Rating: 
Summary: Not a "LEGACY"...better the second time around
Review: A fitting sequel to "Legacy", just not as good. Of course "Legacy" is easily a "10", possibly my favorite book of all time. I have to admit that I truly looked forward to this book and that eager anticipation contributed to my disappointment after my first reading. It just wasn't as good and didn't fulfill my expectations. A couple of months later, I re-read both books. "Children" was much better this time. The mainland environment is vividly described. The plot and storyline are fairly straight forward although the ending is muddied somewhat when trying to figure out what happened between Aaron and the grendel . I'll go back to Avalon again. Recommended
Rating: 
Summary: Beowulf's Children
Review: A very large disappointment both as a sequel to "Legacy" and being written by Niven and Pournelle. The description of inheritance of aquired traits among the colonists surprised me as you can generally count on Niven and Pournelle to keep the science at least not obviously wrong. The book describes raising children from frozen ova in a manner would have resulted in a collection of sociopaths making the book totally unbelivable. Weird for the sake of weird is no substitute for a plot. In "Destiny Road" Niven wrote about contact being lost with the Avalon colony. I took that as an apology for what he knew to be an appallingly bad book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Sci Fi Book!
Review: Books by the Pournelle/Niven team are generally among my favorites in the SciFi genre. Unfortunatly this is one of their few real "duds".Written as a sequel to Legacy of Heorot , the colonists planned investigation of the mainland from the island based colony started out as a great basis for a story. The "old Grendel" (obviously mutated) interaction with the exploring colonists borders on the absurd. My first thought after finishing the book was "why did I even bother--what a disappointment"! I really enjoyed the first book "Legacy of Heorot" , but this second volume is but a pale shadow of a good first effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing but an interlude...
Review: I am a big fan of Niven/Pournelle/Barnes, however this book really was nothing more than a long and only somewhat entertaining interlude in the Legacy series. I was extremely disappointed with the ending and it was even more disappointing not to find another sequel. If this is truly the end, don't bother. If there is ever a final book to finish a trilogy, this book may be worth reading to get to the end of the story, but as it is, it leaves you hanging with a lousy ending with more new questions than answers. It was so disappointing that it almost makes me sorry that I started the series. I really hope that the authors will come up with a fantastic book that really closes everything up, but since it may never come, I recommend anyone considering this book (plus Legacy) to wait to buy it until (if) a final sequel comes out - otherwise you will be as disappointed as I am.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing but an interlude...
Review: I am a big fan of Niven/Pournelle/Barnes, however this book really was nothing more than a long and only somewhat entertaining interlude in the Legacy series. I was extremely disappointed with the ending and it was even more disappointing not to find another sequel. If this is truly the end, don't bother. If there is ever a final book to finish a trilogy, this book may be worth reading to get to the end of the story, but as it is, it leaves you hanging with a lousy ending with more new questions than answers. It was so disappointing that it almost makes me sorry that I started the series. I really hope that the authors will come up with a fantastic book that really closes everything up, but since it may never come, I recommend anyone considering this book (plus Legacy) to wait to buy it until (if) a final sequel comes out - otherwise you will be as disappointed as I am.
Rating:
Summary: As luck would have it, some Grendels do have brains...
Review: I just read this long awaited sequel to the Pournelle, Niven and Barnes trio that gave us Legacy. While I did find that it lacked the pure sci-fi adrenaline of Legacy, it did give me a better incite into Cadmann's motives and the other originals that had "ice on their minds". Even the children, ignorant of the Grendal wars, have interesting dialogue and character development.It has been a very long time since I read Legacy and Beowulfs Children was confusing at times. Thankfully I was able to revert to the Personnel file at the beginning of the book to see where I was. Their story is a classic of Sci-fi taking us to the far reaches of the galaxy to only find that man and his infinite wisdom is bound to make the same mistakes over and over again only to find that the lessons learned from previous experiences are soon forgotten. I have often thought that the Legacy story and now this one would be a natural for a hi-tech director like James Cameron to exploit. The Grendel is a fine antagonist, showing only bits and pieces of it's personality and traits as the book reads on. Only upon the conclusion of the book do we find that there is hope man after all.
Rating:
Summary: Different than the first, but still very good!
Review: I picked up The Legacy of Heorot the predecessor to this book a few months ago and read it thinking that it was a standalone piece. While browsing for books I found this sequel and grabbed it up having enjoyed the first book. Obviously, if you haven't read the first book go check out the reviews for it before reading any further. The second book picks up about twenty years give or take after the events of the first. The next generation has grown into their own and are faced with the fact that their parents are much too cautious in exploring their adopted homeworld. Their parents, the characters from the first book, have built up their own system for making decisions. This takes into consideration their experiences with Grendals in the first book and the fact that most to varying degree were affected by their trip to the planet in hibernation. In the words of their children they have ice on their minds. The new generation of children includes some that were embryos brought from earth born from artificial wombs. These children were raised among the colonists without a strict mother and father. The standout among these now grown bottle babies is Aaron Tragon. His leadership of the new generation is what sends them out to explore the unknown main continent. Cadmann Weyland and the original group of colonists struggle to deal with the differing attitudes of this new generation which leads to conflict. The hostile nature of the planet itself comes into play as well giving this book a tense edge as after having seen the events of the first book the reader is left wondering what other dangers lurk on the main continent. When those dangers come to the fore they make for exciting and fascinating moments. Overall the book is well thought out and a very good continuation of the previous storyline. Niven always seems to do his best work partnered with others, Pournelle and Barnes being the two that he has worked with the most. This book is no exception to this, although the focus on the hedonism of the younger generation doesn't seem to have much of a point and doesn't really go anywhere except to possibly outline the cultural differences between the Earthborn and Starborn. Other than that the book is tight and well crafted. I actually found it to be better than the first one overall. The book's central conflict is resolved well, but there seems to be room for another sequel. Hopefully we will see that soon. I'd probably give the book 4.5 stars as the original would get 4 and this one is slightly better.
Rating:
Summary: Original Was Great -- But Not This
Review: The original novel was very well done but the sequel is nothing but pure soap opera. The authors were sure to leave everything open at the end so they can write more sequels, which hopefully nobody ever buys. The way they treat the star of the original book -- Cadmann -- is appauling.
Rating:
Summary: Fitting sequel
Review: The trio of authors involved in this have to be commended for not basically rewriting the first book with different characters, which I think is what a lot of people expected/hoped for considering the hostile reviews this (and "The Gripping Hand" another sequel in the same vein) have garnered. Of course they can't capture the magic of the first book because that was all about the shock of the new . . . but they gamely try here and almost succeed. If you haven't figured it out yet, reading this book is absolutely useless without first having at least a passing knowledge of the Legacy of Heorot, this expands the story twenty years beyond the end of that book (one of the problems is that there was no pressing need for a sequel, the first book wrapped itself up fairly well and neatly) and follows new and old characters as a new generation grows up on the planet of Avalon and gets ready to grab the torch and settle the planet. The Grendel Wars of twenty years ago are long forgotten and the generation gap is in full force here with the "Earthborn" and "Starborn" undergoing quite a bit of friction with each other. This book is highly entertaining and you'll find yourself devouring large chunks of it in a sitting, it's not a weighty philosophical book, mostly adventure with a bunch of science thrown in to dazzle the readers. Part of the problem is it tries to be everything at once and winds up being gigantic without really satisfying any of those parts. It's a scientific exploration of Avalon, delving into the flora and fauna with typical Niven zeal, and I have to admit his ideas are dazzling, the place feels both alien and familiar at the same time. But it's also a vague attempt at social commentary, with the more conversation adults warring with the far more liberal values of their children . . . however there's also a big focus on sex for no apparent reason. They handle the large cast well and while it's hard to get a feel for the newer group, a lot of the older characters are deepened by this treatment, especially Cadmann, who while being the hero was very one note at times. Lastly it's a tense adventure thriller but the tension never really develops until the end and while it is rewarding, you spend a lot of time wondering where this is all eventually going. The resolution is a tad fuzzy, especially when it comes to motivations but those are all just quibbles. The book may not win any awards but it's well crafted and enjoyable for all its bulk and a welcome revisiting of a fascinating planet. Those wanting to go beyond The Legacy may want to look here but don't expect a carbon copy.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not Quite as Good as "The Legacy of Heorot"
Review: This sequel to "The Legacy of Heorot" is interesting and entertaining, but it seems a bit pale by comparison with the earlier novel. We do get a great deal more in-depth look at the ecology of Avalon, including various species of grendels and several other genera not encountered before. Humans have learned to cope with grendels, but now they must learn to cope with the mysterious "death wind," and meanwhile at least one grendel is learning to cope with humans. Reading this book just after reading Lois McMaster Bujold's "A Civil Campaign" led me to compare the more limited character development in "Beowulf's Children" to the extensive character development in "A Civil Campaign." Altho they may seem so by comparison to the Barrayarans, these are NOT cardboard characters. The characters in "Beowulf's Children" are developed to the extent appropriate for a story, the main focus of which is the ecological systems of an alien planet. Significantly deeper development of the human characters would have diverted attention from the alien ecologies of Avalon and the problems of both humans and grendels in learning to cope with the weirdnesses of each other.
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