Customer Reviews

Coyote Frontier

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The strength of this trilogy lies almost entirely in Mr. Steele's ability to recreate the spirit of discovery and exploration that we have lost as a society. In Coyote Frontier the colonists have worked out their government, have begun negotiations with earth and now must choose how they will allow their new planet to be used by humanity. Mr. Steele finally gets around to issues of how the indigenous life of Coyote will be impacted by the settlers and does a fair job of treating various social issues.

The first two installments in the trilogy involved slower than light travel, which introduced an interesting but relevant theme of how to maintain a technologically-advanced society at the end of a very, very long supply chain. These are issues that must be faced when we begin exploration and settlement of the moon and mars. You can't just order up spare parts. In Coyote Frontier, Mr. Steele introduces FTL travel--moving people to Coyote is no longer limited by the cost of starships capable of making a multi-lightyear journey. Coyote becomes the lifeboat that the huddled masses of Earth threaten to swamp; fortunately, problems are solved and opportunites presented.

To fully enjoy this third volume of the Coyote trilogy requires familiarity with the issues presented and resolved in the first two installments. I would not recommend starting with this volume--go buy Coyote. I greatly enjoyed Mr. Steele's work and hope that he continues this series.

Two decades have passed since the Coyote Federation broke away from Earth rule to form a democracy, but the planet is in crisis as the dependency on earth technology has taken its toll. Leader Carlos Montero knows that gaining their independence was a lot easier than maintaining their freedom as he has learned that fighting for liberty was dangerous but simple while ruling is very complex. He is unsure which direction to take Coyote as the infrastructure is crumbling without spare parts or replacement equipment. At the same time Earth is near ecological destruction and needs raw materials that Coyote can provide.

Carlos must decide whether to heed the offer of business mogul Morgan Goldstein, who promises to invest new capital and technology in Coyote or does he plead with his brilliant recluse former Lieutenant Governor Manuel Castro to return and negotiate with earth. Either way Carlos personally loses, but he no longer can worry about his own desires or esteem, Coyote is in trouble. Still Carlos wonders what the costs vs. the benefits of either solution are. He knows Morgan the capitalist will extract quite a price while he is unsure that Manuel can still do the job; finally the people of Coyote wonder what to do about earth's desperate ploy to escape ecological ruin by thinking of using the starbridge technology to enable escape to Coyote.

COYOTE FRONTIER is the terrific conclusion to one of the best science fiction trilogies of the last decade. The complex story line concentrates on key characters, who allow the audience to comprehend the complexities of relationships whether they are personal between a man and wife, two leaders, or inter-global, as well as decision making where someone wins and someone loses depending on what is decided. Allen Steele is at his best with this deep moral yet action-packed character driven science fiction thriller. If you have not read the previous two tales (COYOTE and COYOTE RISING) you are missing an exciting thought provoking winner.

Harriet Klausner

Coyote Frontier (2005) is the third SF novel in the Coyote Trilogy, following Coyote Rising. In the previous novel, the original colonists revolted against invaders from the Western Hemisphere Union. Once the WHU troops were defeated, they were sent back to Earth and the new colonists were incorporated into the Coyote Federation.

In this novel, Jonas Whittaker is the man who creates the starbridge, a system that generates a wormhole between linked toruses. He had been slated to flee the Solar System on the URSS Alabama, but unluckily had been captured by the police. Yet he was placed in biostasis for two centuries and outlived his government.

Anastasia Tereshkova is the Captain of the second starship commissioned by the European Alliance. The EASS Columbus is taking a starbridge to 47 Ursae Majoris-B. Actually, the ship itself will become the starbridge and the Gatehouse.

Jonathan Parson is the Second Officer of the Columbus. He is an exemplary officer. But he has no desire to return to Earth.

Carlos Montero is President of the Coyote Federation. He had been the first longrange explorer on the planet. While only seventeen, he had traveled around the world on the Great Equatorial River. Later, he became a leader in the revolt against the WHU.

Wendy Gunther is the wife of Carlos and a former member of the Federation Council. She is a better statesman than her husband, having practically cut her teeth on colonial politics. Carlos greatly depends on her political advice.

Susan Montero is the daughter of Carlos and Wendy. She is a naturalist at the university. When she is not teaching classes, Susan spends most of her time studying the natives.

Hawk Thompson is a nephew of Carlos. He is the son of Lars Thompson and Marie Montero. His loyalties are divided between his mother and his estranged father.

Manuel Castro is a savant, a downloaded mind within a robotic body. He had come to Coyote in the retinue of the WHU dictator and was even appointed Lieutenant Governor. Since the revolt, he disappeared into the mountains, where he studies the natives.

Katoom is a Chirreep, a native of Coyote. Carlos had discovered that the sandthieves on Barren Island were intelligent natives many years ago, but kept this information secret. Katoom is even more highly evolved than the sandthieves.

In this story, the EA discovers the body of Jonas on Luna and takes him back to Europe to revive him. Jonas brings with him all his notes on the dimetric drive and the starbridge. His subsequent research creates an improved version of the drive. And the discoveries of the past two centuries make feasible the construction of a working starbridge.

The prototype starbridge -- KX-1 -- is used to take the first European starship -- the EASS Galileo -- to the Kuiper Belt as the first step of a very secret mission. An improved version is built into the EASS Columbus and taken to the Ursae Majoris-B system. There the Columbus is reassembled into the starbridge and a link is established with the starbridge near the Earth.

Carlos and Wendy greet Captain Terekhova at her first landing on Coyote. Both parties are rather surprised at the changes that have occurred. Ana shares some information with the Coyote colonists, but is hesitant to tell about the EASS Galileo.

Jon Parson pilots the shuttle that takes Ana down to the surface, but he soon takes a hike. He receives assistance from a few colonists in his journey into the boondocks. He just doesn't want to go back to the dying Earth.

Eventually Jon becomes an assistant of Manny Castro. Parson soon meets Katoom and other natives. Then he encounters Susan and Hawk.

The coming of the starbridge becomes a political issue on Coyote. Some people think that it will allow the Earth to inundate Coyote with new colonists. After all, transit time within the starbridge itself is effectually zero.

This tale relates the effects of this astronautical shortcut on the Coyote Federation. After treaties are signed with various Earth governments -- and one private capitalist -- Susan notices that the environmental damage is increasing rapidly. Moreover, the habitats of the natives are also being destroyed.

The story covers a time period from shortly after the hijacking of the URSS Alabama to the confrontation between the Coyote Federation and the European Union. Almost every page is filled with action and conflict between individuals and polities. Read and enjoy!

Recommended for Steele fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of interstellar conflict, planetary colonization, and interpersonal relations.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Quite possibly the best of the three Coyote books, though by a narrow margin. Of the three I thought it was the least disjointed.

The Coyote universe is well developed, I feel as if I have been there, that I know it. I cared about the characters, they seemed real to me. Part of this comes from the fact that they age through the series. You feel the arc of their lives.

I agree with another reviewer that the introduction of FTL into the plot is a mixed blessing. It adds some nice story elements but robs the series of a critical point of differentiation.

I would have liked to have seen the Savant plank developed a bit more. Manny was a favorite of mine.

A major dissapointment for me was the last chapter. This could have been done with much greater skill and subtlety.

Award-winning author Allen Steele brings his Coyote Trilogy to a close with Coyote Frontier. While this is not the end of the Coyote saga for Steele or his readers by any means, it nevertheless represents a closure to the in-depth development of the world of Coyote through its colonists, and the opening of a new chapter in this series.

As Coyote seems to be settling down somewhat with a stable form of government any would-be Social Collectivists from Earth having been sent packing, it seems like the colonists and now natives (who have been born there) of Coyote are getting by, only there aren't many natural resources to offer, as people struggle to maintain what is essentially a medieval level of society. The only real solution to this is to seek some help from Earth through trade and diplomacy to important some of these necessary resources for the improvement of society for the Coyote colonists.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, things are pretty much going to hell, as humanity is doing its best to destroy the planet, but science has been pushed forward with the development of faster than light (FTL) travel and what are known as "star bridges" that allow spaceships to travel vast distances of space in an incredibly short time. A star bridge is soon built near Coyote, with another located in our solar system, and a diplomatic group from Coyote is sent to Earth to possibly create some trade agreements with various nations of Earth. But humans will be humans, and many greedily seek the land and possibility of Coyote, looking to harvest it for personal gain. Fortunately, the leader of this diplomatic group, the all too familiar Carlos Montero from the previous books, thinks he knows when to draw the line; only he's not too sure about one Morgan Goldstein, who is one of the richest men on Earth, looking to improve the lives of everyone on Coyote, but also make a hefty profit.

Steele does what he did best with his previous two Coyote books, hooking the reader in with some incredible stories of Coyote and what its colonists are trying to do. Now he brings the question of the cost of land and the effects these colonists are starting to have on the ecosystems and native species of the planet, as well as using up what little resources it has. These are warning bells that any reader is already very familiar with, with what we're doing with our own planet, which simply provide for some riveting reading, along with a high point of a finish and a big surprise that sets up for some very interesting future books in this ongoing saga.

Originally written on August 17, 2011 ©Alex C. Telander.

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This is a GREAT series. My recommendation is to read them all in a row. In some ways, the Coyote novels are like one of those sweeping old TV series that has too many characters and subplots to easily absorb, but that's the fun. It's like a good puzzle. Steele's writing is easy and direct. His heroes are multi-generational families with lots of history and adventure. There are revolutions and aliens and robots and starships. As a whole, these books are a masterpiece.

After having revolted against an unjust occupation of Coyote by the Western Hemisphere Union in the previous novel, Coyote Rising, the colonists on Coyote face a new challenge in Coyote Frontier. Via the starbridge -- an orbital device allowing virtually instantaneous travel through hyperspace between Coyote and Earth -- Earth is once again playing a direct role in the fate of those on Coyote. This time, however, the European Alliance, knowing how the WHU's occupation wound up, insists that they want a peaceful, mutually beneficial trading relationship between the two worlds. But...nothing ever comes easy, and the president of the Coyote Federation Carlos Montero and his wife, Wendy Gunther, must navigate a diplomatic minefield to not only ensure fair trade agreements with the nations and coalitions of Earth, but must also see to it that the Coyote Federation is recognized as a sovereign entity by a world (Earth) that is ravenous for its natural resources and virgin real estate.

As Coyote's diplomatic relationship with Earth begins to take shape, other events on Coyote are threatening the Chirreep...the sentient, pre-technological, simian-like natives that have a propensity for kleptomania. With the full-scale harvesting of the forests on Coyote, the Chirreep's habitat is being critically threatened. Some of the colonists take issue with this and attempt to take matters into their own hands.....

Coyote Frontier is easily the best of the first three Coyote novels. It is fast-paced...with few dull moments to drag the story down. Also, the idea of the starbridge, while far from unique, is used as an effective plot mechanism to bring the now disparate cultures of Coyote and Earth into contact.

While I believe that the author originally planned for this tale to be the final one in the Coyote story...I am glad this has wound up to not be the case and I am looking forward to picking up further stories in the Coyote universe in the future.

Steele's third trip to Coyote is by far the least satisfying.

In a nutshell, the series started with a group of colonists hijacking a spacecraft to escape an oppressive regime on Earth. The first book dealt with the colonist's struggle to begin a new life on Coyote, a planet light-years from Earth. The second book detailed their struggles against militant invaders from their home planet.

As with the previous books, Steele jumps from one POV character to another as Earth again makes contact with Coyote and sets up a wormhole-like transportation system which allows near-instantaneous travel between the two planets. While Earth is dying, Coyote is prospering but in desperate need of new technology unavailable to their colonial environs. It appears that both planets need each other. So now the story boils down to what coyote's Earth cousins want, and what they will do to get it. Paralleling the main plot, is an environmental battle over the Coyote aboriginals which converges into the main story.

Overall, not poorly done, but I still felt it lacked something the previous two books had. A big disappointment was the ending, which had the feeling of being thrown together and, I thought, detracted from the book as a whole. Plus, Steele's oh-so-indelicate political jabs, I felt, crossed the line. I have nothing wrong with socio/political commentary but long for the days when authors used a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer to express it.

Despite my grievances with the book, I can't NOT recommend this book - it wasn't really bad and it did provide closure (of sorts) to the story. But it definitely is the weakest of the three.

Coyote Frontier, like virtually all of Steele's work, is populated by likable characters, interesting plots, and believable science fiction settings. People who obsess about "river bisection" and the writer's political views should really just stay out of the fiction section. After finishing Frontier, I was left with the same mild depression that I had after reading his Near-Space books a realizing there weren't any more to read. Very primo stuff for fans of adventure and hard science.

I have enjoyed all of Allen Steele's books. Some people I know think that I'm weird for reading books like his but, what can I say except I LOVE THEM. The stories are well written and very interesting.