The novel “Beowulf’s Children”, also known as “The Dragons of Heorot”, by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes was published for the first time in 1995. It’s the second book of the Heorot series and follows “The Legacy of Heorot“.
Twenty years after the Grendel War, the colonists of the planet Avalon closed themselves in a small area considered safe from attacks. However, the new generation sees the planet as a legacy that young people can’t access because the older generation never makes a decision that leads to the exploration of new areas.
Aaron Tragon is one of the most intelligent young people and also one of the most determined to take control of his own destiny. If the elderly with ice in their brains, who are still the majority, are opposed to any proposal, Aaron is ready to lead a group of young people who want to explore Avalon without asking for any permission.
“The Legacy of Heorot” introduced the human colony on a planet of the Tau Ceti system and the discovery of the presence of a native top predator that almost destroys it. In this sequel, the survivors had children and even grew some of the embryos transported from Earth, in some cases, using artificial wombs. As these children start growing up, the generational conflict increases rapidly.
One of the original problems of the human colony was due because hibernation systems didn’t work properly and caused brain damage to most of the humans. However, perhaps the authors realized that the behavior of most of the colonists was still too idiotic and in this sequel, it’s revealed that some colonists were chosen for the expedition because they lied during psychological tests. In short, their incompetence becomes more understandable.
The war against the Grendels made the original colonists extremely cautious in making any decisions regarding the expansion of the colony on the planet. Even Cadmann Weyland, who saved the colony despite the hostile behavior of many of the other humans, appears to have lost the edge that made him a hero. After twenty years, young people consider them deficient and cowards for such an attitude and take the initiative.
In my opinion, the authors didn’t have the courage to fully develop the generational conflict. In the first part of “Beowulf’s Children”, the clash reaches very tough levels, up to what seems to be a point of no return but right there it all ends with all the humans singing kumbaya together and what seems almost another story begins. In my opinion, that’s only partly negative but still represents a weak point of the novel.
The biology of the Grendels with all its consequences was the first novel’s strong point. In this sequel, some elements of Avalon’s ecology become central to the plot as well and in my opinion, are the most convincing. The problems connected to native organisms seemed to me well used within the plot, even better than in the first novel.
Understanding the life cycles of native organisms is crucial for the colony and this was proved already in the first novel. However, the inability of the first generation to decide on an exploration plan left many unknowns that are at the core of this sequel’s plot. The new generation is at the center of the exploration and this helps to offer a slightly different perspective that prevents the plot from turning into a repetition of the first novel’s events.
In some ways, “Beowulf’s Children” seemed to me better than “The Legacy of Heorot”, particularly because there’s a new generation genuinely interested in exploring the planet. This enhances a classic story of colonization I recommend to anyone who appreciates this type of work.
