Coyote

A Novel of Interstellar Exploration

By: Allen Steele

Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Allen Steele

Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Coyote marks a dramatic new turn in the career of Allen Steele, Hugo Award-winning author of Chronospace. Epic in scope, passionate in its conviction, and set against a backdrop of plausible events, it tells the brilliant story of Earth's first interstellar colonists - and the mysterious planet that becomes their home...

The crime of the century begins without a hitch. On July 5th, 2070, as it's about to be launched, the starship Alabama is hijacked - by her captain and crew. In defiance of the repressive government of The United Republic of Earth, they replace her handpicked passengers with political dissidents and their families. These become Earth's first pioneers in the exploration of space...

Captain R. E. Lee, their leader. Colonel Gill Reese, the soldier sent to stop Lee. Les Gilles, the senior communications officer, a victim of a mistake that will threaten the entire mission. Crewman Eric Gunther, who has his own agenda for being aboard. His daughter, Wendy, a teenager who will grow up too quickly. Jorge and Rita Montero, ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. And their son Carlos, who will become a hero in spite of himself.

After almost two-and-a-half centuries in cold sleep, they will awaken above their destination: a habitable world named Coyote. A planet that will test their strength, their beliefs, and their very humanity...

In Coyote, Allen Steele delivers a grand novel of galactic adventure - a tale of life on the newest of frontiers.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by author Allen Steele

©2003 Allen Steele (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Good (4*s) story for the teenage age group....

Good (4*s) story for the teenage age group....only 3 for the adult population.

The narration is a bit monotone at times. The politics are overly simplistic: Reviewers seem to think the "liberty" party somehow is punching fun at the libertarian party, but the liberty party in the book is clearly similar to a militaristic communist country.

I like that there are good female characters, albeit adolescent...so are the male ones for that matter.

Although the settlers were fleeing an authoritarian system to build a capitalistic democracy, they clearly wouldn't have survived and done as well as they did without being a socialist democracy - all helping all.

The invading army's politics is clearly overdrawn as well...but I'll review on the next book.

Outstanding story that reminds me of Asimov

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because it helps to transport one from the events of today and think about the potential for tomorrow.

What other book might you compare Coyote to and why?

Foundation by Isaac Asimov, but there also is a world of difference in content and style.

Have you listened to any of Peter Ganim and Allen Steele ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, my reaction was one of wonder.

Any additional comments?

This book is read by two people - the guy does okay, but a little slow, but the lady reading Wendy's diary is excellent. The only thing is, I nearly stopped the book while driving because I had no expectation that anyone other than the first reader would be reading. Still, it helped to separate the two perspectives and game me an appreciation for Allen Steele's ability to write from a young woman's perspective - a mean feat.

I will be hoping the sequels live up to the promise of Coyote.

A disappointing read!!

I loved the premise of the story but the plot was very predictable. A very disappointing book.

Book may be good - can't stand the narrator UPDATE

I like the premise of the book though it seems to be one of his early works. I haven't been able to finish it, though, because I CAN'T STAND the narrator. Sorry. * * * * UPDATE: After a 10 year hiatus, I tried it again. I found out that the narrator was ok IF listened to at 2x speed. My iPod Nano has this option. I'm currently half way through the book and it's not bad. If you are condemned to listen at normal speed, I do not recommend this reading. * *( * *

This narrator, Peter Ganim, read this book about as woodenly as the average sixth grader required to stand and read before the class. His little emotion is poorly related to the story. His sentence emphasis and cadence is very often wrong for the content. (Did he read the book before performing it?)

If someone else could narrate this book, I'd give it a second chance.

Sifi Novel not Political Science

What would have made Coyote better?

1. Leave his political views at the door step!
2. Too many cracks in logic and story line. A seasoned solider, that killed a man, killed many Voids would not freeze up under attack. A young boy with no experience, after shooting at Void would not have the mind to lower weapon. Only a sample of the creaks in story line!
3. Switching between speakers very distracting and not consistently applied.
4. Using Indian spirit dreams and hallucinations late into story seemed odd!

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

A great sifi beginning.

Poorly read

The Narrator speaks in a plodding, pause between each word, way. It was so bad it was difficult to get into the story.

I stopped listening 4 chapters into the story. Why? The awful narration coupled with the start of the story being the "Conservative Fascist" took over the USA, and the Air Force captain and his crew saves the Universe by stealing the only starship after they had replaced the original passengers with the good (oppressed liberals) people.

If you believe Conservatives are Nazis going to take over the USA and don’t mind a 1st grader reading the story to you, buy this audio book.

I had to stop listening

1. The politics were a little explicit, but believable. Some might be offended by American fascists using dead conservative politicians as icons of fascism, but other fascists have distorted history for their own purposes. 2. However, the author's repeated mis-stating of the time dilation due to relativistic velocity was irritating. He should have had a physicist or physics major read the story. 3. Character actions seemed designed to further the plot, because they were not believable otherwise. I can forgive an occasional lapse where the author has written himself into a corner, but there are too many here.

Coyote Stinks

If you are looking for a book that you just can't stop listening to, this is not the one. The author starts with a silly premise, and compounds this error by mixing his politics with the story. Suspending disbelief, as is normal with fantasy/sci-fi, is really hard to do. Save your money and time for a different series and a different author.Whatever I paid for this book was too much.

Couldn't finish the first disc

I gave this 1 star because negative or 0 is not possible. I have to agree with Richard D. This is Conservative bashing at its worst. If the tables were turned with Kennedy Camps, I still wouldn't like it. Writing about political issues is fine, but how you go about it is another. Nazifying one party and having them embrace the old traits of the South is terrible.



The narrator put me to sleep after I had a Red Bull. This guy along with another make me wish I could block books with certain narrators. I have passed on books I was very interested in based on this.

If you vehemently hate Conservatives and you need fuel for your fire, listen to this. If you have a shred of balance, avoid it. There are plenty of places to get your dose of political angst from that are far better than this.

Excellent story - - hard to listen

I found the narrator very hard to listen to. It took me several times of getting started to listen to the story. Allen Steele tells an excellent tale, the book is well written, but the deadpan, over annunciated speaking style made it very difficult to get through.