The Legacy: A Novel
By Howard Fast
3/5
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About this ebook
The fourth installment of the Immigrants saga follows Barbara Lavette, the daughter of a self-made Italian immigrant, through the turmoil of the 1960s, including the Vietnam War, the feminist and civil rights movements, and Israel’s Six Day War with Egypt. Though Fast wrote over eighty books, including Spartacus, April Morning, and Freedom Road, his Immigrants novels remain some of his most personal and moving works. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author’s estate.
Howard Fast
Howard Fast (1914–2003) was one of the most prolific American writers of the twentieth century. He was a bestselling author of more than eighty works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays. The son of immigrants, Fast grew up in New York City and published his first novel upon finishing high school in 1933. In 1950, his refusal to provide the United States Congress with a list of possible Communist associates earned him a three-month prison sentence. During his incarceration, Fast wrote one of his best-known novels, Spartacus (1951). Throughout his long career, Fast matched his commitment to championing social justice in his writing with a deft, lively storytelling style.
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Titles in the series (4)
The Legacy: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An Independent Woman: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Immigrant's Daughter: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lavette Legacy: The Legacy, The Immigrant's Daughter, and An Independent Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for The Legacy
5 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Very solid, both in terms of the SF speculation, characterization and overall writing, but it was a slog for me to finish. I've not read the books it is a prequel to. Fans of Eon and Eternity may find resonances and foreshadowing that make the story more engaging. It's your basic "fish out of water" story, with an agent (loosely speaking) of an advanced human society, sent to a planet colonized half a century earlier (with some time distortions involved) by several thousand rebels. The story follows the main character as he slowly learns about the lifeforms on the planet, reminiscent of James White's continent-spanning creatures in Major Operation, and the political and social intricacies of the colonies. Until the very end he is primarily an observer. Many things happen, characters change, but none of it really meant much to me. It was all just events in a row. Definitely something I kept feeling like I should like more than I did.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed this book. Its been a while since I read any of this series, so I really don't understand how this is a prequel, but it didn't matter. This was quite enjoyable as a stand-alone book. If you haven't read the other books in the series it really doesn't matter. The generation ship/asteroid Thistledown is on its way across space while at the same time it is the source of The Way - the wormhole/tunnel through space and time that lets the crew travel away from the asteroid. A few members of the crew/passengers break away and settle the Earth like world of Lamarkia. A agent is sent after them to see how they are doing and this is the plot of the entire novel. Fortunately or unfortunately, Lamarkia is already controlled by aware ecosystems that compete with each other and the new invaders, the humans. Exploring the world and determining the fate of the humans on it is the mission of the agent sent to them. There's a few things that are a bit contrived - why is it so hard to get to Lamarkia from The Way? Why is just one person sent to investigate, without any of the super enhancements you'd expect from a far future sci-fi novel? (There's no internet on Lamarkia! The horror!). It ends up being more of a Lewis and Clarke type travel/adventure novel than it does sci-fi. The adventure is good and the characters interesting, I enjoyed it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The plot is the exploration of the relationship between a small human society and a new life form. The author seems to have envisioned a new idea for a new life form and used the book as a device to explore it. That said, the book is enjoyable. Olmy is sent by the Hexamon to spy on the humans on Lamarckia, a planet with a unique life form that was to be left alone. As soon as he arrives, the focus turns to an exploration of the life, itself. There is almost nothing that is really explored. Although Olmy sets out on a travel, which did not seem to fit with his mission, almost everything we learn about the life is provided by other characters. As the story progresses, the reader encounters characters more and more knowledgable. Another plot line involves the relation of two factions on the planet. We open with outright warring, and eventually learn the underlying history behind the war, and the people leading it. We also learn a little about the cultures involved in this war. Personally, I found this more interesting than the life exploration. Besides Lamarkia, referring to the planet and the Lamarkian-style evolution that seems to predominate its life forms, the author has thrown in references to mythologies. Other than just names dropped, there isn't really a clue that there is a reference. I suspect I missed most of them, if there were more than a couple. Early on, the book dragged. I really couldn't identify with any of the characters in the book, the main character seemed to make some very odd decisions. The book really picked up in the second half. If the first half were just a little better, I would rate the book much better.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Eon was a fantastic book, but this one never touches me in the same way. Nearly a waste of time to read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/52/5. Continuation of Eon/Eternity. This one left me flat for some reason, although I read it so long ago I can't quite recall why that was, though I believe it had mainly to do with the lack of plot (there's a lot of running around, but no real motion).