Coyote Frontier (Coyote Trilogy)

The third collection of Coyote stories continues to maintain a high standard, and this group of eight related tales is of similar quality to the first collection. A European Alliance ship arrives at Coyote, which opens the way for negotiations between Earth and the Coyote Federation. The big news is they have Starbridge technology, which, when built, will make travel time between the two worlds near-immediate, as opposed to a work of decades or at least a lengthy period, given improving ship technology. This brings political manoeuvring, diplomacy and skullduggery, as Earth is desperate, given their extreme depletion of resources, even with a few fledging off-planet colonies. Coyote is still the only immediately inhabitable world found. Not everyone on Coyote agrees with what happens, and pro and anti-development feelings exist, and the planet has a definite history of rebellion. Then there's the Spindrift story and the disappearance of the Galileo to be considered. The main series continues to impress. Coyote Frontier : Bridge Of Stars - Allen M. Steele Coyote Frontier : The Wayfaring Stranger - Allen M. Steele Coyote Frontier : The Black Mountains - Allen M. Steele Coyote Frontier : A Dialogue Concerning The Two Chief World Systems - Allen M. Steele Coyote Frontier : Emissary To Earth - Allen M. Steele Coyote Frontier : Quartet For Four Seasons - Allen M. Steele Coyote Frontier : Parson's Rebellion - Allen M. Steele Coyote Frontier : Will The Circle Be Broken - Allen M. Steele A European Alliance starship arrives at Coyote, complete with Starbridge technology and an old ally. 4 out of 5 A shipjumping second officer ends up in a Savant study. 4 out of 5 Communicating with the natives. 3.5 out of 5 Taking the new captain to see the locals. 3 out of 5 Carlos and Wendy make an official visit to get Coyote recognised, and get deeply involved in politics and diplomacy. 4 out of 5 A billionaire's arrival, a lot of horses, a son's revenge, and development plans. 3.5 out of 5 Unhappy with developments, some of Coyote get revolutionary again. 4 out of 5 A wedding and a Spindrift visitor. 3.5 out of 5 4.5 out of 5

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.

My high-school grandson has been reading this series and was very happy to receive this book as a gift.

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