Weekly Reader: Cooper's Ridge by Ian Conner; Fascinating Science Fiction Novel About The Discovery, Exploration, and Colonization of a Newly Discovered Planet Amid Earth's Chaotic and Inevitable End

 

Weekly Reader: Cooper's Ridge by Ian Conner; Fascinating Science Fiction Novel About The Discovery, Exploration, and Colonization of a Newly Discovered Planet Amid Earth's Chaotic and Inevitable End

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: If there is one thing that Science Fiction has told us, it's that if Earthlings ever do obtain the ability to travel to the stars and live on other planets, it's that we inevitably take our problems, our prejudices, violent tendencies, conspiracies, and mistrust with us. After all, a change of location, atmosphere, and landscape may not necessarily change the person within. 

Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles is an example. Bradbury's anthology showed a series of expeditions from Earth to explore, colonize, and ultimately settle on the Fourth Planet from the Sun. In reality, it was an allegory of the European's colonization of the Americas, acting with carelessness and cruelty towards the land and the natives that inhabited the countries first.

Last year, I reviewed Tobin Marks' Ark of the Apocalypse: The Magellan II Chronicles in which the exploration and resettlement of a few Earthlings on a new planet was tempered by the hopeless situation on Earth with the emphasis on the environmental destruction, catastrophic wars, and the suffering of the people left behind. The outlook in Marks' book was so bleak that I turned myself away from dystopian Science Fiction novels for awhile. (It didn't help that it was one of several books in the subgenre that I read for two years straight.)

Another book that explores the dichotomy of interstellar travel with human frailty and error is Ian Conner's Cooper's Ridge. It's definitely a much better book than Ark of the Apocalypse. It explores many of the similar themes of space exploration, Earth's vulnerability, and greedy and opportunistic humans but it does so in a more well rounded way. Yes there are problems on both worlds, but there are people willing to fight against and change those circumstances. 

The book starts at the beginning, well not as far as the Big Bang Theory or the creation of the Universe, but a bit more recent than that. It starts with the discovery of a new planet surrounded by four moons. Being the typical egocentric scientists that they are, astronomers, Barnaby Ridge and Lorraine Cooper name the new planet Cooper's Ridge after themselves. As for the satellites, they are named for Lorraine's favorite flowers: Gardenia, Ginger, Hibiscus, and Heliconia. Even better, Cooper's Ridge looks like it's capable of sustaining human life! A great find indeed.

Fast forward 200 years later and Earth is ready to launch its first expedition to Cooper's Ridge on the large self sustaining vessel, Far Constellation. Because it's a thirty year journey and they don't yet have access to cryogenic freezing, many of the explorers are young- in their teens to early forties so when they arrive on the planet, they can assume leadership positions. Children and pregnant people are also on board so a new generation can be born and raised in the new world. All goes well until meteors from Heliconia collide with the first ship the Endeavor, killing the crew and thousands of civilians and cutting the first expedition to Cooper's Ridge in half. 

Despite the early deaths, humans begin to settle in Cooper's Ridge. Generations go by and some of the younger generations weren't even born on Earth either only knowing Far Constellation or Cooper's Ridge as their birthplace. (They're not Earthlings. Are they Cooperians? Ridgites? Cooper's Ridglings?) 

One of those young people is Cassie Wells who is following in her father's footsteps as an astrophysicist. Cassie is curious about some suspicious activity on the moon Heliconia, references to something called the Hive, and a technology that allows one to travel through worlds via gateways. The more Cassie, her father, and their friends and colleagues dig into the mystery of the Hive, the more they learn that something dangerous is approaching the new home of Cooper's Ridge and that there are some who are willing to kill to keep people from finding out.

Meanwhile, on Earth, people are trying to get to Cooper's Ridge as fast as they can while the planet is being overrun by a group called the Preservationists. The Preservationists' leader, Adolf Hale seems to take a cue from another man from the past whose first name was Adolf and last name started with an "H." He enforces draconian laws to keep Earth's population under control like forced sterilization, genocide of the elderly and those deemed "undesirable" (which could be anyone), and even approves of intentionally spreading a contagious virus to kill. Hale is so sadistic and despotic that he is willing to make some otherworldly alliances to see that his goals are met.

What often makes a Space Travel Science Fiction Novel is the intergalactic setting and in this case with Cooper's Ridge, it works. Instead of a blue planet, Cooper's Ridge is mostly green because it is surrounded by forest with rain pouring down. The four moons are various shades of red from light pink Gardenia to blood red Heliconia. Picture going for a walk some night on a neverending field of green and looking up to see four red moons shining down on you. A planet that is still new, fresh, and untainted by human greed for now. The description of the planet alone is enough to make one want to buy a one way ticket to Cooper's Ridge, at least while it's still beautiful.

Unfortunately, despite a lovely setting, human greed and opportunism is never far behind. A constant theme throughout this book is conspiracy and the cost of maintaining secrets. Conspiracies develop along both worlds: Earth and Cooper's Ridge and threaten to destroy the people in them, the new world that is found, and the world left behind.

Even after Cooper's Ridge is first discovered, Barnaby and Lorraine are ordered not to make it public. However, Lorraine can't resist. She knows that Earth's days are numbered and a breathable liveable planet could be a way out. She bravely makes the discovery known and has to go into exile for the rest of her life. The destruction of the first expedition is kept under wraps as well as the real cause for the crash, because no one wants to admit that there could be fatalities in exploring this new world or about the lethal alien race that caused it.

The biggest conspiracy of all lies in Cassie's discovery of the Hive and the new technology. She and various people around her are chased, threatened, and nearly killed by many who don't want them to reveal what they learned. Some such as Hale want to take advantage of this new information as a means of control and dominance. Unfortunately, this shows that whether on Earth or on Cooper's Ridge, there are people who are willing to destroy others and even the world around them to uphold the status quo and remain in power.

Fortunately, this book also shows that there are people that are willing to make new discoveries, help others, and speak out against tyranny for the betterment of humanity. As long as people continue to do that, there is always hope. Here or on any planet.