I must admit when I picked up “Lagacy” I was a little concerned. “Legacy” is the prequel to Greg Bear’s excellent novel “Eon”. I finished reading “Eon” a few months ago and I quite enjoyed most of it. But it had elements that tended to drag. One of these being the far-flung distant human civilization which forms the focus of “Legacy”. So, I really wasn’t sure I would enjoy “Legacy”, especially bercause the main character had struck me as a rater annoying, only mildly interesting secondary character in “Eon”. Now, coming to the end of good book choices I picked up “Legacy” with trepidation. Thankfully I was, for the most part pleasently surprised.
”Legacy” follows the story of a young intelligence officer in a vey distant human future, sent by superiors on a dangerous mission to a strange alien world. Some human dissadents had escaped illegially to this alien world, and it is up to Ser Olmay to discover their horrible secrets before either they or the world is destroyed.
To be honest the story is far more confusing than that. In fact, I’m pretty sure some elements of it wouldn’t make too much sense if you hadn’t read “Eon” beforehand. Then again, I think the real reason I liked this was the lack of references to the “Eon” plotline. As long as you don’t mind a little bit of confusion here and there, I would really have to recommend this book though. The story is really interesting albeit absolutely chock full of alien biology. Bear obiously has a great intrest in science, it shows clearly here. The 'aliens' in "Legacy" are definately not run of the mill. They are very weird, but somehow manage to make sense. I liked the idea of a huge living organisms spanning the continents. It may not have been absolutely unique but this is the best biologically oriented explanation for how a super organism, like Bear's ecos, could exist.
I liked “Legacy” a lot, it has an interesting story with a strong scientific backing. Bear has done an admirable job creating an original and belivable world. His characters are fleshed out well, and I liked the tension building climax. Well worth the read, if you're willing to invest a bit more dedication than your average book.
