Legacy by Jesikah Sundin (Forest Tales Publishing, 2014) is the first book in the Biodome Chronicles series, and it is an eclectic mix of cyberpunk, quasi-medieval recreation in the form of live-action roleplaying (LARPing), and not-quite apocalyptic fiction, all told as a young adult story. The novel follows the activities of Leaf and Willow Oak (or Oaklee, as she prefers to be called) Watson and Fillion Nichols.
While the two Watson siblings have lived their entire lives within the New Eden Biodome, Fillion Nichols lives in the outside world, far removed from the lifestyle within the biodome–except that the biodome experiment was his father’s creation, and he will one day inherit the company that runs it. After the Watson siblings’ father dies, they are moved to look into his death and stumble across a computer terminal that is outside of their comprehension, as they have lived their lives without technology. But when they turn it on accidentally, they come in contact with Fillion, and from there on out, their stories are intertwined.
The story is told from all three perspectives, and while each character has something of a conclusion to their part of the story arc, there are many larger plot points that aren’t resolved by the end of the book. As part of a trilogy, this makes a good deal of sense, but this felt like the level of cliffhanger that is usually reserved for the second book of a trilogy, rather than the first. The character are all teenagers, and spend a considerable amount of time inside their own heads, coping with their emotions. I found that I much preferred the more dynamic interactions between characters to the soul searching of each of the individual characters.
If you’re interested in a fascinating blend of sci-fi and fantasy, all tinged with young adult themes, Legacy is a great read.
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