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272nd out of 783 books
—
613 voters
The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad (The Coyote Kings #1)
by
Minister Faust (Goodreads Author)
Hamza and Yehat are The Coyote Kings–best friends, one a disgruntled dishwasher and the other a video store clerk, but each brilliant in his own right. Yehat builds prototypes of space-age inventions in his spare time, while Hamza, a former English honors student who was kicked out of the university, writes lush, lyrical poems when he’s not blocked–which, these days, is ne...more
Paperback, 531 pages
Published
August 3rd 2004
by Del Rey
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Afro-Canadian political activist, poet, and playwright Minister Faust's first novel, The Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad, begins at the end. Protagonist Hamza Achmed Qebhsennuf Senesert, a disenfranchised twentysomething living in 1995 Edmonton (E-Town as he calls it), freely admits, "In advance, shut up. I know epilogues go at the end." The opening is the most conventional piece of this nonlinear novel.
Hamza and his best friend/roommate Yeh (Yehat Bartholomew Gerbles) are the Coyote...more
Hamza and his best friend/roommate Yeh (Yehat Bartholomew Gerbles) are the Coyote...more
This book pulled me in fast, and it'll probably pull you in too if you're enough like me that you're reading my book reviews -- that is, a fan, a geek, or at the very least some variety of nerd. It slows a little in the middle as we begin branching out to follow other, stranger characters, but it pulls together and starts rushing forward again soon enough. Every section is written in first person, but we follow a variety of people, some of them mercifully briefly when they narrate in heavy dialo...more
I found this book on the new books shelf at the Orange County Public Library well over 5 years ago. The title knocked me out! When I came to, I did my first sentence test (first sentence being loosely defined) and it passed:
"Epilogue"
"IN ADVANCE SHUT UP. I KNOW EPILOGUES GO AT THE END.MY point here, which should have been obvious already in my opinion, is that I am telling you some of the end of this story so as to get you to comprehend the mind-set under which I am currently operating and durin...more
"Epilogue"
"IN ADVANCE SHUT UP. I KNOW EPILOGUES GO AT THE END.MY point here, which should have been obvious already in my opinion, is that I am telling you some of the end of this story so as to get you to comprehend the mind-set under which I am currently operating and durin...more
This is actually 3.5 closer to 4 stars - the rating system is weak.
An interesting narrative about two good friends who confront some dire, supernatural evil. in Edmonton of all places.
Faust writes with a lot of verve, wit and style - a bit too much style at times.
The narrator constantly shifts and while Faust does a decent job at keeping the voices straight, the characters weren't strong enough to merit the POV shifts. But it's a pretty neat trick for all that, not at all reminiscent of Faulkner...more
An interesting narrative about two good friends who confront some dire, supernatural evil. in Edmonton of all places.
Faust writes with a lot of verve, wit and style - a bit too much style at times.
The narrator constantly shifts and while Faust does a decent job at keeping the voices straight, the characters weren't strong enough to merit the POV shifts. But it's a pretty neat trick for all that, not at all reminiscent of Faulkner...more
It was a complex, jumbled, difficult read because of all the shifting first person narrative:
Hamza.
Yehat.
Allen.
Each of the FanBoys: Digaestus, Frosty, Alpha Cat, Zenko.
Sherem.
Kevlar and Heinz.
But their voices were all distinctive with weird little verbal quirks (Yehat and his eternal variations on the word "jimp", Allen and his eternal variations on calling people ass-[whatever]). The accents were spelled out in unique ways that made me have to slow down and read.
The language goes from eloquen...more
Hamza.
Yehat.
Allen.
Each of the FanBoys: Digaestus, Frosty, Alpha Cat, Zenko.
Sherem.
Kevlar and Heinz.
But their voices were all distinctive with weird little verbal quirks (Yehat and his eternal variations on the word "jimp", Allen and his eternal variations on calling people ass-[whatever]). The accents were spelled out in unique ways that made me have to slow down and read.
The language goes from eloquen...more
Kot-tam, this was a hell of an adventure. Rich cultural interplay, delicious language play -- I'm not at all surprised that Faust is a poet, among his other talents; it's clear that he loves (and is great at) making words do tricks -- thrilling adventures, delicious use of mythology, and a wonderful, heart-of-hearts bedrock-solid friendship as the emotional core of the story.
My one major caveat is that it's a total boys' club of a novel: there's only one female character who has an agency, and s...more
My one major caveat is that it's a total boys' club of a novel: there's only one female character who has an agency, and s...more
Although I found that I wasn't terribly invested in the actual plot (dealing with Egyptian, Sudanese, and North American mythical figures and histories), Minister Faust is a genius at developing characters' voices. There are many characters here, and each of them gets at least a brief turn at first-person narration; in another writer's hands, this would likely be quite confusing, but their voices are so distinctive and interesting that it is not only easy to follow but extremely entertaining. An...more
I found this at the library and picked it up because you don't see much Sci-Fi by black authors. It's about a pair of 20-something black guys, room-mates, neither living up to their potential. Hamza has had a long dry spell between women but is drawn to a women he keeps running into. She is beautiful, speaks arcane African languages and quotes from classic comics and Star Wars. Of course he is smitten. It turns out the lady, a collector who stole Hamza's first love and a scarey criminal cult ar...more
There's really nothing else quite like it in the realm of urban fantasy or magical realism right now, and that is a damn shame. All too often, those areas are kind of a whitewashed place, so it is hard for me to express how comforting and refreshing it is to find a book centered on characters like Hamza and Yehat, and to read about their friends and families and neighborhoods in the magical land of Canada.
Structurally, I think the constant jumping between character viewpoints works well to keep...more
Structurally, I think the constant jumping between character viewpoints works well to keep...more
the story is told in the voice of several different key characters, giving an in side look to the different motivations that move the book along. the plot is a bit confusing because of the way it's told and i had a hard time figuring out what exactly was going on but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. the main character Hamza and his best friend Ye are quite the colourful duo, and hearing the story through their point of view was incredibly entertaining. by the end almost everything is explain...more
I've been making a conscious decision lately to try to be more stingy with 5-star reviews, but this book definitely earned all 5 stars. Possibly more.
It was recommended to me by the fabulous Mur Lafferty, on her I Should Be Writing podcast, when I asked about how to write with the POV alternating between characters and still keep the character voices distinct. She said this book would be a GREAT example of this can be very well done. Boy howdy, she was right.
At the start of the book, the various...more
It was recommended to me by the fabulous Mur Lafferty, on her I Should Be Writing podcast, when I asked about how to write with the POV alternating between characters and still keep the character voices distinct. She said this book would be a GREAT example of this can be very well done. Boy howdy, she was right.
At the start of the book, the various...more
I started having flashes of the 1984 cult movie "Repo Man" as I read "Coyote Kings". I wasn't too far off the mark, I guess, since I discovered a brief review online that references the author describing his novel as "The Catcher in the Rye meets Repo Man, or Harry Potter on Heroin". The "Catcher in the Rye" part I'm not so certain of, but Hamza and his best friend/roomie/fellow sci-fi nerd Yehat definitely remind me of repo men Otto and Bud in their meandering unwitting quest for a mostly-undef...more
Minister Faust is a creative writer, he just doesn't know when to stop. Maybe I am just in the wrong demographic for this book, maybe it would appeal to someone brought up on role-playing computer games.
I enjoyed the monologues of the two characters in the first four chapters and thought I was in for a good read. After 36 pages of irrepressible ranting, time to get on with the story. Then chapter 5 introduced a new character monolgue. Chapter 6 has the first two characters walking home. Chapter...more
I enjoyed the monologues of the two characters in the first four chapters and thought I was in for a good read. After 36 pages of irrepressible ranting, time to get on with the story. Then chapter 5 introduced a new character monolgue. Chapter 6 has the first two characters walking home. Chapter...more
A good fun read that moved at a good clip and had a pretty engaging tale to tell. Each chapter is written in a different characters voice, which took some getting used to and some extra concentration (making it hard to read on the bus, in the airport that kind of stuff). Overall I enjoyed this read, but felt that towards the end the author just sort of burnt out and kept writing because the plot hadn't resolved itself, not that he wanted to keep writing.
Received this book as a gift from my boyfriend (who loved it), otherwise I probably never would have picked it out to read. Which would have been a shame because it was quite enjoyable. The way the author's words flowed, was a little weird for me at first, but after awhile really was a highlight to the whole experience. It felt akin to jazz or spoken word. If that makes sense. :P
Hoping the author picks these characters up again and continues their story (I did see this was meant to be book one i...more
Hoping the author picks these characters up again and continues their story (I did see this was meant to be book one i...more
The first of my CW 2011 reading list.
I'm really glad I read it. I think it was a bit too long, and the plot - good guys, bad guys, Egyptian gods, cannibalism - was sort of beside the point. But I'm so glad I got to meet Hamza and and Ye. I enjoyed hanging out with them, whether they were moping over girlfriends lost or walking around Edmonton wearing a cape. Some books have indelible characters, and this was one.
Now that it's over, I'm going to miss those two jimps.
I'm really glad I read it. I think it was a bit too long, and the plot - good guys, bad guys, Egyptian gods, cannibalism - was sort of beside the point. But I'm so glad I got to meet Hamza and and Ye. I enjoyed hanging out with them, whether they were moping over girlfriends lost or walking around Edmonton wearing a cape. Some books have indelible characters, and this was one.
Now that it's over, I'm going to miss those two jimps.
Random grab off the library shelf turns out awesome. I still need to try the planetquakes recipe, and still remember this book as being a sensory experience. Yeah, the jumping from character to character goes a bit further than miiiiiight have been Necessary but it adds to the sense of chaos that makes the book sing and swoop and fly.
As I was reading this book I kept coming back to the thought that it would have made a great graphic novel.
It was an interesting departure for me - unlike anything else I've read. I guess it could be called "hip-hop sci-fi"? Chapters switched between narration from various characters, and characters were introduced with stat sheets describing their "powers" and such. In general I like this approach, but here it got kind of confusing, as it wasn't always clear who was narrating what (there were...more
It was an interesting departure for me - unlike anything else I've read. I guess it could be called "hip-hop sci-fi"? Chapters switched between narration from various characters, and characters were introduced with stat sheets describing their "powers" and such. In general I like this approach, but here it got kind of confusing, as it wasn't always clear who was narrating what (there were...more
Well, this book is definitely different. Hamza is a young would-be writer who hasn't written anything since he had his heart broken. Yehat is young genius engineer who cobbles together powered armor suits in the back room of the house he shares with Hamza. Together they...watch a lot of science fiction and read a lot of comics.
And then Hamza meets a mysterious and beautiful woman, and gets caught up in a quest to find a magical artifact and save the world.
The book's loving depiction of both sc...more
And then Hamza meets a mysterious and beautiful woman, and gets caught up in a quest to find a magical artifact and save the world.
The book's loving depiction of both sc...more
This . . . was a long book. I don't remember if I enjoyed it, but I certainly read a lot of it when I had jury duty. Not all of it. Because . . . you know. Long.
(It has the drugs and the sex. I remember that.)
(It has the drugs and the sex. I remember that.)
An amazing story told from many perspectives, all POV, done so well the reader knows who's head we are in at any given time. Add mystery, ancient feuds, comic book attitudes and the underdogs in over their head....
This book really should be a series, or at least spread out over two books.
Coyote Kings follows two best friends, Hamza and Yehat, as they become involved in a plot that at first seems like a good ole fashioned sci fi/fantasy drug ring/secret society/gangster yarn. See what I mean about needing more room?
The beginning of the books is great, and very creative. Chapters move from one character's perspective to another, and each new perspective is giving a "character data" sheet with amusing inform...more
Coyote Kings follows two best friends, Hamza and Yehat, as they become involved in a plot that at first seems like a good ole fashioned sci fi/fantasy drug ring/secret society/gangster yarn. See what I mean about needing more room?
The beginning of the books is great, and very creative. Chapters move from one character's perspective to another, and each new perspective is giving a "character data" sheet with amusing inform...more
I usually reserve five star reviews for books I consider essentially flawless, which this one is not quite -- the major plot structure is pretty formulaic, mostly. (Also not enough ladies!) But damn, this is an impressive piece of writing. Faust juggles a dozen first-person POV characters effortlessly, each with his or her own unique (and extremely engaging) voice. The prose is just wonderful, really, sharp and self-deprecating and meta, full of hilarious and/or incisive metaphors and geek cultu...more
I enjoyed this book. Not many African-Canadien science fiction writers out there. Some fun antics and some mystery. Enjoyable read.
Very creative book but sort of jumpy. Some parts needed to be better explained, not just skipped over.
Took a little to get into it but once I was it was a great read. Very creative and good story telling.
I liked the two friends, their outlook on life and how the book was written. Good dialogue.
Wild ride. Lighter Neal Stephenson. Probably polarizes readers. I liked it.
I was mad I didn't read it sooner, and wish he would write a follow up.
Dude, this rocked.
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Minister Faust is a long-time community activist, writer, journalist, broadcaster, public speaker and martial artist in several disciplines.
Minister Faust refers to his sub-genre of writing as Imhotep-Hop--an Africentric literature that draws from myriad ancient African civilizations, explores present realities, and imagines a future in which people struggle not only for justice, but for the stars...more
More about Minister Faust...
Minister Faust refers to his sub-genre of writing as Imhotep-Hop--an Africentric literature that draws from myriad ancient African civilizations, explores present realities, and imagines a future in which people struggle not only for justice, but for the stars...more
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Aug 20, 2008 06:19am