Creative Fire by Brenda Cooper

I picked up The Creative Fire, Book One of Ruby’s Fire, by Brenda Cooper with high hopes. A social revolution on a spaceship? Right up my alley. Unfortunately, while the social revolution plot was interesting, there was not enough science fiction to really keep my attention. If you focus on the social revolution and ignore the fact the science is lacking then you might enjoy The Creative Fire.

Nothing can match the power of a single voice…

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.

My main problem with The Creative Fire is the lack of science fiction! There is a spaceship and there are a few interesting inventions/gadgets but that’s it. I was expecting something more exciting and cutting edge. The spaceship is not in the best shape which is an obvious plot device. And some of the inventions remind me of Star Trek (does a holodeck sound familiar to anyone else?). This lack of interesting technology really made reading The Creative Fire a challenge for me.

Before going any further you need to understand the power structure on the ship. There are four divisions for the crew and are identified by the color they are required to wear. There are the Greys who are constantly abused by the Reds who are controlled by the Blues. And everyone is controlled by the Greens. Cooper does explain this fairly early in the story which I appreciate. I was confused enough as it was in the beginning and trying to figure out the power structure means I would have put this book down and never picked it back up.

The Creative Fire follows two main characters Ruby and Oron, both Greys. Ruby meets a Blue due to an accident that causes damage and issues on all levels of the ship. Then, for some reason, she falls in like/lust with this blue. The romance really doesn’t add anything to the story and had me wondering why it was even in the store in the first place.

Ruby is supposed to be the heroine of the story but I felt she was a weak of character; predictable and passive. She is supposed to be the catalyst for ship-wide reform but instead she is pushed into positions by those who have been fighting for much longer than her. Simply put she is a figurehead. Ruby eventually gets her act together at the end of the book. However, I was so annoyed with her that I really didn’t care. The one good point was that she was not ashamed of her sexuality but that couldn’t make me overlook her passive behavior.

Then you have Oron, Ruby’s best friend, who is in love with her. I thought Oron was much more interesting than Ruby but sadly he was pushed to the side too much for me to get really attached. I probably would have been more interested if he had been the main focus.

The only thing that really saved the story was the social revolution. There is a secret revolution going on and all of the divisions are a part of it. Ruby eventually becomes the face of the revolution but I felt as if Oron did more to cause the upheaval than Ruby. He might have become involved in the revolution because of Ruby but I believe he far exceeded her in terms of actually doing something.

I usually love stories of the underdog rising up and getting rid of corrupt leaders but not this one. There were too many weak points (the passive champion the baffling romances and the inadequate science) for me to enjoy it. If the story had focused more on the social reform or Oron, and less on Ruby then I would have loved The Creative Fire.