The Legacy of Heorot is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes, first published in 1987. Reproduction and fertility expert Dr Jack Cohen acted as a consultant on the book, designing the novel life cycle of the alien antagonists, the grendels. This is the first book in the Heorot series. It concerns the establishment of the first human colony on Avalon, the fourth planet of Tau Ceti. Source: Wikipedia (en)