Coyote Horizon: A Novel of Interstellar Discovery

Coyote Horizon (2009) is the first SF novel in the Coyote Chronicles. It is set in the same universe as -- and follows -- Coyote Frontier. In the Coyote Trilogy, the Coyote Federation declared their independence from the Western Hemisphere Union and applied for menbership in the United Nations. In this novel, Carlos Mentero is a former president of the Coyote Federation and an occasional diplomatic attache. He is married to Wendy and the uncle of Hawk. Wendy Gunther is also a former president of the Coyote Federation and is the wife of Carlos. Hawk Thompson is a native of Coyote. He was convicted of second degree murder for killing his father. Now he has been on parole for six months out of a seven year sentence. He works as a customs inspector at the spaceport. Melissa is a woman who lives across the hall from Hawk. He thinks that she is a prostitute. Sawyer Lee is a guide for rich businessmen from Earth. He takes them out to kill boids, a vicious flightless bird predator. Morgan Goldstein is the richest man on Coyote. He is the CEO of Janus Ltd., a trading house. Joseph Walking Star Cassidy is an Amerindian. He has been Goldstein's equerry until recently. Jasahajad Taf Sa-Fhadda is the hjadd Cultural Ambassador to the Coyote Federation. In this story, Wendy is interviewed by Lynn Hu, an Earth journalist. Neither enjoyed the interview and Lynn got few quotes from Wendy. But she did get the impression that anything could happen. One day Carlos shows up at Hawk's kiosk to ask a favor. The Coyote Council has changed the procedures for hjadd shuttles. Now they must land at the spaeport and the diplomats must clear customs. Still, they have diplomatic immunity, so their baggage cannot be searched. Carlos asks Hawk to clear the new Cultural Ambassador out on the tarmac so as to not require him to go through the concourse. Hawk's boss is amenable to the modified procedures, so Hawk and Carlos meet Jasahajad as he descends the shuttle ramp. But the hjadd does not step off the ramp until requested by Carlos. Hawk finds his usual procedures to be quite inadequate for a hjadd diplomat. When he asks whether Jasahajad has anything worth more than 100 Colonials to declare, the diplomat shows him a black box. Hawk realizes that the diplomat did not have to declare anything and tries to straighten out the blunder. Still, Jasahajad give the black box to Hawk and states that it is a book and he should listen to it. When Hawk returns home, he takes the object out of the box and then talks to it. Soon he realizes that it is an artificial intelligence and it is teaching him a spiritual practice common to most galactic species. When Melissa comes home, they decide to run out on his parole and explore the book. Then Sawyer gets a commission from Goldstein to find Joe Cassidy. He, Goldstein and Mike Kennedy follow Cassidy to a town in Midland. Mike stays behind when they rent the services of a boatman to cross the channel to Midsyl

Deserving of ongoing mention is COYOTE HORIZON, a novel set in 2350 when fifty years have passed since the first starship from Earth reached Ursae Majoris. Several generations later a new world inhabits Coyote, with more ships arriving to seek shelter from Earth's environmental ruin. Coyote is not only mankind's last hope for survival - it's also a principal contact point with an alien race few understand. Swift action marks a vivid story.

Another Coyote novel. Fast paced and with a gripping ending. How willl Steele get himself out of this one. We will have to wait another year or so to find our.

If my title has you thinking that this is another "Stranger in a Strange Land", it is and it isn't. There's a lot less sex, and a lot more action. Heinlein was doing an analysis of religion and society, with the story a means of getting it across. Steele's book is not such a set piece, but emphasizes the story more. So "Thou art God" seems a little more believable here. This book, unlike the two books immediately preceeding it in the Coyote Universe ("Spindrift" and "Galaxy Blues"), is set almost entirely on Coyote. If you have not read the first three books ("Coyote", "Coyote Rising" and "Coyote Frontier", you will be missing a lot of background, but you could probably make your way through. You might want to check out the coyoteseriesdotcom web site. (I have not really checked it out, but Steele does mention it). However, there is a connection to "Galaxy Blues" because in that book we learn of the importance to the aliens that were encountered in "Spindrift" of a particular set of ethical/philosophical principles. Knowledge of this is introduced more fully in "Coyote Horizon", and how people react to it is a central theme. Coupled to it is the idea of the impact of the existence of aliens on some earth religions, particularly Judeo-Christian fundamentalism. Like the other Coyote titled books, this one is episodic. We start with Hawk Thompson, some years after he killed his abusive father. He has spent time on a work farm and is now employed as a customs inspector, but has no hope. He finds a friend, Melissa, when he saves a prostitute from an abusive john. He also assists in the capture of a dangerous man (we don't know how dangerous until later) who vows revenge on Hawk. But everything changes when Hawk is the customs agent chosen to meet an alien ambassador. Despite almost triggering diplomatic outrage, or because of it, Hawk receives a gift from the alien. It is the electronic "book" (the Sa'Tong-tas) which discusses the aliens' ethical/philosophical position. Hawk listens(the book may be a form of AI), and leaves with Melissa for some place where he might get answers. Since he is still on probation, he is now a fugitive. During this episode we see that there is significant immigration from earth to Coyote. The next episode is about Sawyer Lee, who leads hunting expeditions of tourist-hunters from earth to bag a boid, Coyote's most feared land predator. He returns from such an expedition to find that Morgan Goldstein, probably the wealthiest human in the universe, wants Sawyer to help find a former employee of whom Goldstein was very fond. That expedition leads to a wilderness area where the Joseph Walking Star and his companions (thought to be addicted to a drug injected by "pseudo-wasps") have settled in. In the end, a "monastery" is to be built for these folks, who have found something very important. The next episode gets closer to the heart of things. A "Dominionist" (something like a roman catholic, but not exactly so) cleric

In 2350 on Coyote, convicted of killing his abusive dad, former convict Hawk Thompson lives a bland lifestyle trying to stay out of trouble. The parolee earns a civil servant wage as a customs inspector at the spaceport, but has no goal to try anything else as the crime treatment therapy washed away his oomph for life; besides which he knows if he raises his voice an iota, the drug filled patch on his skin will produce a paralyzing affect. However, Hawk cannot stay out of an incident in which he helps hooker Melissa Sanchez. Soon afterward, the Customs Department upper management selects Hawk as their agent in a meeting with the enigmatic alien species the Hjadd who have a nearby embassy on the orb. He begins to understand their customs and soon with Melissa accompanying him, Hawk begins a quest. Meanwhile Sawyer Lee leads several European on a hunt for deadly avian; at the same time a Navaho Shaman Joseph Walking Sky Cassidy, hired by Morgan Goldstein to watch over his horses, vanished in an unexplored area. Morgan informs Sawyer he is worried about the missing shaman he hired who is addicted to the drug sting. Sawyer leads a missing person's search unaware that Hawk and Joseph have met in the wilderness. Though filled with plenty of action, this is a deep thought provoking entry in the Coyote saga as Allen Steele makes clear the inanity of prejudice limiting who can enter the tent as superior humans know their race is in God's image while the Lord obviously rejects the Hjadd. Interestingly, the founders have started to give up power to their descendants as five decades have past since the first colonization began; thus a new horizon begins with the passing of authority. That profound depth aside, this is a strong science fiction thriller that follows Hawk, changes direction to Sawyer and Joseph, and ultimately brings the trio together in a winner that the Coyote universe fans will immensely relish while waiting for the sequel. Harriet Klausner