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Legacy of Man
Wheelchair-Bound and Genetically Modified at only twelve years old, can Charlie become a Super Soldier?
This book is a militaristic, Sci-Fi progression fantasy.
If you like a book with action, coming of age troubles and an overarching big bad evil guy, you’re going to love this…
The Council are always watching…
“In a universe where the very existence of a civilisation can be deliberated upon by a single Council of allied alien races, It is never a good idea to be the race that is practised at war.”
Our main character, Charlie
Charlie was an average twelve year old orphan, working his way through the foster system through families and institutions that didn’t want to deal with his issues. His parents had died in a car crash when he was just three and it had left him bitter and resentful of the world around him.
A health scare and a surgery to remove a particularly nasty brain tumour rendered Charlie paralysed from the neck down, and he began to grow appreciative and even loving of the Browns, his latest foster family, who had put their own lives on hold simply to care for him.
Once an opportunity arose for Charlie to undergo experimental treatments to cure his paralysis, he jumped at the chance to remove the burden of his care from the Browns, and was transported unknowing to him to another planet, where he would become a cadet of the brand new arm of the earth militaries: The Space Corps.
A cadet in a wheelchair would be difficult for the others to accept, though finding friendships in Laura and Mauro, Charlie battled through and as a member of the GAP (Generic Advancement) Program, he began to grow into something so much more than he could’ve ever imagined. Charlie would never have imagined the advancements to his physical body that the GAP Program would provide, though leaving his wheelchair would soon show to be the least of his trials as he battles for the very survival of himself, his friends, planet Earth, and humanity as a whole.
This book is a militaristic, Sci-Fi progression fantasy.
If you like a book with action, coming of age troubles and an overarching big bad evil guy, you’re going to love this…
The Council are always watching…
“In a universe where the very existence of a civilisation can be deliberated upon by a single Council of allied alien races, It is never a good idea to be the race that is practised at war.”
Our main character, Charlie
Charlie was an average twelve year old orphan, working his way through the foster system through families and institutions that didn’t want to deal with his issues. His parents had died in a car crash when he was just three and it had left him bitter and resentful of the world around him.
A health scare and a surgery to remove a particularly nasty brain tumour rendered Charlie paralysed from the neck down, and he began to grow appreciative and even loving of the Browns, his latest foster family, who had put their own lives on hold simply to care for him.
Once an opportunity arose for Charlie to undergo experimental treatments to cure his paralysis, he jumped at the chance to remove the burden of his care from the Browns, and was transported unknowing to him to another planet, where he would become a cadet of the brand new arm of the earth militaries: The Space Corps.
A cadet in a wheelchair would be difficult for the others to accept, though finding friendships in Laura and Mauro, Charlie battled through and as a member of the GAP (Generic Advancement) Program, he began to grow into something so much more than he could’ve ever imagined. Charlie would never have imagined the advancements to his physical body that the GAP Program would provide, though leaving his wheelchair would soon show to be the least of his trials as he battles for the very survival of himself, his friends, planet Earth, and humanity as a whole.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 11, 2022
21 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 30, 2022
Take the action-led narrative of Avatar and combine it with the political and moral machinations of Dune, and you'll not be far from what Legacy of Man is.
In fact, the Avatar comparison is a good one, in the sense that the main character, Character, is very early on confined to a wheelchair. The difference being that the limitations of Charlie's condition are explored here much better than they were in Avatar, with excellent descriptions of the difficulties he faces. I found myself, in the opening chapters, wondering how it is that Charlie will be capable of having an impact on the story. This means that when he does (and I won't spoil anything here), you get a sense of payoff because you have seen the struggle up to that point and feel like Charlie has earned his place in the narrative.
One last thing I enjoyed is the juxtaposition between the writing styles used for the human characters and alien characters. The language is more simple and straightforward for Charlie and his comrades. Whereas for the aliens on the council, the language is more complex - reflecting the higher consciousness of these beings compared to the humans. It sets the stage, in a subtle yet powerful way, for what is to come.
In fact, the Avatar comparison is a good one, in the sense that the main character, Character, is very early on confined to a wheelchair. The difference being that the limitations of Charlie's condition are explored here much better than they were in Avatar, with excellent descriptions of the difficulties he faces. I found myself, in the opening chapters, wondering how it is that Charlie will be capable of having an impact on the story. This means that when he does (and I won't spoil anything here), you get a sense of payoff because you have seen the struggle up to that point and feel like Charlie has earned his place in the narrative.
One last thing I enjoyed is the juxtaposition between the writing styles used for the human characters and alien characters. The language is more simple and straightforward for Charlie and his comrades. Whereas for the aliens on the council, the language is more complex - reflecting the higher consciousness of these beings compared to the humans. It sets the stage, in a subtle yet powerful way, for what is to come.
July 21, 2023
This book caught my eye because it's a disabled kid in an alien space battle situation, which is close to my heart, superficially similar to my Torth series.
Even though I love sci-fi and space adventure and power progression, I tend to bounce off military sci-fi. To me, in a lot of milscfi, the enemies are too easy to overcome, and the heroic characters tend to be too rah-rah cohesive, without much friction. That was the case here.
The wins are easy for Charlie. The enemy alien council members say that humankind is too violent, apparently oblivious to their own bickering and tendency to annihilate planets full of innocent people. I get that the irony is intentional, but for me, it undermines the stakes of the story, and I feel less invested.
Otherwise, it's a straightforward story, well written and with characters who are easy to root for. If you like milscifi, I think you'll like this one!
Even though I love sci-fi and space adventure and power progression, I tend to bounce off military sci-fi. To me, in a lot of milscfi, the enemies are too easy to overcome, and the heroic characters tend to be too rah-rah cohesive, without much friction. That was the case here.
The wins are easy for Charlie. The enemy alien council members say that humankind is too violent, apparently oblivious to their own bickering and tendency to annihilate planets full of innocent people. I get that the irony is intentional, but for me, it undermines the stakes of the story, and I feel less invested.
Otherwise, it's a straightforward story, well written and with characters who are easy to root for. If you like milscifi, I think you'll like this one!
December 11, 2022
Excellent book
Excellent book good character from the start good story line with lots of changes and story lines that change and makes you think you get the story then things change that you don't come but should off can't wait for more books to come out and the next in the series for this one
Excellent book good character from the start good story line with lots of changes and story lines that change and makes you think you get the story then things change that you don't come but should off can't wait for more books to come out and the next in the series for this one
June 20, 2022
A fast paced book that reads like a mix of Enders Game and Jar Head. The author has a way of making the implausible seem plausible with his style of writing. I really enjoyed it. Would recommend to any fan of Sci-fi.
June 20, 2022
Good read
An eye opening view of what aliens would think of the human race. The story focuses on Charlie, who becomes paralyzed and must overcome his disability and learn to be a soldier. I really enjoyed the characters as well as the world that was created.
An eye opening view of what aliens would think of the human race. The story focuses on Charlie, who becomes paralyzed and must overcome his disability and learn to be a soldier. I really enjoyed the characters as well as the world that was created.
August 30, 2024
Not a terrible book but I've read it all before and better. Enders Game/Harry Potter/Starship Troopers mashed together along with several other YA tropes. If you haven't read any of those books start there instead of here.
November 13, 2023
Good story
This was a fun read. A well written story with good character development. I will continue the series. Definitely worth reading.
This was a fun read. A well written story with good character development. I will continue the series. Definitely worth reading.
January 9, 2023
Performance: ***
Story: ***
An Ok YA Fantasy with SciFi/Military Tropes.
It’s a premise that has been done before … a lot; however, that really is what I was signing up for, so I didn’t really count that against it. The Narration was a bit flat making the experience a little less natural feeling, but still reasonable enough to enjoy the book. Part of that is the writing style, which was heavy on description over showing/action making the story one that requires a substantial amount of Letting Go if you wanted to enjoy it … I mean … 12 year old kids basically going full out special ops after a brief boot camp that apparently trains it’s soldiers using the Lord of the Flies method. Yeah … good times … just roll with it and feel good (seriously, it is primarily billed as a fantasy for a reason). Over all the book was entertaining enough to finish and I did actually enjoy some of the twists and silliness, so dig in for a casual read and you won’t be disappointed.
I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#LegacyOfMan #FreeAudiobookCodes
Story: ***
An Ok YA Fantasy with SciFi/Military Tropes.
It’s a premise that has been done before … a lot; however, that really is what I was signing up for, so I didn’t really count that against it. The Narration was a bit flat making the experience a little less natural feeling, but still reasonable enough to enjoy the book. Part of that is the writing style, which was heavy on description over showing/action making the story one that requires a substantial amount of Letting Go if you wanted to enjoy it … I mean … 12 year old kids basically going full out special ops after a brief boot camp that apparently trains it’s soldiers using the Lord of the Flies method. Yeah … good times … just roll with it and feel good (seriously, it is primarily billed as a fantasy for a reason). Over all the book was entertaining enough to finish and I did actually enjoy some of the twists and silliness, so dig in for a casual read and you won’t be disappointed.
I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#LegacyOfMan #FreeAudiobookCodes
January 17, 2023
Received as an audio review copy from the narrator Jason Renault, whom masterfully brings to life this amazingly poignant and profound story brimming with eccentric, unique and memorable cast written by David Lingard. For Charlie, he has never had an easy life first losing his parents at a very young age, growing up disconnected from various foster families then becoming a paraplegic from a brain tumor at twelve years old. With all hope lost, a life-changing miracle falls into Charlie's lap as the military can give him his body back in exchange for Charlie being a part of a rather intriguing genetic engineering project. Whisked away to an alien world, Charlie along with a large band of other teenage boys and girls become the soldiers to be wielded powerful alien council. At first singled out for being able to do nothing, alien science Soon's enables Charlie to show he won't be left behind or ruthlessly bullied. When Charlie discovers the disturbing truth behind the GAP program and even humanity's fate, he, his friends and those that will listen to them fight back to under mind the Council's devious plans. An amazing journey worthy of your time, highly recommended.
January 2, 2023
An excellent sci-fi !!
The author David Lingard wrote an excellent science fiction book style reminds of Ender’s Game which I truly love.
The author got a great imagination, excellent story with cool aliens, spaceships and twists,
In short “ AWESOME “.
Jason Renault excellent narration for each character perfectly done !
Absolutely,
without a doubt,
I recommend for all !!!
And to the author David Lingard, thank you and please continue and keep on writing.
Oded Ostfeld.
The author David Lingard wrote an excellent science fiction book style reminds of Ender’s Game which I truly love.
The author got a great imagination, excellent story with cool aliens, spaceships and twists,
In short “ AWESOME “.
Jason Renault excellent narration for each character perfectly done !
Absolutely,
without a doubt,
I recommend for all !!!
And to the author David Lingard, thank you and please continue and keep on writing.
Oded Ostfeld.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews