Coyote Frontier (Hardcover)

by Allen Steele (Author) "The midi sent to pick him up at the airport was black as the night itself, with the two-digit plates that designated government vehicles..." (more)
Key Phrases: diametric drive, faux birch, equatorial river, Coyote Federation, European Alliance, New Florida (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Steele's trilogy about human settlers on an alien planet facing practical and moral challenges comes to a fitting close. The Coyote Federation is a healthy democracy now, but its citizens still depend on the products of Earth's technology. Earth, meanwhile, is sliding into ecological disaster and craves raw materials and room for emigrants. The two sides need each other, but it's unclear whether people have learned enough—or can control themselves well enough—to avoid making selfish little decisions like the ones that devastated humanity's birthplace. Shifting deftly among several characters, Hugo-winner Steele respects the various viewpoints keeping the debate fluid, but he also makes plausible that opposing individuals could grudgingly learn to respect each other enough to modify their rigid plans. As in the first two books in this popular SF series, Coyote and Coyote Rising, another major actor is the mysterious planet itself, which invites people to find new ways to think. (Dec.)
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From Booklist
As resources, human and technological, dwindle, the interstellar colony of Coyote struggles hard to maintain even a medieval technology. Salvation apparently arrives in the form of a starship from Earth, but the ship bears disastrous news. Earth's environment and society are in collapse. Coyote no longer offers a new future for humanity; it offers the only future. That situation promptly raises the stakes in the knock-down, drag-out fight between hard-bitten survivors of the original settlers and members of the first generations after them; and the entrepreneurs who have arrived in the ship seem convinced that in the exploitation of Coyote's natural resources lies their best hope. Steele's sympathies are somewhat transparently with the settlers, and the whole novel has an even more Heinleinish flavor than does either Coyote (2002) or Coyote Rising (2004). Heinleinishness doesn't seem to keep Steele from winning awards or more readers; libraries, especially, with patrons nostalgic for "that good, old-time science fiction" should take note and place orders. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover (December 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441013317
• ISBN-13: 978-0441013319
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #175,361 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Conclusion?, September 24, 2006

By	J. Brian Watkins (San Dimas, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Coyote Frontier (Coyote Trilogy) (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flawed but Strong, July 30, 2006

By	William B. Trent - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Coyote Frontier (Coyote Trilogy) (Hardcover)

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. I assume that the last minute arrival of a universe-shifting element was designed to open the way for a new series. This could have been done with much greater skill and subtlety.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific conclusion to one of the best science fiction trilogies of the last decade, December 6, 2005

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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