Customer Reviews

Conquerors' Heritage (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read the first book, and I really enjoyed it, and I just wanted to get the seconed one. When I realized that it was from the point of view of the Zhurzh, I started to have doubts, but it turned out to be just as good as the first. Vivid, and emotional, you find yourself feeling the way the characters do, hoping that things will turn out for them. This book compelled me to read the third.

I first got into Timothy Zahn's work through his Star Wars Titles, which were good. However his work with the Conqueror's Trillogy is exceptional. His non Star Wars stuff is far superior. His approach to the concept of "First Contact" is refreshing and well worked. If you want to read a good story with very interesting twists, these are the books for you.

Timothy Zahn has a knack for keeping you on your toes. Although this book is the second in a trillogy, it is distinctly different from the first in so many ways, and yet, it fits in with the story impeccably. I was very impressed. A must-read for all sci-fi fans.

This was a great book. It added complexity to the storyline from the first book, and introduced some really interesting characters. It reminded me (I'm not sure if it's a good parallel or not) of Alan Dean Foster's "Nor Crystal Tears". I couldn't wait to read the next book.

After reading the first book of the trilogy it looked like just another well written 'humans meet alien race' novel. When I started reading the second part I finished it within the same day. The story takes on an amazing turn, suddenly describing the events of the first part from the other side, the view of the Zirrzh. I never enjoyed reading a SF novel that much. Timothy Zahn manages to put the reader into the place of an alien race making its first contact with the humans, without giving away too much and keeping up the tension and mystique about the 'elderdeath' weapon until very late. Brilliant and highly recommended

The perspective characters in this book are Thrr-gilag (xeno-anthropologist), Thrr-mezaz (garrison officer), Prr't-zevisti (living ghost), Klnn-dawan-a (token female), and the Overclan Prime (supreme alien leader). Other minor characters also get a scene here and there as well, and the fsss organ is practically a character itself (veiled euthanasia rights issue). Every word in this book is written from a perspective of a Zhirrizh, an alien race extremely lacking in terms of individual personalities. Most of the Zhirrizh who are perspective characters are from the same family grouping.

I believe Zahn attempted to use this book as a contrast (human vs. alien) to "Conqueror's Pride". In book one the humans think the aliens are the Conquerors, and in this book the aliens think the humans are the Conquerors. This theme is really pounded on.

My favorite parts were scenes with Prr't-zevisiti and Dr. Cavanagh from book one, but Zahn doesn't actually have them interact. They never hold a conversation, and this lack of payoff left me disappointed. The story leaves off as the alien opens communication, before the response.

Overall, a mediocre book, not what I consider good in terms of science fiction. It's very political, and not alien-political, but human-political with trappings of alien culture that don't fit well.

The Conqueror Trilogy is totally engaging, a favorite among my science fiction picks. I own both the books and audiobooks, and listen to/read them about once a year. The story never gets old. My only regret is that the final installment (Conqueror's Legacy) was never released as an audio book.

Timothy Zahn has upped the stakes in his second novel in the Conquer's trilogy. After the first novel,Conqueror's Pride, which details the events that lead to the beginning of the Human-Zhirrzh war, Zahn takes on the ambitious task of narrating the events from the aliens point of view. This is one of those novels that should have a degree of difficulty factor figured into the review is this is not an easy thing to accomplish.

However Zahn does a superb job of pulling this off by clearing explaining the differences in culture but also interjecting just enough similarities between humans and the Zhirrzh to help the reader identify with this alien culture. The greates difference between the two is that the Zhirrzh have two states of being-the first as biological entities and then after their mortal bodies die they are able to exist as incoporeal beings known as Elders.

The Zhirrzh belive that their human opponents have devised a super-weapon that will not only destroy their coporeal bodies, but can extinguish their lives as Elders as well. The majority of this novel deals with the Zhirrzh's attempts to find out if the Humans do actually possess such a weapon and how they can possibly overcome a force that they have never encountered before in their existence.

By telling the narrative through the Zhirrzh's perspective, Timothy Zahn has given depth to this military-style space opera. This enables the reader to identify with both participants in this battle and sets the stage very well for what should be a rousing conclusion to this trilogy.

This book is terrific. The alien viewpoint puts the reader in the aliens shoes, showing (near the end of the book) exacly what started this war. It tyrns the bloodthirsty barabarians agressors (The typical view for the enemy alien in Sci-fi) and turns them into a real species, with their own histories, customs and oddities. The stugle for power by some, and the political backstabbing is so similar to our own, it sometimes made me laugh out loud! In short, I reccomend the entire series to anyone who likes sci-fi.

This is the second book in Zahn's Conquerors trilogy. But it is written a completely different way to what I expected. The first book was written from our (the Humans) point of view, but this book gives us the Aliens (the Zhirrzh) point of view. There are one or two complete twists to the story and after reading this book I just had to go and get the third and final book...