Eight tightly meshed novellas, following the colonization mission of the Alabama. From pre-launch in a dystopic URS, to the first years on a new world.

The book starts with Captain Lee and conspirators, exchanging the 50 government picked colonists with a like number of scientists and their families that the United Republic of America considered dissident intellectuals (D.I.s). After they are on their way for the 46 L.Y., 200+ year journey they put themselves into hibernation modules. Except that... well, that's the second story.

When they make it to Coyote, there is life on the planet. The Coyote year has seasons that last about 270 days, not because of axial tilt, but because of the eccentricity of its orbit, so the entire planet has the same season at the same time, and winter extends all the way to the equator.

The stories not only let us know Wendy Gunther, Carlos Montoya, and the others, but introduce some of the native creatures and give us a feel for what the planet is like. We get to know a few characters, and they grow, in the case of Carlos and Wendy from adolescents to adults. There isn't a lot of technical, "this is how we tilled the soil," but there was no need for that. We got the gist of the situation.

The last story wasn't a cliffhanger, but certainly made me really want to go to Coyote Rising right away. The first seven stories although good, didn't give me the urgency to continue on with the series.

Allen Steele is way up there when it comes to my favorite authors. Coyote is really good. I think I'll recommend ChronoSpace over this one. They are both worth reading.