The Legacy of Heorot

By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Steven Barnes

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling science fiction superstars Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle combine their talents with those of Steven Barnes in an extraordinary adventure of humankind’s first outpost in the farthest reaches of space.

Light years from Earth, colonists land on a planet they name Avalon. It seems like a paradise—until native creatures savagely attack. It will take every bit of intelligence, courage, and military-style discipline to survive.

©1987 Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Steven Barnes (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Outstanding!…The best ever, by the best in the field…. The ultimate combination of imagination and realism.” (Tom Clancy)

"The Legacy of Heorot is well written, action packed, and tension filled…. Makes Aliens look like a Disney nature film.” (Washington Post)

“Page-turning action and suspense, good characterization, and convincing setting…. May be the best thing any of those authors has written.” (Denver Post)

A horror story on a distant planet

Well written and action packed. An ecological horror story with credible aliens and believably naive colonists. I first read The Legacy of Heorot, shortly after it was published and was captivated. I returned to it recently as an audible book and found it holds up well, 30 years later. It's a science fiction novel with roots deeply sunk in in the classic Nordic tale of Beowulf.

Used to love this book.

When I was younger I thought this book was great, but man, it did not hold up. The main protagonist is a badly written. It's unclear why he IS the main protagnist. He a whiny little child for the whole book. Not a compelling reason to read this. The other characters are completely one sided. I stopped paying attention to their names, because they all acted the same way. At least in the audio book the (bad) accents allowed me to tell them apart. The dialog was garbage. it sounded like a teenagers idea of witty writing. Will not listen again. Will not finish the series. I can remember adoring this series at 16, now it's not even worth listening to in the background. I was rooting for the monsters by the end.

meh :(!

Flat characters, plot linear and obviously hinted. I was expecting better from tge authors. I don't recommend it.

Good!

Not my favorite sci-fi work, but certainly worth the listen. Overall, I’d say the story was a lot less scientifically technical than I though it should have been given that the book details “humanity’s first time settling a planet.” Further, the “ice crystals on the brain” that the colonists get from staying in sleep too long played almost no role in the entire book. I was anticipating a space gained ailment to play a much more significant role in the development of characters and events. Overall, it was classic sci-fi, found myself feeling like the book was grossly incomplete at the end, as the colonists never went to the mainland.

Good story, hard to understand sometimes

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book. While under 30 years old, you can still tell the difference in societal norms. Cigarette smoking being glamorous, women in mostly subservient roles to men. But still a very good story. Because of the deepness of the narrator's voice it was sometimes hard to understand, but overall a very enjoyable listening experience.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, the narrator did a very good job.

Absolutely incredible.

I think this series stands head and shoulders above many sci-fi series. It definitely isn't a 'big ships and big guns' kind of sci-fi. This one is definitely more grounded. I found the colonization narative to be very engaging, and the aliens very convincing.

Classic Science Fiction

I always wanted to read this Jerry Pournelle book as a kid and was not disappointed when I finally heard it.

Great concept, mediocre execution

The core idea was brilliant. A novel about disrupting an ecology. But between the cool stuff it was padded out with too much “manhood ethic.” It felt in parts like a too wordy Hemingway novel.

An excellent story brought to life.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This story really came to life. The mood and tempo matched the story quite well. The action scenes were appropriately suspenseful and the book ended much sooner than I would have liked.

What did you like best about this story?

This story is a well crafted tale of survival that read like a movie plot. I will re-visit this book very soon.

What does Tom Weiner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He effectively read the voices true to the authors wishes. If the character had a lisp, he read with a lisp. I would most likely just plow right through without any care or consideration for that detail.

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

On a one way mission to a world light years away, it was man or monster; only one would survive.

Any additional comments?

This book will not disappoint.

I enjoyed this book very much even if it was the fourth time listening to it over the years

I enjoyed this book very much even if it was the fourth time.
So much. The fact that the environment and the planets animals where such a fascinating character made this book all the better. The confrontation with their new reality was splendid.