Legacy

From SenatorAdams

Legacy is a previously planned (and now abandoned) prequel novel set some 20 years prior to the events of The Mike Adams Series. Had it beeen completed, Legacy would have covered the events leading up to a rare electoral defeat for The Circle, and the inevitable fall from grade by future criminal George Avelli. The prequel had only made it through early conceptual work, a draft of an outline, and brief character sketches. It was shelved during a major "reimagining" of the plot of Confirmation that came with its second draft and many of Legacy's elements were incorporated into Confirmation.

Premise

Mike Adams has just graduated from college and moved on to Georgetown Law School; his buddy George Avelli is left to pick up the political legacy of the Independent movement. Meanwhile, an ethical fraternity president, after being tapped by The Circle, decides he'd like to run for Student Body President. There are many influential people in The Circle who will stop at nothing to see him lose. So he turns to help from an unlikely source - the Independents who object to the very existence of that secret society. Only once in a generation does The Circle ever lose a campus election - will this year be it?

Key elements

• The ambitious fraternity president, who struggles with his role as a "legacy" - a reminder of his father's influence - and what that means for his fraternity and his role in The Circle.
• George Avelli, the future criminal conspirator, achieves an unlikely success, but it comes with a price - for it will inevitably lead to his blackballing by The Circle, and his subequent rage and jealousy at the later success of his friend Mike Adams.
• The once-in-a-generation defeat by The Circle, achieved (as it always is) by one of its own members. This would reflect and be loosely based on events at the University of Florida between 2002 and 2004, much as elements of Reunion at University Avenue reflected events at UF between 1999 and 2002.

Book is scrapped

After recovering a previously lost draft of Confirmation, author Ken Kerns decided to pursue the concluding chapter of the Adams storyline rather than working on a separate (and ultimately superfluous) prequel. After all, the Avelli backstory is not central to the plot of the series, and so doesn't need to be explored in depth. Likewise, the idea that The Circle is (rarely) beatable on campus is a good way to explore how college elections work, but Kerns wasn't interested in attempting yet another campaign story (see The Proxy Senator).

So, instead, the book is scrapped. However, several elements are folded into Confirmation: the legacy-struggling frat boy is established to be Jeff Simon, and George Avelli's past is explained.

The Mike Adams Series by Kenneth Kerns
The Novels	Reunion At University Avenue • The Proxy Senator • Confirmation
Major characters	Mike Adams • Ashley Woodard • George Avelli • Jeff Simon • Sam Lee • Aimee Jackson
Minor characters	Adam Ruppesberger • Bennita Jones • Ben Burns • Rick Roberts • Nicholas Hickey • Peter Easley
Fictional organizations	The Circle • Gator Party
Related topics	Greeks vs. Independents • Legacy • "Old Walter" • Student Government • U.S. Senate