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Pip & Flinx #14
Flinx Transcendent
After thirty-five years, the final adventure of Pip & Flinx
Flinx is the only one with any chance of stopping the evil colossus barreling in to destroy the Humanx Commonwealth (and everything else in the Milky Way). His efforts take him to the land of his mortal enemies, the bloodthirsty AAnn, where chances are excellent that Flinx may be executed. And he must also seek out an ancient sentient weapons platform wandering around the galaxy and then communicate with it, a powwow that could very well fry his brain. Then there are the oblivion-craving assassins determined to stop Flinx before he can prevent total annihilation. With a future that rosy, it's no surprise that Flinx is flirting with disaster. Still, he's no quitter. Now he's going to need every ounce of his know-how, because he's venturing to places where no one's ever been, to do what no one's ever done, and where his deadliest enemy is so close it's invisible.
Praise for Flinx Transcendent
"One last grand adventure."--Publishers Weekly
"A rousing goodbye [for] one of the most popular duos in science fiction."--Charleston Post and Courier
"The grand finale gathers pace and brings in numerous other plot elements to build an enjoyable and exciting conclusion. Fans of the series will certainly be satisfied."--SFcrowsnest
Flinx is the only one with any chance of stopping the evil colossus barreling in to destroy the Humanx Commonwealth (and everything else in the Milky Way). His efforts take him to the land of his mortal enemies, the bloodthirsty AAnn, where chances are excellent that Flinx may be executed. And he must also seek out an ancient sentient weapons platform wandering around the galaxy and then communicate with it, a powwow that could very well fry his brain. Then there are the oblivion-craving assassins determined to stop Flinx before he can prevent total annihilation. With a future that rosy, it's no surprise that Flinx is flirting with disaster. Still, he's no quitter. Now he's going to need every ounce of his know-how, because he's venturing to places where no one's ever been, to do what no one's ever done, and where his deadliest enemy is so close it's invisible.
Praise for Flinx Transcendent
"One last grand adventure."--Publishers Weekly
"A rousing goodbye [for] one of the most popular duos in science fiction."--Charleston Post and Courier
"The grand finale gathers pace and brings in numerous other plot elements to build an enjoyable and exciting conclusion. Fans of the series will certainly be satisfied."--SFcrowsnest
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
519 books1,912 followersBestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
December 1, 2017
It's funny how this is supposed to be the end volume in the Pip and Flinx series... but I started reading it with an ace up my sleeve. I got an ARC for the one that comes after. :)
So I'm reading this awesome volume that goes ahead and wraps up all these huge BDO's and story threads, between his sister, the Aann, his favorite girl, and so much more, putting a huge bow on top and letting Flinx BATTLE IT OUT with the HUGE HUGE big-bad that's eating galaxies.
Woah.
I mean, it's not like we've not seen this coming or anything, but it's really great to see all the threads come together and a great writer who pulls all the right strings together until everything ties-up perfectly.
It's called payoff. This book is the huge payoff. Do we like? Yes. Is anything really unexpected? Um. No. But that's okay! It's the journey, man! What's an adventure without journey? :)
So yeah, I like. :) Huge blowout ending. Everyone still alive gets together to fight or help each other. Alan Dean Foster puts grand gala in the grand Galaxy. Galaxies. :) Cool. :)
And now I've got to see what the new one is going to do. :) You can't keep a good Flinx down.
So I'm reading this awesome volume that goes ahead and wraps up all these huge BDO's and story threads, between his sister, the Aann, his favorite girl, and so much more, putting a huge bow on top and letting Flinx BATTLE IT OUT with the HUGE HUGE big-bad that's eating galaxies.
Woah.
I mean, it's not like we've not seen this coming or anything, but it's really great to see all the threads come together and a great writer who pulls all the right strings together until everything ties-up perfectly.
It's called payoff. This book is the huge payoff. Do we like? Yes. Is anything really unexpected? Um. No. But that's okay! It's the journey, man! What's an adventure without journey? :)
So yeah, I like. :) Huge blowout ending. Everyone still alive gets together to fight or help each other. Alan Dean Foster puts grand gala in the grand Galaxy. Galaxies. :) Cool. :)
And now I've got to see what the new one is going to do. :) You can't keep a good Flinx down.
May 15, 2016
So, finally, I've read the last of the Pip & Flinx sub-series of Alan Dean Foster's larger Humanx Commonwealth series (it's a bit like Terry Pratchett's Discworld series with its series within series). I first entered this wonderfully imagined world in my early teens (I'm currently forty) so it's been a while. Foster closes the book with the following dedication page (I suppose I better slap a spoiler over it) and it felt like he was talking to me:
What a fantastic closing chapter to the saga this was, too! It had everything that makes this series so much fun: action, adventure, twists, turns, world building, exotic aliens both friend and foe, journeys to the end of the galaxy and beyond... and more. Every dangling plot thread was resolved... Every unanswered question was answered... It was the anal retentive reader's dream come true! I read it with a huge grin on my face. It may have been a long wait but damn it was worth it!
The best thing of all? If only that could happen in our world...
As sad as I am to finally be saying goodbye to Pip & Flinx, at least there are still two more Humanx Commonwealth books to go to soften the blow. As Bran and Tru would say: UP THE UNIVERSE!
What a fantastic closing chapter to the saga this was, too! It had everything that makes this series so much fun: action, adventure, twists, turns, world building, exotic aliens both friend and foe, journeys to the end of the galaxy and beyond... and more. Every dangling plot thread was resolved... Every unanswered question was answered... It was the anal retentive reader's dream come true! I read it with a huge grin on my face. It may have been a long wait but damn it was worth it!
The best thing of all? If only that could happen in our world...
As sad as I am to finally be saying goodbye to Pip & Flinx, at least there are still two more Humanx Commonwealth books to go to soften the blow. As Bran and Tru would say: UP THE UNIVERSE!
September 15, 2010
Author Alan Dean Foster brings a 35 year saga to an end with the final adventure of Pip and Flinx and does it in a tone of positivity, joy, and compassion that is, well, transcendent!
If you like your science fiction serious; if you like your adventures arch, then Foster won't fill your need. Philip Lynx, Flinx for short, is a very serious young man with the weight of galactic civilization on his shoulders. He, somehow and someway, is the key to halting a parsecs-large, galaxy devouring nothingness dubbed the Great Evil. His companions, long time friends that have appeared throughout the series, embody many classic adventure archetypes. But throughout it all you can tell Foster is having great fun with Flinx's seriousness and the companions archetypal behaviors. His characters exhibit wry wit and self-conscious humor ("Up the Universe!" his two mentors declaim as their new motto). Outcomes produce more than intended ("Irony is the spice of circumstance.")
Not as hilarious as a Douglas Adams Trilogy nor as wild and intense as an excursion with Sam Delany, Flinx's last, galaxy saving tour de force will leave you with a genuine smile and a heartfelt chuckle. 'Cozy sci-fi' at its best!
If you like your science fiction serious; if you like your adventures arch, then Foster won't fill your need. Philip Lynx, Flinx for short, is a very serious young man with the weight of galactic civilization on his shoulders. He, somehow and someway, is the key to halting a parsecs-large, galaxy devouring nothingness dubbed the Great Evil. His companions, long time friends that have appeared throughout the series, embody many classic adventure archetypes. But throughout it all you can tell Foster is having great fun with Flinx's seriousness and the companions archetypal behaviors. His characters exhibit wry wit and self-conscious humor ("Up the Universe!" his two mentors declaim as their new motto). Outcomes produce more than intended ("Irony is the spice of circumstance.")
Not as hilarious as a Douglas Adams Trilogy nor as wild and intense as an excursion with Sam Delany, Flinx's last, galaxy saving tour de force will leave you with a genuine smile and a heartfelt chuckle. 'Cozy sci-fi' at its best!
January 5, 2011
Finally, the last novel...or is it?
Many of the unanswered question thorough-out the series are answered in this book.And as usual, full of character, twist and turns and hope. I love Mr. Fosters writing, and this series especially. Will he save the galaxy? Will Clarity and Flinx finally get married? What about the Mother Mastiff? And yes, the answer to what happened to the scientist on Quofum.
I can say one thing, I would not be surprised if another adventure pops up down the road, or is that wishful thinking?
Many of the unanswered question thorough-out the series are answered in this book.And as usual, full of character, twist and turns and hope. I love Mr. Fosters writing, and this series especially. Will he save the galaxy? Will Clarity and Flinx finally get married? What about the Mother Mastiff? And yes, the answer to what happened to the scientist on Quofum.
I can say one thing, I would not be surprised if another adventure pops up down the road, or is that wishful thinking?
March 23, 2015
As far as deus ex machina endings go, this wasn't super egregious.
All the same, though...you build up a potential solution for what? 6 books or so?
THROW it away 85% of the way into the LAST book. Have the characters scramble for a brief, obscure reference made to a potential mystery back in book....what? 7? 8?
And bring THAT back about 90% of the way into the final book to save the day with some mythical, reality bending tech that just...you plug into it, tell it to do this thing and it just completely eliminates this GALAXY ending threat? Just like that?
No real rhyme or reason for the big bad, as well. Just speculation and 'maybe it's some reality jumping...hungry....thing. That eats galaxies. And then hops into different realities to eat those galaxies.'
Not to mention the first half of this book, Flinx spending it on the Aan homeworld for seemingly no reason for the plot? Other than "he still needed to decide if THE ENTIRE CIVILIZED AND KNOWN UNIVERSE was worth saving or not?"
Also some blatant stupidity exemplified in this final book as well. The Ulru-Ujurrians? They can sense when his life is genuinely in danger and they'll tunnel to him to try and save him? That's what he's relying on to get in touch with him?
What makes him think this is in ANY way a reliable form of reaching them? He's been under serious threat to his life like a billion times since he's met them. They've shown up like...twice before? Out of maybe fifty or sixty times he's been about to die?
Also with Foster blatantly FORGETTING things he'd written before? Making a big deal about how Pip gets shot in the wing out of the air, that it's never ever happened before...save one book ago? When the assassin guy did that exact same thing?
Bleh.
This was a series with 2 books that I really enjoyed. 2 that I thought were okay.
The rest of it, read through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia and maybe would have been better off staying in my past and memories.
All the same, though...you build up a potential solution for what? 6 books or so?
THROW it away 85% of the way into the LAST book. Have the characters scramble for a brief, obscure reference made to a potential mystery back in book....what? 7? 8?
And bring THAT back about 90% of the way into the final book to save the day with some mythical, reality bending tech that just...you plug into it, tell it to do this thing and it just completely eliminates this GALAXY ending threat? Just like that?
No real rhyme or reason for the big bad, as well. Just speculation and 'maybe it's some reality jumping...hungry....thing. That eats galaxies. And then hops into different realities to eat those galaxies.'
Not to mention the first half of this book, Flinx spending it on the Aan homeworld for seemingly no reason for the plot? Other than "he still needed to decide if THE ENTIRE CIVILIZED AND KNOWN UNIVERSE was worth saving or not?"
Also some blatant stupidity exemplified in this final book as well. The Ulru-Ujurrians? They can sense when his life is genuinely in danger and they'll tunnel to him to try and save him? That's what he's relying on to get in touch with him?
What makes him think this is in ANY way a reliable form of reaching them? He's been under serious threat to his life like a billion times since he's met them. They've shown up like...twice before? Out of maybe fifty or sixty times he's been about to die?
Also with Foster blatantly FORGETTING things he'd written before? Making a big deal about how Pip gets shot in the wing out of the air, that it's never ever happened before...save one book ago? When the assassin guy did that exact same thing?
Bleh.
This was a series with 2 books that I really enjoyed. 2 that I thought were okay.
The rest of it, read through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia and maybe would have been better off staying in my past and memories.
December 22, 2011
I was disappointed that after 5 or 6 books of nothing but wandering around, Foster didn't get right to looking at ways to defeat the evil nothingness. Sadly, the first 1/3 of the book is pointless soul searching (again). Flinx has just barely started thinking about a solution halfway through the novel and they start out on their journey 2/3 of the way through. Not much time to resolve things.
One common plot device used that I hate is that of "the chosen one" -- the idea that one person and one person alone can save the day. Because everyone thinks that Flinx has to be the one to save them, no one else bothers to do anything other than observe the situation. There's this assumption which pops up several times that if Flinx fails, the galaxy will be destroyed. Never mind that they have a generation or two to find another solution. Flinx is the "chosen one" so only HE can save them all.
I guess I was naive in thinking that Foster would pull in all the scientists that Flinx has met over the years - Humans, Thranx, and Aann alike - and then pull in all of the major alien artifacts that've been mentioned and everyone work together to save the universe. Not so.
There is definitely an ensemble cast with many characters re-appearing, but no one except Flinx ever seems to do anything at all.
I'm glad to finally get resolution a series I've been reading for the last 20 years, but I'm sad that it ended on such a sour note. Nostalgia just wasn't enough for me to enjoy it this time.
One common plot device used that I hate is that of "the chosen one" -- the idea that one person and one person alone can save the day. Because everyone thinks that Flinx has to be the one to save them, no one else bothers to do anything other than observe the situation. There's this assumption which pops up several times that if Flinx fails, the galaxy will be destroyed. Never mind that they have a generation or two to find another solution. Flinx is the "chosen one" so only HE can save them all.
I guess I was naive in thinking that Foster would pull in all the scientists that Flinx has met over the years - Humans, Thranx, and Aann alike - and then pull in all of the major alien artifacts that've been mentioned and everyone work together to save the universe. Not so.
There is definitely an ensemble cast with many characters re-appearing, but no one except Flinx ever seems to do anything at all.
I'm glad to finally get resolution a series I've been reading for the last 20 years, but I'm sad that it ended on such a sour note. Nostalgia just wasn't enough for me to enjoy it this time.
June 9, 2011
This one gets three stars in my book, but only barely because it was closer to a 3 than a 2. I've read many of the Pip and Flinx books over the years and had a certain nostalgia, so when I saw this one I was interested to see how things would turn out for them. I'm not sure why Foster spent the first third of the book perhaps on the Aaahn home world when events there had little to nothing to do with the rest of the book. The characterization wasn't great...in fact, downright abysmal in regards to the only two human females that really figure in the story. I'll admit to getting a little impatient with the poor, valiant, overburdened Flinx schtick, especially on those occasions when Flinx buys into it too. The plot is okay, but plods a little and Foster seems to throw in crackpots whenever he wants to liven things up, which is probably a little more often than he should need to. Which might be okay, but I could never quite buy them as serious threats. As for the solution to the bigger problem, well, we knew Flinx had to fix everything, but it didn't feel like there was much suspense in the way the solution presented itself. So...not impressed. But at least it was nice to get some closure on this series.
June 11, 2009
I first met Flinx and Pip when "his" paperback publishser did a special promotion at a local bookstore, giving free copies to anyone who bought other SF/Fantasy novels...It's taken 35 years to let the poor boy finish saving himself, the Humanx Commonwealth, and finally, the entire Milky Way. I read these stories for the plot and a little (and a little can go a long way!) characterization--the author has insisted on giving us much more in the last few books but I have accepted it and trudged through it to get to the plot. I can rest now.
May 1, 2010
The book has a good story line but it's too long, and Flinx's girlfriend can be very annoying, a lot of time is wasted on redundant conversation by several poorly developed characters, it's a shame the author didn't do a better job, the story line has a lot of potential. I don't think I'll read any more Flinx books unless the author takes a break from writing them for several years, and they're half as long at most. Not recommended unless you're a die-hard Flinx fan.
September 5, 2014
Great possible end to the Series.
Only didn't read two of the series. This most recent wrapped them all up quite nicely. A pleasure to read and definitely space science fiction at its finest.
Only didn't read two of the series. This most recent wrapped them all up quite nicely. A pleasure to read and definitely space science fiction at its finest.
May 11, 2018
Excellent finale to the 14 book Pip and Flinx series, plus a handful of short stories, and a bunch of side and prequel novel. Foster has created a fantastic universe with great characters, interesting planets and cultures, and cool science/ science fiction. I still have a few Humanx Commonwealth novels to read and a new Pip and Flinx novel has just come out. Life is good. Check this series out.
March 12, 2024
An excellent conclusion (?) to the series! There's enough in this one book to fill at least 3 of its size. Virtually all of the story threads of the series come together by the end, and that's just in the second half of the book! Definitely worth waiting for this finale.
Just one thing I'd add, however, to this series: the book "Cachalot." Even though I haven't read it yet, given how big of a role it plays, it should probably be included in the series.
Just one thing I'd add, however, to this series: the book "Cachalot." Even though I haven't read it yet, given how big of a role it plays, it should probably be included in the series.
July 26, 2022
As indicated by the title this ##14 in the series provides an expansive journey to near infinities of distances, morals, social interactions, cultures, and mental expansions.
December 23, 2017
I'm slogging through this long-delayed wrap-up of the Pip & Flinx adventures and not having that much fun, though there are moments, and it's fun seeing these long-running characters back in action. But Foster just recycles semi-mindless plot-elements, like he had leftover notes back from when the series was new and vital....
Or so I dimly remember. Long time since I read one of these, and I think they were pretty lightweight even back in the day. I'll likely finish this one, but enough is enough.
OK, I gave up, about 80% in. Hell with it. I don't care what happens to these people!
The book amounts to an omnibus of 2 novels (not previously published). The first book, Flinx visiting the AAan homeworld in disguise, is actually pretty good, except for the silly End of the Universe maguffin. The real troubles start when Flinx gets back to some resort planet, picks up his girlfriend and other recurring characters, and sets out to revisit the Tar-Ayim Krang. That part's OK, but the Death Cultists..... OMG.
Best to let youthful memories of the series lie in peace, than to pick this one up, I think.
Or so I dimly remember. Long time since I read one of these, and I think they were pretty lightweight even back in the day. I'll likely finish this one, but enough is enough.
OK, I gave up, about 80% in. Hell with it. I don't care what happens to these people!
The book amounts to an omnibus of 2 novels (not previously published). The first book, Flinx visiting the AAan homeworld in disguise, is actually pretty good, except for the silly End of the Universe maguffin. The real troubles start when Flinx gets back to some resort planet, picks up his girlfriend and other recurring characters, and sets out to revisit the Tar-Ayim Krang. That part's OK, but the Death Cultists..... OMG.
Best to let youthful memories of the series lie in peace, than to pick this one up, I think.
June 17, 2009
I have read the Flinx series since Jr High. For Love of Mother Not was one of my first sci-fi books. I have a painting that my Mom painted of Pip when I was 4 years old. That being said, the last few Flinx books have been a complete dissappointment. To the point where I questioned why I still read them.
And now I have an answer. This is what I was waiting for. The last few books have had Flinx wandering the galaxy looking for motivation to save it. He was lonely and a total downer. He had some adventures in unusual places, but the books were very melencholy.
The first half of the book is like many of the most recent. Flinx has emerged himself in alien culture. His melancholy must have gone up to "Suicidal" because he is on a planet of the reptillian AAnn and has to wear a full scale reptile suit. After some huge events, he leaves the planet sure that he can not continue on his own and goes to find Clarity and his mentors who were left on Nur several books ago when they were attacked by a religous sect.
Flinx finds them all healed from their last adventure together, but is spotted as soon as he contacts tham and there are immediate assassination attempts. Of course, our heroes escape into space and head out to save the galaxy.
I'm kind of disappointed that the whole universe saving only takes up half the book. For such a massive build up, it all kind of gets solved in a hurry. I'm glad Flinx gets over the "I'm so alone, shy am I saving the universe" thing and went back to his friends, but it just seems unbalanced after books and books of blah. I wanted more of the good stuff.
And now I have an answer. This is what I was waiting for. The last few books have had Flinx wandering the galaxy looking for motivation to save it. He was lonely and a total downer. He had some adventures in unusual places, but the books were very melencholy.
The first half of the book is like many of the most recent. Flinx has emerged himself in alien culture. His melancholy must have gone up to "Suicidal" because he is on a planet of the reptillian AAnn and has to wear a full scale reptile suit. After some huge events, he leaves the planet sure that he can not continue on his own and goes to find Clarity and his mentors who were left on Nur several books ago when they were attacked by a religous sect.
Flinx finds them all healed from their last adventure together, but is spotted as soon as he contacts tham and there are immediate assassination attempts. Of course, our heroes escape into space and head out to save the galaxy.
I'm kind of disappointed that the whole universe saving only takes up half the book. For such a massive build up, it all kind of gets solved in a hurry. I'm glad Flinx gets over the "I'm so alone, shy am I saving the universe" thing and went back to his friends, but it just seems unbalanced after books and books of blah. I wanted more of the good stuff.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2012
When one has been faithfully reading a series for thirty-five years and the final volume finally arrives, one's expectations are bound to be unrealistically high. (Such as King's DARK TOWER.) FLINX TRANSCENDENT is about twice as long as the other Pip & Flinx novels, but that's because it's more like two novels shoe-horned together than one longer narrative. Once the first-half concludes, the promised resolutions are finally addressed and satisfactorily wrapped-up. I don't believe that all of the loose ends from the entire series are completely tidied up, but all of the major ones were answered, and along the way many characters and settings from the earlier books are revisited. I was left hoping that it wasn't -really- the end, so I guess that's a good thing.
September 2, 2014
Foster finally brings a series I started in the late 1970s to a satisfying close, and recaptures the thrilling huge concepts of ancient alien artifacts and unimaginable engineering feats and other gosh wow geeky cool stuff reported in the first few books of the series so many decades ago. Four stars only because I am so much older now and one can rarely go back to the days of youth when everything was new and wonderful. This volume comes very close however.
August 17, 2016
Well, that was a satisfying end to the series. Flinx travels all over the galaxy, gets himself into untenable positions from which he has to extricate himself, and gets to save the universe. Along the way he makes new friends and spends time with old ones. Old enemies show their faces as well, and things are wrapped up quite nicely. The only real question is, once he's saved the universe, and now he knows about his parents, what is he going to do?
May 18, 2016
Wraps things up reasonably, but not really in any satisfactory way. Flinx doesn't grow. Clarity doesn't grow. There's nothing particularly interesting about the various plot machinations and SF-isms. All in all, this entire series of books beyond the original trilogy could have never been written and the world would not have been a poorer place. Really wish that Foster had had something interesting to say here, but such was not the case.
May 31, 2010
The last book of the Flinx series. Flinx finally has to battle the horror he has been watching / dreaming of for so long.
The books moves along well, and we get to see old friends, and some rivals also, as the climax appoaches. And then of course, is the big question, what will he do after he has dealt with the issues at hand?
The books moves along well, and we get to see old friends, and some rivals also, as the climax appoaches. And then of course, is the big question, what will he do after he has dealt with the issues at hand?
May 31, 2014
Last in a very drawn out series, it can be read alone, but you'll end up going back to the beginning to find all the past references. So glad to get a conclusion on this, but many of the previous Flinx books are hard to get a hold of. I loved the last line, but no one will laugh longer than the true Flinx fan.
April 7, 2015
A good end to pleasant series. I was hooked despite of the total self-absorption of the main character. I guess, he was more of a typical man than he thought:) I am sorry for the adventures to have finished and to say good-buy to the many fun worlds.
December 7, 2009
I had trouble getting through this bok. Although I enjoyed the early Pip & Flinx books I felt that the series dragged on much too long. I felt like I'd been there read that for much of the book.
May 8, 2019
This series strongly evokes my childhood, but Flinx is such a Mary Sue / Jesus figure -- and Clarity is called just a cosmetician(!), that it kept dragging me out of the tale.
May 4, 2019
The original ending the Pip & Flinx series, Flinx Transcendant does a very solid job of wrapping up the long running quest of Flinx to combat the giant devouring force headed towards our galaxy that will devour all life as we know it. One of Foster's best choices in making this threat (which as a concept I'm not a huge fan of, the stakes feel way too big and reduce some of the personal element) was that it wouldn't arrive until hundreds or even thousands of years after Flinx's death. In a book series that spans the galaxy, I really like that the threat is really even outside of the protagonist's life time.
Foster starts off this book with Flinx putting himself in danger on yet another alien world, this time the AAnn home world where any human present is likely to be eaten, imprisoned or worse. My favorite adventures in this series are when Flinx goes to a new alien planet, and although he'd already spent time with the AAnn previously (see Sliding Scales), that was a much different type of contact that involved artisans and outcasts of the lizard population. Roughly the first half this book is involved on this planet, where Flinx is either disguised in a sim-suit as an AAnn himself or trying to make allies by sharing his secrets with the youth of the population.
Around the mid-point, the book takes a turn as Flinx is reunited with seemingly every prominent character from earlier in the series, including his love interest Clarity Held, elder adventures Truzenzuzex and Bran Tse-Mallory, Sylzenzuzex, and others who I won't spoil both for better and worse for Flinx. For the most part, the reunion of Flinx, Clarity, Tru and Bran works well, as it's fitting they'd work together to fight the great evil approaching. However my biggest complaint throughout the series as been the last minute saves by characters appearing (which happen hear) and we're also given a last minute villain from earlier in the series. Both of these really shrink the scope of the book and stretch any suspension of disbelief.
Of course the main plan for thwarting the evil doesn't work (it would have been way too simple and anti-climactic if it had) but Foster's solution was way cooler and opens up the scope of his universe even more. More than that, the final line of dialogue in the book felt completely appropriate for our main character and has me excited to read any other adventures Foster churns out in this series.
Foster starts off this book with Flinx putting himself in danger on yet another alien world, this time the AAnn home world where any human present is likely to be eaten, imprisoned or worse. My favorite adventures in this series are when Flinx goes to a new alien planet, and although he'd already spent time with the AAnn previously (see Sliding Scales), that was a much different type of contact that involved artisans and outcasts of the lizard population. Roughly the first half this book is involved on this planet, where Flinx is either disguised in a sim-suit as an AAnn himself or trying to make allies by sharing his secrets with the youth of the population.
Around the mid-point, the book takes a turn as Flinx is reunited with seemingly every prominent character from earlier in the series, including his love interest Clarity Held, elder adventures Truzenzuzex and Bran Tse-Mallory, Sylzenzuzex, and others who I won't spoil both for better and worse for Flinx. For the most part, the reunion of Flinx, Clarity, Tru and Bran works well, as it's fitting they'd work together to fight the great evil approaching. However my biggest complaint throughout the series as been the last minute saves by characters appearing (which happen hear) and we're also given a last minute villain from earlier in the series. Both of these really shrink the scope of the book and stretch any suspension of disbelief.
Of course the main plan for thwarting the evil doesn't work (it would have been way too simple and anti-climactic if it had) but Foster's solution was way cooler and opens up the scope of his universe even more. More than that, the final line of dialogue in the book felt completely appropriate for our main character and has me excited to read any other adventures Foster churns out in this series.
November 26, 2017
Like many concluding volumes to a series, Flinx runs into many old friends and enemies in this volume, and particularly the friends are nice to meet again. Although it has been years since I read some of the volumes in this series the hints (and at times not subtle hints) laid in previous books much earlier in the series cause admiration for the writer to have thought of the various points at the conception of the series or soon after. I do wonder if the author ever dreamed of having as many books in the series as he did.
Of course there is danger, some concessions to physics and when the story line demands it a violations of physics that the characters acknowledge and go on to say this ancient advanced civilization devised so method beyond us, and never least in the equation Flinx's Talent and Pip.
In the end a great last line, "I'm--bored!" What do you expect when you have been surviving and doing the impossible for the last decade or so? Happily ever after with your love does seem pretty boring in comparison.
Of course there is danger, some concessions to physics and when the story line demands it a violations of physics that the characters acknowledge and go on to say this ancient advanced civilization devised so method beyond us, and never least in the equation Flinx's Talent and Pip.
In the end a great last line, "I'm--bored!" What do you expect when you have been surviving and doing the impossible for the last decade or so? Happily ever after with your love does seem pretty boring in comparison.
August 3, 2019
Foster, Alan Dean. Flinx Transcendent. Pip and Flinx No. 14. Del Rey, 2009.
If you write a successful series as long as this one, you obviously have a few loveable characters and some plots that keep you turning pages. Foster has both. His one problem is that Flinx does get older as the series goes along and develops more and more paranormal powers. This means his villains have to become more and more formidable. There must be a point at which this reaches a dead end—as E. E. “Doc” Smith’s Lensman series did. Foster may be nearing this point, because we already have a galaxy-eating evil that has to be dispatched. In the meantime, enjoy.
If you write a successful series as long as this one, you obviously have a few loveable characters and some plots that keep you turning pages. Foster has both. His one problem is that Flinx does get older as the series goes along and develops more and more paranormal powers. This means his villains have to become more and more formidable. There must be a point at which this reaches a dead end—as E. E. “Doc” Smith’s Lensman series did. Foster may be nearing this point, because we already have a galaxy-eating evil that has to be dispatched. In the meantime, enjoy.
March 22, 2021
As is the case in so many series, this wrap up of the 14-ish volume Flinx series (and really, it's more like 15-20 books because of all of the adjacent Humanx books, which are widely referenced here) is somewhat disappointing. After thousands of pages building up the Big Problem, the resolution occurs swiftly over the last 50 or so pages and kind of makes you wonder what the big deal was. Oh well, happy to have dipped back into this series that I remembered fondly from my adolescence, but also happy to be finished with it.
October 8, 2017
Is this the end?
Flinx re-energised in his quest to stop the Evil Darkness destroying the Universe connects with his love, Clarity and his close friends. Defying death and the Order of Null, they set off to contact the ancient alien weapons that might be able to do the job. Excellent wrap up of many loose ends. But Flinx's last words in the book are not only perfectly illustrative of his personality but give hope for further adventures. Lovely conclusion.
Flinx re-energised in his quest to stop the Evil Darkness destroying the Universe connects with his love, Clarity and his close friends. Defying death and the Order of Null, they set off to contact the ancient alien weapons that might be able to do the job. Excellent wrap up of many loose ends. But Flinx's last words in the book are not only perfectly illustrative of his personality but give hope for further adventures. Lovely conclusion.
October 2, 2019
+++Lot of aliens, perils, suspense and fantastic resolutions. Philip Lynx (Flinx) has finished the search for his father and now can concentrate on stopping The Great Evil. With Clarity, Tru, Bram, Syl and Pip they travel all over the Galaxy and even outside it with some very strange allies. All the time avoiding death by the Order of the Null. He even meets his sister.+++
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