14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Time flies on Destiny's wings, March 10, 2010
This review is from: Coyote Destiny (Coyote Chronicles) (Hardcover)
To appreciate Coyote Destiny, it is important that the reader should have read Coyote Horizon at the very least. The book can be read without doing so, but the significance of some events is lessened. Read the whole series for maximum effect.
Almost two decades (Earth years, not Coyote years) have elapsed since the end of Coyote Horizon. Coyote has been out of contact with Earth for all that time. Before that, refugees from an Earth that was suffering political and environmental collapse were flooding into Coyote.
Coyote, in the meantime, has prospered, and resumed trade with the alien worlds revealed in previous books. There are now only a few people alive who came on the first starship. Gleaming cities built with the help of alien technology are arising from the villages of the early settlers.
A prelude takes up where Coyote Horizon left off. An explosion aboard the Coyote Confederation starship Robert E. Lee destroys the ship and the stargate that it is in the act of passing through. But a lifeboat carrying Hawk Thompson, who is the human spiritual leader of a philosophy embraced by most of the alien worlds. Hawk received a gift from an alien emissary of these teachings, the Sa'Tong-tas and was transformed spiritually. Further mental transformation came later, which gave him extraordinary powers, but those powers are not part of the Sa'Tong-tas. Hawk was going to Earth to help Coyote's former president deal with the refugee problem.
The main story opens with the two members of an expedition to Coyote's northern extremes being recalled to the capital. It seems that a stolen starship has finally come from Earth, revealing that Hawk Thompson has been instrumental in recalling to earth people from the colonies in the solar system. The pilot of the starship is the same person who picked up Thompson from the lifeboat earlier. He is vehement in his accusations against Thompson.
Because of Thompson's importance to Coyote, an expedition to Earth is set up. But first permission from the confederation of aliens who ultimately control passage through the star gates is needed. They had closed off Earth because they felt people there were too violent.
Then they have to get to Earth and find Thompson. Oh, and their guide is hostile to the idea.
And on Coyote, the hunt is belatedly on for the maker of the bomb that destroyed the Robert E. Lee.
While other readers should decide for themselves as to whether this book follows up on Coyote Horizon, I think that it does. It is not what I expected to read, but that did not matter in the end. The previous book introduced the philosophy of the Sa'Tong-tas, and this book shows what could happen with the passage of time.
All in all a good read. For those who thought that Coyote Horizon spent too much time on the philosophy, there is a lot more action in this book. I think there will be some people who will feel that the later events are a little rushed, but it seems to me that the pace is appropriate.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Science Fiction, March 18, 2010
This review is from: Coyote Destiny (Coyote Chronicles) (Hardcover)
This is science fiction at its very best. The story line is fast-paced and filled with non stop action. If you are a fan of Allen Steele's books, you won't be disappointed with this one. This is the conclusion of Coyote Saga, so be sure to read up on the series!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
superb finish to Coyote Horizon, March 4, 2010
This review is from: Coyote Destiny (Coyote Chronicles) (Hardcover)
With the disaster that devastated the governments of the Western hemisphere, those Americans, Europeans and Asians who can flee the Earth do. Their destination is the 47 Ursae Majoris system where they plan to rebuild the world.
Captain Sergio Vargas transports thirty-four earthlings to Coyote. However, as they are about to cross the star traversing gateway from Starbridge Earth, an explosion occurs on the receiving side. Apparently the Robert E. Lee had exploded with communication down except for an SOS from a lifeboat. Vargas calmly switches mission to rescue the survivor and hopefully more from the Robert E. Lee disaster, but only finds one person; a monk amidst the ruins of Boston claiming he is God.
The second half of the latest Coyote interstellar outer space colonization is a superb finish to Coyote Horizon. The story line is fast-paced and filled with non stop action as Vargas believes the cause of the calamity is a member of his crew. Fans of the Coyote saga already know Allen Steele consistently provides thought provoking tales of interstellar exploration while newcomers need to read at least the first half of this duology Coyote Horizon to understand what led to the escapades in Coyote Destiny.
Harriet Klausner
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