Last night I finished Spindrift by Allen Steele.

This book is set in the same universe as the Coyote series (Coyote, Coyote Rising and Coyote Frontier) but is not a direct sequel. I wrote about the 2nd book in the series here. Somehow, I missed the 3rd book and will have to go back and pick it up.

I liked this book - it's really a pretty straightforward exploration/first-contact story set using the background from the series. The exploration and buildup to first contact is well done, though the over-zealous and incompetent captain who causes disaster is a caricature right out of central casting. One bonus good point - this novel is not, as far as I can tell, based on earlier short stories like Coyote and Coyote Rising.

I still wouldn't say that I liked it as much as his near space series though.