Red Legacy

by Eneasz Brodski

A Soviet mad scientist directs covert research in her underground lair while fending off British secret agents, American commando raids, and Russian auditors.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

ebook

First published August 2, 2015

Reviews

[Huera · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the "What if Lamarck was correct?" premise, possibly underexplored, though. Not a fan of the Alexia part of the plot - I couldn't really symphatize and it made some sections a drag. I feel like that part could have been painlessly removed from the story, increasing the rating by at least a star.
The American raid ended my suspension of disbelief. The MI6 infiltration was a bit of a stretch - whatever. But outright attacking a secret Soviet research facility seems like ensuring nuclear armageddon.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story involved clones, was kind of fpointless, and had a lot of murder and destruction. Which means the title of the book is very fitting, the communist red's legacy. For that I'll put 2 stars instead of one ;)

Not very interesting or compelling otherwise. :(

[Henri Lemoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spooky! It's a cool story, set in a world where lamarckism prevailed over darwinism. There's good writing and vivid descriptions of a nightmarish world. How different would the world have been if Lamarck was right! It's a dark story though, so read at your own risk.

[Adam Eveleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely dark and haunting but gripping short story (listened to read by the author on the Harry Potter and Methods of Rationality podcast on Spotify)

[Matt Mitrovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted here: http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2016/08/...

Set in a secret Soviet laboratory in the middle of the Cold War, our protagonist is a female scientist researching cloning and other weird science. The crux of the story are her Sisyphean attempts to save her dying daughter by constantly recloning her every time she dies in an effort to cure whatever defect ends her young life. All of this happens while British spies, American special forces and Russian bureaucrats try to stop her.

“Red Legacy” is a good, if sad, story. I certainly can empathize with our main character’s desire to do anything to save her child. The pain of losing your daughter again and again and again would drive anyone off the deep end.

I’m just not convinced this is actually an alternate history. Except for references to a different theory of evolution that Soviets have adopted instead of the Darwinist theory we all know, the setting doesn’t seem all that different from our own timeline. So this is more secret history than alternate history, but you still might like it if you want to step into the mind of a tragic, mad scientist.