Sky Coyote    by Kage Baker Order:  USA  Can Avon, 2000 (1999) Hardcover, Paperback Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Wesley Williamson This is the second story about the Dr. Zeus Company, which found a way to profit by time travel, despite the restrictions which allowed travel only into the past and prevented history from being changed. They selected children, Neanderthal and Cromagnon at first, whom they could make immortal by years of agonizing surgical alteration and training. Then these agents for the company went forward through time in the usual way, collecting and storing lost works of art and making very long term investments. This story begins as Facilitator Joseph, just off the Spanish Inquisitorial circuit, arrives at a lost city of the Mayans to be briefed for a new assignment. He must become, with suitable physical prostheses, Sky Coyote, a mischievous god of the Chumash tribe in California, 1700 A.D. His job is to save the tribe from the encroaching white men, by persuading them to take the entire village into the future. There are of course complications, which lead to serious doubts about the Company, the future, and inevitably to further books in the series; in this case, a consummation devoutly to be wished. The Company is not intended to be taken seriously, but it provides a good excuse for Ms. Baker to display a combination of wit, ironic humour and a colourful historical description which is enchanting. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Fantasy books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews