Legacy: Fractured Era Legacy, Book 1

Legacy Code #0.5,1,2

by Autumn Kalquist

USA TODAY Bestseller Three hundred years ago, Earth suffered a mass extinction event. The last humans fled to the stars in search of a new home. In the darkness, they fought to survive. Now the fleet decays, and their hope of finding a better world is fading. Era Corinth works to preserve the archives, but viewing them herself would be treason. When she's faced with the possibility that her unborn child may be aborted due to a genetic defect, her fascination with ancient secrets escalates to obsession. Brutal conspiracies and devastating betrayals threaten to fracture the fleet. And the colonists have forgotten the most important lesson their ancestors swore to remember: It only took one wrong choice to destroy life on Earth. Will their descendants make the same mistake? "Had me hooked from the first paragraph." Amazon Reviewer

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Amazon, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Dystopia

460 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2015

About the author

Hello!
I stop by Goodreads once a month or so. But I love to hear from my readers! The best way to reach me is at autumn (@) autumnkalquist.com.


Visit AutumnKalquist.com to GET YOUR FREE STORY


FRACTURED ERA SERIES by Autumn Kalquist

FRACTURED ERA ARCHIVES
318
Decode
Protecteds: Origins - Only available to newsletter subscribers.

Fractured Era Defective
Defective
Infected (Coming Soon)
Protected (Coming Soon)

Fractured Era LEGACY SERIES
Better World - Prequel
Legacy Code: Book #1
Paragon: Book #2

OR read these episodes in one compilation: Legacy (Book One of Fractured Era Legacy)

Legacy Book Two - (Publication date to be announced)

Autumn Kalquist is a USA TODAY bestselling author of the Fractured Era book series. She writes fantasy, dystopian, and post-apocalyptic fiction that asks compelling questions--often met with morally gray answers. She records songs for each of her books, which can be found on her website or on music services like Spotify. You can also purchase her graphic design, artwork, and photography through several stores on Society6.com, Redbubble.com and Casetify.com. Visit AutumnKalquist.com for more details!

Reviews

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite predictable in places but still a very entertaining read. It is a typical modern book series, there is no telling how many sequels this could still produce, and a lot is still unresolved at the end of the book. If more comes out, I would not mind to read it when I need some light reading.

[A.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise has echoes of the new Battlestar Gallactica - humans struggling to survive on decaying spaceships as resources and hope runs out.

It's a great premise, but given that BSG pulled it off brilliantly, Era becomes a pale imitation. However it's important to judge the series on its own merits rather than continually make comparisons!

Keeping it short and sweet:

Likes
- The social structure, the idea of jobs being inherited through families
- Unexpected character tragedies
- Fairly clean writing

Dislikes
- Lack of character depth and development (I developed no empathy for them)
- The books follow different characters, so you don't discover how Maeve's story ends
- World building seemed fairly shallow in terms of the society and wider motivations, each social class was fairly one dimensional

Overall a popcorn science fiction read which passes the time, but won't really get your heart racing.

[Robin Burks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the concept of this book: a world where Earth has been destroyed by humans, who must now live among the stars until they find Earth 2.0, something that may never actually happen. Of course, there's also a lot of mystery and secrets, and although the book teases what some of these are, it seems I'll have to keep reading the series (please let there be a new book soon) to find out what's really going on. I also loved the characters, although don't get too attached to any of them!

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars for being well-written, but that’s it. The story was dull, the characters were shallow and under-developed, and the setting needed to be fleshed out more. Half way through the plot, and nothing major had happened yet. The book started focusing more on birth defects than humanity’s struggle with finding a home. I wouldn’t recommend this book. There is better science fiction out there.

[Lora Shouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The consensus among the writers’ groups I belong to on Facebook has been that we are now living in a dystopian novel. I think I may have finally figured out which one. It’s not the current book (Fractured Era: Legacy Code Bundle Books 1-3) but maybe one of its prequels, Defective, whose blurb begins: In the 2020’s disease, epidemics, and financial collapse nearly ended civilization.

This is a book I have to read.

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, this bundle (Fractured Era: Legacy Code Bundle) is no longer available on Amazon, but the individual books are still there for anybody interested in the series.

After the promising beginning referred to above, there was a mass extinction event on Earth. A relative handful of people managed to escape on a few large spaceships. It’s now three hundred years later, and approximately ten of these ships are left. Each is about the size of a large city back on Earth. The Fleet (as it is called) has been traveling the galaxy for all this time looking for a new planet to settle on that will be better than the Earth they left. So far, they haven’t had much luck.

And if they keep on the way they are going, it won’t matter much anyway; humans are doomed. Perhaps there is some fatal flaw in us that renders the urge to put personal status above the survival of the species inevitable. Or perhaps it is just that after three hundred years of aimlessly wandering space the ragtag group of survivors is losing their focus. But this last hope of humanity appears to be determined to kill each other off before they ever find their better world. And for the pettiest of reasons.

Better World – Book 1 (5 stars)

Maeve has become convinced that people like her exist only to be used up and discarded by the Fleet. Her best friend, Dritan, saves her from airlocking herself (letting herself be sucked into empty space to die), only to have her worst fears of being assigned to the first landing mission to Soren, the new planet they are about to explore, realized. Though the mission is more successful than most of the initial new planet landings, Maeve does not appear in the succeeding books, so we don’t know if she ultimately survived or not.

Legacy Code – Book 2 (4 stars)

This is the most dramatic book in the series. It is three years after Better World. The Fleet is about half finished with the Jump Gate that will allow them to travel to the next section of the galaxy to continue their search for a habitable planet. They have always known that Soren, the large desert planet they are trying to mine for minerals and other resources, isn’t it.

Dritan, Maeve’s friend from Better World, is now married to Era, a tech who works in the archives, and they are expecting their first child. Era discovers their baby has The Defect, and will have to be aborted just as Dritan is sent to Soren and promptly disappears in an earthquake. With Dritan presumed dead, Era becomes obsessed with having the baby anyway and accesses some old records in the archives she is not supposed to access, discovering in the process that The Defect can be cured surgically. She threatens to share this information unless the medics agree to save her baby.

Giving this book four stars because I don’t like how it ends.

Paragon – Book 3 (4 stars)

With Era airlocked, her best friend, Zephyr, and Tadeo, the man who was ordered to airlock her, become curious about what lay behind Era’s death. Both of them are from Exec level families and are scheduled to captain their respective dekas eventually. If they don’t fall foul of the president of the fleet and the other members of its government, that is.

Meanwhile, Dritan is trapped below ground in some mining area on Soren. He doesn’t realize Era is dead. But he isn’t dead himself . . . yet.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

London, England. Aboard the Vancouver (textile ship) Mauve (18, f) nor George (m) liked Dritan (m).
Mauve’s parents (34) had both perished in a subship mishap.

Captain Kerrigan was addressing the colonists: Jason (Cassia’s mate, Navigator), Kevan Sarkis (40, crew leader), Jacobs (f, head enforcer), George Fenton (m, enforcer), Mauve “Deev” Vasquez (18, f), Dritan Corinth (lead tech), Hyun (wife), Vinay (husband), Cassia (Jason mate, medic), Beatrice “Bea” Maxwell, Yoko Himura, Michael Fitz, & Gilly.
The Paragon (deka flagship), Perth (deka mining ship) Kyoto (deka power ship) & London (deka metalworking ship) would transport PPL, supplies & equipment to Soren (red planet), named after President Nyssa Sorenson (f).
Dritan & Kevan were doing major repairs inside a panel.
Mauve refused a repair order so Gilly took over.
Gilly was severely hurt & Cassia was taking care of her in the infirmary.
Mauve had received several lashes from Fenton for her insubordination.
A suitable mating couple could request to be put in the population lottery.
What a mess Mauve was in. She could be held for treason & Gilly could become an Outcast (colonists with serious medical issues, deformities).
Later things didn’t go as planned on the reentry.
The London had crashed. Blood & mangled bodies were everywhere; the metalworking ship was in total shambles.
Mauve & George survived.

Fast forward 2 yrs.
Nora Faust (medic), examined Era Corinth (17, wife).
She would have some exciting news to tell Dritan Corinth (husband) Era is PG.
Zephyr Kerrigan (16, f, repository apprentice tech) & Era were BFF’s. She had told Era about her having the hots for Lieutenant Tadeo Raines (20, son).
What revealing records of Dritan did Era access?
What incident was Dritan involved with?
What did Nora (medic) tell Era about her check-up tests results?
If you access CD-1dy34b (legacy code) illegally you are classified as a traitor.
Chief Petroff (head guard) came to take Era (tech) into custody.
President Nyssa Sorenson came to interrogate her.

The elites were having a meeting those in attendee are: Farida Mittal (board member), Tomas Nielsen (Oslo & Meso board member), Nassef Yasin (m, Dubai & Moscow board member), Jon Lau (m, Beijing & Kyoto board member), Sergeant Omar (m, Vancouver board member, & Nicolas Gonzalez (Seattle board member).
Explosives had been taken from the Paragon.

What happened between Zephyr & Tadeo?
What did Tadeo find out about Jai Florian (imports), & Tatiania Carizo (medbay population management clerk, Meso crew member)?
What will become of all the ships crews?

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written Sci-fi book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great Sci-fi movie, animated cartoon, or better yet a mini TV series. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Diapason Publishing; Amazon Digital Services LLC; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[John R. Goyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was about half way through and about to give up just because it seemed to cliche and predictable - then it got interesting doing something i didn't expect - then it partially cancelled that out by bringing a character back from probable death... At the end of the book, not much is resolved, and the plot sets up a sequel very strongly. However, apparently the author wrote the next book as a prequel to fill in gaps in a pretty uninteresting backstory. I wish authors would write books that give a little more satisfaction rather than just stretching out a story to sell the next volume. There are complex, epic, and exciting stories that require lots of books to do them justice - I don't think this is one of them.

[Melanie Denyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great potential, but needs the help of an editor

Legacy has a strong premise, and some interesting characters to take you through the book. And it's clear the author has tried hard to make them real and complex and, much of the time, succeeded. However, the book feels long for most of the first half, and I very nearly gave up and deleted.

I stuck it out to the end, and was rewarded for my efforts. I may even give a sequel a try, but the author needs to work more on the flow of the book to keep the reader engaged.

[Janet Wild · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughts for the future

Found this book a great read, thought provoking. It is well paced and explores human natures responses to dictatorial rule. The characters are an interesting set of individuals and it will be interesting to see if there is a future for them. Look forward to reading the prequel and the sequel books. This was a new author for me and will be on my posts for future reading

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books got me started reading science fiction. I was pleasantly surprised that a woman could do a good job both with inter personal relations and the mechanical/technical details. Television sci-fi never had time to give much character background which I should have known books would be a better alternative. The author had a free story or two for download on the website but you can't go wrong with a book or three.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining if a bit simplistic. Hard to go wrong with the classic "humans wrecked the Earth and wander through space to find a new home" premise. I like that the book is heavily invested in the experiences of women and the class of workers who bear the brunt of the labor and dangers of space travel.

[Ian M. Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting characters, good detail and an all too believable plot.

I'm not sure why but it took me a while to get into the first book. I had the trilogy, though and I persevered. I'm glad I did. It turned into a good read with interesting characters, good detail and an all too believable plot.

Recommended.

[Michaela Shannon-sank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling!!!

Where do I begin?! Great characters? Check. Great story? Check. Great setting, writing, dialogue? Check, check, check. I feel like a glutton, eagerly gobbling down every story I can find in the Fractured Era series and I want more!!!! Trust me, you will love it!

[Jennifer Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant

Really enjoyed this book. Loved the characters and the story took very unexpected turns. So why only 4 stars? The ending! It's not a bad ending - just very sudden with many threads left hanging and unanswered. Very frustrating.

[Neil Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good characters, likable enough to care about. I listened to the audible version and the narrator did a great job.

[Marilyn Buehler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was okay, a little too dystopian for me and I did not like the ending. It leaves you hanging.

[Jim Kratzok · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a grim story.

I have to say that I did not enjoy this book. It was too dark and hopeless. Not much fun at all.

[Cyanemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Series

[Cherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF.

[kelvin whitlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am ready for the next chapter in the story. Like right now. It would be interesting to read more of the story of how humanity got to this part of the story but I am also eager to get the rest of the story going forward.

I really enjoyed the subject line. It gets my own imagination working overtime. I am Moe than ready for the next episode in the story. It would be interesting to read more of how humanity got to this stage but I am also eager to get the rest of the story going forward.
Please don't stop what you are doing.

[Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I picked up because I didn't have anything lined up and because of Amazon recommendations and reviews. I did get the bundle which included one short story as a prequel and two book out of what, I imagine, will be a trilogy. It is billed as dystopian scifi, but dystopian really didn't cover it for me. From the start of the prequel, which is an attempted suicide, these books were incredibly depressing. These books deal with teenagers for the most part, and so some angst is to be expected but seriously. Depressing.

The premise of these book is that humanity destroyed the Earth's environment to the point that they had to leave to look for another inhabitable planet. Their ships seem only capable of sub-light speeds with one exception: the use of these one time use "jump gates" that seem to randomly hurl the fleet far across the galaxy where they then meander around looking for a new planet. However, each gate has to be built anew from resources found on planets or meteoroids and there's no guarantee that the fleet will find enough to build another jump gate.

This series struck me as very much like the newer Battlestar Galatica series in that the remnants of humanity are huddled together in a fleet of ships, looking for a new planet. I think that both take a very realistic look at what such a scenario would entail, but these books focus more on the problems associated with a lack of resources, population control, and the development of class distinctions within the ships. The "legacy code" of the title refers to the genetic efforts of humans prior to the devastation on earth to supercharge the immune system. It worked, for the most part, except for a small percentage of new births in which the genetic changes resulted in death shortly after birth. In order to keep the gene pool as clean as possible within the fleet, all fetuses are tested for the defect in utero and aborted if found to have the genetic markers.

These books seem more like an exploration of sociology in these extreme conditions. There are, to my taste, heavy-handed allusions to various movements in society today, given in the context of a slow-moving fleet struggling to find a suitable planet. The earth was made uninhabitable because of humanities follies. Homosexuals are ostracized as they do not help perpetuate the species. The population has stratified into classes with little-to-no class mobility that seem to be enforced solely by the sense of duty that everyone feels to help push the fleet forward. "A better world awaits" is the mantra of the ship. The picture that the author paints is SO bleak, however, that it's difficult to imagine it lasting as long as it has. And perhaps that's what were witnessing in these books; the social breakdown that would have to occur under these conditions. Still, it's not fun reading. I will likely read the next book in the series simply because, while the books are morose, I am interested in the fates of the characters and hang on to some small hope that things might work out.

[Greggery Kunkle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Autumn Kalquist

You started out great. You grabbed my attention immediately, great opening paragraph. You then proceeded to make the story flow at a good pace and introduced your world in an easy to understand way.

Then you tripped when you submitted to the politically correct nonsense. You alluded to a gay love affair and blew the whole thing for me. I stopped reading right there and closed the book and I have no intention of finishing it.

Before anyone screams accusatory labels and rants at me about the gay issue, you can stop immediately. I have gay family members. I have no problem with people being gay.

My problem is that a segment of the population that makes up only 3.8% (which in order to even get that high must include transgenders and bisexuals) commands an overwhelmingly overinflated social footprint. Practically every TV show and movie and book must have gay characters for fear of engendering the wrath of the progressive cult of political correctness.

I get it, a big victory for gay people; they can be considered part of society now, as they should be. However, in forcing the rest of society to accept them, they are now having the opposite effect than the one they intended.

I am weary beyond words of hearing, seeing, watching and reading about gay people everywhere in my entertainment. I am so tired of every single story having gay people in it. It turns me away from what are probably great stories, which is exactly what happened with your story. Gay characters are something that is better done in moderation; too much kills the uniqueness of the minority.

It is, of course, your story to write as you please. My critique of this issue in your story is only meant to show that not everyone wants to read about gay issues all the time. It isn't your inclusion of a gay issue in your story that made me put it down, it was just the final straw, of a truckload of straws, that broke this camel's back so to speak.

I have stopped reading most science fiction in the past ten to fifteen years because of the overwhelming political correctness that has overwhelmed it. When I started reading your book I was excited because I thought I had finally come upon a good story that did not kowtow to the PC dictatorship. Alas, I was wrong.

Normally I wouldn’t take the time to write all this up and respond; I would simply put the book down and move on. However, I am being sincere in my praise of your writing. You grabbed my attention immediately and I was excited to read the story. I like your writing style. That’s why I am so disappointed that I had to put the book down.

No malice intended. I hope my words are taken as the constructive criticism that I intend. I wish you much success with your story.

[Jeffrey Restel]

$1.99

[Ryan Toxopeus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humanity ruined not only the world, but itself. Fleeing to the stars in hopes of finding a better world, this story begins in our distant future when that fleet is in trouble. Supplies are limited, the ships are in a constant state of disrepair, the people are angry … but hope appears in the window in the form of a new planet. They need this place to be one of two things: a safe haven where they can begin to rebuild, or a world with a rare mineral that will allow them to build a jump gate to leap to a distant star where they might find solace.

This book throws a lot of stuff at you right from the start, and I almost put it down because I was feeling frustrated with all the unknown terms and the large list of characters. I’m glad I stuck with it, as the pieces started to fall into place. Fast paced, with characters I grew attached to, complicated plots with unexpected twists and turns … this book was excellent.

This book is actually three complete stories in one, the first dealing with the approach to the new planet, Soren. The second follows a worker on the ship a while after they’ve started building a temporary colony on Soren. Traitors are discovered, rules are broken, and retribution is swift. In the third is when you really start to dig into the depths of the conspiracies, with a great deal of cloak-and-dagger work going on behind the scenes.

This book ends in a cliffhanger, and from the sounds of it Kalquist is going back to do a prequel before continuing with the series, so that’s a little frustrating. I don’t care so much what happened to get the people where they are, I’m invested in the story and want to know where they wind up! I guess I’ll just have to try to remember to keep an eye out for a sequel.

[Elizabeth Wilson Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intersting

It took me awhile to get into this book but when l did l wanted to see what happens. The story has so many undercurrents that l want to stay a little longer with Tadeo and co and need to read the next instalment

[Eric Duchinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating

Where most sci-fi focus on the rare few people with the resources, brains, and spunk face long odds and succeed, these focus on the gritty, struggling workers just trying to get by. Through their eyes we see the big picture revealing itself. I honestly do not know the direction the story will take, but my curiosity pushes me, wanting the next book.

The writing style flows steadily while the characters act like normal people, not Indiana Jones. The plot snaps together as any intricate puzzle with tiniest of actions building into the big picture.

Kudos to the Autumn Kalquist.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's rare to find a good science fiction novel not already based on an existing franchise (or a novel made popular because it was turned into a movie or television show). The Fractured Era: Legacy Code series is one such set of novels. The writing was easy to understand and kept you wanting to get to the next page or chapter to find out what's happening. Books 1 and 2 follow a single character through it and book 3 follows 3 characters throughout.

The books were interesting, heartbreaking, and had an authentic quality about them that made it seem like the author was straight out of that future.

[Clinton Sites · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complex multi-layered generational starship political thriller

The author has created a story that is layered such that however you approach it there is satisfaction to be had!

I have read many novels/series that featured multi-generational starships before but this is the first one I can recall that believably describes what could be the events that would be encountered.
Add to the physical environmental the description of the political intrigues and the facts of day to day life in such an environment makes for a very satisfying read!

This is a definite read novel and follow the series (besides, I want to learn why humanity had to leave - there are hints though).

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of these things is not like the others... and that would be Book 1. It has 1 carry-over character to Books 2 and 3, but none of the events in the book are carried over. Maybe the series is going to loop back in some future book, but for now it just seems like a random story thrown in to add pages. That being said, Books 2 and 3 were fantastic! The story was good, the characters were mostly interesting and colorful, and the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I want to know what happens next! Sign me up for the sequels!

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty and powerful, this excellent sci-fi story centers around a handful of characters mired in a depressing, decades-long slog for humanity to find a new world to settle.

The perspective was reminiscent of the ST:NG episode "Lower Decks", where higher command personnel are seen only in small glimpses, and their decisions and policies directly affect the lives of those underneath. Eminently readable.