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Heorot #3
Starborn and Godsons
THE LONG-AWAITED CONCLUSION OF THE HEOROT SERIES FROM GENRE LEGENDS LARRY NIVEN, JERRY POURNELLE, AND STEVEN BARNES
Avalon was thriving. The cold sleep colonists from Earth had settled on a verdant, livable world. The fast and cunning predators humans named "grendels" were under control, and the mainland outposts well established. Avalon's new mainland hydroelectric power station was nearly complete, and when on-line would compensate for the nuclear power systems lost in the Grendel Wars. Humans would have power, and with power came the ability to make all the necessities for life. They would survive.
They would not survive as a spacefaring people.
What they were losing faster than they knew was the ability to get to space. But unbeknownst to the planet-bound humans, something was moving out there in the stars, decelerating at a rate impossible for a natural object. And its destination was Avalon. The most probable origin was Earth's Solar System.
This is a novel of first contact—between the human Starborn and the self-named Godsons who followed on, between the first generation of Avalon born humans and their descendants, and between humans and the almost ineffably alien species native to their new world. . . .
Avalon was thriving. The cold sleep colonists from Earth had settled on a verdant, livable world. The fast and cunning predators humans named "grendels" were under control, and the mainland outposts well established. Avalon's new mainland hydroelectric power station was nearly complete, and when on-line would compensate for the nuclear power systems lost in the Grendel Wars. Humans would have power, and with power came the ability to make all the necessities for life. They would survive.
They would not survive as a spacefaring people.
What they were losing faster than they knew was the ability to get to space. But unbeknownst to the planet-bound humans, something was moving out there in the stars, decelerating at a rate impossible for a natural object. And its destination was Avalon. The most probable origin was Earth's Solar System.
This is a novel of first contact—between the human Starborn and the self-named Godsons who followed on, between the first generation of Avalon born humans and their descendants, and between humans and the almost ineffably alien species native to their new world. . . .
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2020
About the author
Larry Niven
603 books3,172 followersLaurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main strengths.
Niven also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series, which utilizes an exhaustible resource, called Mana, to make the magic a non-renewable resource.
Niven created an alien species, the Kzin, which were featured in a series of twelve collection books, the Man-Kzin Wars. He co-authored a number of novels with Jerry Pournelle. In fact, much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Pournelle, Steven Barnes, Brenda Cooper, or Edward M. Lerner.
He briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1962. He did a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has since lived in Los Angeles suburbs, including Chatsworth and Tarzana, as a full-time writer. He married Marilyn Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty, herself a well-known science fiction and Regency literature fan, on September 6, 1969.
Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for Neutron Star in 1967. In 1972, for Inconstant Moon, and in 1975 for The Hole Man. In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for The Borderland of Sol.
Niven has written scripts for various science fiction television shows, including the original Land of the Lost series and Star Trek: The Animated Series, for which he adapted his early Kzin story The Soft Weapon. He adapted his story Inconstant Moon for an episode of the television series The Outer Limits in 1996.
He has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and the redshift effect, which are unusual in comic books.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/larryn...
Niven also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series, which utilizes an exhaustible resource, called Mana, to make the magic a non-renewable resource.
Niven created an alien species, the Kzin, which were featured in a series of twelve collection books, the Man-Kzin Wars. He co-authored a number of novels with Jerry Pournelle. In fact, much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Pournelle, Steven Barnes, Brenda Cooper, or Edward M. Lerner.
He briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1962. He did a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has since lived in Los Angeles suburbs, including Chatsworth and Tarzana, as a full-time writer. He married Marilyn Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty, herself a well-known science fiction and Regency literature fan, on September 6, 1969.
Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for Neutron Star in 1967. In 1972, for Inconstant Moon, and in 1975 for The Hole Man. In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for The Borderland of Sol.
Niven has written scripts for various science fiction television shows, including the original Land of the Lost series and Star Trek: The Animated Series, for which he adapted his early Kzin story The Soft Weapon. He adapted his story Inconstant Moon for an episode of the television series The Outer Limits in 1996.
He has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and the redshift effect, which are unusual in comic books.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/larryn...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
August 8, 2022
This is a pretty good continuation of the Heorot series and is an enjoyable conclusion to the three-way collaborative trilogy. It's a hard-science look at the colonization of a complex planet over several generations, much like Allen Steele's Coyote books. The first book, The Legacy of Heorot, was published in 1987, and it was followed by Beowulf's Children in 1995, which features the second generation of colonists. There's a bit of an effort to incorporate more recent technological advances (most obviously 3D printing), in this one but it stays true to the original set-up for the most part. I did not like this one quite as well as the two preceding volumes because the focus shifts from the complex ecology of the planet to a shipload of religious fanatics who arrive unexpectedly. I thought there was more than enough left in place to explore without their introduction, and I could have done without the whole meddling-in-the-politics-and-legal-system side-trip, but some of the new characters were quite interesting. Despite my minor reservations, I enjoyed the return to Avalon, as well as the moving tributes of Dr. Pournelle by the two surviving authors. I would recommend reading them in order, though.
December 12, 2021
This book is easily the best of the series. It's true by almost every metric you might want to make.
Alien colony world with vicious aliens that may or may not be intelligent, with a major focus on survival. Give them a few generations to adapt and defend themselves from the locals, even doing their part to develop an uneasy, unspoken truce with the monsters. Live, even as their ability to reach the stars gives out.
Then add ANOTHER factor, more humans from Earth on their own grander-than-themselves mission, involving themselves in the original colony's business, devolving to a bunch of grievances and misunderstandings and cultural misfirings.
It's pretty great. I'm immediately reminded of Cherryh's Foreigner series, but with one major alteration: the aliens aren't to be reasoned with by normal standards. There is no official, modern civilization, even if there ARE signs of an older one. And there's more violence, here, too. It's a great counterpoint.
It's definitely great fun, too.
Those problem areas I had with the other books (social/sexual stuff) were pretty much missing from this one, thankfully, and it was replaced with great a plot.
Alien colony world with vicious aliens that may or may not be intelligent, with a major focus on survival. Give them a few generations to adapt and defend themselves from the locals, even doing their part to develop an uneasy, unspoken truce with the monsters. Live, even as their ability to reach the stars gives out.
Then add ANOTHER factor, more humans from Earth on their own grander-than-themselves mission, involving themselves in the original colony's business, devolving to a bunch of grievances and misunderstandings and cultural misfirings.
It's pretty great. I'm immediately reminded of Cherryh's Foreigner series, but with one major alteration: the aliens aren't to be reasoned with by normal standards. There is no official, modern civilization, even if there ARE signs of an older one. And there's more violence, here, too. It's a great counterpoint.
It's definitely great fun, too.
Those problem areas I had with the other books (social/sexual stuff) were pretty much missing from this one, thankfully, and it was replaced with great a plot.
March 8, 2021
Rereading 2021 for my SF group. Did not stand up to rereading all that well. I think I was affected the first time by it being Jerry Pournelle's last book. My rating is from the first read.
A worthy conclusion to a series and a partnership
When I first heard that the conclusion to the Heorot series was about to be published, I was keen to read it, but it had been so long since I read the earlier books that I refreshed my memory by rereading The Legacy of Heorot, the first book in the series. I enjoyed it but was not overwhelmed. It was a nice SF adventure tale but not fleshed out enough for a full novel (I learned in the introduction to Starborn and Godsons that originally The Legacy of Heorot was going to be a novella, and I think that would have been more appropriate.). Rest assured that the same is not true in Starborn and Godsons.
There is a lot going on in this book, and all the major subplots are done well. As the book opens, the settlers on Avalon are faced with ongoing challenges to their society due to past battles with the native Avalon grendel species, during which many important tech items were destroyed, including their three-D printers that could make new equipment and also due to the apparent deterioration of their Artificial Intelligence Cassandra. The settlers are also worried about possible future conflicts with the grendels and about the nature of another Avalon species, the Cthulhu, who do not appear to be hostile like the Grendel are, but just what are they? There are BIG concerns about the impending arrival of a starship coming from the area of the Earth’s solar system, and these concerns are not allayed after the ship arrives and brings the Godsons, a rather different type of “alien” mind. Matters are not completely tranquil among the settlers themselves. The oldest generation, the Earthborn, are dying out but are still the titular leaders of the humans. There is a second and a third generation, the Starborn, who have gained maturity and who want a bigger voice in the direction of the colony. The Starborn do not remember Earth or spaceflight and do not always agree with their elders.
There is a lot more character interest in this book than in the earlier work, and I became more invested in the lives of some of the people involved, be they Earthborn, Starborn, or Godsons. There are even elements reminiscent of a legal thriller!
With so much plot and character to handle, the authors can be forgiven for glossing over some details, but a few things wanted a little more background. For example, there were mentions of “programming” minds of both the settlers and the Godsons, and I would have been more satisfied if I had some sense of how this was accomplished in both societies.
As most science fiction fans know, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes have been writing very popular SF solo and in various collaborations for over forty years (over 50 years for Niven). When the trio wrote this concluding volume in their Heorot series, Jerry Pournelle was dying of a brain tumor, but he continued to collaborate with the other two writers up until 3 days before he died, at which point the book was 90% complete. Both Larry Niven and Steve Barnes wrote moving tributes and farewells to their work together as an introduction to this book. For their many admirers, these introductions alone will be worth the price of the book, but do go on to read the rest. The publisher has in my mind done an admirable job of not revealing too much of the plot, and I will respect that decision by not telling more. But I will reveal that it is a story that SF fans will enjoy immensely.
A worthy conclusion to a series and a partnership
When I first heard that the conclusion to the Heorot series was about to be published, I was keen to read it, but it had been so long since I read the earlier books that I refreshed my memory by rereading The Legacy of Heorot, the first book in the series. I enjoyed it but was not overwhelmed. It was a nice SF adventure tale but not fleshed out enough for a full novel (I learned in the introduction to Starborn and Godsons that originally The Legacy of Heorot was going to be a novella, and I think that would have been more appropriate.). Rest assured that the same is not true in Starborn and Godsons.
There is a lot going on in this book, and all the major subplots are done well. As the book opens, the settlers on Avalon are faced with ongoing challenges to their society due to past battles with the native Avalon grendel species, during which many important tech items were destroyed, including their three-D printers that could make new equipment and also due to the apparent deterioration of their Artificial Intelligence Cassandra. The settlers are also worried about possible future conflicts with the grendels and about the nature of another Avalon species, the Cthulhu, who do not appear to be hostile like the Grendel are, but just what are they? There are BIG concerns about the impending arrival of a starship coming from the area of the Earth’s solar system, and these concerns are not allayed after the ship arrives and brings the Godsons, a rather different type of “alien” mind. Matters are not completely tranquil among the settlers themselves. The oldest generation, the Earthborn, are dying out but are still the titular leaders of the humans. There is a second and a third generation, the Starborn, who have gained maturity and who want a bigger voice in the direction of the colony. The Starborn do not remember Earth or spaceflight and do not always agree with their elders.
There is a lot more character interest in this book than in the earlier work, and I became more invested in the lives of some of the people involved, be they Earthborn, Starborn, or Godsons. There are even elements reminiscent of a legal thriller!
With so much plot and character to handle, the authors can be forgiven for glossing over some details, but a few things wanted a little more background. For example, there were mentions of “programming” minds of both the settlers and the Godsons, and I would have been more satisfied if I had some sense of how this was accomplished in both societies.
As most science fiction fans know, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes have been writing very popular SF solo and in various collaborations for over forty years (over 50 years for Niven). When the trio wrote this concluding volume in their Heorot series, Jerry Pournelle was dying of a brain tumor, but he continued to collaborate with the other two writers up until 3 days before he died, at which point the book was 90% complete. Both Larry Niven and Steve Barnes wrote moving tributes and farewells to their work together as an introduction to this book. For their many admirers, these introductions alone will be worth the price of the book, but do go on to read the rest. The publisher has in my mind done an admirable job of not revealing too much of the plot, and I will respect that decision by not telling more. But I will reveal that it is a story that SF fans will enjoy immensely.
June 8, 2021
A decent wrap-up to the Heorot series, although also something of a non-sequitur, as it takes the introduction of some unexpected elements to drive to plot along. As the third generation of the colony of Avalon comes to maturity, visitors arrive...
March 13, 2022
And so the series comes to an end - both due to the fact that sadly Jerry Pournelle has passed away but also in the fact that the group felt the story (and the characters) have run their course, yes I know I have been reading the preface notes again.
But what of the book well, to use the old cliché it is a books of two halves. The first is fully semi idyllic life and contentment - yes there are challenges and issues (you cannot avoid them considering events in the previous stories) but on the whole they have a settled life.
Then something happens that challenges this and suddenly are you descending in to the second half with what can only be described as it all going wrong big time.
Now do not get me wrong the action is great and reminds me of the fun I had reading the very first in the series however it did feel as though it took a long time to get there.
However on the whole I enjoyed the novel - however the book was a totally different affair. You have grey slightly reflective paper with at times weak printing - grey on shiny grey is not easy to read and at times down right painful. This took a lot longer to read purely for how difficult it was to read at times.
But what of the book well, to use the old cliché it is a books of two halves. The first is fully semi idyllic life and contentment - yes there are challenges and issues (you cannot avoid them considering events in the previous stories) but on the whole they have a settled life.
Then something happens that challenges this and suddenly are you descending in to the second half with what can only be described as it all going wrong big time.
Now do not get me wrong the action is great and reminds me of the fun I had reading the very first in the series however it did feel as though it took a long time to get there.
However on the whole I enjoyed the novel - however the book was a totally different affair. You have grey slightly reflective paper with at times weak printing - grey on shiny grey is not easy to read and at times down right painful. This took a lot longer to read purely for how difficult it was to read at times.
February 27, 2020
I’ve read Heorot 1 and 2 very shortly after they were first published, and was delighted to hear a sequel was coming. It’s sad though that it also had to become a tribute to Jerry Pournelle, who passed away before the book was entirely ready. That being said, the tributes each of the two other authors pay to Pournelle at the start of the book, are moving and are highlights that every fan will want to read.
‘Starborn & godsons’ is set a little bit later in time, with in the meantime a third generation of people on Avalon. Few of the original pioneers are still alive, many of them have become memories or legends. Just like in the second book, this new generation conflicts with the previous one(s) but events force them to work together. This time, the arrival of a new ship full of humans, and the discovery of a new species, are the main elements that make up the story.
The author’s writing is swift and it doesn’t take long before you are completely immersed into the story. For those who’ve read the first books, this new one feels like coming home. But with most characters being new and with ties to other books well explained, new readers won’t have any problems diving in immediately. Nevertheless, I’d recommend reading the prequels first anyway.
With new people arriving from Earth, one can assume some conflicts will arise and eventually explode, which would make the story exhilarating. I had expected more from this however. The conflicts, regardless of how interesting they are, are handled very civilized and do not escalate as much as I would like them to have. When closing the book, it felt like an okay dish in a restaurant that could have used some more spicing to make it excellent.
Like in the prequels, a new species native to Avalon is introduced. After grendels and bees, we get to meet cthulhus (again, a reference to Beowulf). They are fascinating and well thought over and I would liked to have seen more of the interaction with humans.
Both main items (new people and cthulhus) could have been developed more in depth. I may be wrong but to me it seems as if the authors were in a rush to finish things (not unlikely, given Pournelle’s health condition) and wanted to progress the story rather than giving it more depth. Because of that, I felt a lot of nostalgia while reading the book and was happy to read more about the Avalonians, but didn’t feel completely fulfilled with how the story evolved. It was fun to return, but it will not be the most exciting book I will have read by the end of the year.
‘Starborn & godsons’ is set a little bit later in time, with in the meantime a third generation of people on Avalon. Few of the original pioneers are still alive, many of them have become memories or legends. Just like in the second book, this new generation conflicts with the previous one(s) but events force them to work together. This time, the arrival of a new ship full of humans, and the discovery of a new species, are the main elements that make up the story.
The author’s writing is swift and it doesn’t take long before you are completely immersed into the story. For those who’ve read the first books, this new one feels like coming home. But with most characters being new and with ties to other books well explained, new readers won’t have any problems diving in immediately. Nevertheless, I’d recommend reading the prequels first anyway.
With new people arriving from Earth, one can assume some conflicts will arise and eventually explode, which would make the story exhilarating. I had expected more from this however. The conflicts, regardless of how interesting they are, are handled very civilized and do not escalate as much as I would like them to have. When closing the book, it felt like an okay dish in a restaurant that could have used some more spicing to make it excellent.
Like in the prequels, a new species native to Avalon is introduced. After grendels and bees, we get to meet cthulhus (again, a reference to Beowulf). They are fascinating and well thought over and I would liked to have seen more of the interaction with humans.
Both main items (new people and cthulhus) could have been developed more in depth. I may be wrong but to me it seems as if the authors were in a rush to finish things (not unlikely, given Pournelle’s health condition) and wanted to progress the story rather than giving it more depth. Because of that, I felt a lot of nostalgia while reading the book and was happy to read more about the Avalonians, but didn’t feel completely fulfilled with how the story evolved. It was fun to return, but it will not be the most exciting book I will have read by the end of the year.
October 30, 2021
Let’s be clear on this from the outset: this book is terrible. But why it is terrible and in how many different ways is what I’m interested in here.
I’m always wary of calling myself a ‘fan’ of anything or anyone. There is always somebody more fanatical for me, and I never really go to any great efforts in my fandom. I’m a Star Trek fan who never went to a Con, a Beatles fan who never started a podcast, and a Bob Dylan fan who has hated most of his records since 1989.
More pertinently, I’m a science fiction fan who disdains and rejects almost all of the major science fiction writers of the past 100 years. I like what I like, as do most people, and as I’ve grown older if not wiser I’ve had to acknowledge that some of the things I liked when I was younger are … problematic.
This is something we’re all wrestling with. Can we watch and enjoy Lethal Weapon knowing what we know about Mel Gibson? Can Smiths fans still enjoy The Smiths? Can I ever forgive Shatner for cozying up with that dick Bezos?
One of my earliest favourite science fiction writers was Larry Niven: an author who built a whole universe of connected planets and aliens, who brought us the Ringworld, and who teamed up with other writers to produce page turner science fiction adventure books packed with powerful ideas. But… but… but… you couldn’t help noticing the right wing undercurrents to his fiction. And while it was possible to ignore his politics back in the 80s, it’s impossible to respect anyone who still cleaves to conservatism or republicanism after we’ve seen what we’ve seen.
So when you read these right-wing SF writers, you can’t help (increasingly) noticing their obsessions: with military hardware, with bogus evolutionary psychology, with attractive young women eager to have babies with older men, with survivalism, and a whole host of problematic tropes.
When Larry Niven teams up with Jerry Pournelle, and with Steven Barnes, the ideas thrown into the pot might come from biology, computer science, cosmology, etc, but the plot points always come from the same playbook: modern humans put into extreme situations where in order to survive they have to follow orders, kill or be killed, and bow down to superior physical specimens. Pournelle has been described as a “paleo-conservative”, whatever that means. I suspect that as with most ideas labelled with the prefix “paleo” it’s a load of old nonsense. Libertarians! People who don’t understand that there are two kinds of freedom.
All of which is terribly ironic if you look up photos of these people.
Legacy of Heorot was an adventure yarn published in 1987. Different times! The Reagan/Thatcher era: as previously noted, my Vietnam. And yet, how statesmanlike Reagan seems compared to Trump. How competent the Thatcher government seems compared to our current kleptocracy. Legacy of Heorot was described as something like Aliens, but written by people who know what they’re talking about.
The plot concerned a group of humans landing on a new planet to start a colony. They encounter the local flora and fauna, but do not find signs of intelligent life. There is no Kim Stanley Robinson style hand-wringing about taking over the native ecology or living under an alien sun. The colonists set up on an island (easier to defend), but soon discover that there is a native animal that is a deadly killing machine. The plot twist is that they kill the thing that has been menacing them, only to discover that the fish-like creatures they’ve been eating, all now grow up to become adult killing machines. Turns out, mama has been eating her own babies. The ensuing disaster almost wipes out the colony.
It’s a rollicking good yarn that would make an incredible movie or TV series. Of course, the hero is the military guy, the one who warned the colonists about the dangers, the one who was ignored until it was almost too late.
It would be easy to remember this book fondly as nothing more than an adventure yarn with a military veteran hero. But then there are the other parts. The way the hero ends up, because circumstances, having – or, I should say, taking – two wives. The obsession with breeding stock, and the way all the intellectuals and scientists in the colony end up with various degrees of brain damage.
There was a sequel in 1995, set 20 years later, featuring the younger generation, who are determined to explore the mainland and in conflict with the older generation. It’s not as satisfying, and a lot less coherent.
Which brings us to Starborn and Godsons, published last year, and written in very different circumstances. Jerry Pournelle was dying, unable to write, but contributed to the plotting. Presumably the writing duties were divided between 82-year-old Niven and 68-year-old Steven Barnes. I mention their ages only because of the tendency for older science fiction writers to get a bit sex-obsessed. This happened to Heinlein, whose characters kept getting naked, and it seems to have happened to Niven/Pournelle, who seem particularly obsessed with fertile female bodies, and (as hinted above) keep finding excuses to introduce polygamy. Three girls for every boy, that kind of thing.
It’s forty years after the events in the first book, the colony’s tech is dying, they’ve barely recovered from their various wars against the local fauna, and they discover another ship is on its way to their planet. On board the ship, a weirdly militaristic and patriarchal religious cult, complete with super-soldiers and ideas about conquering the galaxy. I always find it depressing when there’s a religious cult involved.
But the plot details matter less than the sorry state of the manuscript itself. Conversations which lead nowhere, as if written by different people at different times and then randomly pasted into various bits of the books. You turn a page and then turn back again, because the conversational turn is yet another non-sequitur. Repeated bits – by which I mean, not necessarily verbatim, but more or less the same information/conversation repeated in different places, as if they’d forgotten it was already included earlier. Action scenes which have no tension, no excitement, and which read like notes toward something to be completed later on. And again: someone starts a conversation because they’re supposed to be cautious/suspicious about something, but then suddenly they forget they were talking about that, and the next thing you know they’re getting sexy because everybody is obsessed with youth and beauty and having babies. It’s tiresome.
Sometimes, too, the authors seem to forget who is supposed to be in a scene, or conversing, and sometimes they refer to characters by their first names and at other times by their last. In one scene, ‘We’re coming with you’ turns into ‘She’s staying behind’ and then turns into ‘I’m going on alone’.
Speaking as someone who has self-published, and is still kicking himself over a single typo in my most recent book, this reads like a very badly (or non-) edited self-published ebook, written in a hurry, chucked onto the Kindle store. But no, it’s published by Baen, who are distributed by Simon and Schuster and apparently cannot afford copy editors. Copy editors, I would have thought, are particularly important when it comes to co-authored books.
Anyway, this is a shoddy and shameful affair.
I’m always wary of calling myself a ‘fan’ of anything or anyone. There is always somebody more fanatical for me, and I never really go to any great efforts in my fandom. I’m a Star Trek fan who never went to a Con, a Beatles fan who never started a podcast, and a Bob Dylan fan who has hated most of his records since 1989.
More pertinently, I’m a science fiction fan who disdains and rejects almost all of the major science fiction writers of the past 100 years. I like what I like, as do most people, and as I’ve grown older if not wiser I’ve had to acknowledge that some of the things I liked when I was younger are … problematic.
This is something we’re all wrestling with. Can we watch and enjoy Lethal Weapon knowing what we know about Mel Gibson? Can Smiths fans still enjoy The Smiths? Can I ever forgive Shatner for cozying up with that dick Bezos?
One of my earliest favourite science fiction writers was Larry Niven: an author who built a whole universe of connected planets and aliens, who brought us the Ringworld, and who teamed up with other writers to produce page turner science fiction adventure books packed with powerful ideas. But… but… but… you couldn’t help noticing the right wing undercurrents to his fiction. And while it was possible to ignore his politics back in the 80s, it’s impossible to respect anyone who still cleaves to conservatism or republicanism after we’ve seen what we’ve seen.
So when you read these right-wing SF writers, you can’t help (increasingly) noticing their obsessions: with military hardware, with bogus evolutionary psychology, with attractive young women eager to have babies with older men, with survivalism, and a whole host of problematic tropes.
When Larry Niven teams up with Jerry Pournelle, and with Steven Barnes, the ideas thrown into the pot might come from biology, computer science, cosmology, etc, but the plot points always come from the same playbook: modern humans put into extreme situations where in order to survive they have to follow orders, kill or be killed, and bow down to superior physical specimens. Pournelle has been described as a “paleo-conservative”, whatever that means. I suspect that as with most ideas labelled with the prefix “paleo” it’s a load of old nonsense. Libertarians! People who don’t understand that there are two kinds of freedom.
All of which is terribly ironic if you look up photos of these people.
Legacy of Heorot was an adventure yarn published in 1987. Different times! The Reagan/Thatcher era: as previously noted, my Vietnam. And yet, how statesmanlike Reagan seems compared to Trump. How competent the Thatcher government seems compared to our current kleptocracy. Legacy of Heorot was described as something like Aliens, but written by people who know what they’re talking about.
The plot concerned a group of humans landing on a new planet to start a colony. They encounter the local flora and fauna, but do not find signs of intelligent life. There is no Kim Stanley Robinson style hand-wringing about taking over the native ecology or living under an alien sun. The colonists set up on an island (easier to defend), but soon discover that there is a native animal that is a deadly killing machine. The plot twist is that they kill the thing that has been menacing them, only to discover that the fish-like creatures they’ve been eating, all now grow up to become adult killing machines. Turns out, mama has been eating her own babies. The ensuing disaster almost wipes out the colony.
It’s a rollicking good yarn that would make an incredible movie or TV series. Of course, the hero is the military guy, the one who warned the colonists about the dangers, the one who was ignored until it was almost too late.
It would be easy to remember this book fondly as nothing more than an adventure yarn with a military veteran hero. But then there are the other parts. The way the hero ends up, because circumstances, having – or, I should say, taking – two wives. The obsession with breeding stock, and the way all the intellectuals and scientists in the colony end up with various degrees of brain damage.
There was a sequel in 1995, set 20 years later, featuring the younger generation, who are determined to explore the mainland and in conflict with the older generation. It’s not as satisfying, and a lot less coherent.
Which brings us to Starborn and Godsons, published last year, and written in very different circumstances. Jerry Pournelle was dying, unable to write, but contributed to the plotting. Presumably the writing duties were divided between 82-year-old Niven and 68-year-old Steven Barnes. I mention their ages only because of the tendency for older science fiction writers to get a bit sex-obsessed. This happened to Heinlein, whose characters kept getting naked, and it seems to have happened to Niven/Pournelle, who seem particularly obsessed with fertile female bodies, and (as hinted above) keep finding excuses to introduce polygamy. Three girls for every boy, that kind of thing.
It’s forty years after the events in the first book, the colony’s tech is dying, they’ve barely recovered from their various wars against the local fauna, and they discover another ship is on its way to their planet. On board the ship, a weirdly militaristic and patriarchal religious cult, complete with super-soldiers and ideas about conquering the galaxy. I always find it depressing when there’s a religious cult involved.
But the plot details matter less than the sorry state of the manuscript itself. Conversations which lead nowhere, as if written by different people at different times and then randomly pasted into various bits of the books. You turn a page and then turn back again, because the conversational turn is yet another non-sequitur. Repeated bits – by which I mean, not necessarily verbatim, but more or less the same information/conversation repeated in different places, as if they’d forgotten it was already included earlier. Action scenes which have no tension, no excitement, and which read like notes toward something to be completed later on. And again: someone starts a conversation because they’re supposed to be cautious/suspicious about something, but then suddenly they forget they were talking about that, and the next thing you know they’re getting sexy because everybody is obsessed with youth and beauty and having babies. It’s tiresome.
Sometimes, too, the authors seem to forget who is supposed to be in a scene, or conversing, and sometimes they refer to characters by their first names and at other times by their last. In one scene, ‘We’re coming with you’ turns into ‘She’s staying behind’ and then turns into ‘I’m going on alone’.
Speaking as someone who has self-published, and is still kicking himself over a single typo in my most recent book, this reads like a very badly (or non-) edited self-published ebook, written in a hurry, chucked onto the Kindle store. But no, it’s published by Baen, who are distributed by Simon and Schuster and apparently cannot afford copy editors. Copy editors, I would have thought, are particularly important when it comes to co-authored books.
Anyway, this is a shoddy and shameful affair.
May 26, 2020
Really three and a half stars. I wasn't impressed with the way they had to shoehorn 3D printing and other technologies not prominent or existing when the first novel in the series was written. They could have let the story continue and grow with what they originally had instead of shoveling all the modern stuff in.
The story starts off strong enough. Their beleaguered and still in orbit AI is having troubles. Refusing to answer questions which turns out to be bad timing because someone is coming to visit. Actually, the pilot's decision to change destination of the ship Messenger is never fully explained. Yeah, okay, he went mad but why Avalon and not straight into the heart of the nearest star? It was a tangent created to get the Godsons there, nothing more.
The Godsons, a cult like group determined that mankind should master the galaxy (hubris) were specifically denied any berths on the earlier flight that founded the existing colony on Avalon and Camelot island. They arrive. Are all helpful and willing to share until. . . Well read the book if you want the details. It did gets a little predictable towards the middle of the book although the ending I did not expect and was pleasantly surprised by. Not a bad novel but nowhere near as captivating as the first.
The story starts off strong enough. Their beleaguered and still in orbit AI is having troubles. Refusing to answer questions which turns out to be bad timing because someone is coming to visit. Actually, the pilot's decision to change destination of the ship Messenger is never fully explained. Yeah, okay, he went mad but why Avalon and not straight into the heart of the nearest star? It was a tangent created to get the Godsons there, nothing more.
The Godsons, a cult like group determined that mankind should master the galaxy (hubris) were specifically denied any berths on the earlier flight that founded the existing colony on Avalon and Camelot island. They arrive. Are all helpful and willing to share until. . . Well read the book if you want the details. It did gets a little predictable towards the middle of the book although the ending I did not expect and was pleasantly surprised by. Not a bad novel but nowhere near as captivating as the first.
July 30, 2021
Another great space opera -- unfortunately also the very last -- by the sci-fi tag team of Larry, Jerry and Steve. A very satisfying end to the Heorot series. Read it!
September 6, 2020
Read this series to finally finish it. Thought the premises was interesting. Read the first two novels decades ago but felt the series was not finished. The Black Ship novella was the third published recently to fill in some background between the first and second novel. The Godsons was advertised as the final story so I thought now was the time read the whole set. With Jerry Pournelle death it is clear it is the end.
Jerry Pournelle was a good author in his own right but his great contribution to Science Fiction was to improve Larry Niven’s ideas. Jerry gave a hard edge to Niven’s works, “The Motie in God’s Eye” and especially “Footfall” are better because of Jerry. He made many contributions to SF include editor of anthologies and other collaborations. He was also a journalist whose articles in Byte magazine over decades contributed to my understanding of computer technology in the 80’s
He was not my top SF authors but I am sad to see him go to join the constellation of Authors will never write another story. Authors that as soon as saw a new title in the a bookstore I would buy.
Heinlein, H Beam Piper, Asimov, Hal Clement, Robert L Forward, Blish and Pournelle
Jerry Pournelle was a good author in his own right but his great contribution to Science Fiction was to improve Larry Niven’s ideas. Jerry gave a hard edge to Niven’s works, “The Motie in God’s Eye” and especially “Footfall” are better because of Jerry. He made many contributions to SF include editor of anthologies and other collaborations. He was also a journalist whose articles in Byte magazine over decades contributed to my understanding of computer technology in the 80’s
He was not my top SF authors but I am sad to see him go to join the constellation of Authors will never write another story. Authors that as soon as saw a new title in the a bookstore I would buy.
Heinlein, H Beam Piper, Asimov, Hal Clement, Robert L Forward, Blish and Pournelle
April 28, 2020
I have read the other two books in the trilogy and enjoyed them immensely. I met Dr. Pournelle at my local library in Southern California where he was giving an evening talk. He was gracious and engaging.
That said, I enjoyed the third book in the trilogy but I found it to be the weakest of the three. It felt rushed and the tone of the writing suffered from Dr. Pournelle's absence. The plotting was a bit confusing and I noticed a couple of errors in the book, including the rank of the one of the godsons changing from Major to Captain and back to Major in one chapter.
Don't take this review as a reason to not read the book, but read the other two before reading this one.
That said, I enjoyed the third book in the trilogy but I found it to be the weakest of the three. It felt rushed and the tone of the writing suffered from Dr. Pournelle's absence. The plotting was a bit confusing and I noticed a couple of errors in the book, including the rank of the one of the godsons changing from Major to Captain and back to Major in one chapter.
Don't take this review as a reason to not read the book, but read the other two before reading this one.
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 12, 2024Niven, Pournelle and Barnes conclude their Heorot series: three novels and a novella. Both Niven and Barnes wrote forwards that describe their working process and Pournelle’s involvement before his death.
This book does not stand well on its own. The religious fanatics place a new layer to this already complex world. Most readers without the necessary background will be hopelessly lost.
I must also add that I did not enjoy the newcomers. In the end I liked this book less than the others.
This book does not stand well on its own. The religious fanatics place a new layer to this already complex world. Most readers without the necessary background will be hopelessly lost.
I must also add that I did not enjoy the newcomers. In the end I liked this book less than the others.
September 8, 2022
Starborn and Godsons is one of the last books Jerry Pournelle produced before he passed away. Pournelle (along with Larry Niven and Steven Barnes) crafted a novel that can serve as a fitting capstone to his career. Lots of resolutions here-contact is finally reestablished with Earth (not a spoiler it’s right there on the back of the book) and we learn that nothing on Avalon is quite what it seemed to be. Adios Mr. Pournelle. Happy trails.
January 20, 2023
Una buona conclusione del ciclo (i precedenti due volumi li avevo letti anni fa in edizione originale) anche se con qualche "semplificazione" logica per giustificare la storia.
Una vicenda "classica" nella sua impostazione narrativa, con un mondo di cui scoprire i possibili misteri, mostri vari e alieni improbabili, nonché personaggi abbastanza standard...
Leggero e scorrevole.
Una vicenda "classica" nella sua impostazione narrativa, con un mondo di cui scoprire i possibili misteri, mostri vari e alieni improbabili, nonché personaggi abbastanza standard...
Leggero e scorrevole.
June 15, 2020
I enjoyed reading this story. The tributes by Niven and Barnes for Pournelle before the story starts were moving, powerful, and honored their friend and co-author. The story itself, sadly, is supposed to be the last in the series. It takes place just over twenty years after the second book in the series. There are numerous changes that have occurred in the intervening time between stories. It is funny - there was eight years distance separating the publishing of the first two books, then twenty-five years between the second book and this final book. That being the case, the amount of "new technology" that is introduced into this book "retroactively" does not really fit very will with the earlier history of the colony. It feels forced and "unnatural." That, and the references feel out-of-place. I guess a third species was introduced in an online novella (short story?) that was published in 2012; that species has a strong role to play in this story.
The character development was okay, I guess. I felt a "better/stronger" connection with the second book after reading the first book. Several characters from the first book carried over into the second. That is not quite the case here. Some characters from the first two novels do show up in this third and final volume, but some of the characters I hoped to "learn more about" never show up. Not only that, but based on how some of the deaths that occurred in the second novel are mentioned in this novel as well as some that are implied to have occurred amongst the colony's "general population" of "redshirts," it would have been nice if the authors would have expanded on a few things. Or, even given a "history" of what transpired.
It was a fun book, overall. Maybe not quite as good as the first two books, because of how rushed it felt. It introduced enough new elements to keep the series going for quite some time. Sadly, that will not be the case. In any event, I am glad that I discovered the book was out and read it.
The character development was okay, I guess. I felt a "better/stronger" connection with the second book after reading the first book. Several characters from the first book carried over into the second. That is not quite the case here. Some characters from the first two novels do show up in this third and final volume, but some of the characters I hoped to "learn more about" never show up. Not only that, but based on how some of the deaths that occurred in the second novel are mentioned in this novel as well as some that are implied to have occurred amongst the colony's "general population" of "redshirts," it would have been nice if the authors would have expanded on a few things. Or, even given a "history" of what transpired.
It was a fun book, overall. Maybe not quite as good as the first two books, because of how rushed it felt. It introduced enough new elements to keep the series going for quite some time. Sadly, that will not be the case. In any event, I am glad that I discovered the book was out and read it.
July 27, 2021
A somewhat lackluster cap on a classic sf series.
Some minor spoilers below.
It was nice to finally get a wrap on this series after so long, but I feel like it inherited a bit too much of its predecessors' antique sensibilities. I'm bummed that the humans relationship with the Grendels didn't get explored, that's really what I tuned in for. Instead we get cthulhus, and precious little of them, for that matter. The new human visitors were a much less interesting source of conflict than they could have been, with basically everything that happened between them coming to naught. The fascination on both sides with human reproductive pairing rings a little strange to a modern ear, and all the philosophizing is just so much blah blah blah that doesn't really impact the plot. We get cool power armor that's proof against grendels exactly once, and then useless? What was even the point?
In short, some good ideas, but kind of a mess.
Some minor spoilers below.
It was nice to finally get a wrap on this series after so long, but I feel like it inherited a bit too much of its predecessors' antique sensibilities. I'm bummed that the humans relationship with the Grendels didn't get explored, that's really what I tuned in for. Instead we get cthulhus, and precious little of them, for that matter. The new human visitors were a much less interesting source of conflict than they could have been, with basically everything that happened between them coming to naught. The fascination on both sides with human reproductive pairing rings a little strange to a modern ear, and all the philosophizing is just so much blah blah blah that doesn't really impact the plot. We get cool power armor that's proof against grendels exactly once, and then useless? What was even the point?
In short, some good ideas, but kind of a mess.
October 31, 2021
Was excited to finally have the time to read this book. The other two books in the series were great reads where the synergy of this writing team was obvious.
That said this was the weakest in the trilogy. Not sure if Pournelle's health problems and eventual passing before the book was finished were the sole issues or maybe the heart of Barnes/Nivens just not up to the task given the circumstances. But between the weakness of character development, the almost literal stereotypical conflict between the humans of the planet and new colonists then the sometimes confused editing, it just seemed rushed and poorly done.
Some neat new ideas involving a newly discovered race on Avalon and dolphins communications ability show up but only the new race gets much coverage.
I gave it a three b/c it does tie things up but as a long time reader of these authors' works-solo and as a team, I was sort of disappointed.
That said this was the weakest in the trilogy. Not sure if Pournelle's health problems and eventual passing before the book was finished were the sole issues or maybe the heart of Barnes/Nivens just not up to the task given the circumstances. But between the weakness of character development, the almost literal stereotypical conflict between the humans of the planet and new colonists then the sometimes confused editing, it just seemed rushed and poorly done.
Some neat new ideas involving a newly discovered race on Avalon and dolphins communications ability show up but only the new race gets much coverage.
I gave it a three b/c it does tie things up but as a long time reader of these authors' works-solo and as a team, I was sort of disappointed.
November 19, 2020
Two stars because, honestly, I expected so much better from these authors.
This story reads like someone making a cake. Add this ingredient to that ingredient and this stuff happens, add more ingredients add heat and this happens. I never felt anything for any of the characters in the story, the conflict seemed fake and forced, the aliens just along for the ride. The big climactic battle was.... boring and the resolution "Oh hey, we made a mistake" was really weak.
This story reads like someone making a cake. Add this ingredient to that ingredient and this stuff happens, add more ingredients add heat and this happens. I never felt anything for any of the characters in the story, the conflict seemed fake and forced, the aliens just along for the ride. The big climactic battle was.... boring and the resolution "Oh hey, we made a mistake" was really weak.
December 5, 2021
Possibly the sloppiest book I've ever read.
Very little consistency from paragraph to paragraph, let alone from chapter to chapter,
or from the previous two books.
This book really requires better editing.
Very little consistency from paragraph to paragraph, let alone from chapter to chapter,
or from the previous two books.
This book really requires better editing.
Read
September 13, 2020Jerry Pournelle's last novel; he died when the book "nearly finished, and fully plotted."
The story builds slowly, doing world-and-character building in the first half, setting the stage for the action scenes of the second half. The book builds to an exciting, tightly written, satisfying conclusion. There are flaws; I'm assuming the surviving authors were reluctant to rewrite after Pournelle's death and detract from his contribution. The flaws are minor, but uncharacteristic of this writing team.
The story builds slowly, doing world-and-character building in the first half, setting the stage for the action scenes of the second half. The book builds to an exciting, tightly written, satisfying conclusion. There are flaws; I'm assuming the surviving authors were reluctant to rewrite after Pournelle's death and detract from his contribution. The flaws are minor, but uncharacteristic of this writing team.
August 13, 2020
This was a great conclusion to this series. It was a long time in the making. It had a different feel to it than the first two (and the Blackship Island novella). I think that is partly because of the circumstances under which it was written. The forewords written by Niven and Barnes regarding Jerry Pournelle are NOT TO BE SKIPPED! They are touching and literally brought a tear to my eyes. Having just re-read Beowulf's Children with its motif of aging, and then coming into this book with the last of the Earthborn growing old, I could see the real-life parallels written into the story itself. I couldn't help but compare Pournelle's own struggle with the aftermath of a stroke as compared with the Hibernation Instability of the Earthborn of Avalong. It is poignant.
The novel was an action packed thriller just as you would expect with the Heorot series. New alien critters with surprising abilities, new people and familiar, new loves and old, new challenges - both external and internal - alongside the existing ones (Grendels' man!), and all of it wrapped around the idea that if they don't get it all figured out, then mankind is doomed to regress to barbarism or simply fail as a star-faring species.
I am holding back 1 star because a couple of points felt a bit under-explained or presumptive (like it was in the author(s)' heads, but never got written for us readers. Cadzie's heir apparent status was one that was eventually explained, but when/how he and Trudy developed their relationship... at least from his point of view... was not. The other shocker was that Aaron, from book 2, who should have been a pariah (or executed) is apparently an important and contributing part of the Colony again. The why of that is explained eventually, but not until way too late in the book. All of these points could have been easily fixed by moving a sentence or two to a point much earlier in the novel. Form me, this made the overall novel feel a bit 'sloppy' compared to the other books. These are minor quibbles though.
The conclusion is a good one, and can certainly be a hard stop. It does, however, leave a nice opening for a future in the universe if needed. Hopefully someone will come along with enough writing chops to extend that for us with Mr. Niven's and Mr. Barnes' blessing. Or maybe they will do ti themselves, if they can bring themselves to do it without the input of Mr. Pournelle.
I give this book four stars and call it a Poignantly Conclusive Read.
The novel was an action packed thriller just as you would expect with the Heorot series. New alien critters with surprising abilities, new people and familiar, new loves and old, new challenges - both external and internal - alongside the existing ones (Grendels' man!), and all of it wrapped around the idea that if they don't get it all figured out, then mankind is doomed to regress to barbarism or simply fail as a star-faring species.
I am holding back 1 star because a couple of points felt a bit under-explained or presumptive (like it was in the author(s)' heads, but never got written for us readers. Cadzie's heir apparent status was one that was eventually explained, but when/how he and Trudy developed their relationship... at least from his point of view... was not. The other shocker was that Aaron, from book 2, who should have been a pariah (or executed) is apparently an important and contributing part of the Colony again. The why of that is explained eventually, but not until way too late in the book. All of these points could have been easily fixed by moving a sentence or two to a point much earlier in the novel. Form me, this made the overall novel feel a bit 'sloppy' compared to the other books. These are minor quibbles though.
The conclusion is a good one, and can certainly be a hard stop. It does, however, leave a nice opening for a future in the universe if needed. Hopefully someone will come along with enough writing chops to extend that for us with Mr. Niven's and Mr. Barnes' blessing. Or maybe they will do ti themselves, if they can bring themselves to do it without the input of Mr. Pournelle.
I give this book four stars and call it a Poignantly Conclusive Read.
April 15, 2024
I've been catching up with the later works of Larry Niven over the last few years (often writing in collaboration with others.) Here we have the third instalment of interstellar colonisation that started with the Legacy of Heorot. It's been an interesting ride and does, as far as possible, try to depict a realistic attempt at the technology needed to seed a space colony, whilst saying a lot about human nature and the way it may develop, depending on outside forces.
A quick recap is required, of at least the first book, because it explains where the colonists are now – on their new planet they discover the fearsome 'Grendels' – apex predators that make anything you would find on Earth resemble minor irritants. The original colonists are barely equipped to deal with hostile nature coming, as they do, from a largely tamed Earth. Whilst they do, barely, survive the early days the effect on the colonists and their offspring is a salutary one that results in caution, possibly excessively so.
Into this society another ship arrives, bearing a much more militaristic crew of religious fanatics – how will the two groups interact?
Niven (whether in collaboration or not) is a very intelligent author, and as he's got older seems to expect thje same from his audience. That can mean that his work is no longer an easy read. Whether you think it's an effort that's worthwhile is an exercise for the reader. I wouldn't set out to read back to back Niven, but I do enjoy his work.
A quick recap is required, of at least the first book, because it explains where the colonists are now – on their new planet they discover the fearsome 'Grendels' – apex predators that make anything you would find on Earth resemble minor irritants. The original colonists are barely equipped to deal with hostile nature coming, as they do, from a largely tamed Earth. Whilst they do, barely, survive the early days the effect on the colonists and their offspring is a salutary one that results in caution, possibly excessively so.
Into this society another ship arrives, bearing a much more militaristic crew of religious fanatics – how will the two groups interact?
Niven (whether in collaboration or not) is a very intelligent author, and as he's got older seems to expect thje same from his audience. That can mean that his work is no longer an easy read. Whether you think it's an effort that's worthwhile is an exercise for the reader. I wouldn't set out to read back to back Niven, but I do enjoy his work.
May 28, 2024
I am a pretty big fan of the Heorot series. I love the first book and consider it one of my favorite sci novels. I also quite liked the second, though it wasn't as quite as compelling. I'm pleased to say I liked this one almost as much as the first! Excellent series all told. Some reviewers have been harsh and say that this one is not as compelling and didn't like the introduction of the Godsons or felt like the authors were too old and didn't write female characters or romance well. I wouldn't say it felt anymore out of step than previous ones, nor is romance the focus. For better or for worse, I think they had philosophical and worldview ideas they were exploring related to sex and gender, particularly in this book with the Godsons, so your mileage may vary on whether you think those ideas were timely or well-executed. But, to me, it wasn't a significant point of the book and seemed simply to be part of the differences they were highlighting among the two groups. More world-building than any sort of overt political or worldview messaging.
If you like the first two, you'll like this one. All the same ingredients are there, plus some new stuff to keep things interesting. I did not read there little interquel "Blackship Island" novelette, but they seem to fill in all the details you need to know if you didn't read it.
If you like the first two, you'll like this one. All the same ingredients are there, plus some new stuff to keep things interesting. I did not read there little interquel "Blackship Island" novelette, but they seem to fill in all the details you need to know if you didn't read it.
August 26, 2021
Disappointing ... but had some good spots
The first full third of this story is simply a review of the previous three books in the series, with just a tiny bit of new stuff - enough that you can't skip it. The same thing could have been done with a small recap sectiobn, rather than pages and pages of exposition through conversations that did little to develop the characters. In fact, the novel only really begins halfway through.
I loved the first book, Legacy of Heorot, and liked the next two, but had a hard time finishing this one.
The pacing and structure were odd, with mostly exposition until nearly the end.
Chapter 10 seemed designed only to make a bad joke, which is in the last sentence of that chapter. That's kind of the way the whole book went.
Don't even get me started on Tribing, and bands of violent brothers. Even Pournelle should have realized the nastiness of tribalism before his death.
I guess it was good to give the story some closure.
With the way it ended with various factions around the planet, it makes me wonder if the authors hoped to create a template people could use for a "shared story" universe, similar to the Man-Kzinti Wars books. I doubt it will work.
The first full third of this story is simply a review of the previous three books in the series, with just a tiny bit of new stuff - enough that you can't skip it. The same thing could have been done with a small recap sectiobn, rather than pages and pages of exposition through conversations that did little to develop the characters. In fact, the novel only really begins halfway through.
I loved the first book, Legacy of Heorot, and liked the next two, but had a hard time finishing this one.
The pacing and structure were odd, with mostly exposition until nearly the end.
Chapter 10 seemed designed only to make a bad joke, which is in the last sentence of that chapter. That's kind of the way the whole book went.
Don't even get me started on Tribing, and bands of violent brothers. Even Pournelle should have realized the nastiness of tribalism before his death.
I guess it was good to give the story some closure.
With the way it ended with various factions around the planet, it makes me wonder if the authors hoped to create a template people could use for a "shared story" universe, similar to the Man-Kzinti Wars books. I doubt it will work.
June 19, 2024
It's been a very long time since I read Heorot #1 and Heorot #2. I clearly remember liking #1 a lot more than #2. That said, Starboard and Godsons was somewhat of a disappointment after looking forward to returning to Avalon, world of the Grendels. I imagine that it's very difficult for three writers to truly collaborate on any novel, especially given the stature of these three authors. The forewords written by Mr Niven and Mr Barnes were moving in their tribute to their collaborator, Jerry Pournelle. I was so inclined to love this novel on that account. But I felt that the story never really came together for me. There were too many characters with no true dynamic protagonist emerging from the crowd, even though it seemed that the grandson of Cadmann Weyland, "Cadzie", would be that character. The impetus for the story comes from the arrival of another colony ship from Earth, this one peopled by a vaguely religious patriarchal cult that seemed reminiscent of the LDS. The triggering event in the plot that sets the original colonists against the newcomers felt very contrived to me. The lackluster characters were not helped by some pretty wooden dialogue, as well as not one, but two Romeo/Juliet type romances that sprang into passion almost instantly.
June 1, 2020
Years and Years ago I read the Legacy of Heorot and loved it. Years after that, I read Beowulf's Children and mostly loved it. (I admit, some of the previous details had faded). It was with Great Nostalgia that I picked up this book. I admit again, I didn't remember details (mostly character names and some events) but the book does enough to bring you back up to speed.
The third novel finds the inhabitants of Avalon living a stable life. Neither advancing much nor falling much...except they are losing their technology. The older folks who know are starting to die off and the equipment is getting to a point where it can't be repaired. But, society is good. They don't want for much and there is plenty of time for relaxation and the pursuit of happiness...
Until Cassandra, the computer in their orbiting craft notices that another space craft is approaching...
No spoilers, its more people from Earth and they have an agenda.
I admit that it didn't go down the way I expected... But all our favorite critters got involved and in the end, I believe it was a great ending to a great trilogy.
The third novel finds the inhabitants of Avalon living a stable life. Neither advancing much nor falling much...except they are losing their technology. The older folks who know are starting to die off and the equipment is getting to a point where it can't be repaired. But, society is good. They don't want for much and there is plenty of time for relaxation and the pursuit of happiness...
Until Cassandra, the computer in their orbiting craft notices that another space craft is approaching...
No spoilers, its more people from Earth and they have an agenda.
I admit that it didn't go down the way I expected... But all our favorite critters got involved and in the end, I believe it was a great ending to a great trilogy.
July 30, 2022
This's the third book in these coauthors' Legacy of Heorot series, published after Pournelle's death (with a touching story in the introduction about how they worked on it together despite Pournelle's obvious mental and physical decline). If you've enjoyed the previous two entries, I think you'll like this one too. If not - well, it goes for setting and feel rather than characters. It plays some with horror tropes, but I enjoyed it despite disliking the horror genre. The first-ever extrasolar colony encounters some surprisingly-dangerous alien creatures which they dub "grendels," and needs to reorganize itself around defense.
Here in the third book, as the third generation is coming to maturity with yet another generational clash, a new starship arrives from Earth, filled with religious ideologues dedicated to spreading Humanity through the galaxy, possessed with higher technology, and surprised this colony has lost the vision. The dichotomy is explored, and the tensions play out, as yet another facet of alien life is discovered: dubbed the "cthulhu." But the same surprises we saw about the grendel in Book Two might also be present with the cthulhu here.
Here in the third book, as the third generation is coming to maturity with yet another generational clash, a new starship arrives from Earth, filled with religious ideologues dedicated to spreading Humanity through the galaxy, possessed with higher technology, and surprised this colony has lost the vision. The dichotomy is explored, and the tensions play out, as yet another facet of alien life is discovered: dubbed the "cthulhu." But the same surprises we saw about the grendel in Book Two might also be present with the cthulhu here.
April 24, 2020
The third (and a half) and final book in Niven, Pournelle, and Barnes' Heorot series is incredible. The characterizations and action are very well presented, the emotions running heavily throughout the whole narrative genuine, the prose crisp and dead-on. After following this colony (if not these characters) for more than twenty years, it is bittersweet to think that this will be my last trip here, but at the same time uplifting that an ending was indeed given, and one that promises a bright future for everyone involved. In his introduction to the book, Larry Niven tells us that this book was the last thing that the late Mr. Pournelle worked on, and that being the case, Jerry went out on a high point. I enjoyed every part of it. If I had to complain about one thing, it would only be that there was not more to experience.
June 11, 2020
Another great collaboration from Niven/Pournelle/Barnes
Niven has long been my favorite SF writer, and his collaborations are at times better than his solo work. The original Legacy of Hereot novel is one of the finest novels about a new colony I've read. Here we have the third and final book (with the death of Jerry Pournelle) and it does a wonderful job of continuing to open up the planet of Avalon and explore the unique life forms. We get a new ship from Earth, with new colonists, with their own plans and outlook that don't necessarily mesh with the original group. As a bonus, we get two introductions (one each from Niven and Barnes) and they're touching. Steven Barnes has been very open about how important his friendship with Larry and Jerry has been, and his forward again makes that clear. In addition to being collaborators these men are also friends.
Niven has long been my favorite SF writer, and his collaborations are at times better than his solo work. The original Legacy of Hereot novel is one of the finest novels about a new colony I've read. Here we have the third and final book (with the death of Jerry Pournelle) and it does a wonderful job of continuing to open up the planet of Avalon and explore the unique life forms. We get a new ship from Earth, with new colonists, with their own plans and outlook that don't necessarily mesh with the original group. As a bonus, we get two introductions (one each from Niven and Barnes) and they're touching. Steven Barnes has been very open about how important his friendship with Larry and Jerry has been, and his forward again makes that clear. In addition to being collaborators these men are also friends.
January 11, 2024
While I enjoyed this well enough, it was nowhere near the calibre of the first two books, clearly suffering from the loss of Jerry Pournelle.
Also an almost complete retcon of the previous book... where was Justin, why did Chaka suddenly *forget* what Aaron did to him? Did the authors have ice on THEIR minds perhaps???
The introduction of the Godsons was stupid, an entire planet to explore and we get stuck with a new bunch of irrelevant characters, though at least this solves my previous problem of enough viable people to populate the planet!!)
The Cthulus were cool though and Im sorry the storyline wasnt as resolved there as it could have been.
Would read a 4th were it written because I enjoy the world, but Im sad they left so much still to discover.
PS: Best thing about this book... Aaron is killed off in a suitably grisly fashion!!!
Also an almost complete retcon of the previous book... where was Justin, why did Chaka suddenly *forget* what Aaron did to him? Did the authors have ice on THEIR minds perhaps???
The introduction of the Godsons was stupid, an entire planet to explore and we get stuck with a new bunch of irrelevant characters, though at least this solves my previous problem of enough viable people to populate the planet!!)
The Cthulus were cool though and Im sorry the storyline wasnt as resolved there as it could have been.
Would read a 4th were it written because I enjoy the world, but Im sad they left so much still to discover.
PS: Best thing about this book... Aaron is killed off in a suitably grisly fashion!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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