Spindrift [Hardcover]

Allen Steele (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2007

From the two-time Hugo Award-winning author of the Coyote trilogy.

June 1, 2288-Europe's first starship, the EASS Galileo, launches on its maiden voyage to investigate an unidentified object, code-named Spindrift, which is traveling outside our solar system. An object that may be alien in origin. The Galileo disappears soon after...

February 1, 2344-The Galileo's shuttle returns to Earth carrying three surviving expedition members, who still appear to be the same age they were when they departed. They report that they have, indeed, made contact with an extraterrestrial race-and become enmeshed in a conflict that brought them face to face with the most apocalyptic force in the galaxy.

It is up to Director General John Shillinglaw to piece together the puzzle created by these events- for the survivors tell their stories from their own conflicting perspectives. And the truth is more difficult to glean than it appears.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Set in the same universe as Hugo-winner Steele's popular trilogy that began with Coyote (2002), this fascinating supplement concentrates on events that happen offstage after Coyote Rising (2004). When Earth detected a large alien artifact drifting past a distant star, a hastily organized and fractious expedition was sent to investigate. Communication failed just after the Earth crew arrived on the scene and began exploring, so everyone was presumed lost—until decades later, when three survivors and an alien envoy turned up at the end of Coyote Frontier (2005). This latest installment describes what the ill-fated expedition discovers, what goes wrong and how a few people save themselves by recognizing their ignorance and isolation, then resolving to work past those limitations. Though readers of the trilogy already know the basic story—and the novel's opening also gives away most of the outcome—Steele delivers a gripping saga of humanity on the verge of exploring the larger universe. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Coyote Universe, book 1, flashes back to the Ranch (i.e., Earth) under its very modestly successful socialist rulers, with whom Steele only very modestly sympathizes. The manned expedition Galileo is sent to study an apparent UFO named pindrift, which turns out to be an alien probe, which in turn brings the alileo crew back with the secret of faster-than-light drive--and knowledge of Earth's prospective involvement in the insterstellar war of Coyote Trilogy (Coyote, 2002; Coyote Rising, 2004; Coyote Frontier, 2005). Steele's still working at high-performance levels in space-advocacy, alien-contact, and human-evolution fiction. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441014712
• ISBN-13: 978-0441014712
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #964,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Allen Steele is a science fiction writer with sixteen novels and five collections of short fiction to his credit. His works have received the Hugo, Locus, Seiun, and Science Fiction Weekly awards, and have been nominated for the Nebula, Sturgeon, and Sidewise Awards. His first published story, "Live from the Mars Hotel," was published in 1988, and his first novel, Orbital Decay, was published in 1989. His best-known work is the Coyote series -- Coyote, Coyote Rising, Coyote Frontier, Coyote Horizon, and Coyote Destiny -- and the associative novels set in the same universe: Spindrift, Galaxy Blues, and the forthcoming Hex. A graduate of New England College and the University of Missouri, he is a former journalist, and once spent a brief tenure as a Washington correspondent. He was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, and now lives in western Massachusetts with his wife and dogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Homage to Arthur Clarke, August 5, 2007

By 

R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spindrift (Hardcover)

What some see as formulaic, I read as being homage to the old-fashioned, straight-ahead plotting and style of Arthur C. Clarke, with echoes also of Heinlein and Asimov. Yes, it's slightly old-fashioned to have a plot that's this straightforward, and not darkly disturbed, and not cluttered up with a lot of sexual scenes and/or gigantic battle scenes - but it is refreshing to read such a book every once in a while.

Steele's appreciation of Clarke has shown up before - one of his older novels is, after all, "Clarke County, Space" (Clarke County, Space). This newest novel is clearly an homage to "Rendezvous with Rama" (Rendezvous with Rama) in particular, in the major plot line, which is to investigate a mysterious object in space.

As I was reading, besides recognizing the plotting style of Clarke and other golden-age writers, I also found myself comparing it to another book I read not that long ago, Harry Turtledove's "Homeward Bound" (Homeward Bound). Both books are strong on characters, both include a character on the long interstellar journey who is, for one reason or another, infamous and an outcast on Earth; both involve the aftermath of first contact with aliens.

There are several factors to weigh in judging a science fiction book - plot, character development, as in any novel, original ideas, presence/absence of hard-science extrapolation, writing style, writing competence. While this book glosses lightly over the science of space travel, its plot, though not very original, is well done - and it wasn't supposed to be original, it is SUPPOSED to be like older first-contact stories. The characters are interesting, and some of them grow and develop over the course of the plot in a believable manner. Steele's writing style is always pleasant, and the book is well edited and copy-edited.

The book can be read and enjoyed even if you haven't read the Coyote Trilogy, but would probably be enjoyed more if you have. The back of the book includes a complete timeline for the events of the Coyote trilogy and this book, to show how they overlap. Likewise, you could enjoy this book if you haven't ever read any Arthur C. Clarke, but you'd probably enjoy it more if you do like Clarke's fiction.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If You Are A Coyote Trilogy Fan Then A Worthy Read-But Not Steele's Best Work, November 23, 2008

By 

medi (Southern Calif.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spindrift (Coyote) (Kindle Edition)

If you are like me, a fan of Allen Steele as well as one who enjoyed the Coyote Trilogy, then you might find yourself searching for stories that continue the "Coyote Saga" (much like a movie goer that does not want the movie to end). For those individuals, I would recommend this book only because it delivers what you hoped: It introduces some new characters to the Coyote storyline and it fills in some of the questions/gaps left in "Coyote Frontier". Noteably, who and what is this alien race (the hjadd) all about and how was first contact established?

Unfortunately this is where my recommendation ends. As previously mentioned this is not Steele's best writing and for those of you who have not read some of Steele's other books I would urge you to try the "Coyote Trilogy" or "Chronospace". Those books are more representative of Steele's Hugo award winning style of storybook telling. For this book I can only say that I found the plot unoriginal and the characters somewhat tiresome. This again in stark contrast to Steele's other work.

Would have I still bought the book had I previously known the above? Yes.
I suppose the answer to this is akin to if you are a movie goer who enjoyed the "Star Wars" Story would you see the next installment to see what enfolds even though you knew it was not quite as good as the rest? I suppose I would.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "OLD TIME SCI-FI", August 8, 2008

By 

Alan Little "ALAMO52194" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spindrift (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read some of the other reviews for this book and I agree. The basic story is straight forward old fashioned Science Fiction: "Find Alien artifact,Go to investigate, Meet Omnipotent Alien race. Whom may wipe us out if we don't behave!" (OUCH!!) But I am not criticizing this plot. I love this type of story. As other reviews mention, this is a lot like Sir Clarkes'style. (We all miss him!) Some may argue that it has been overdone and maybe it has. Just about every idea imaginable in Science Fiction has been hit on by many authors. Am I saying there are no "NEW CONCEPTS" in the S.F. world?? Not at all! Some of the older ideas still make a good story. There are a lot of newer authors doing the Posthuman/Nano-tech thing. I have no problem with that. We need fresh ideas. All I am saying is that I do not think "ANY!" Science Fiction concept or idea has been totally worn out. There is always someone with a different twist on an old idea.

This is the first book I have read by Steele. There are three more books in the "Coyote" series and I am considering reading them,,but do not let that turn you off. You don't need to read the other books to enjoy this story.

Good ""OLD FASHION"" Science Fiction! Turn off the critical mind and enjoy! Nothing too thought provoking,,but a whole lot of entertainment!