The subtitle of this book is a bit misleading. It's not a novel of interstellar discovery at all, except perhaps in a metaphorical sense. It's a novel of planetary exploration (partly) and of the coming of age of a civilization.
It's far too easy to give away too much when discussing a book and its plot. In this case, brevity shall prevail. Hopefully it will be enough to pique the readers interest—especially the reader who enjoys a well-crafted epic adventure that takes place on another planet.
Previous Coyote Novels
For those not familiar with the previous Coyote novels, there are five. The original trilogy tells the story of the human colonization of another world. This world is Coyote, which is actually an inhabitable satellite of a large ringed planet orbiting a not too distant star. The environmental and social situation on the home planet is becoming unbearable and the human race needs a backup plan to ensure its survival. It's a familiar theme in science fiction, but a plausible one.
Two other works (Spindrift and Galaxy Blues) are also a part of Coyote universe, but take place mostly in outer space or on the home world of an advanced alien race called the hjadd. One source of tension (among several) is that the hjadd primarily deal with the Coyote Federation, to the exclusion of Earth. In Coyote Horizon, it looks like the hjadd are getting set up to play a big role in how things go back on the home planet.
Exploring an Unknown World
A number of things are happening on Coyote these days, one of which is the decision to mount a circumference of Coyote by boat, on the Great Equatorial River. Seems like a good idea, especially given the opportunities for adventure and events that such an expedition will inevitably produce. Morgan Goldstein, the richest man on Coyote is footing the bill. But why?
The expedition is completed, but without the reader going along for most of the ride, since ex-president Carlos Montero is called off the ship to attend to a major diplomatic problem caused by the rapidly accelerating deterioration of the situation on Earth, and the resulting large influx of immigrants. The expedition is under-treated in this book, but events transpire to encourage a hope that more exploration will be featured in a later Coyote novel.
The Clashing of Religion and Reality
Hawk Thompson, guilty of patricide but out on parole, is a lowly customs inspector working the Coyote port of entry. Not for long. It so happens he is related to ex-president Montero, which puts him in a peculiar position on the day that a new hjadd emissary arrives on Coyote to take up residency in the embassy. During a brief but fateful meeting, Hawk receives a gift from the ambassador. The gift eventually transforms Hawk, and by the end of the story, it looks as though it is going to transform Coyote and even Earth itself.
The "gift" is a book of galactic philosophy. Although the time of the story is over three hundred years advanced from the present, a fair portion of the human race still clings to ancient religious ideas. Naturally, a revelatory work from a clearly advanced civilization stirs things up. Steele takes the opportunity to set up a religion vs. reason dialog inspired by his readings of Carl Sagan and Richard Dawkins. Some will appreciate it, some might not.
A rather shocking and unexpected ending sets the stage for the saga to continue in the next installment of what Steele calls "The Coyote Chronicles." It will be worth the wait.
References
Steele, Allen. Coyote Horizon. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009.
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