Customer Reviews

Coyote Destiny (Coyote Chronicles)

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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.

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!

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

I've followed this series (Coyote) with interest. In particular the issue of establishing a new world and a new society and dealing with new flora and fauna and politics and just the "Gee Whiz" issues of what it might be like to be stuck somewhere so far from home and to being in a position where everything must be re-imagined from scratch if people are to begin again. But slowly the series slid into a less imaginative narrow religious theme with plot devices that lacked credibility and then the story line was reduced to a flight back to the USA and post apopolyptic conflict. We learned essentially nothing more of substance about how a new world and new world order might find a new path into the future but instead got trapped in a soap opera story-line. I quit reading Coyote Destiny about 10 pages from the end because I thought the author "sold out" and just wanted to end it (it was not a mercy killing, by the way). What could have remained a vehicle for imaginative thought and story lines just became fodder for melodrama. It's hard to get hooked and then disappointed at the end of a series--not by the fact of its ending but by its forced and "canned" story line. A whole new world of possibilities was reduced to a trite story line of spiritual cops and robbers or good guys and bad guys. Maybe the author can go back to Coyote and re-capture the "WOW" of looking up into an entirely new sky and give the readers back a sense of what Wonder really is.

Since reading the first Coyote books I looked up at the sky everyday as if for the first time and took in the wonder of it all. But by the end, I lost the majesty of imagination and felt like everything ended up back in some daytime soap opera. Think "Do Over" and end on a high note if another series is attempted!

The adventures on planet Coyote continue. This 5th novel in the series does not stand alone so well,
as narrative depends upon familiarity with the established characters and previous stories. It is
adequate for those already introduced to the Coyote universe. Although, the previous novels dealt
with the pioneer settling of the planet against environmental and political odds, this one looks back
to Mother Earth and the consequences of Coyote's successful colonizastion and eveolving civilzation.
As one reader who is interested in the continuing saga, I had to plunge in. The series as a whole is
very satisfying to fans of galactic pioneering stories. It is the kind of narrative that Robert Heinlein
used to produce during "the Golden Age" of science fiction.

COYOTE DESTINY provides a fine, gripping novel of interstellar civilization and concludes the Coyote saga: as such it is recommended for prior Coyote readers. Coyote's starbridge remains cut off from earth and no ships from humankind's home world have come through hyperspace. So when a ship from Earth unexpectedly arrives, the inhabitants of Coyote are cautious: especially when its story reveals a traitor may be amongst them. An outstanding blend of drama and tension emerge.

While I have been enthralled by the Allen Steeles' Coyote series, and anxiously awaited each book of the installment, especially this one;I was left rather ,how shall I say this , perplexed.

This was the long awaited ending to a great series? It was simplistic at best. As though Mr. Steele wanted to write another book, but didn't want to put that much effort into it. This should have been a grand finale` , but it went away with little satisfaction.
The Coyote universe is just waiting to be used for great entertainment, many answers needed to be told , as well as questions that were hidden under the surface ; needed to be raised.

While many ,like me, would read any Coyote related book,this didn't provide me with what I expected.

Hopefully Mr. Steele will write related Coyote books in the future.

Coyote Destiny (2010) is the second SF novel in the Coyote Chronicles duology, following Coyote Horizon. The initial volume in this series is Coyote.

In the previous volume, Hawk learns that Cosenza has brought a bomb aboard the Lee. Carlos takes Hawke to Commodore Tereshkova and convinces her that there really is a bomb in the cargo bay. Carlos sits next to the bomber and tries to take the detonator away from Cosenza.

In this novel, Jorge Montero II is a Lieutenant in the Coyote Federation Corps of Exploration. His father is Jonathan Parson, Corps chief of staff.

Sawyer Lee is Commanding General of the Corps. He was an old friend of Carlos and has known Jorge since his childhood.

Inez Torres is a Corporal in the Corps. She is using a fake name.

Hawk Thompson is the chaaz'maha, head of the Sa'Tong on Coyote.

Melissa Sanchez is a member of the Order of the Eye and common-law wife of Hawk. She is also the mother of Inez.

Sergio Vargas is the captain of the Legend of Simon Bolivar, a freighter that has made several voyages to and from Coyote.

In this story, Vargas is waiting for clearance at Starbridge Earth for passage to Coyote. The ship is carrying thirty-four refugees crammed into a passenger module. The starbridge had flashed less than a minute before, but the ring had abruptly collapsed.

Starbridge control doesn't know what happened. After a few minutes, they get back to the Bolivar with a request. Apparently a lifeboat has transitioned through the starbridge and they want the Bolivar to check it for passengers.

Once the lifeboat is within the cargo bay, Vargas enters the craft and finds only one passenger. The man mentions a bomb in his ship. The sole survivor of the Robert E. Lee has reached the home system.

At 47 Ursae Majoris, the Talus aliens help the Federation to rebuild their starbridge. It is now twice the size of the original version. It is used for voyages to Talus worlds, but the aliens insist that no one return to the Terran home system.

Nineteen Terran years later, Inez is serving in Jorge's unit. He loves Inez, but conceals his feelings since she is his subordinate. The two of them are observing a polar cow and her family on the southern coast of Algonquin when they receive a message to return to base.

Jorge has an eyes-only message. It orders Corporal Torres to prepare for immediate departure. It also tell Jorge to do the same.

The CoE airship Dana Monroe soon reaches the base. The ship is carrying two passengers, General Lee and Melissa. Inez hugs her mother.

Sawyer tells Inez that they have had news of her father. Apparently the chaaz'maha is still alive on Earth. Melissa tells Sawyer to explain it all to Jorge and takes Inez to their cabin for a private talk.

Sawyer explains to Jorge who Inez really is. He also points out she is Jorge's second cousin. Later Jorge learns that she is an empath.

The airship takes them back to Liberty. They are ordered to wear civilian clothes and to stay in a special facility. Finally, they meet with the President.

In the meeting, Jorge and Inez are introduced to Vargas, who has flown an ancient vessel to Coyote through the KX-1 starbridge. He says that the chaaz'maha is converting much of Earth to Sa'Tong. The President is sending Jorge and Inez to Earth to recover her father.

This tale takes Jorge and Inez to Rho Coronae to get permission from the Talus to travel to Earth. After intervention by the chaaz'braan, they are allowed to transit to the Terran system. There they find many surprises.

This is the last volume in this duology. Other related volumes are available, including Spindrift and Galaxy Blues. Another spinoff work -- Hex -- will be coming soon. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Steele fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of interplanetary adventure, alien civilizations, and determined humans.

-Arthur W. Jordin

This was a bad follow up to a previous poorly done book.
In the previous book the author sets up an interaction between the New Age religion (excuse me, alien religion) and the established Christian church. In this poorly done predecessor the establish church - all very evil of course - persecutes the alien religion ending in a terrible act of terrorism whereby the gate is destroyed in an attempt to get the human messiah of the alien religion.
This book takes up several years later. The focus of the book is on 3 things.
The first is the interaction between 2 humans who are eventually sent to earth in order to find the messiah. For reasons apparent to the author, I am sure, these characters are related to each other and so the great love the man has for the female is not allowed. While this is a main plot feature in the book I wonder why the author did this. It is simply not well done.
The second item is the discovery on Coyote that the terrorist responsible for the gate bombing is still around. The author creates an awkward at best reason for the pursuit of this person by the Montero family in stead of allowing the authorities to act. In the midst of this a poorly written clash between the Montero family and the new President is brought forth to I think explain why this lone wolf vigilante effort is made. Well, the terrorist is found but because he has accepted the New Age religion he is now a good guy. But, of course, the Montero's will not accept this. In the end the guy dies and the Montero's are rather disgraced.
The third item focuses on the trip to Earth to rescue the Messiah. Basically earth is split between the wonderful folks who have followed the Messiah and the vermin that have not. There is some action and the best writing of the book (such as there is good writing) is found here. The lame unrequited love becomes requited but so what.... The Messiah stays on Earth to finish delivering it to New Age enlightenment and most of the team returns to Coyote.
Wendy Gunter dies of old age at the end of the book. This is the ending segment of this novel. For some reason the current President does not allow the family to drive funeral arrangements and takes great pain to honor the deceased in a manner befitting her place in history. So the family steals the body and cremates it in a funeral pyre.
One has to wonder.
In summary, this is a bad book. In my standard of a book making waiting in airports a livable experience this is a listen to boarding announcements as a better option book. Considering what the author is capable of, this is inexcusable. Perhaps the Coyote venue has died and a new series needs to emerge.

Hands down the best sic-fi out there. It kills me that I bought these books throughout the years and shelving them never reading them until now.
When this book came out I read a review and I thought it sounded familiar. Turned out they were on my shelf.
I have never raced through a series as I did Coyote.
Critics praise Steele for following Clarke and Heinlen, but I think Steele can stand pretty much on his own.
It's a post 9-11 sic-fi.
Perhaps that's the best way to describe it.
Anyways the books just get better as they go along. But really think of them as a history text. It starts off fascinating. Then you get closer to the present and you're like why is everyone still stupid?
Humans.