The 'unknown'!

[dwndrgn]

A very kind regular customer at the bar where I work brought in a couple of books for me to read. Unfortunately I've not heard of either of them though the authors are popular ones. Anyone have any info or insight on the following two books?

The first seems to be a hard-core scifi with several authors:
Beowulf's Children by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes

The second is definitely some type of fantasy:
The Demon Awakens by R.A. Salvatore

TIA for any help!

 

[Brian G Turner]

Niven and Salvatore are names I've heard of, so my perception would be that these should be authors worth reading. Knivesout probably has a better idea of the specific biooks, though.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

The usual suspect chimes in.


Beowulf's Children is a nicely layered sf adventure, where the hard sf/tech elements don't dominate to the point of being the sole point. It basically deals a human colony on a strange planet and the peril they face. There's a definite parallel with the classic tale of Beowulf, with the creatures being akin to Grendel and the colonists being 'Beowulf's children'. A good, fun read and there's a nasty twist or two to keep you hooked.

Not familiar with the Salvatore book, although I do know he is a rather well-regarded epic fantasy author.