The thrilling concluding science fiction novel, number 6 in Dom Testa’s best-selling Galahad series, is finally here! It’s called The Galahad Legacy, and it continues the dystopia outer space series of 251 teenagers, the last and best hope for the survival of the human race, aboard the spaceship Galahad. The adventure that began with Testa’s first book in the series, The Comet’s Curse, is finally brought to a close. Is The Galahad Legacy a great end to the series, or does it fall flat? Read on to learn more, SF fans!
Teen angst is a major component of the Galahad series, and at times the life Dom Testa describes aboard the spaceship seems to be like a teen soap opera. But, there is bound to be plenty of conflicts and interpersonal relationships on a two year journey through space, and rather than detracting from the plot, the various relationships and friendships that develop help add interest and spice to the series.
Triana returns in The Galahad Legacy after having gone through a worm hole in the last book, number 5, Cosmic Storm. And, she had brought back an alien with her, a jelly fish-like alien in an aquarium-like container, living in a fluid called a “supercritical fluid.” The alien is Torrec, and is a representative of the Dollovit race. It can communicate with the Galahad’s crew and Triana via the computers. Triana and the rest of the crew learn that the sentient beings that they have termed “vultures,” are really the creation of the Dollovits. One of the vultures has inadvertently been responsible for the only death of a crew member a couple of books back in the series. Among other duties, the vultures can map different mechanical inventions, like the pod Triana traveled in through the worm hole, and create a duplicate of it.
Torrec mentions two options for the crew of the Galahad: they can continue towards their destination and hope for the best in their attempts to colonize a habitable planet, though the Galahad might not make it all the way, and if not, everyone aboard would die. The second choice would be to become like the Dollovits, and give up their human forms. Torrec warns the crew tha: “your time to decide grows short, very short.”
Certain crew members, like Gap (who had once been romantically attracted to Triana), wonder if the same triana who left has returned, or if she has been changed. Gap worries that Triana might not be up to making the best decisions for the Galahad and its mission and crew any longer. He, and others, also wonder what the motives of the Dollovits really are, and whether they are really being altruistic or if they actually want to gain control of the mission, the crew, and the spaceship for other reasons.
One aspect of the Galahad series, and The Galahad Legacy, that I really liked was that brains and intellect are celebrated. The characters may be genetically handsome/beautiful, but they were in large measure chosen for the mission because of their intellects. Dom Testa, himself, even began “the ‘Big Brain Club,’ to encourage students to overcome the peer pressure that often prevents them from achieving their true potential.” And, at the back of each novel in the series, Testa has included excellent Teen Reader Guides with questions that teachers can use if they want to have these novels be a part of their curriculum, or ones which parents and teens or teens and their friends can discuss together.
The Galahad Legacy marks what is possibly the best book yet in the incredibly interesting and fascinating Galahad series. Testa does a marvelous job of characterization, as usual, and fans of the series will be impressed by this satisfying conclusion to the Galahad’s journey. Does the crew of the Galahad reach their destination? Does everyone live happily ever after? I’m not going to give away any spoilers, but I will say that anyone who loves reading science fiction will immensely enjoy reading the entire series. Add The Galahad Legacy to your reading lists today!
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