Pros
- Interesting story with a somewhat fresh premise
- Story universe feels dynamic and promises more excitement
Cons
- Story starts off a bit slow and doesn’t pick up until the conflict is introduced
- A little bit too much emphasis on returning home
Galactic Heritage Review
Galactic Heritage by Matt Coleman lays the foundation for what promises to be an exciting story set within a story universe mired in conflict. War always presents opportunities, so against this backdrop of war are the age-old war profiteers and the antagonist of the story, a person who commands one of the two remaining two ancient and most powerful warships built by the ancients.
The other ship, of course, is commanded by the protagonist, Gunnar McConnell, a fairly ordinary hero with few unique abilities save for his genes, which grant him control over the second powerful, but worn, ancient warship.
The battle between hero and villain in stories isn’t usually balanced—the hero generally falls short in some way, and the hero’s journey and the hardships he endures and overcomes enables him to stand equally against his enemy.
Unlike other military science fiction protagonists, Gunnar lacks the military background that would otherwise enable him to succeed in a dangerous galaxy. Nor does Gunnar have any friends that would make up for his shortcomings. Instead, he has one fairly intelligent and powerful artificial intelligence housed in a powerful ancient ship that only he can control with his genes.
The story is one where Gunnar struggles and learns about the galactic stage upon which he is suddenly thrust after his uncle’s untimely death. He’s charged with a seemingly impossible task: to find lost ancient book that details the workings of his unique class of ship and to stop the war ravaging the galaxy.
The story itself takes a little while to get to establish the foundation for the conflict because of the restrictions placed on Gunnar for piloting his ship. That slow start means more time to develop character and slowly build the context or the state of the galaxy.
But once the story picks up with Gunnar’s adventure out into the galaxy, the bits of information that both he and the reader learn paint dynamic and engaging picture of the story’s landscape. And it’s an interesting one that includes highly advanced precursor alien races, battles for power and influence, and the search for what is essentially the holy grail of ship design.
And the person charged with saving the galaxy and preventing the holy grail from falling into the hands of an evil villain is an ordinary man who, throughout the story, is concerned about returning to Earth to manage his gun range and calm his cousin and business partner.
Galactic Heritage by Matt Coleman is an engaging story once it picks up, and once the story foundation is established and the protagonist matures into his role, the story becomes more interesting, promising a more intriguing sequel that expands upon an already exciting universe.
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