This is a sequel to The Legacy of Heorot and takes place about twenty years later. It moves at a good pace; it is still interesting to read and still held my attention. The character development is also well done in this book. I hated a portion of the ending, but it definitely added to the story despite being so heart-breaking. I also liked how one of the 'major characters' had some pretty impressive character development [despite coming from such an unlikely source]. There is a lot of free sex and sexual situations throughout the book; part of the justification is that as STDs have been 'abolished' there are no longer any sexual taboos [or any need for sexual taboos] and anything goes. It kind of reminded me of an updated 'Brave New World' scenario set on another planet. It is also a book about young people coming of age in trying to define who they are on an alien planet, of parents having to come to terms with their children growing up and supplanting them, of parents having to let go, of exploration and growth, and relationships between people.The book has very little, if any, religion in it [other than a 'home grown' religion created by some of the second- and third-generation colonists]. It does reference religion in passing; it is done so in a very negative fashion, especially in reference to the colony's 'modern, open' view toward sexual promiscuity. I definitely do not agree with this view toward sex outside of marriage; despite their views [and occasional sprinkling of Bible verses in the chapter headings] they still discuss how these open sexual relationships have, for better or for worse, affected the colonists and their progeny. It seems to me that despite their espousing sexual freedom amongst consenting adults the authors actually make a case for monogamy and sexual abstinence. On a side note, the edition I read was a 'first edition' and I could not believe the number of typos and mispelled words throughout the entire book. It was really bad in the first couple of chapters, but it did get better by the end of the book. Whoever the editor was should have given back their fee, considering the number of typos. The authors did a great job expanding upon the environment introduced in the first novel. They created a fascinating planet that was interesting and dangerous at the same time. The colonists definitely had to be on their guard at all times and respect the unknown dangers the planet presented [which was easy for them to do on a regular basis]. The Grendels which featured so prominently in the first novel still have a part to play in this story; they have not yet been relegated to the dust heaps of forgotten story lines.The colony has rapidly expanded is population to around 500 people. They identify themselves as two groups - the Earth Born and the Star Born [those born on the planet]. We learn that the Earth Born suffer from Hibernation Instability, which is caused by water in the blood freezing into crystals [especially in the brain] each time the travelers were thawed out and refrozen during their two-hundred year journey to Tau Ceti. The Star Born alternate between despising their parents and feeling sympathy for them due to HI as the two groups attempt to co-exist on Camelot [their island home conquered by the Star Born in a vicious battle with the island's original inhabitants in the first novel]. They also train up the younger generations, instilling within them the dream of living in harmony on Avalon [the name of their planet orbiting Tau Ceti].The Star Born wish to form a colony on the mainland, exploring what they see as their birthright. The Star Born suffer from living in perpetual fear - fears of the past, fears for their children, fears that they can no longer be trusted to make decisions individually or collectively, and fears they will no longer be needed by the Star Born. Inbetween the novels, the colonists attempted to accelerate the colony's population via bottle babies, but natural childbirth soon proved to be enough to create a viable population. The Bottle Babies eventually formed their own clique in the midst of the larger clique consisting of the Star Born. In addition, the leader of the Star Born, Aaron Tragon, has instituted a cult of his own which appears to 'worship' the Grendels [the very same beasts that nearly wiped out the original colonists in the first novel]. The environment on the island is changing - the lack of Grendels is allowing species to return to the island that have been missing for years. The changes spur the Star Born's desire to explore while making the Earth Born leery of embracing the various changes in a positive light.A mine exists on the mainland through which the colony is able to acquire much of what it needs in terms of minerals and fabricated materials; something damages the mine. Sabotage is ruled out; a team is sent over to investigate in conjunction with a camping party. The team investigating the damaged mining equipment dies a horrible death. The camping party returns to the mainland, unable to explain what happened to their family and friends. Discussions ensue and the Star Born want to return to the mainland. Some want revenge, some want to better understand their planet, some want to repair the damaged mine and find out what happened to cause the equipment to become damaged in the first place. The Earth Born do not want to move as fast as the Star Born and decide to wait. The Star Born do not find this to be amenable, so they attempt to create a fake hurricane to hide their stealing various equipment to journey to the mainland and set up the colony they had dreamed about. Two of the colony's de facto military leaders make it to the stolen dirigible and regain control of the craft. Unfortunately, one of the Star Born bottle-babies dies in the process. Because of the death of Toshiro Tanaka and the accompanying guilt, the Star Born get what they want. They are able to form a colony on the mainland and explore as they have desired for quite some time. Everything goes great, setting the group up for the mother of all Avalon Surprises [which is a term the colonists use for whenever the planet throws something their way that causes problems and surprises them at the same time]. The Star Born expand across a large portion of the continent, exploring and taking samples and capturing specimens as they attempt to learn more about their birthright. They also face off against a coordinated attack by a group of Grendels in a fashion that is very impressive. Their defense is so coordinated and so overwhelming that it helps the Earth Born to begin to see their children in a new light - as adults and worthy of the heritage that has been unwillingly passed on to them. They did not ask to come to this planet, they did not ask to be born on this planet, but they have accepted the dream of their parents and have modified it to become their own dream.There is some crazy character development in the book. There are various alpha members vying for control [some intentional, some not so intentional] of the Star Born. There are various couplings that continue to change as the young adults learn more about themselves and what it is that they want in life having reached adulthood. One of the leaders turns out to be evil to the core. There is also an interesting discussion about the pros and cons of bottle babies versus natural child birth. It was an interesting discussion because of how it talked about the natural cycles a woman goes through in terms of child birth and how it affects the baby in the womb and how a machine can never mimic or imitate the relationship between a woman and her unborn child. There was also another interesting discussion between a father and her daughter - they discuss the pros and cons of free sex with no entanglements and how the daughter has realizes that she wants something more than just whatever sexual experience she can have with any Tom, Dick, or Harry. The Avalon bees were the craziest, best part of the book, and the worst, most horrific part of the book. I will leave it to the reader to discover them and how they affect the colonists. Old One was amazing. I loved the character development Old One went through, especially considering I never saw it coming the first time I read the book. I have enjoyed it each time I have read the book; I felt, in retrospect, that it only makes sense.The Scribes were incredible. I enjoyed reading about them.The environment was amazing, the planet was amazing, the creatures and their interactions were amazing. The relationships between the Star Born and Earth Born as well as amongst the two groups were well-thought out and well-described. The amount of sexual promiscuity in the book was somewhat laughable, regardless of how hard the authors tried to justify it. I think the Earth Born had some of the best lines in the book, especially when they were ripping on the Star Born [especially the kaffeeklautsch from Surf's Up] in regard to their actions and their attitude[s]. Overall, I greatly enjoyed the book.
I found the plot fairly simple, but interesting enough at times. I really like stories like this (survival, overcoming adversity, exploration, and science) so I'm a bit biased in my opinion of the book. I was super annoyed with how sloppy the editing was. It was the most error-filled book I've ever read. In one paragraph, they spelled a name Mobutu then by end of paragraph they had spelled it Mubutu. There were many errors such as these and while I expect a few (no one is perfect) this makes you wonder how the editor got his position. The errors are what stood out for me most, not a good thing to note. The story was nothing special and if I didn't like the genre I would probably become bored, as it was it took me awhile to finish it. I was moved by deaths near the end of the book so the story had it's hooks in me deeper than I realized. The science aspect is slight, not much detail is given. Which is okay, means it can stand test of time easier and make less errors, but also means it's a flatter story (less immersive).The humans settling the world seem inordinately "lucky" or tough. I don't think this story is any different in that aspect than most stories. They always tend to make humans almost supermen. The species they encounter are unique and very different from humans. Those species evolve and become even tougher, but somehow the humans manage to keep a step ahead. I think most people want this and expect it even, but it does tend to become a bit unbelievable at times. I do like how they explained the species of the world. That's where most of the science went to in this book. The detail on them was vast and believable (and hard to contradict).Another thing I didn't like about the book was the free love aspect. I'm just not into that and didn't really dig it. I think it just explains a lot of when the authors got a lot of their impressions (60s and 70s). Not all practiced this free love, but most did. Minor point, but if you don't like something, you don't like something.I started Heorot #3 (Destiny's Road) and right off the bat I'm disappointed. I found out that it's not a continuation of the story in the first two books other than by the merest of threads. Destiny's Road is about a second colony after Camelot (location of first two novels) on another planet (Destiny). While the third may be worth the read it is disappointing because I was interested in seeing what would happen on Camelot, but perhaps the story didn't have much left to tell. Maybe the fate of Camelot will be revealed in Destiny's Road, time will tell.Overall, book was just okay. If you like the genre you would probably think it was okay to good, if not then maybe just bearable to okay.
What do You think about Beowulf's Children (1996)?
The Legacy of Heorot is one of a few novels I have read multiple times. It was also my introduction, not only to hard science fiction, but to horror. The Grendels were terrifying.The Dragons of Heorot (also published as Beowulf's Children) is a very different kettle of fish. It gets off to a slow start. Then it hits a slow middle. Finally there is a bit of an upsurge, but then it dies a slow death. It’s not just that it’s a bad book, but it’s got too big boots to fill. The new generation of characters left me cold, and I found myself hoping they would be killed in agonising ways. Hopefully this doesn’t classify me as mentally unstable. The father vs daughter vs brother theme is positively Shakespearian, and I didn’t buy into it.The novel shows clearly the consequences of ignoring an obvious problem for too long. What it doesn’t do, is give a satisfactory explanation for the lack of any action. Characters discuss the problem throughout the novel but they never act on it until it’s too late. Why? There was a character in this book that I disliked so much that I would have welcomed chapters and chapters of Grendels inflicting the most horrendous tortures on him. Alas. I will say this about the book: it did get me emotionally involved.It’s not all bad news. There are some things to like about the novel. The scribes, for example, are fascinating creatures. The science, of course, is solid (this is Niven after all) and the ecological exploration is interesting. The book is really more akin to a stroll across the surface of the planet, discussing what is observed and squabbling about ownership.It's hard to recommend reading this if you have read Legacy of Heorot. Dragons of Heorot may succeed as a novel about colonisation, or as a novel about ecological science. It fails as a sequel. Despite all the book’s posturing and build up, the Grendels are nothing more than a footnote, and a sad one at that. Those magnificently terrifying creatures of Legacy have become about as scary as the neighbour’s Labrador… and that’s what ticks me off the most!
—Dirk Grobbelaar
http://mark12ministries.wordpress.com..."Beowulf's Children" is the sequel to "The Legacy of Heorot" and is a rich, interesting, disgusting tragedy that has elements from the Book of Genesis, Beowulf, and Oedipus all in one volume. Although I have to give the book a Hard "R" rating, and cannot recommend it to minors, and most Christians probably wouldn't want to read it, it is one of the more fascinating, skillful, and complex SF books around. It is a coming of age novel, but the young people ar
—Bryan
This is an exciting read about a group of bright and highly intelligent earth explorers who settle a world they call Avalon which has creatures beyond what they ever experienced on earth. The most feared is the grendel and the survivors finally settle on an island they name Camelot where they manage to kill all the grendels. As the colony expands, the population divides into two groups - The Star Born and the original colonists. As the intergenerational conflict escalates, Cadmann finds his leadership in the colony challenged by Aaron, who emerges as leader of the next generation. The Starborn manage to convince their elders that the mainland needs to be colonized. More surprises await the group as the variety of grendels increase (beaver grendels, snow grendels, and the more traditional river grendels)and unknown causes of death occur. More colonists of both generations are lost. I liked the story very much and recommend it to those who like fantasy/science fiction.
—Rusty
