionings of the recordings in the studio and playing them felt a bit empty. But. Yes there is a but, the transition from the second to the third part of the story works to directly liven up the whole story once more and this sees all that has been built up in the earlier parts of the story start to collide. The third part of the book showed a lot of twists and turns and true natures of characters. This where the whole story was living up to, the final collision and to find unite, but like I said upfront if it were just that easy. Ruby's path to unite isn't easy and she even finds herself capture by the opposition.
Now for the main protagonist Ruby Martin. I found her a most interesting character and when you look at her from the beginning and compare to how she is in the end there are plenty of changes that have fortified her character as a true leader (and this is something that I wanted to see, a simple claim to rise through society is easy so say but doing it can be harder). In the beginning she comes over as a fragile girl, but she has a certain rebel feeling to her characters, she thinks that the grays are treated unfair. What makes her great is that even though she is now taken to the higher levels of society she isn't forgetting her past and there are a few moments when you see Ruby reflecting on her friends and how she wished they were just beside her. In the end of the book Ruby has completely changed and has grown into a confident young leader with one goal in mind. This was the transition I was hope to see and it was carried out in full detail. But the focus isn't only on Ruby, there are a few other characters that you follow throughout The Creative Fire. One of them is Oron, a gray friend of Ruby who has a secret crush on Ruby. His storyline offers much more insight into what goes on behind the scenes, Oron is determined to protect Ruby that she sees no harm. Another character that I found untrustworthy was Fox, the guy who picked up Ruby. He felt just like a slick guy in a suite. Not to be trusted! Besides Fox and Oron the cast is filled with a lot of memorable characters that will stick with you once you finish the story.
From start to finish The Creative Fire is a interesting story. Inspired by Evita Peron, Brenda Cooper neatly translated her story into a futuristic setting. Exploring perhaps even more themes than in the original. The story definitely draws a lot of strength from the creative writing style of Brenda Cooper and how she has divided the story into different parts. But where The Creative Fire excels in are the many great characters and how they are shows individually and in groups. The characters that take the forefront of the story are fully fleshed out but even the characters that just make an appearance feel like that have much more going on in the character. Brenda Cooper has made Ruby the star of the show but the others are just as memorable. The ending of the story sees some important developments and I actually thought that it would be over... but it seems not just yet. The Creative Fire is the first in a duology, The Diamond Deep, the second book was released earlier this month.
October 7, 2020
I would say no one writes teenage characters quite as Brenda Cooper does. They are different, they are definitely not YA main stream and they make you think and consider your own reaction to what happens in the book, what your thoughts, your emotion and also your political position would be.
In this first book of the duology we meet Ruby who is on the brink of turning adult as she races with the all the others on this huge ship through space towards their home planet where they have not been for a very long time.
The ship is ruled by a rigid caste system where everybody is quite clearly defined as to who they are and what they can become.
Ruby though, does have music inside herself, a creative fire of its own, and it takes her onto a trajectory through the many layers of this ship that sees her in quite a different place by the end of this first book.
To be clear, I did not like Ruby as a character very much, but the story Brend Cooper tells through her is intriguing, thought provoking and makes you start to think for yourself.
In this first book of the duology we meet Ruby who is on the brink of turning adult as she races with the all the others on this huge ship through space towards their home planet where they have not been for a very long time.
The ship is ruled by a rigid caste system where everybody is quite clearly defined as to who they are and what they can become.
Ruby though, does have music inside herself, a creative fire of its own, and it takes her onto a trajectory through the many layers of this ship that sees her in quite a different place by the end of this first book.
To be clear, I did not like Ruby as a character very much, but the story Brend Cooper tells through her is intriguing, thought provoking and makes you start to think for yourself.
August 14, 2018
I like science fiction so I saw the cover and read the back and gave the book a read . It was a good book about revolution. If I had read the Authors note I probably would not have read the book. It was about a girl trying to change life on her ship . it was a multi generation ship that cast system at some point. It will make a good read for high school kids.
August 10, 2023
Good enough story line, but
It seemed as if the author was adding superfluous verbiage just to get a longer story. Needs tighter editing, more concise , and fewer repetitive interactions. It could have recommended this as the characters were interesting.
It seemed as if the author was adding superfluous verbiage just to get a longer story. Needs tighter editing, more concise , and fewer repetitive interactions. It could have recommended this as the characters were interesting.
June 25, 2019
Nice scifi novel. Liked the story and characters but not driven to read the rest of the series. It's funny how some series grab me. Some characters feel so real that I want to read more about them.
June 18, 2021
A frustrating read. Ruby is a wonderful central character with a good supporting cast. The plot just doesn't work well enough and often isn't plausible.
April 11, 2016
First, my disclaimer - I know the author, Brenda, personally and do some research and assistant work for her professionally. I won a copy of this book in a raffle last year, and decided it was time to read it as I've just finished helping her with work on Spear of Light, the second of the duology that is set after Ruby's Song, the first duology which is started by this book.
As noted in the book itself, this story was inspired by that of Eva Peron, but apart from knowing who she is, I don't know details or more than the gist of her story so I came at this without much background at all. The overall story is a coming-of-age for protagonist Ruby Martin and her friends, as well as a fight for freedom and equality set inside a huge generational ship named The Creative Fire. Ruby and her friends start off as Grays, the caste of workers that keep the ship and its systems running, and they fight against the injustice perpetrated upon them by the Reds (the police force) and the Blues (those who appear to be in charge). Hints of a different society in the past, from both elders and the mysterious AI running the ship send Ruby on her journey to start a revolution and set the Grays free.
The best part of this book is Ruby and her own agency - she is a young woman, a bit naive but with beauty and talent, and while she is initially taken in by a Blue due to these qualities, she keeps thinking and learning and takes charge of her own destiny. She does not meekly submit to being in a man's bed, but goes there of her own will and by her own choice, and changes that decision as seems appropriate to her. There are moments when she has to face the opinions of others for her choices, as well as comparison to her own mother (who has flitted from man to man her whole life), and while Ruby may feel badly that others are upset, she takes responsibility for her own decisions and feelings and lets others take their own. Not enough characters (of either gender, really) have their own agency in this way, and it's notable that Ruby does.
Not much detail is given out as the revolution unfolds, but that's due to the story being told from Ruby's point of view (with some entries from her friend Onor), and she knows very little on her own due to a combination of youth, inexperience, and those that have hidden things from her and the rest of the Grays. It's a bit annoying, but makes sense given the setup and point of view, and I expect a lot more detail will be forthcoming in the second book. The final confrontation of Ruby's trial is impressive and telling of the society and the need for change, and sets up Ruby and her friends and co-revolutionaries for the second half of the story as they pick up the pieces and move forward to meet the new challenge.
I rank this a solid four stars, with an excellent character in Ruby and some well-thought-out science fiction as it applies to the ship, its construction, and how it's run. I'll be starting the second book shortly.
As noted in the book itself, this story was inspired by that of Eva Peron, but apart from knowing who she is, I don't know details or more than the gist of her story so I came at this without much background at all. The overall story is a coming-of-age for protagonist Ruby Martin and her friends, as well as a fight for freedom and equality set inside a huge generational ship named The Creative Fire. Ruby and her friends start off as Grays, the caste of workers that keep the ship and its systems running, and they fight against the injustice perpetrated upon them by the Reds (the police force) and the Blues (those who appear to be in charge). Hints of a different society in the past, from both elders and the mysterious AI running the ship send Ruby on her journey to start a revolution and set the Grays free.
The best part of this book is Ruby and her own agency - she is a young woman, a bit naive but with beauty and talent, and while she is initially taken in by a Blue due to these qualities, she keeps thinking and learning and takes charge of her own destiny. She does not meekly submit to being in a man's bed, but goes there of her own will and by her own choice, and changes that decision as seems appropriate to her. There are moments when she has to face the opinions of others for her choices, as well as comparison to her own mother (who has flitted from man to man her whole life), and while Ruby may feel badly that others are upset, she takes responsibility for her own decisions and feelings and lets others take their own. Not enough characters (of either gender, really) have their own agency in this way, and it's notable that Ruby does.
Not much detail is given out as the revolution unfolds, but that's due to the story being told from Ruby's point of view (with some entries from her friend Onor), and she knows very little on her own due to a combination of youth, inexperience, and those that have hidden things from her and the rest of the Grays. It's a bit annoying, but makes sense given the setup and point of view, and I expect a lot more detail will be forthcoming in the second book. The final confrontation of Ruby's trial is impressive and telling of the society and the need for change, and sets up Ruby and her friends and co-revolutionaries for the second half of the story as they pick up the pieces and move forward to meet the new challenge.
I rank this a solid four stars, with an excellent character in Ruby and some well-thought-out science fiction as it applies to the ship, its construction, and how it's run. I'll be starting the second book shortly.
January 13, 2014
This review was written by Rebecca Muir for Dark Matter Zine. This and more reviews, interviews etc are on Dark Matter Zine, an online magazine. http://www.darkmatterzine.com.
The Creative Fire is the first instalment of Brenda Cooper’s proposed two-part series, Ruby’s Song.
The book is set aboard the generation space ship, The Creative Fire. The ship set out from the home star system, Adiamo, about four hundred years ago. In the centuries in space, a culture has developed aboard the ship where the workers, called Greys for the colour of their uniform, are oppressed and kept segregated in the outer levels of the ship. One young Grey, a fiery robot maintenance apprentice called Ruby, wants things to change. What starts as a desire to end the brutality of the Reds, the ship’s “peacekeepers”, towards the Greys, becomes a much bigger ambition on the day the sky rips apart.
The failing ship suffers structural damage, causing a tear between levels. Ruby rescues a handsome man, a Blue – a class on the ship which she is barely aware of. That encounter opens her eyes to a whole new world on the ship, and unveils a truth which has been kept from the Greys – the ship is almost home.
As Ruby pushes for freedom and equality for the Greys, she finds herself caught up in a much bigger movement for change that spans the ship from the highest levels to the lowest. There are many people who suddenly take an interest in Ruby – some of them annoyed at her passion which is forcing events to move forward faster than they would like, others wanting to use her and her talent. Ruby has a beautiful voice, and her singing quickly captures the imaginations of people across the ship. Ruby finds she must fight, not only for the freedom of the Greys, but for her own freedom as well.
The Creative Fire is an engaging book – I found it hard to put down. It is full of action and populated with well-drawn characters. For the most part, Brenda Cooper does a good job of conveying the emotions of the characters, and bringing the world of the space ship to life.
This book could be described as a coming-of-age book – Ruby and her friends, on the brink of adulthood, must find their way in an adult world which is much bigger than they imagined. They come to realise that in their youthful passion and idealism they have assumed that they are the only ones who care, and that they have underestimated the adults around them. This is a lesson which many young people need to learn – I know I did. However, the book is more than just a coming-of-age tale. It explores the concept of power, and the different forms that can take. It explores love and friendship, and it looks at what might be even more important than individual relationships.
This isn’t a flawless book (what book is?) but it is a well-written, engaging story with a lot of depth to it, and it is a very enjoyable read. I’m looking forward to the continuation of the story.
The Creative Fire is the first instalment of Brenda Cooper’s proposed two-part series, Ruby’s Song.
The book is set aboard the generation space ship, The Creative Fire. The ship set out from the home star system, Adiamo, about four hundred years ago. In the centuries in space, a culture has developed aboard the ship where the workers, called Greys for the colour of their uniform, are oppressed and kept segregated in the outer levels of the ship. One young Grey, a fiery robot maintenance apprentice called Ruby, wants things to change. What starts as a desire to end the brutality of the Reds, the ship’s “peacekeepers”, towards the Greys, becomes a much bigger ambition on the day the sky rips apart.
The failing ship suffers structural damage, causing a tear between levels. Ruby rescues a handsome man, a Blue – a class on the ship which she is barely aware of. That encounter opens her eyes to a whole new world on the ship, and unveils a truth which has been kept from the Greys – the ship is almost home.
As Ruby pushes for freedom and equality for the Greys, she finds herself caught up in a much bigger movement for change that spans the ship from the highest levels to the lowest. There are many people who suddenly take an interest in Ruby – some of them annoyed at her passion which is forcing events to move forward faster than they would like, others wanting to use her and her talent. Ruby has a beautiful voice, and her singing quickly captures the imaginations of people across the ship. Ruby finds she must fight, not only for the freedom of the Greys, but for her own freedom as well.
The Creative Fire is an engaging book – I found it hard to put down. It is full of action and populated with well-drawn characters. For the most part, Brenda Cooper does a good job of conveying the emotions of the characters, and bringing the world of the space ship to life.
This book could be described as a coming-of-age book – Ruby and her friends, on the brink of adulthood, must find their way in an adult world which is much bigger than they imagined. They come to realise that in their youthful passion and idealism they have assumed that they are the only ones who care, and that they have underestimated the adults around them. This is a lesson which many young people need to learn – I know I did. However, the book is more than just a coming-of-age tale. It explores the concept of power, and the different forms that can take. It explores love and friendship, and it looks at what might be even more important than individual relationships.
This isn’t a flawless book (what book is?) but it is a well-written, engaging story with a lot of depth to it, and it is a very enjoyable read. I’m looking forward to the continuation of the story.
September 8, 2016
This one had a lot of potential, but overall it was only okay, ranging from a cover that was artistically nice, but didn't seem to portray the main character, to a story that sometimes didn't quite make sense. Based purely on the internal descriptions, the cover seems to show one of the minor characters from the book. The cover picture looks nothing like Ruby was described, anyway.
The story is about a generation starship gone wrong. Because the viewpoint character has had only limited access to information about the ship's history, the back story of the ship makes no sense at all, and the reader gets the feeling that this is a plot point. Sadly, by the end of this first volume of the series, it still makes no sense, and that is a strike against wanting to continue reading.
This story is supposedly based on the life of Eva Peron, but I just don't see it. Among other things, Eva Peron was a grown woman when she became involved with both politics and Juan Peron, not a teenaged girl/pop singer/songwriter. This felt more like a science fiction novel written by someone who watched the Madonna movie version of Evita, but fast-forwarded through the boring parts.
In addition, the fact that Ruby is apparently sleeping her way toward the top in this story is really kind of creepy, since she's so young. In the case of her first lover, it was at least believable because the author established a crush followed by a mutual attraction, but the second one? No, not at all. She makes a big point about not being willing to get involved with him until they could be considered equals. Then, practically within minutes, she says "eh, good enough" and goes to bed with him, a man old enough to at least be her father.
Since it's also nominally a teen romance, there's also the guy who actually cares about her, but as portrayed, she'll never consider him to be more than a friend. Why are we supposed to care about her, again?
The adventure part of the story is much better than the main character, as the idea of social and political problems developing on a generation ship were very interesting. That's why I felt compelled to give it a third star.
The story is about a generation starship gone wrong. Because the viewpoint character has had only limited access to information about the ship's history, the back story of the ship makes no sense at all, and the reader gets the feeling that this is a plot point. Sadly, by the end of this first volume of the series, it still makes no sense, and that is a strike against wanting to continue reading.
This story is supposedly based on the life of Eva Peron, but I just don't see it. Among other things, Eva Peron was a grown woman when she became involved with both politics and Juan Peron, not a teenaged girl/pop singer/songwriter. This felt more like a science fiction novel written by someone who watched the Madonna movie version of Evita, but fast-forwarded through the boring parts.
In addition, the fact that Ruby is apparently sleeping her way toward the top in this story is really kind of creepy, since she's so young. In the case of her first lover, it was at least believable because the author established a crush followed by a mutual attraction, but the second one? No, not at all. She makes a big point about not being willing to get involved with him until they could be considered equals. Then, practically within minutes, she says "eh, good enough" and goes to bed with him, a man old enough to at least be her father.
Since it's also nominally a teen romance, there's also the guy who actually cares about her, but as portrayed, she'll never consider him to be more than a friend. Why are we supposed to care about her, again?
The adventure part of the story is much better than the main character, as the idea of social and political problems developing on a generation ship were very interesting. That's why I felt compelled to give it a third star.
July 20, 2015
I had some trouble with this book. I will probably try to read the second hoping that the main character has grown because there was certainly room for growth. Ruby is a worker on a ship in space, a completely encapsulated world that apparently (though never clarified as to how or why) left the home world because of some catastrophe. After generations they are finally getting close to returning home and politics have changed on the ship. Groups are aligned by color. grays are workers, reds are sort of police, blues are kind of an upper class and deal more with administration and science and art, and greens are the bosses. The grays have come to be oppressed by many of the reds and Ruby becomes the catalyst for the rebellion that of course has to happen. Ruby is a singer and songwriter stuck in a job where she is dirty all the time and fixes robots. Grays are assigned jobs with no freedom to choose what they do. Her songs become the rallying point for grays and sympathetic reds and blues. Set up for a pretty good tale, right? Unfortunately I liked the side characters more than i liked Ruby. I found myself wanting to give her a good smack. She seemed very self involved, immature and flirty. The world building is pretty cool and I hope that the second book shows her maturing a bit.
December 19, 2012
After I put this book down, I never wanted to pick it back up. I don't have an aversion to it, but whenever I thought about reading it some more, I then began wondering what else was around to read. So after 3 instances of that I took it as a sign that I should just let the book go.maybe I didn't try hard enough?
This is a generation ship story, featuring a young maintenance tech woman who wants more education and more fairness in a stratified society. The first scene's actually a pretty good one: there's a breach in the ship hull, and Ruby is able to rescue a young upper caste man who literally falls through a hole into her level.
This author definitely pulls off the showing-not-telling thing. We know that Ruby is psychologically astute and thinks in terms of manipulating people (this in a practical way more than a bad way). But there's almost no inner life to the characters. Everything is described in a very spare, minimalist way. I prefer a different writing style that makes me sympathize with the characters more. Because I didn't have attachment to them, I didn't pick up the book again.
This is a generation ship story, featuring a young maintenance tech woman who wants more education and more fairness in a stratified society. The first scene's actually a pretty good one: there's a breach in the ship hull, and Ruby is able to rescue a young upper caste man who literally falls through a hole into her level.
This author definitely pulls off the showing-not-telling thing. We know that Ruby is psychologically astute and thinks in terms of manipulating people (this in a practical way more than a bad way). But there's almost no inner life to the characters. Everything is described in a very spare, minimalist way. I prefer a different writing style that makes me sympathize with the characters more. Because I didn't have attachment to them, I didn't pick up the book again.
November 13, 2012
The novel follows mainly two characters in the book: Oron, best friend who is secretly in love with Ruby Martin. Ruby is a feisty young woman looking to free herself and the rest of her kind on the generational ship The Creative Fire. Ruby and Oron are greys: a labour class of people signified by their grey clothing. There are also blues (people of logistics) and red (the peacekeepers) and green (upper levels). As you can guess, Ruby and her fellow greys are greatly mistreated, mostly by the reds of their level who bully, beat and even rape some of the people there. A revolution is brewing, not just for the greys to free themselves, but for all on the ship to become free from the harsh rule of the Creative Fire’s commanders. The heart and soul of this movement is Ruby, a young woman gifted with a beautiful singing voice and ability to move her people to action.
Read the rest of the review at Starmetal Oak Reviews.
Review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.
Read the rest of the review at Starmetal Oak Reviews.
Review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.
February 18, 2013
The 'Creative Fire' is a spaceship, where thousands of people have been living out their lifetimes while flying through space. Ruby is a 'gray', the lowest level of humankind on the ship, much akin to slaves. When a tragedy happens to part of the ship where Ruby is and she meets a 'red', a person from a higher level, she must make some life-altering decisions. Ruby is a rebel who wants to save the ship, to make things more equal on the ship for her fellow 'grays' as well as others in the 'red' and 'blue' levels, and most of all, she wants to develop her talent for singing. The ship is nearing home, after many generations of being away, and Ruby is instrumental in the rebellion to make everyone be more 'equal' in preparation for their arrival at home. To do so, Ruby must make life-threatening and life-altering decisions, and she must have courage and inner strength when it seems that things are going all wrong. This is the first in a series, subtitled 'Book One of Ruby's Song', and although this book has a satisfying ending, the reader will want to know what happens to Ruby next.
November 23, 2012
I like Brenda Cooper and expect to keep on reading her - but this is not one of her better books. That said, its YA and YA is apparently harder to pull off than complex world-building sf (which I like better and Cooper is quite good at). Then again this is YA with sex - so perhaps it wasn't supposed to be YA. Anyway - this is a multi-generational ship supposedly on a there-and-back-again voyage. And our hero Ruby is supposed to have been inspired by Eva Peron and Evita - something I'm not really familiar with - which probably subtracts a bit from my enjoyment of the book. What makes me think of this book as YA is how little it goes into the complexities of shipboard life - both the nuts and bolts and the politics - something Cooper can certainly have done if she wanted to. Not Rite of Passage but I will definitely look for the sequel.
July 4, 2013
Interesting use of the Evita Peron story set on a generation ship sent out for exploration and returning home. While avoiding the particular Peronista nationalist political themes (so far, this is a series, after all), Cooper embraces the populist and working class equity issues articulated by Evita in her protagonist, Ruby Martin, within the context of the need for a crew to work together for the survival of their ship.
It's not a perfect analogue, but a perfect analogue wouldn't work in this setting. And it is very refreshing to look at the non-Peronista elements of Ruby's rise to influence in this particular setting. I'm looking forward to the next book to see where Cooper goes with this.
It's not a perfect analogue, but a perfect analogue wouldn't work in this setting. And it is very refreshing to look at the non-Peronista elements of Ruby's rise to influence in this particular setting. I'm looking forward to the next book to see where Cooper goes with this.
April 18, 2016
Good writing, but the story did not fill me with excitement.
I read this because I believe it's a prequel to Edge of Dark.
Unlike Edge of Dark, there's no robots and the only spaceship is the one that everyone lives on in a repressive society. My main problem was that the repressive society didn't feel believable to me.
Still, I imagine I'll read the next book in the series, The Diamond Deep.
I read this because I believe it's a prequel to Edge of Dark.
Unlike Edge of Dark, there's no robots and the only spaceship is the one that everyone lives on in a repressive society. My main problem was that the repressive society didn't feel believable to me.
Still, I imagine I'll read the next book in the series, The Diamond Deep.
October 25, 2012
Recipe for The Creative Fire:
(I received my copy courtesy of the author via First-Reads)
Combine 2 parts Colored Uniforms/Ranks from Star Trek,
Add a dash of Everything-Is-Falling-Apart from City of Ember,
Mix above with Post-Apoctalyptic Feel of Fallout 3,
and garnish with a coming-to-grips-with-reality shock&awe of Hunger Games, and you get: The Creative Fire - a highly entertaining story about a girl and her friends and the world they are growing up in even they don't know it until they dive in head first. Great read, looking forward to the sequel(s).
(I received my copy courtesy of the author via First-Reads)
Combine 2 parts Colored Uniforms/Ranks from Star Trek,
Add a dash of Everything-Is-Falling-Apart from City of Ember,
Mix above with Post-Apoctalyptic Feel of Fallout 3,
and garnish with a coming-to-grips-with-reality shock&awe of Hunger Games, and you get: The Creative Fire - a highly entertaining story about a girl and her friends and the world they are growing up in even they don't know it until they dive in head first. Great read, looking forward to the sequel(s).
August 27, 2016
A good young-adult-ish generation ship novel, with strong characters and plenty of plot twists. Lacks a certain perverse sparkle that I enjoy so much in my favourite writers, but still quite solid, so I am looking forward to reading the sequel.
SPOILER: to me, a major plot hole. Any society that is sufficiently advanced to manipulate gravity (as is strongly implied by references to "gravgens" and fluctuating gravity levels on board of the titular spaceship) is not likely to be using a slow generation ship as a mode of transport).
SPOILER: to me, a major plot hole. Any society that is sufficiently advanced to manipulate gravity (as is strongly implied by references to "gravgens" and fluctuating gravity levels on board of the titular spaceship) is not likely to be using a slow generation ship as a mode of transport).
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