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RIPPLES IN THE RIFT
by Mol Smith
A Science Fiction Epic

PLOT/SUMMARY Non-Spolier Version)

A science colony and a mining colony have arrived on a new planet. When the colony discovers a vast treasure of Uranium, a larger force is sent to secure it. The leader of the large force has his own intention to keep some of the wealth to himself. He attempts to seize the minor colony ore. A conflict evolves from this attempt and impacts on the scientific colony, who seek refuge with a tribe of ape-like creatures. War erupts between the high-tech large mining force, and their protective army of soldiers, with the apes and the resource-limited scientific people. The leader of the science colony, Beth, discovers love with Bud--a genetically modified ape. But she starts to experience visions of other lives and other forms of existence, resulting in a new and extraordinary revelation.
500 plus pages.

REVIEW

A Sci-fi epic of good vs evil battled out on a young world.

‘Ripples in the Rift’ by Mol Smith is a creative and complex narrative that sees the age old fight between Good and Evil acted out on a young planet. Beth and her crew of scientists have landed to explore and investigate the planet with the aid of genetically modified, native apes. Cantana, once rejected by Beth, is a vicious Captain mining the planet’s Uranium Ore as part of his job, but also for his own gain. Over the course of the plot we follow the conflict between the Scientists and miners with the fate of the planet and everyone’s lives at risk.

There’s variation of pace throughout the novel, with opposing sides coming into conflict quite quickly, and times with less action to allow for character development and relationships to form. Beth, her friends and colleagues grow closer to the native Apes and each other, with romantic relationships found across species and race. Meanwhile Cantada finds a kindred sadistic spirit in Shella who bond and gain gratification from violence. I would say that this book is not for the squeamish, as Catanda and Shella are both adept at torture and rape, both of which graphically feature in scenes that effectively demonstrate just how downright cruel they are.

There are plenty of tropes that readers will be familiar with including space and time travel, the concept of multiple lives and soulmates. However the author has constructed their own unique world, with an interesting plot, setting and characters. I think I am perhaps a little bit too squeamish to have fully enjoyed this book, but I found that ‘Ripples In The Rift’ was an inventive and detailed sci-fi story, with plenty of scope for Beth and Bud’s story to be developed in any other future books.

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EXTRACTS

The Marzics

The Marzics were still fast asleep when the sound of heavy vehicle tracks rumbling across a metal floor echoed and reverberated up and down and through the shafts. It not only woke them, but deafened them with the sound amplified in the narrow ducts, and caused pain to their ears. They scurried upwards to move further away from the noise. Above them, level one was busy with male and female personnel at computer consoles. Their screens depicted the entire mining operation on the ground outside and the transport elevators carrying ore from unloaded trucks on the ground floor up to the storage level above them. Their screens and control room had only come into operation that morning due to delays setting up surveillance devices in all the various groups spreading like a soil-eating plague across the desert. They had not witnessed the slaughter on the level below, and the security team had remained silent about the incident to all but vital Commanders and other security teams on the ship. It was protocol not to broadly transmit news of threat unless it was immediately creating danger to that area of operation.

Despite the business at the consoles, the deck remained quiet. They all wore head transceivers so each could readily and clearly communicate with ground personnel and others involved with collection and storage in the ship. Most were female operators, Utorpian. There were not part of the armed divisions on board and trusted in their military to keep them safe.

The loud clangs of metal duct and ventilation grill covers giving way to hard clawed feet, clattering across a steel floor, went totally unheard. The Marzics emerged from a dozen points around the deck but were motionless as they gazed at row upon row of fresh food, and they rejoiced at the absence of stamping boots and hostile meat that ran and flapped about. One by one, they were convinced this must be the main meat storage area. And it was cool. Good, they thought, the meat stayed fresher.

The first sign of something different going on was only witnessed by the female controllers on their screens. It was only when huge splashes of crimson and small particles of shattered bone and lumps of torn flesh exploded across each glowing panel, that any of them turned. Those that did, died with a vision of flashing diamond jewel-like teeth clamped to their faces, and a catching of breath as their throats were torn away; disconnecting their lungs from their brains. None of them knew what took them from their reality that day into the abyss of an unexplored void—death!