In my earlier review of Coyote, I described it as a fairly normal interstellar colonization story with a hint of politics in the background. Coyote Rising, the sequel, makes those politics somewhat more explicit, but they are still far short of actually driving the story in a manner similar to, for example, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. That’s not a good thing when the point of the story is supposed to be the politics.
The original colonists on Coyote were rebels, political dissidents who stole their spacecraft from the dictatorial tyranny that built it. They had years to settle into life on their new world, but the government on Earth (no longer the same one they had fled, though it’s replacement is similarly collectivist) has used those years to build more colonization craft.
When those craft begin to arrive, they bring with them a corrosive ideology and the soldiers to enforce it. The original colonists are forced to flee their homes and live in hiding, scratching out a living from the harsh and unfamiliar planet while looking for a way to reclaim their planet from the new arrivals. It’s a perfect settling for a retelling of the American Revolution, and the author makes a good attempt. But the traditional weaknesses of science fiction writing are poor characterization and difficult in telling an emotionally moving story, and this book suffers from those flaws in spades.
That said, it’s by no means a failure. It’s just not a smashing success. If you enjoyed Coyote you’ll enjoy it’s sequel, and it’s easy to pass a few hours in the reading without regretting them.
