Steele, Allen: Spindrift
Spindrift
Writer: Allen Steele
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 347
Allen Steele is pretty much on my must-read list, so anytime he comes out with something new, there's a good chance I'll get it. Granted, it might take me a while to get around to READING it, but I'll still get it.
I haven't been really happy reading SF lately. Not sure what it is, but every time I pick up an SF book I'm either underwhelmed or just flat out unthrilled. I decided to give Spindrift a shot because Steele is tried and tested in terms of my reading tastes, and I wanted something to get me out of my SF funk.
The premise: taking place during the events of the Coyote Trilogy, the EASS Galileo disappeared during its mission to investigate a strange, unknown object that might be alien in its origin. This is the Galileo's story, as told by the three survivors, which chronicles everything that happened from Galileo's take-off to its shuttle's appearance on the planet Coyote. Their story reveals what happened and what the survivors encountered, including humanity's first contact as well as the most destructive force the galaxy's ever seen.
Spoilers, yo.
So let's make one thing clear: Coyote, this ain't. Spindrift is not only an entirely new cast of characters, but it's also a completely different form and structure of a novel. The Coyote books are all told via a series of interconnecting novellas, where this is more of a traditional novel divided into four parts. The only thing familiar is the universe and the events that link this book back to the Coyote books, and for everything else, well, you just have to settle in and absorb it.
As far as I'm concerned, this book is not meant to be read without the Coyote trilogy under your belt. Because I'll be honest: unless you're already invested in the universe and your interest was piqued at the end of Coyote Frontier, then why are you going to keep reading? You already know how the story ends up in terms of who survives (and it occurs to me that it might've been cool to read the bulk of the novel in multiple first person POV to reinforce the fact it's a survivor's account), so that tension's gone, and you know, if you've read Coyote Frontier, that the survivors made first contact. The only mystery is just what happened to make the Galileo disappear, and that's just not, in and of itself, really exciting.
I'll say it again: this book is not to be read alone, not without the full Coyote trilogy under your belt. And even if you've got that, the story is lacking. Whereas the novellas in the Coyote books are very character-focused and plot-focused, Spindrift has plenty of room to expand and meander. We get lots and lots and lots of technical details and intrigue, but no real conflict or action. In fact, the only real piece of action is when Captain Lawrence flips out and releases the torpedo, thereby signing his own death warrant and blowing up his own ship. The sad thing was, I wasn't sorry to see that happen. It knew something big was coming because I knew who the survivors were, and once those three ended up on the shuttle to explore Spindrift, I knew that there was a good chance the Galileo would some how blow up, thanks to the revelation that the stupid government put a torpedo on the ship in case they ran into hostile aliens.
Stupid people. It's sad, but a cynic like me can understand why, say, Ramirez made the choices he did, and a cynic like me can say good riddance to the majority of the crew on Galileo because they were so unlikable. Those that WERE likable I couldn't get close to, because I knew they were doomed. So the impact was less than it could've been.
But it's a pretty fast read, despite the flaws. I was just happy learning about this missing chapter in Coyote history, and I liked the overall message how human fear and paranoia was far worse than any alien or even natural force could ever be. It was pathetic to see the Captain of the ship (who kept referring to people and Mr. and Ms. which annoyed the snot out of me--I may have never been in the military, but even I know that's not protocol, and the dumb Captain wasn't the only one to do so) relying on the POLITICAL ADVISOR for instructions, so frankly, I figure Lawrence got what he deserved. The shame was that he had to take innocents down with him.
And there's some neat moments in the book. I liked the scenes where they explored the inner-workings of Spindrift, but those lacked tension because I had no reason they were in danger from aliens; and while the characterization wasn't up to Steele's best, I still liked the characters I had to root for.
My Rating
Give it Away: But it's worth the cash only if you're already a fan of the Coyote trilogy and you're caught up on all the books. I really don't feel this book stands on its own if you're NOT familiar with the trilogy, because even with my familiarity, there was little keeping me going save for wanting to fill in the blank of this part of history. Even in that, I feel the book is lacking a bit, just because there are no surprises in the story or the plot, because you pretty much have all the answers at the start. Still, Steele's prose is enjoyable, easy to read even when he gets wrapped up in technical details, so fans of the Coyote trilogy will want to give this a shot. If you're not a fan, or you haven't read any of the Coyote books yet (and mind you, you need to read ALL THREE before this one, starting with Coyote which I strongly recommend to EVERY SF reader), then you can safely pass on this one, methinks.
Next up:
The Veil of Gold by Kim Wilkins