Review of Legacy

[Simon Willis]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Legacy" by Sean T. Smith.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Three decades from now, the world’s nuclear stockpiles will have been outlawed and dismantled. Then a 25-megaton warhead is exploded inside a mountain in the Mojave Desert. All the lights go out on Earth and the Moon. The human race is doomed. Meanwhile, most of us take it for granted that humans started in Africa. Not so. Darwin and the textbooks were all wrong. Nwarht, the archetypal suave but bad-to-the-bone villain, is out for revenge on the human race by wiping out planet Earth. However, a motely band of seven earthlings and a courteous alien are gradually brought together and set out to foil Nwarht’s plan in Sean T. Smith’s Legacy, which ricochets between Las Vegas, the Moon, the Nevada Desert, the Philippines, and takes us back and forth in time — 330,000 BC, 2046 AD, Egypt 31 BC and London 1349 AD.

Sean’s easy-going and comfortable prose practically reads itself because we are so familiar with the format of science fiction movies. Although one might find the swift changes of setting and times daunting at first, one does get used to these transitions that altogether make up a fast-paced narrative. This is an honest-to-goodness action story without verbal dexterity or philosophical digressions. Sean is one of those sci-fi writers who raise a smile with references to contemporary pop culture such as Back to the Future and Star Trek, and comedian George Carlin on saving the planet. David, the story’s alien character, describes the phenomenon of television that does a remarkable job of emptying one’s mind (page 291). The reader might enjoy a distraction in the form of the inevitable cat fight between the brilliant academic Jessica and boffin Sarah of the moon base, but the destruction wrought on the face of Osaka, a killing machine in a green snake suit and red heels, would make anyone with a sick sense of humour grin. The ending, however, seems perfunctory, but nothing else need be said, unless the author is planning a sequel and is throwing in a few clues to that effect. The characters did what they had to do according to the job description they devised for themselves and, consequently, lived up to our expectations. Unlike some sci-fi works, Legacy presents no vision of a fantastic world populated by half-naked heroes in Viking helmets, which is a relief. Nor is the text peppered with expressions from an extra-terrestrial language, for which a glossary is needed — an even bigger relief.

That Nwarht single-handedly hates the human race stretches credibility somewhat. The people, community, nation or race of Nwarht hell-bent on annihilating humans and their planet would sound more plausible. (But there is no harm in suspension of disbelief.) Why was he being pursued by Roman legionaries? What had he been doing in Egypt for 300 years? Why was he flat on his back convulsing with bubonic plague in London? Those chapters could well have been omitted. At times I had to turn back a few pages to remind myself who was who. If a character did not appear for a few chapters and his name cropped up again, I was momentarily lost.

This book deserves 3 out of 4 stars because a more detailed back story for Nwarht would explain his utter hatred for the human race and his quest for revenge. Otherwise, he seems childish, especially because he is…Well, you’ll have to read it for yourself, won’t you? Editing and proofreading are of such a high standard that typos that were missed are rare.

Legacy will appeal to readers in their late teens and beyond. It is not for all sci-fi aficionados, because hard-core fans of the genre might find it rather flippant, whereas those who snapped this up shortly before a long bus, train or plane journey will be pleasantly surprised. Thought provoking in places, this story is entertainment, not an exhaustive alternative account of mankind’s beginnings.

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Legacy
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