The Legacy of Heorot is a science fiction novel written in 1987 by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes. Noted 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 an uncharted, seemingly peaceful planet.