Hex-Allen Steele

Hex
Allen Steele
Ace, Jun 7 2011, $26.95
ISBN: 9780441020362

The Coyote Federation belongs to the Talus interstellar association. The other species has been friendly to the humans over the years; that is except for the Danui. These arachnid super intelligent engineering species keep for the most part to their own kind. Thus the Danui are not hostile to humans just inaccessible.

When the Danui asks for a trade arrangement with the Coyote, the humans are stunned. Even more shocking is the hermit like Danui offers the use of a planet in their system. The Federation leaders accept the deal. Starship Captain Andromeda Carson leads her Carlos Montero CFSS crew and members of the Corps of Exploration including her estranged son Sean to the coordinates. Instead of a hospitable orb, they find an incredible engineering feat. The Danui built a sphere using billions of interlocking hexagons to enclose their system. The Coyote mission goes astray so Carson and crew struggle to survive while wondering what the enigmatic Danui really want from the humans.

The latest twenty fourth century Coyote science fiction (see Coyote Horizon and Coyote Destiny) is a super outer space thriller. The action-packed story line grips series fans from the moment that the Carolos Montero crew and passengers see the incredible Hex and never slows down until the final denouement. However, the key to this terrific entry is the attitudes of the visiting Coyote humans whose suspicions are enflamed by the unknown and embellished by rumors filling the information gaps about the Danui. They also wonder what the purpose is for the construction of one of the great wonders of the universe and they need to know what the real reason is for their invitation. This is a winner as humanity hates a vacuum so they will fill the void with “death squads”.

Harriet Klausner