Spindrift
by Allen Steele
If
you were worried, like this reviewer, that the wonderful Coyote
series had come to an end with Coyote Frontier (also reviewed
on this site) then worry no more. This is not another story about
Coyote, although it does play a small part, but about the discovery
that the human race is no longer alone. Yes, I know this is an old
theme and has been done countless times. There is always room for
somebody who can make it fresh and exciting, and that person is
surely Allen Steele. Simply, the EASS Galileo is sent on a mission
to investigate a strange object that has been dubbed Spindrift.
On board is an incompetent scion of the English nobility as captain;
a small crew and Jared Ramirez, the astrophysicist who collaborated
with the Savants to destroy a third of the Earth’s population.
Ramirez was serving a life sentence in a top security jail, but
was sprung to serve on this epic mission. None of the crew are ready
for what is about to befall them…
If you love the style of early SF that has become well-loved classics,
here is another story in the same mold. The famous “sense
of wonder” that early SF had in spades is here in abundance,
but salted with political comment for the modern reader. It is not
such a “big” story as that of Coyote, and I do hope
at some point Mr Steele returns to regale us with what the colonists
have been up to but it still has the power to grip and enthral.
More importantly it has a great sense of hope and optimism, and
the theme that if there is somebody out there maybe they might be
better natured than the warlike humans. As with the earlier books
there are clichés in here, but somehow it doesn’t seem
to matter. I hope this series continues to grow and grow.
|
The
Book |
Orbit
(Time Warner) |
7 June 2006 |
Paperback
|
9781841496009 |
Science Fiction -
23rd Century |
More at Amazon UK
|| US |
Excerpt |
NOTE:
US copy is different and hardcover |
The
Reviewer |
Rachel
A Hyde |
Reviewed 2007 |
NOTE: |
|