Rating: 
Summary: 2nd Act in a 3 Act Play
Review: I loved In the Garden of Iden -- It consumed me (I would give it 5 stars). I enjoyed Sky Coyote, but it left me unsatisfied. I pondered the issue for a while, until I figured out the problem: Sky Coyote is the 2nd Act in a 3 Act Play. It takes the characters from the first act, puts them into a new and difficult situation, and then leaves them there -- to be rescued in the third act. Viewed from that perspective, Sky Coyote was great -- it nicely set up the next book that Baker is writing (actually, she has already written it and is working on book #7!!!). I am now eagerly anticipating the next installment. On its own merits, it lacked the engrossing excitement of the first book, but as a precursor of things to come, it was tantalizing, interesting and definately worth the time and money to read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Fun and Profit in Time Travel
Review: I loved In the Garden of Idun and had just as much fun with this one. Joseph as the wiley coyote trickster god is absolutely perfect. Mendoza doesn't get much of a role, but she's there, as the Company operatives try to rescue a whole village of the Chumash Indians before they are nearly wiped out by European invasion and native religious fanaticism. I loved the Rotarian twist she gave to the Chumash which knocks on the head any idea that these people were not socially sophisticated. I can hardly wait for the next novel of The Company.
Rating: 
Summary: 4-Star Coyote
Review: I picked up Baker's 2nd novel in the Company series mostly to fill in the gap after "In the Garden of Iden", prior to reading "Mendoza". I was pleasantly surprised with the setting, character development, and storyline from this work. Baker takes the most interesting character from her first Company novel, the immortal Joseph, and fills in many historic gaps that lend further insight into her vision of this universe clandestinely directed from the future. Baker also weaves a fascinating perspective of Native American culture into the piece, in a very believable and fun manner. The whole idea that the protagonist Joseph can masquerade as a tribal God to change the destiny of this race creates humorous and amusing situations for characters and readers alike. The book gives much better insight to the inner workings of Baker's Dr. Zeus, Inc. than did the first novel, and obviously sets the stage for part three and some climax with Joesph's protegy Mendoza. Well recommended for all fans of "In the Garden of Iden", and also for new fans. Read them both, they are very different but work well as companions.
Rating:
Summary: Terry Pratchett Does Time Travel
Review: I picked up this book on a lark - I was unfamiliar with Ms. Baker's work. Just the first 3 pages convinced me it would be a good read - smart, sarcastic, and the main character doesn't take himself too seriously. Of course, the main character is 20,000+ years old.....A light-hearted read with enough plot to keep you engaged - think Terry Pratchett doing time travel. Highly Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Even better than the first
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Kage Baker's first novel: dramatic, historical, thought-provoking, romantic, even funny. But "Sky Coyote" is better still. This is a darker, more mature work - as befits a tale told from the viewpoint of Joseph, Facilitator and general all-around slimy little guy. The Company is beginning to show feet of clay, and there are hints of huge and far-reaching plots that are definately not to the benefit of either humanity or the immortal Operatives. Ms. Baker's take on human needs, aspirations and machinations shows a wry, tender realism that is much more refreshing than the usual science fiction despair. I especially enjoyed the detailed portrait of the native Chumash as a real people, and as the prototypical Californians: a culture with spas, entertainment, entrepenuers and all the economic glitz now associated with the Golden State. And the plot simply rocks! The cast of characters spans 20,000 years and at least two species of Homo Sapiens. We get a disturbing hint of the evolution of modern humans in general, and of the feckless Mendoza in particular, as she matures into a sort of ecstatic botanist nun under the shadows of the redwoods. Though there are also hints that her passions are only in abeyance ... as they say of Hollywood, I laughed, I cried, I loved it. Read this right away, and pray for more!
Rating:
Summary: A letdown from the first book
Review: I was expecting a wonderful story after the first book in the series, but was not satisfied with the book. I felt it lacked much of the emotion of the first book, and Joseph was not nearly as interesting a protagonist as Mendoza. This book also seemed to have a bit of a problem taking itself seriously. Not a bad read, but not a great one either
Rating:
Summary: A letdown from the first book
Review: I was expecting a wonderful story after the first book in the series, but was not satisfied with the book. I felt it lacked much of the emotion of the first book, and Joseph was not nearly as interesting a protagonist as Mendoza. This book also seemed to have a bit of a problem taking itself seriously. Not a bad read, but not a great one either
Rating:
Summary: A Shift Into Parody?
Review: I was very impressed with the historical accuracy and the sense of historical parallax in "In the Garden of Iden", so I found myself having to consider my reaction to Baker's second book in her "Company" series, "Sky Coyote". It's not an easy book to digest immediately after reading "Iden", so it took me some time to decide that I liked it. There are certainly many wonderful things about the book. The viewpoint of Joseph, the "erstwhile mentor" of Mendoza gives the book a surprisingly light-hearted feel and makes the setting of the series almost new again. The way she gradually peels back layers of the mysyery surrounding the Company also makes me want to keep reading just to find out what's going on and whether or not my suspicions are going to be confirmed. However, I question find myself questioning her use of parody in this book. It gives a radical departure from the book before - frequently a good thing with sequels - but to do so it heightens the suspension of disbelief required when reading it. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the tribal scenes and I found the commentary on modern society cute if not quite charming. It just wasn't keeping in the same style as not only the book before, but much of the rest of "Sky Coyote" itself. Every time we dealt wih the Native Americans in the story the old historians' quote, "The past is like a foreign country; they do things differently there." kept floating through my head. Ultimately, though, the book is still a very worthy read. Baker succeeds in making the Company - and the series - an entity that we want to know more about. Joseph is a character I look forward to reading more about in "The Graveyard Game" and, presumably, other books after that. Baker has me firmly hooked to the series and I'm interested to see where she takes it from here. I just hope she steers a course in 'recorded' history a little closer to the plausible in future books.
Rating:
Summary: A Shift Into Parody?
Review: I was very impressed with the historical accuracy and the sense of historical parallax in "In the Garden of Iden", so I found myself having to consider my reaction to Baker's second book in her "Company" series, "Sky Coyote". It's not an easy book to digest immediately after reading "Iden", so it took me some time to decide that I liked it. There are certainly many wonderful things about the book. The viewpoint of Joseph, the "erstwhile mentor" of Mendoza gives the book a surprisingly light-hearted feel and makes the setting of the series almost new again. The way she gradually peels back layers of the mysyery surrounding the Company also makes me want to keep reading just to find out what's going on and whether or not my suspicions are going to be confirmed. However, I question find myself questioning her use of parody in this book. It gives a radical departure from the book before - frequently a good thing with sequels - but to do so it heightens the suspension of disbelief required when reading it. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the tribal scenes and I found the commentary on modern society cute if not quite charming. It just wasn't keeping in the same style as not only the book before, but much of the rest of "Sky Coyote" itself. Every time we dealt wih the Native Americans in the story the old historians' quote, "The past is like a foreign country; they do things differently there." kept floating through my head. Ultimately, though, the book is still a very worthy read. Baker succeeds in making the Company - and the series - an entity that we want to know more about. Joseph is a character I look forward to reading more about in "The Graveyard Game" and, presumably, other books after that. Baker has me firmly hooked to the series and I'm interested to see where she takes it from here. I just hope she steers a course in 'recorded' history a little closer to the plausible in future books.
Rating:
Summary: If only the series had started with this book!
Review: In The Garden of Iden, Baker's first novel in the "Company" series, gave us a tantalizing glimpse of a future company, Dr. Zeus, manipulating the strands of unrecorded history for its own benefit. Unfortunately, it was too wrapped up in its dreary tale of misbegotten love in 16th-century England to serve up much meat about this intriguing concept, resulting in a depressing and disappointing novel. But I'm happy to say that its sequel Sky Coyote follows through on everything that Iden promised, and is a rollicking good read, to boot! Narrator Joseph has a rare view of the world, being one of the company's oldest Immortals, and his wry commentary on his peers, and on the mortals he interacts with to carry out his missions for Dr. Zeus. After a lively prologue in which he and Mendoza (dislikeable as ever, but more fun as a foil for Joseph-as-protagonist) are reunited, they head off to California in 1700 to "save" a city of Chumash indians. Joseph's interaction with the Chumash is priceless: Augmented to look like their god Sky Coyote, he makes proclamations interspersed with peculiar reasoning, and works to convince the natives that he and his "spirits" are working to save them from a grisly fate. What makes it work is the light touch that Baker gives the Chumash, as they use modern slang and have true business savvy. They're not dumb, even if they are wrapped up in a religious system that seems peculiar to us. Baker always treats them with respect, which more than anything else makes them come alive as believable characters. But best of all, we learn about Joseph's own history dating back to prehistory, and how Dr. Zeus has slyly been handling the Immortals over the last 2000 years, revealing some dark shadows which our heroes will have to grapple with in books to come. On the other hand, all of this is starkly contrasted with the bumbling, snivelling, pampered company mortals sent back from 2355 to oversee the Chumash operation. Which is the real Dr. Zeus, if any? There's a lot for Joseph and the reader to think on and look forward to, here. The book is still somewhat flawed in that the Immortals are still basically an unlikeable lot, and Joseph seems like the only one of them with any character. Still, this complaint is small potatoes; Joseph's narration makes up for a lot. Sky Coyote pays off handsomely, and has me looking forward to reading the next book in the series (even if the series could have a less bland title than "The Company"). It took me a long time to get around to reading this, after the disappointment of Iden, but I'm glad I did, and you will be, too.
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