"The master of science-fiction intrigue" (Washington Post) returns to the Coyote universe.

The planet of Coyote has become the last, best hope of humankind, but it has also become the principal point of contact with the hjadd, the alien race encountered by a European starship many years earlier. Although the hjadd have built an embassy near the original colony, they remain a mystery.

And as the colonists make preparations to explore the rest of the new world, ex-convict Hawk Thompson discovers more about the hjadd than anyone has learned before-and his knowledge will change human history......

[A "Near Space" Tale] Union laborer Rohr Furland begrudgingly takes a job on a space freighter piloted by Captain Future, an immature and slightly-crazed ship captain with an obsession for early 20th-century science fiction novels. When they receive a distress call from a nearby space station, Furland and the first officer blend the dangers of reality into the Captain's fantasy world. SF Chronicle Poll Nominee, Seiun Award Winner, Hugo Award Winner, Locus Poll Award Nominee, Nebula Award Nominee ...

The EASS Galileo disappeared decades ago while investigating an unidentified object, code-named Spindrift. Now the Galileo's shuttle has returned carrying three surviving expedition members, who still appear to be the same age they were when they departed. They report that they have, indeed, made contact with an extraterrestrial race-and become enmeshed in a conflict that brought them face to face with the most apocalyptic force in the galaxy....

The national bestselling story of Earth's first interstellar colonists-and the mysterious planet that becomes their home....