Beowulf's Children

By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Steven Barnes

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

A powerhouse trio of science fiction greats has united to further explore the planet Avalon, first introduced in their classic novel The Legacy of Heorot.

"Once upon a long, long time ago, our parents and grandparents left a place called Earth. They traveled across the stars in a ship called Geographic to find paradise."

A new generation is growing up on the island paradise of Camelot, ignorant of the Great Grendel Wars fought when their parents and grandparents first arrived on Earth. Setting out to explore the mainland, this group of young rebels feels ready to fight any grendels that get in their way. On Avalon, however, there are monsters that dwarf the ones their parents fought, and as the group will soon learn, monsters also dwell in the human heart.

Avalon does not give up her secrets easily, and some of those mysteries are wicked as sin and blacker than the grave.

©1995 Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Few writers have a finer pedigree than those here…As one might suspect, Beowulf’s Children is seamless.… An absorbing, substantial, and finally rather masterful novel." ( Los Angeles Times)

"The authors create several unusual indigenous life-forms that make the mainland a fascinating place, and in-jokes designed to please SF fans are scattered throughout the narrative." ( Publishers Weekly)

"This fast-paced, complex sequel to The Legacy of Heorot blends the talents of three top-notch science fiction raconteurs. Strongly defined characters and intriguing, speculative science make this novel an example of panoramic SF adventure at its best. A good choice as a stand-alone story or in combination with its predecessor." ( Library Journal)

Much like the first, but without the cool science

Disappointed. More sexual politics, more manly men, more wonton women. No new “twist.” I really wish Niven had written this alone. It would be half as long and twice as interesting.

Pronunciation of some words SO cringey

Narrator keeps pronouncing “Tau Ceti” as “Tau SEEtee”, where the correct pronunciation is “Tau SEHtee”. Then there’s “mucilage”: he says “myoo-keh-lej” when it is “myoo-seh-luhj”. I’m sure there are others, but those two stuck out like sore thumbs.

Grandles! They are coming for you!

I did not enjoy it as much as the first one, although I think that is more because I am a lot older now, than when I read the first one. It was a fun story, but not as captivating for me. I am thinking about re-reading Oath of Fealty. Hmmmm...

Great follow to legacy!

What made the experience of listening to Beowulf's Children the most enjoyable?

Actions have consequences and too many sci-fi stories ignore the aftermath of changing the ecology of a world, even if it seems like a good idea.
Beowulf's Children deals with the arrogance of man attempting to change a
world, instead of doing what humans do best "adapt"!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

From across the stars, they arrived at paradise.But paradise has a horrifying secret.

Moving on

Generations clash over the future of Avalon. How ARE they going to tame the mainland? Wipe out yet more grendels? Everything threatening? Better solutions must be sought by all.
Sufficiently captivating to complete over a couple of days.