By Dianna M. Vega
CJ Rivera’s debut dystopic science fiction novel, The Final Orchard, takes the fears and apprehensions of current society and transforms them into a thought-provoking future where the elites would do anything to rise above others.
Residents in the city The Final Orchard is set in wear bionic enhancements as symbols of power, wealth and beauty. On one side, we have scientific researcher Dr. Rosio Arata, who loses her daughter in a car accident and, as a result, her own will to live. That is until she receives a business offer that might bring her daughter back.
On the other side, Ever – a teenager living in an underground colony – must rise through the ranks to become a Savior and join the army in the Surface. The Surface has been overrun by the Forms, which Ever learns are humans with technological enhancements who then become controlled by them. But the closer Ever gets to rising to the Surface, the truths she learns turns darker.
In the vein of Black Mirror, The Final Orchard dives deep into themes such as classism and the elites, climate change, and the power vanity has over society. With a prose that is sharp and unrelenting, Rivera navigates a system that was not set up with the common people’s best interests in mind. But beyond the horrors of the world and the selfishness of humanity, this is a book that highlights the willpower of women and how far a mother’s love can take her.
The Final Orchard will appeal to science fiction and horror readers equally, as well as those who outgrew classic dystopic titles like Divergent and The Hunger Games and are looking for a darker take at the genre.
Ahead of her book release, Rivera spoke with the Dominican Writers Association about the inspiration behind The Final Orchard and more.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Congratulations on The Final Orchard! This is a story with many layers to it. Can you tell me what inspired you to write this novel?
I’ve always loved science fiction, horror, dystopias… I would be up at midnight watching The Twilight Zone reruns. I got really into The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and the Divergent trilogies. I was obsessed! I’ve never taken a novel writing class but I’m a producer, so I’ve written screenplays on spec and video scripts. I thought, Why not try a novel? Let me try and attempt to write a story that I would like to read.
There were a lot of themes that I’ve always been interested in, like the nature of humanity. The initial concept was that we have these crazy beauty trends that go from one extreme to the other. From incredibly modified and augmented to raw. So, I thought, What’s the next evolution of this? Blending cosmetic surgery and technology, I thought of a world where everyone was bionically enhanced. There’s always wealth that dictates what beauty trends are. The elites in my book have bejeweled, bedazzled crazy adornments and everyone else is trying to catch up. Once it’s accessible, the elites want to differentiate themselves in a new way and that brings this trend right back to looking natural.
At first, Ro and Eve’s storylines don’t look like they’re connected but both are extremely important for the big picture of the book. Did you know this book would be a dual POV from the start, or did you realize much later?
Originally, because I was so obsessed with the YA dystopias, the first draft of the book was just Ever’s POV. Only her, underground in the Helix. After I became a mom and went back to revise my draft, I started thinking about a mother character and the extreme lengths they would go to for their child. I thought it would be an interesting dynamic to weave in and would also provide an opportunity to see what’s on the surface.
There are many social themes in The Final Orchard going from capitalism to bureaucracy, but one of the main takeaways I got from this book is how the elites manipulate and dehumanize the lower classes. This is presented to the reader through both storylines as Ro and Eve turn out to be a means to an end, both controlled by Edric. Can you speak about your intentions behind the dynamic between these characters?
Yes, that was very intentional. I feel like I’ve been trying to, on a more microscale in the story, tackle those themes of classism, aristocracy, and the nature of humanity. I think with dystopia it does reflect the anxieties of the time it is written in, and I feel like those themes are very current right now. I wanted to hide them in the layers of the story as it’s easier to digest when it’s fictionalized. That’s why I love genre fiction. I feel like a lot of times it gets dismissed as entertainment, especially sci-fi horror — but if you dive into them, they are presenting a way to digest what’s currently your fears. They’re a reflection of the times we live in.
Another concept that caught my attention is how, despite having technology that can easily save people’s lives, the lower classes don’t have access to those medical treatments. In the meantime, the elites use that same technology to get beauty modifications. Can you expand on the message you were trying to convey?
Currently I feel like there’s been a lot of breakthroughs in science that could help people with certain ailments. But it’s all in a capitalist market, so it’s all about making money and not making some of these things accessible. It’s a similar concept in The Final Orchard. You can help, but you’d rather hoard wealth. I was looking at different layers of that.
While AI is becoming part of our lives, there’s still a high amount of discontent directed towards this kind of technology. In The Final Orchard, technological advancements are presented as tools and whether it’s good or bad depends on who’s wielding them. What’s your take on the big space technology is taking in our day-to-day lives?
I think it’s not going anywhere, and we need to learn to utilize technology as a tool to streamline our lives and help advance some of our endeavors because it’s here to stay. It’s just a matter of trying to best equip yourself and learn the technology. I understand there’s a lot of fights against using it and certain feelings, but I think that if you utilize it as a tool to help you succeed, that’s the best that we can do.
An essential part of Ro’s character is her love for her daughter and how far she’s willing to go to get her back. I know that you’re a mother as well. Can you tell me how much weight your experience with motherhood had in The Final Orchard?
Well, it caused me to create this new character which I didn’t originally have. The main biggest fear a mother feels is not being able to protect her child. Those stakes are just incredibly high. Broken people will go to whatever lengths to feel whole again. And so Ro is this incredibly accomplished geneticist who wants to change the world. But after this horrific loss of her daughter, a part of her dies too.
All the subjects on Level 23 are still kids, the oldest being barely 18. I understand one of the reasons is that they’re called up in their late teens, but I also wonder if they being children was an intentional choice with a possible deeper meaning.
Initially, there wasn’t too much of a deeper meaning but as I went through, I felt that — especially living a lie, not knowing anything about their environment… from Edric’s perspective they’re easier to manipulate. They’re brought up in captivity. They have no sense of what reality is and what the real world is. And as a child, you tend to accept things at face value because you don’t know anything else. If you’re trying to create this army of brainwashed soldiers, starting with children is probably the most effective way, which is very scary.
There’s a scene where Ro mentions that her native tongue is Spanish. Do you think that your experience as a Dominican woman impacted this story one way or another, even if cultural background is not heavily discussed in the book?
I did want to see a protagonist that is Hispanic. I wanted to make sure it was evident that Ever has brown. I want to picture someone who looks like me as a protagonist of this type of story, which I don’t see often.
What do you hope people take away from The Final Orchard?
One, I hope it is a fun read. I hope that they understand these characters. I don’t think they’re great people. I would call them antiheroes. Everyone has their own flaws, but I hope that makes them memorable. Leading into the second story and this idea that we as humanity are kind of making the same mistakes all over again. Since this is set in the future, this dystopia is showing what happens in the future if our fears go unchecked. I hope The Final Orchard is thought-provoking. This could be a very possible future, and it’s what you walk away with whenever you consume dystopia. It’s just hoping to improve on the now, so we don’t see that reflected in our future.
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Visit our Bookshop to purchase a copy of The Final Orchard.
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About the Author: CJ Rivera is an adult dystopian author navigating the realms of high-tech turmoil and stark reality. Before diving into speculative fiction, Rivera enjoyed a successful career as a Creative Producer. She has penned and produced captivating content for media giants such as CNBC, NBC Universal, and the Food Network. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, three daughters and her hydroponic garden.
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Dianna Vega (she/her) is an assistant editor, fiction writer and poet born and raised in the Dominican Republic. She holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and lives in Florida, where she can be found worsening her sleep deprivation. She is a 2024 Periplus Fellow. Her poetry has appeared in Outrageous Fortune, South Dakota Review and Tint Journal and is coming up in Poetry Magazine.
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