The Forever Hero

Last updated
First trilogy edition (publ. Tor Books)
Cover artist: Wayne Barlowe TheForeverHero.jpg
First trilogy edition (publ. Tor Books)
Cover artist: Wayne Barlowe

The Forever Hero is a trilogy of science fiction novels by American writer L. E. Modesitt, Jr. These books were some of the first novels L. E. Modesitt ever published. Like most of his early work, the books are characterised by heavy usage of onomatopoeia, and a tendency to describe the characters by their physical appearance rather than name. The books have been published as both an omnibus and separately. The three novels are Dawn for a Distant Earth (1987), The Silent Warrior (1987), and In Endless Twilight (1988).

In this series, Earth has been destroyed almost totally by overpopulation and the ensuing ecological collapse. Only a fragment of its population survive, and those that survive live in the most primitive conditions. The protagonist, Gerswin, is a primitive, a 'devilkid' who is (inadvertently) captured by the interstellar government and trained in the military. Unique genetic mutations, and the effects of hundreds of years of Natural selection in an exceptionally harsh environment have left Gerswin with exceptional reflexes, enormous physical stamina, as well as, at least initially, a superb memory and incisive intelligence. He is also almost immortal. His goal is to salvage Earth and return it to its primeval state. He eventually does, and in the process, he destroys an interstellar empire, creates the greatest mercantile empire in history, and instigates the development of biological technology.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction</span> Genre of fiction

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the Earth's civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronomical, such as an impact event; destructive, such as nuclear holocaust or resource depletion; medical, such as a pandemic, whether natural or human-caused; end time, such as the Last Judgment, Second Coming or Ragnarök; or any other scenario in which the outcome is apocalyptic, such as a zombie apocalypse, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics or alien invasion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert L. Forward</span> American physicist and science fiction writer (1932–2002)

Robert Lull Forward was an American physicist and science fiction writer. His literary work was noted for its scientific credibility and use of ideas developed from his career as an aerospace engineer. He also made important contributions to gravitational wave detection research.

<i>Robots and Empire</i> Science fiction novel by the American author Isaac Asimov

Robots and Empire is a science fiction novel by the American author Isaac Asimov, published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's Robot series, which consists of many short stories and five novels.

<i>Rocannons World</i> 1966 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin

Rocannon's World is a science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, her literary debut. It was published in 1966 as an Ace Double, along with Avram Davidson's The Kar-Chee Reign, following the tête-bêche format. Though it is one of Le Guin's many works set in the universe of the technological Hainish Cycle, the story itself has many elements of heroic fantasy. The hero Gaveral Rocannon encounters lords who live in castles and wield swords, and other races much like fairies and gnomes, in his travels on a backward planet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. E. Modesitt Jr.</span> American science fiction and fantasy writer (born 1943)

L. E. Modesitt Jr. is an American science fiction and fantasy author who has written over 80 novels. He is best known for the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce. By 2015, the 18 novels in the Recluce series had sold nearly three million copies. By 2019, there were 22 Recluce novels.

The Corean Chronicles is a fantasy series of books by the author L. E. Modesitt, Jr. As of 2011, it consists of:

The concept of self-replicating spacecraft, as envisioned by mathematician John von Neumann, has been described by futurists and has been discussed across a wide breadth of hard science fiction novels and stories. Self-replicating probes are sometimes referred to as von Neumann probes. Self-replicating spacecraft would in some ways either mimic or echo the features of living organisms or viruses.

<i>The Songs of Distant Earth</i> 1986 English-language utopian novel by Arthur C. Clarke

The Songs of Distant Earth is a 1986 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, based upon his 1958 short story of the same title. Of all of his novels, Clarke stated that this was his favourite. Prior to the publishing of the novel, Clarke also wrote a short step outline with the same title, published in Omni magazine and anthologised in The Sentinel in 1983.

<i>The Saga of Recluce</i> Fantasy novel series by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

The Saga of Recluce is a series of fantasy novels written by L. E. Modesitt Jr. The initial novel in the series, The Magic of Recluce, was published in 1991. The series is still in publication with the latest novel published in November 2023. In 2015 Modesitt stated that the 20 novels in the Recluce series had sold nearly three million copies.

<i>Man-Kzin Wars</i> Series of military SF short story collections

The Man-Kzin Wars is a both the name of series of military science fiction anthologies as well as the name of the first book in the series. The short stories detail the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti, set in Larry Niven's Known Space universe. However, Niven himself has written only a small number of the stories; most were written by other science fiction writers, as Niven opened this part of the Known Space to collaboration in the form of a shared universe. The cover art for the books in the series is created by Stephen Hickman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cluster (novels)</span>

Cluster is a series of science fiction novels by Piers Anthony. Anthony originally conceived of and wrote the series as a trilogy but later added two additional volumes.

Janissaries are an American series of military and political-based science fiction novels are set in an interstellar confederation of races, in which humans are a slave race entrusted with military affairs and law enforcement. They were written by Jerry Pournelle, with Roland J. Green co-authoring the second two books.

<i>Viagens Interplanetarias</i>

The Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels. Set in the future in the 21st and 22nd centuries, the series is named for the quasi-public Terran agency portrayed as monopolizing interstellar travel, the Brazilian-dominated Viagens Interplanetarias. It is also known as the Krishna series, as the majority of the stories belong to a sequence set on a fictional planet of that name. While de Camp started out as a science fiction writer and his early reputation was based on his short stories in the genre, the Viagens tales represent his only extended science fiction series.

The Trigon Disunity is a series of three books written by science fiction author Michael P. Kube-McDowell. Emprise was a Philip K. Dick Award nominee, and placed second in the annual Locus Poll for best first novel. The first edition covers were by Ron Miller.

<i>Archform: Beauty</i> 2002 novel by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Archform: Beauty is a science fiction novel by American writer L. E. Modesitt, published in 2002. It is set in 24th century Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">To the Stars (trilogy)</span>

The To the Stars trilogy is a series of science fiction novels by Harry Harrison, first published in 1980 (Homeworld) and 1981. The three books were re-published in an omnibus edition in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finished (short story)</span> Short story by L. Sprague de Camp

"Finished" is a science fiction short story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, part of his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction in the issue for November, 1949. It first appeared in book form in the collection The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens, published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers in 1953 and in paperback by Signet Books in November, 1971.

The Foundation universe is the future history of humanity's colonization of the galaxy, spanning nearly 25,000 years, created through the gradual fusion of the Robot, Galactic Empire, and Foundation book series written by American author Isaac Asimov.

<i>Aurora</i> (novel) 2015 science fiction novel by Kim Stanley Robinson

Aurora is a 2015 novel by American science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson. The novel concerns a generation ship built in the style of a Stanford torus traveling to Tau Ceti in order to begin a human colony. The novel's primary narrating voice is the starship's artificial intelligence. The novel was well received by critics.

References