Steele, Allen: Coyote Rising
Coyote Rising
Writer: Allen Steele
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 407
Fortunately, this book did not leave me with the absolute salivating need that Coyote, and that need being having to read the next book in the series RIGHT AWAY.
This was a good thing, as I have no intention of ruining the aesthetic look of my collection by purchasing the final book in the trilogy as a hardback. I can happily wait for the paperback, whenever that'll be, though I'm guessing it may be the end of this year. Just a guess.
That said, this book was still very, very satisfying.
Same structure, which I liked very much. I have to admit, I was a bit thrown that the book opened with a cast of characters that I wasn't familiar with, but that was soon remedied in "The Madwoman of Shuttlefield", and then I realized that getting to the previous book's characters was all a matter of progression, and I was cool with that. Also, seeing the contrasted society of the Matriarch versus that the Alabama crew established was as fascinating as it was horrible. Part of me wondered why humanity is so eager to waste a planet's resources, and the other part made me wonder why humanity is so eager (in this series, anyway) to spread it's form of government, society, and religion to the stars. While the Coyote books do boast an aboriginal species to the planet, it's not like we're converting anyone new.
Moving on: "Benjamin the Unbeliever" is quite possibly one of the best uses of first-person I've ever read. I didn't mind Steele using the first-person POV for Wendy Gunther's stories, but Benjamin's POV outshines it by many, many light-years. This is a story that is chilling and wonderful, combining all sorts of wonderful elements--cultish religionism, the mad-scientist, and of course, our very own monster. More satisfying was seeing Zoltan become a part of the folk-lore of Coyote, and better still, what happened to him.
I did have some unanswered questions with this particular book, though. For starters, though Steele did this in the first, Wendy's story hints of other things to come "I didn't learn until later...". The problem with this is that in the first book, those questions were answered (I would've gone NUTS if they hadn't), but in this one, that one little line puts me in a sense of dread that while I didn't get my answer, I'm not sure I want to find out. Indeed, it was very, very ominous. So here's hoping we learn what happened to Susan while she was with the chirreep (is it bad that I keep visualizing these little guys as Ewoks?), though I really hope it isn't as bad as I think it is.
Another question, one that bothered me more: Baptiste's first story and then the one where he stands up to the Matriarch for the first time indicate that he had another, more secretive mission for coming to Coyote. Something other than getting colonists settled or unleashing military wrath. I wondered if he was supposed to overthrow the government there, but that question was never really answered. Then again, did I imagine it there by putting too much parallel between Baptiste and Lee? I'd like to think so, but the more I think about those key phrases and passages, the more I think I didn't. And I'd be surprised if Baptiste showed up in the next book (though one can never discount such a thing), so I don't think that's a question I'll get answered.
And Lee! Oh, dumb Lee! Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! And hell, didn't he learn his lesson from his face-off with Gunther? He thought he'd talked the man down, but the man decided to shoot anyway! And the Matriarch, who we knew was armed, shot him right in the back right after he thought the problem was solved. No, silly, sad man: disarm her. Better still, kill her where she stands. Maybe I'm callous and evil, but damn.
It was sad. I knew his death was coming in one of the three books, but it was still sad. I half-expected to see Carlos get shot, but chances are, the Matriarch was apprehended before she got the chance.
Anyway. Good book. I liked the cold-blooded evolution of Marie, seeing Carlos in a mature light, and seeing the redemption of Chris and his mother, who I really hated by the end of the first book and wanted to die (not the mom, just Chris).
Overall, a very good book, but it should be noted that the style of writing each section as a short story, especially in the beginning, became very noticeable for me. Mostly because we were getting episodes of what was going on where on Coyote, but the telling style of some of the stories became a little too obvious at times, like in "The Garcia Narrows Bridge". But kudos to Steele for continuing this world and the exploration of. I was fascinated with each story, and while I still won't call this a fantasy in any regard, I am more partial to the term "space western" in a way. Come on, this is frontier life! And I daresay that these stories might make for very interesting television. :)