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Pip & Flinx #10
Sliding Scales
The ninth novel in the New York Times bestselling Pip & Flinx series by one of science fiction's most popular and prodigious storytellers. The daring pair have braved countless dangers to emerge victorious. But now Flinx attempts something that may be impossible for the heretofore undefeated hero. His mission: to take a vacation.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
64 people are currently reading
620 people want to read
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
498 books2,032 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 46 reviews
November 16, 2017
I was just thinking to myself what could we possibly do to Flinx that hasn't been done before and I started to draw a little blank. Fortunately, we've got STANDBY PLOT FIXES. Amnesia!
Oh, wait.
Well, fortunately, it's not even a tenth as bad as it may seem. Truly. I mean, Flinx does have a HONKER of a brain tumor and getting it knocked about is sure to scramble SOMETHING. In this case, I simply didn't mind in the slightest. It's because of the setting. Our favorite evil lizards and our poor Flinx have been getting on swimmingly. More or less.
Stranded on a somewhat neutral slithery tentacular alien world being inducted into the lizard political machine, the memory-less Flinx gets taken in by an artist colony.
Yeah! Isn't that cool! And you'll never guess who the artists are.
This one is still a great adventure, but alien exploration and subtle commentary on art as well as a reflection for ADF are quite apparent and delightful... or at least to me. :) I never expected to like the lizards more than that charming elderly couple a few novels back, but I am well mistaken. :)
It was also rather cool to see another side of Flinx, freed from the weight of his cares for once.
Oh, wait.
Well, fortunately, it's not even a tenth as bad as it may seem. Truly. I mean, Flinx does have a HONKER of a brain tumor and getting it knocked about is sure to scramble SOMETHING. In this case, I simply didn't mind in the slightest. It's because of the setting. Our favorite evil lizards and our poor Flinx have been getting on swimmingly. More or less.
Stranded on a somewhat neutral slithery tentacular alien world being inducted into the lizard political machine, the memory-less Flinx gets taken in by an artist colony.
Yeah! Isn't that cool! And you'll never guess who the artists are.
This one is still a great adventure, but alien exploration and subtle commentary on art as well as a reflection for ADF are quite apparent and delightful... or at least to me. :) I never expected to like the lizards more than that charming elderly couple a few novels back, but I am well mistaken. :)
It was also rather cool to see another side of Flinx, freed from the weight of his cares for once.
March 12, 2016
With this book, I'm entering the final third of the Humanx Commonwealth series (this is book twenty of twenty eight) and it's a bit of a sidebar to some extent.
At this stage in the series, Flinx has the weight of the fate of the Galaxy on his young shoulders and, as if that weren't enough, he also doesn't know if at the climax of the previous book. Understandably, he's feeling pretty depressed.
Noticing this, his ship's AI recommends he takes a holiday. Stupid AI, right? As if Flinx is going to... Oh, no, wait... He decides the ship is right and sets out on a vacation.
WHAT?????
Not only does this seem ridiculously out of character for Flinx it also derails all the tension the author had built up in the last few books of the series! GAH!
As frustrating as this is, though, if you can put aside the idiocy of the basic premise, the rest of the book is a cracking read, featuring terrorist plots, murders and yet another great new planet and native sentient species. It even involves some pretty major character development for our hero which, I'm pretty certain, is going to have major consequences further down the line. For these reasons, I find I can't dismiss the book entirely for its stoopid set-up.
At this stage in the series, Flinx has the weight of the fate of the Galaxy on his young shoulders and, as if that weren't enough, he also doesn't know if at the climax of the previous book. Understandably, he's feeling pretty depressed.
Noticing this, his ship's AI recommends he takes a holiday. Stupid AI, right? As if Flinx is going to... Oh, no, wait... He decides the ship is right and sets out on a vacation.
WHAT?????
Not only does this seem ridiculously out of character for Flinx it also derails all the tension the author had built up in the last few books of the series! GAH!
As frustrating as this is, though, if you can put aside the idiocy of the basic premise, the rest of the book is a cracking read, featuring terrorist plots, murders and yet another great new planet and native sentient species. It even involves some pretty major character development for our hero which, I'm pretty certain, is going to have major consequences further down the line. For these reasons, I find I can't dismiss the book entirely for its stoopid set-up.
August 15, 2021
Giving your protagonist amnesia and sending them on a road-trip are time-honored conventions for episodes in continuing-character series, and Foster uses both to good effect in this installment. Pip and Flinx need a vacation... and so starts a nice adventure that sees a different side of Flinx, a lighter side that visits an artist colony of AAnn, while wandering another interesting and well-designed planet of the Humanx Commonwealth. Very enjoyable stuff!
December 10, 2021
I’ve always said the main reason I read Alan Dean Foster is because of his alien cultures - in fact, I first got hooked on him with Nor Crystal Tears I love the way Alan Dean Foster crafts psychological and cultural aspects based on the aliens’ biological traits. And this book is no different. If you love ADF’s aliens, this is a great book for you.
This is book 10 in the Pip and Flinx series, but I’ve skipped books 5-9 because a) I don’t have them and they are hard to find in used book stores and b) I really wanted to read the one focussing on the AAnn. Also, I wasn't too fond of Clarity when I read Flinx in Flux, so there's that too.
There are two main aliens in this novel - the Vssey and the AAnn. While the former is the type of alien that is super weird, the AAnn are much more humanoid, and the book is almost as much an encyclopedia about them (from how they bathe to how they mourn their dead) as it is a story. This book is a xeno-anthropologist’s dream in that regard; in fact, I could have had far less of the Vssey and way more of the AAnn.
In terms of plot, it’s definitely not a thriller, but it has enough surprises to keep you interested. There were a few things that wrapped up entirely too easily and a section that seemed to be important but ended up not adding anything to the book , but overall I found it moved at a good pace. It does feature an amnesia plot, but, I mean, this is book 10 in a series. And it was handled in a way that wasn’t eye-rolling or silly.
Flinx is his usual moody self, but less so in this novel, which was a nice break for us. Pip doesn’t do much, but the star of the novel is the villain, Takuuna. He’s unlikable from the start and just keeps getting worse. Yet, it grows more and more clear that unlike what we know of the AAnn previously in the series, he’s an exception in his species when it comes to cruelty and paranoia. Contrasting with his deviousness is not only the artisan AAnn but a few other AAnn who work with Takuuna who come across as perfectly normal (in that they aren’t ready to murder). I thought it was really clever how we only really see Takuuna at the start and are led to believe that all AAnn are like him, but we gradually learn he’s the worst possible example of one.
Tied to that, the novel really is an interesting exploration into the difference between culture and biology, and how no matter anyone’s differences, they can learn to care about those from not only other cultures but other species.
This is book 10 in the Pip and Flinx series, but I’ve skipped books 5-9 because a) I don’t have them and they are hard to find in used book stores and b) I really wanted to read the one focussing on the AAnn. Also, I wasn't too fond of Clarity when I read Flinx in Flux, so there's that too.
There are two main aliens in this novel - the Vssey and the AAnn. While the former is the type of alien that is super weird, the AAnn are much more humanoid, and the book is almost as much an encyclopedia about them (from how they bathe to how they mourn their dead) as it is a story. This book is a xeno-anthropologist’s dream in that regard; in fact, I could have had far less of the Vssey and way more of the AAnn.
In terms of plot, it’s definitely not a thriller, but it has enough surprises to keep you interested. There were a few things that wrapped up entirely too easily and a section that seemed to be important but ended up not adding anything to the book , but overall I found it moved at a good pace. It does feature an amnesia plot, but, I mean, this is book 10 in a series. And it was handled in a way that wasn’t eye-rolling or silly.
Flinx is his usual moody self, but less so in this novel, which was a nice break for us. Pip doesn’t do much, but the star of the novel is the villain, Takuuna. He’s unlikable from the start and just keeps getting worse. Yet, it grows more and more clear that unlike what we know of the AAnn previously in the series, he’s an exception in his species when it comes to cruelty and paranoia. Contrasting with his deviousness is not only the artisan AAnn but a few other AAnn who work with Takuuna who come across as perfectly normal (in that they aren’t ready to murder). I thought it was really clever how we only really see Takuuna at the start and are led to believe that all AAnn are like him, but we gradually learn he’s the worst possible example of one.
Tied to that, the novel really is an interesting exploration into the difference between culture and biology, and how no matter anyone’s differences, they can learn to care about those from not only other cultures but other species.
November 7, 2009
Sliding Scales is the third to the last book in the Pip & Flinx SF adventure series and it shows. Foster, the author is obviously getting tired of Flinx as a protagonist, because in this book he makes his star character almost incidental to the plot.
The story in broad strokes is this: Flinx decides to take a vacation on the world of Jast, a place that has seen few humans. More importantly, the Jastians find themselves in the Aann sphere of influence, though they themselves are pacific. When he arrives, because he is human, and because the AAnn have more experience dealing with humans, Flinx is handed off to an Aann who is quite certain that Flinx is a spy, or ought to be one anyway and if he isn't he ought to be portrayed as a spy. If he is found to be one, a certain AAnn named Takuuna will find his career advanced. Much to the AAnn's dismay, Flinx shows no tendency toward inciting insurgency among the Jast, so Takuuna takes matters into his own hands and attempts to murder Flinx. Alas for all concerned, including the reader, Flinx does not die, but merely loses all of his memory and gets pretty banged up in the process.
Wandering through the semi-desert which makes up most of Jast's landmass, he meets up with a community of AAnn who are artists, and are as liberal-minded as your standard artist community stereotype. They take Flinx in, nurse him back to health, and then, in contravention of all cultural prejudices and expectations, makes him part of their community--officially, which means some kind of weird adoption ceremony.
But the real story is with Takuuna, the ambitious AAnn who goes through all sorts of efforts to advance himself through lies and deceit. The remainder of the story is about how Flinx retrieves his memory and his life, and how Takuuna the corrupt AAnn gets his comeuppance.
As this story was written around 2004, there are also fine strands of protests against heightened security measures taken during state emergencies, and even a few glittering back-door criticisms of some of the security practices established in this country after 9/11, but for the most part this is a story about Takuuna, with a bit of Pip and Flinx thrown in so that Foster can claim that this is a story written about the intrepid pair.
One notable good thing that occurs in this book is that the AAnn loose their cartoon-like character that Foster gave them in earlier novels. As a result, the reader is acquainted with a large dosage of AAnn culture in a rather pleasant way. We learn a bit about their mating habits, and a bit about how they interact as individuals, their art, politics and their daily interactions. AAnn, as stated by the female AAnn protagonist, are not monsters.
Because this book follows a trend that I noticed in a couple of other Pip and Flinx novels, that is, writing a story that is more about other characters than Pip and Flinx, and because it is, essentially, a boring story with little to recommend it to us simian types, I gave it a three-star rating. The only reason I am continuing to read these novels is that I am very interested in finishing the series, after which, I will probably take a long hiatus from the writings of Alan Dean Foster.
The story in broad strokes is this: Flinx decides to take a vacation on the world of Jast, a place that has seen few humans. More importantly, the Jastians find themselves in the Aann sphere of influence, though they themselves are pacific. When he arrives, because he is human, and because the AAnn have more experience dealing with humans, Flinx is handed off to an Aann who is quite certain that Flinx is a spy, or ought to be one anyway and if he isn't he ought to be portrayed as a spy. If he is found to be one, a certain AAnn named Takuuna will find his career advanced. Much to the AAnn's dismay, Flinx shows no tendency toward inciting insurgency among the Jast, so Takuuna takes matters into his own hands and attempts to murder Flinx. Alas for all concerned, including the reader, Flinx does not die, but merely loses all of his memory and gets pretty banged up in the process.
Wandering through the semi-desert which makes up most of Jast's landmass, he meets up with a community of AAnn who are artists, and are as liberal-minded as your standard artist community stereotype. They take Flinx in, nurse him back to health, and then, in contravention of all cultural prejudices and expectations, makes him part of their community--officially, which means some kind of weird adoption ceremony.
But the real story is with Takuuna, the ambitious AAnn who goes through all sorts of efforts to advance himself through lies and deceit. The remainder of the story is about how Flinx retrieves his memory and his life, and how Takuuna the corrupt AAnn gets his comeuppance.
As this story was written around 2004, there are also fine strands of protests against heightened security measures taken during state emergencies, and even a few glittering back-door criticisms of some of the security practices established in this country after 9/11, but for the most part this is a story about Takuuna, with a bit of Pip and Flinx thrown in so that Foster can claim that this is a story written about the intrepid pair.
One notable good thing that occurs in this book is that the AAnn loose their cartoon-like character that Foster gave them in earlier novels. As a result, the reader is acquainted with a large dosage of AAnn culture in a rather pleasant way. We learn a bit about their mating habits, and a bit about how they interact as individuals, their art, politics and their daily interactions. AAnn, as stated by the female AAnn protagonist, are not monsters.
Because this book follows a trend that I noticed in a couple of other Pip and Flinx novels, that is, writing a story that is more about other characters than Pip and Flinx, and because it is, essentially, a boring story with little to recommend it to us simian types, I gave it a three-star rating. The only reason I am continuing to read these novels is that I am very interested in finishing the series, after which, I will probably take a long hiatus from the writings of Alan Dean Foster.
March 30, 2012
As always, I love any commonwealth book by Foster. I am currently reading the Pip & Flinx series in chronological order, not published order. Every new alien sentient that Foster creates is a brand new treasure. The aliens in this book prove just how strange an occurrence it was that humanity ever encountered the Pitar, a race almost identical to mankind.
There is only one plothole that bothers me in this book.
There is only one plothole that bothers me in this book.
February 2, 2018
Pip and Flinx take a vacation from their quest, on a new planet, with a new alien race, and they find that every society has hippies. Foster never fails to display a fantastic imagination. Check it out.
April 8, 2021
Really very good installment
By now our protagonist is fairly powerful if still not in control, but this book isn’t about that and finds a way around that being a plot issue...
By now our protagonist is fairly powerful if still not in control, but this book isn’t about that and finds a way around that being a plot issue...
April 25, 2020
While not bad, this is one of the less satisfying books in the series. Amnesia seems like a hackneyed story device. There are several different threads, and while they come together, their connection seems rather stilted. On the other hand, we meet a new species and learn more about an old enemy.
December 5, 2017
Sliding Scales reminded me of the Terry Goodkind novel Faith of the Fallen in that it takes the series protagonist and forces him to live in the society of his enemy. Once there, his innate goodness and natural skill earns him the appreciation and respect of his enemies, and also gives him a new appreciation for those he had considered his enemies prior to his adventure. I'm sure it's a story that's been told in countless other series and media (Enemy Mine also comes to mind), but it's a fun concept for exploring different cultures and coming to shared understandings instead of maintaining black and white versions of good and evil.
At the beginning of Sliding Scales, Flinx is burned out mentally from the weight of the universe being on his shoulders as well as the fate of his companion Clarity Held at the end of Flinx's Folly. His ship's A.I. suggests that he needs a vacation, and using its vast intellect suggests that this should take place on a world that is habitable (so he doesn't stress out about survival) but not overly developed (so he does not need to stress out about local law enforcement) and finds a planet that meets those requirements called Jast.
Jast is in the area of space that both the Humanx Commonwealth as well as the Aann Empire have had contact with but not exclusive control. True to all Foster worlds, Jast is unique and imaginative, with lifeforms that we would consider evolved from fungi, all either hopping around on one appendage with mini-tentacles or floating around via gas sacs, with predators and prey all moving at a snail's pace. These aliens (called the Vssey) are very deliberate thinkers, taking time to formulate reactions and currently weighing the pros and cons of possibly being integrated into the Aann Empire. Against this backdrop, there have also been two terrorist attacks on the world that the Aann are trying to figure out who was responsible for.
**Spoilers follow**
Shortly after arriving, Flinx is pushed off a Cliff by an ambitious Aann named Takuuna who decides to use the visiting human as an opportunity to craft a story that will lead to his military advancement. The result is a headwound and amnesia, affecting both who he is and what he is doing there. Flinx becomes involved with a Tier (group) of Aann who would rather focus on art than conquest, and shows abilities in that area that leads them to adopt them as one of their own. All the while Takuuna is also trying to cover up his actions and continue to advance up the military ladder by any means necessary, which is complicated when he realizes Flinx is still alive.
**End of spoilers**
There are two parallel stories in Sliding Scales, the story of Flinx and the story of Takuuna. I'd give the Flinx story a 4, which provided some of my favorite moments with the Aann aliens and advanced his own views and abilities to travel within the series in an interesting manner. Not as successful was the story of Takuuna, who was basically a cartoon villain constantly threatening/killing others to put himself in the best light to succeed. Although he felt true to how many of the Aann characters have been portrayed in this series, the Aann as a whole haven't been very compelling to read about until they were developed beyond angry, militaristic creatures out for blood.
I'd give the Takuuna storyline a 2, so I'll average the book out to a 3 overall. Sliding Scales helped develop the universe that Flinx lives in, and moved his character as well as his abilities forward in an interesting way (if this were an RPG, he'd leave this level with a master key for a whole new class of dungeons by the end of it). I also appreciated that it didn't spend any time on the giant cosmic menace that has me not looking forward to the next book (based on its title), Running From the Deity.
At the beginning of Sliding Scales, Flinx is burned out mentally from the weight of the universe being on his shoulders as well as the fate of his companion Clarity Held at the end of Flinx's Folly. His ship's A.I. suggests that he needs a vacation, and using its vast intellect suggests that this should take place on a world that is habitable (so he doesn't stress out about survival) but not overly developed (so he does not need to stress out about local law enforcement) and finds a planet that meets those requirements called Jast.
Jast is in the area of space that both the Humanx Commonwealth as well as the Aann Empire have had contact with but not exclusive control. True to all Foster worlds, Jast is unique and imaginative, with lifeforms that we would consider evolved from fungi, all either hopping around on one appendage with mini-tentacles or floating around via gas sacs, with predators and prey all moving at a snail's pace. These aliens (called the Vssey) are very deliberate thinkers, taking time to formulate reactions and currently weighing the pros and cons of possibly being integrated into the Aann Empire. Against this backdrop, there have also been two terrorist attacks on the world that the Aann are trying to figure out who was responsible for.
**Spoilers follow**
Shortly after arriving, Flinx is pushed off a Cliff by an ambitious Aann named Takuuna who decides to use the visiting human as an opportunity to craft a story that will lead to his military advancement. The result is a headwound and amnesia, affecting both who he is and what he is doing there. Flinx becomes involved with a Tier (group) of Aann who would rather focus on art than conquest, and shows abilities in that area that leads them to adopt them as one of their own. All the while Takuuna is also trying to cover up his actions and continue to advance up the military ladder by any means necessary, which is complicated when he realizes Flinx is still alive.
**End of spoilers**
There are two parallel stories in Sliding Scales, the story of Flinx and the story of Takuuna. I'd give the Flinx story a 4, which provided some of my favorite moments with the Aann aliens and advanced his own views and abilities to travel within the series in an interesting manner. Not as successful was the story of Takuuna, who was basically a cartoon villain constantly threatening/killing others to put himself in the best light to succeed. Although he felt true to how many of the Aann characters have been portrayed in this series, the Aann as a whole haven't been very compelling to read about until they were developed beyond angry, militaristic creatures out for blood.
I'd give the Takuuna storyline a 2, so I'll average the book out to a 3 overall. Sliding Scales helped develop the universe that Flinx lives in, and moved his character as well as his abilities forward in an interesting way (if this were an RPG, he'd leave this level with a master key for a whole new class of dungeons by the end of it). I also appreciated that it didn't spend any time on the giant cosmic menace that has me not looking forward to the next book (based on its title), Running From the Deity.
October 16, 2025
Very odd to set up for the final act in the last book and have what is essentially filler follow it. Also odd to use an amnesia plot device when it doesn't have much impact on the story other than to remove Flinx from the story. Especially when he just recovers whatever is convenient whenever it is convenient. I liked the Tier of the Ssainn, but otherwise was pretty bored reading this book.
October 11, 2019
Well, to boil this one down, Flinx gets amnesia and joins an AAnn art enclave. There's a bit more to it, but that's the basics. I found it one of the less compelling plots in the series, though Foster's handle on the craft is always impressively engineered.
January 4, 2025
I haven't read a book by one of my favorite science fiction authors since my childhood. This one is from 20 years ago and is from a series I read in the eighties. I was pleasantly surprised, as a would be author myself now, to discover the high quality of his writing.
May 27, 2025
There is again a wonderful world in this book full of marvelous and interesting creatures. The book also explores a friendship with an old race of foes. Don't want to spoil the book. As usual it was a fast read for me as toward the end couldn't put it down.
October 30, 2019
This series is still going strong, I like the characters and like that Flinx is spending time with other races, Artist Hippie Flinx was a new twist but done well. This was a Good Read.
October 25, 2020
Another new world, another new adventure. I get lost in Foster's universe.
August 15, 2021
I'm reading the entire series. This one was pretty good.
March 1, 2024
Not as good as the other entries in the series. There wasn't even the now-usual twist at the end.
April 2, 2024
As usual, an excellent read.
October 10, 2024
Great Read
Love reading about Pip and Flinx. Interesting how when Flinx lost his memory and had to learn a new life as an artist among an enemy civilization.
Love reading about Pip and Flinx. Interesting how when Flinx lost his memory and had to learn a new life as an artist among an enemy civilization.
February 16, 2018
One of the more confusing yet more interesting novels I've read in this series. Philip Flinx has gone to the planet Jast to rest. Instead as he is being guided by an AAnn administrator he is knocked over a steep canyon wall and left for dead. He has hit his head and lost his memory. He is rescued by an isolated group of artists that do not fit into the normal AAnn society. The pressure, lessons, and dangers increase as time goes on. The local sentients are the Vssey with a domelike form and no legs, arms, or feet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2023
From the JetBlackDragonfly book blog at www.edenthompson.ca/blog
Sliding Scales is part of a series of Pip and Flinx Adventures ~ Philip Lynx ("Flinx") is an empathic 24 year-old interstellar traveller and Pip his mini-dragon companion and protector. Together with his talking AI ship named Teacher, they move through Humanx Commonwealth space with an uncanny ability to find trouble and adventure.
Flinx has just left his friends, is pursued by fanatics, and is being sought by authorities, but Teacher has a plan. Escape on vacation on the remote planet of Jast - far from the vast reach of the Orion Arm that is Commonwealth space. Jast is home to the Vssey, highly intelligent creatures with shapes like mushrooms, with four feet flaps and one 'leg' they hop around on, tentacles around the edge of their disc shaped 'heads', and protruding eyes near the crown of their dome. Though slow to get around, they are very adept and have found ways of harassing the power of local floating creatures - like jellyfish - who eat grasses all day to fill their sacs with gases and rise and fall. Many use them like hot air balloons to move around the planet. Jast is also home to various factions of the authoritative AAnn, a lizard-like race who tend to see the dry, desert-like planet of Jast as part of the growing AAnn empire. Certainly they have never had to deal with a Human visitor, and suspicions are heightened as Flinx and Pip arrive for unknown reasons.
Takuuna VBXLLW is the administrative AAnn assigned to show Flinx around the planet, and he takes him on a tour by air-car. While they visit a beautiful canyon filled with curious fauna and flora, Flinx is attacked and falls, losing his memory! After wandering the planet, he is rescued by a beautiful AAnn woman and taken to a secluded village of artisans building their own society, outcasts of the traditional structure of the Empire. While slowly remembering who he is, he learns of ancient AAnn ways and sees the diversity of the people. Meanwhile, he is being sought by the authorities, as there has been a rash of terrorist activities in the cities which must have been incited by the Human. Will be remember who he is before they discover the village? Is there a violent Vssey underground against the AAnn? Will Flinx remain forever with the tribe, inducted as creative sentient Flinx LLVVRXX?
I don't often read fantasy novels, preferring straight SF, but found this a fun adventure. With characters named Chraluuc, Bno-Cassel, and Tvr-Vheequa, it was a little odd to keep up with, but Flinx and Pip are great characters worthy of a series (Sliding Scales is number 9 of 14).
Alan Dean Foster is a prolific writer of many Sci-fi and fantasy novels, and is very well known for his novelizations of films like Alien and the Star Trek series. His novelization of the original Star Wars movie included detailed back stories which influenced the creation of the films to come.
Sliding Scales was well balanced between fantasy, society, politics, imagination, adventure and was a very original and entertaining read. It was really different for me, but in the end, a great escape to another world.
Sliding Scales is part of a series of Pip and Flinx Adventures ~ Philip Lynx ("Flinx") is an empathic 24 year-old interstellar traveller and Pip his mini-dragon companion and protector. Together with his talking AI ship named Teacher, they move through Humanx Commonwealth space with an uncanny ability to find trouble and adventure.
Flinx has just left his friends, is pursued by fanatics, and is being sought by authorities, but Teacher has a plan. Escape on vacation on the remote planet of Jast - far from the vast reach of the Orion Arm that is Commonwealth space. Jast is home to the Vssey, highly intelligent creatures with shapes like mushrooms, with four feet flaps and one 'leg' they hop around on, tentacles around the edge of their disc shaped 'heads', and protruding eyes near the crown of their dome. Though slow to get around, they are very adept and have found ways of harassing the power of local floating creatures - like jellyfish - who eat grasses all day to fill their sacs with gases and rise and fall. Many use them like hot air balloons to move around the planet. Jast is also home to various factions of the authoritative AAnn, a lizard-like race who tend to see the dry, desert-like planet of Jast as part of the growing AAnn empire. Certainly they have never had to deal with a Human visitor, and suspicions are heightened as Flinx and Pip arrive for unknown reasons.
Takuuna VBXLLW is the administrative AAnn assigned to show Flinx around the planet, and he takes him on a tour by air-car. While they visit a beautiful canyon filled with curious fauna and flora, Flinx is attacked and falls, losing his memory! After wandering the planet, he is rescued by a beautiful AAnn woman and taken to a secluded village of artisans building their own society, outcasts of the traditional structure of the Empire. While slowly remembering who he is, he learns of ancient AAnn ways and sees the diversity of the people. Meanwhile, he is being sought by the authorities, as there has been a rash of terrorist activities in the cities which must have been incited by the Human. Will be remember who he is before they discover the village? Is there a violent Vssey underground against the AAnn? Will Flinx remain forever with the tribe, inducted as creative sentient Flinx LLVVRXX?
I don't often read fantasy novels, preferring straight SF, but found this a fun adventure. With characters named Chraluuc, Bno-Cassel, and Tvr-Vheequa, it was a little odd to keep up with, but Flinx and Pip are great characters worthy of a series (Sliding Scales is number 9 of 14).
Alan Dean Foster is a prolific writer of many Sci-fi and fantasy novels, and is very well known for his novelizations of films like Alien and the Star Trek series. His novelization of the original Star Wars movie included detailed back stories which influenced the creation of the films to come.
Sliding Scales was well balanced between fantasy, society, politics, imagination, adventure and was a very original and entertaining read. It was really different for me, but in the end, a great escape to another world.
December 19, 2025
Maybe 2.5, but this was easily the worst of the Pip/Flinx series (and the larger Commonwealth series too) - at least it was short. Did ADF actually write this one?
Flinx needed a vaca & the Teacher recommended a planet with AAnn on it What? Right away it that doesn't make sense. Why would he go to a planet to forget his troubles that was host to a AAnn colony?
Once he gets we meet some local creatures who float around (not kidding) in fart bubbles. Every creature on the planet floats - for no reason at all. I get that ADF likes to have his aliens evolve in their environment naturally...but it isn't explained how floating has benefited them.
The sentient race are equally bizarre and simply hop around & have eyes on stalks.
Usually, ADF creates floral and fauna that make sense in the context of the environment. Here, it just seemed he created something wacky with no real reason. The floating isn't a survival feature...
It's not Midworld or Tran-ky-ky (dozens of others) where evolution was specific to the world.
Anyway, of course runs into a hostile AAnn who tries to kill him - but doesn't leaving Flinx with.......AMNESIA.
Outside of the "evil twin" Amnesia has to be one of the most ridiculous plot devices invented. It's gets dumber - he is soon rescued by an artist colony of flower power hippie AAnn - who just want to namaste and paint. Meanwhile, the AAnn dude who tried to kill him is scheming to become the Grand AAnn Poo Ba or whatever. The AAnn are always scheming...but sure Teacher, take Flinx here.
The bouncy locals are equally annoyed with the lizards visitors and a few are conducing some terrorist acts in that regard.
To make matters worse - while all this is going on. Pip and Flinx are off the page for most of the book...and when the plot needs it, like magic his memory comes back, Teacher finds him and it's over.
This one doesn't move Flinx's story one bit. Pointless.
Flinx needed a vaca & the Teacher recommended a planet with AAnn on it What? Right away it that doesn't make sense. Why would he go to a planet to forget his troubles that was host to a AAnn colony?
Once he gets we meet some local creatures who float around (not kidding) in fart bubbles. Every creature on the planet floats - for no reason at all. I get that ADF likes to have his aliens evolve in their environment naturally...but it isn't explained how floating has benefited them.
The sentient race are equally bizarre and simply hop around & have eyes on stalks.
Usually, ADF creates floral and fauna that make sense in the context of the environment. Here, it just seemed he created something wacky with no real reason. The floating isn't a survival feature...
It's not Midworld or Tran-ky-ky (dozens of others) where evolution was specific to the world.
Anyway, of course runs into a hostile AAnn who tries to kill him - but doesn't leaving Flinx with.......AMNESIA.
Outside of the "evil twin" Amnesia has to be one of the most ridiculous plot devices invented. It's gets dumber - he is soon rescued by an artist colony of flower power hippie AAnn - who just want to namaste and paint. Meanwhile, the AAnn dude who tried to kill him is scheming to become the Grand AAnn Poo Ba or whatever. The AAnn are always scheming...but sure Teacher, take Flinx here.
The bouncy locals are equally annoyed with the lizards visitors and a few are conducing some terrorist acts in that regard.
To make matters worse - while all this is going on. Pip and Flinx are off the page for most of the book...and when the plot needs it, like magic his memory comes back, Teacher finds him and it's over.
This one doesn't move Flinx's story one bit. Pointless.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2010
This was a neat book!
In this one, Pip and Flinx end up going to a Aan colony world. As always, Flinx ends up on the bad side of one of the residents.
In his flight away from the person (Lizard?), Flinx trips and falls into a canyon. When he comes to, only Pip is around. In spite of having total amnesia, he knows enough to know that he has to keep going.
He stumbles upon an Aan art colony. There are Aan there who take him in. There's an Aan there that adopts him into her family line. Now Flinx has Aan status-letters following his name!
He lives in the Aan Art Colony until his memory returns. Unfortunately, his memeory returns after the Aan who adopted him gets killed.
Eventually, he manages to get hold of "The Teacher" and get off of this Aan Colony world before anyone else gets killed over him.
He then decides that it's time to go find Clarity.
In this one, Pip and Flinx end up going to a Aan colony world. As always, Flinx ends up on the bad side of one of the residents.
In his flight away from the person (Lizard?), Flinx trips and falls into a canyon. When he comes to, only Pip is around. In spite of having total amnesia, he knows enough to know that he has to keep going.
He stumbles upon an Aan art colony. There are Aan there who take him in. There's an Aan there that adopts him into her family line. Now Flinx has Aan status-letters following his name!
He lives in the Aan Art Colony until his memory returns. Unfortunately, his memeory returns after the Aan who adopted him gets killed.
Eventually, he manages to get hold of "The Teacher" and get off of this Aan Colony world before anyone else gets killed over him.
He then decides that it's time to go find Clarity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2016
If you think for once Flinx is actually going to take a little vacation time, you've never actually understood his unique character at all. Thinking he might just go take some time to relax and enjoy life for a short time period would truly give him some relief from his worries over how to save not just Humanx kind, but also the rest of the galaxy along with all the different sentient beings extant. This would entail going somewhere off the beaten path where no one would bother him or even think to look for him and The Teacher has just the planet, Jast, with its slow moving Vssey population and odd and unusual wildlife. After all what could happen on a planet populated by such slowly hopping mushroom like sentient beings and wild animals and plants that only move by means of floating through the air after filing their air sacs with gas?
August 19, 2013
Let me start by stating that I have not read any other Pip & Flinx books. I think I acquired this one in a box of books from a garage sale, and I decided I ought to read it before sending it on its way.
This is mostly a stand-alone story with only brief references at the beginning to presumably the previous books in the series. Flinx goes on vacation, then gets injured & develops amnesia, so for the majority of the story even he doesn't know anything about his history. It's an "okay" story but not exceptional, and seems to be written for youth/young adult readers. I feel no inclination to read any of the preceding novels, and don't plan to keep this one on my shelf.
This is mostly a stand-alone story with only brief references at the beginning to presumably the previous books in the series. Flinx goes on vacation, then gets injured & develops amnesia, so for the majority of the story even he doesn't know anything about his history. It's an "okay" story but not exceptional, and seems to be written for youth/young adult readers. I feel no inclination to read any of the preceding novels, and don't plan to keep this one on my shelf.
May 27, 2010
Flinx takes a vacation from all his problems. He chooses an odd planet that is under Aann influence, gets caught in a plot to bring the planet under full Aann control, and loses his memory. We learn a lot about the alien Aann culture. Flinx uses his mental talents a bit at the end.
I wanted for Flinx to develop and use his psionic talents. The series is now something like 13 books and his mental talents are still unreliable and pretty much useless; this was a very, very, very big disappointment to me for the series as a whole.
I wanted for Flinx to develop and use his psionic talents. The series is now something like 13 books and his mental talents are still unreliable and pretty much useless; this was a very, very, very big disappointment to me for the series as a whole.
October 3, 2022
Not quite as good as the previous book in this series, but still a good read. Won't say any more, no hints, no spoilers. I have five more books in the series sitting on the unread shelf. As far as I know there are fifteen total. Will take a break with some Asimov (Robots and Empire) and maybe one more book before returning to the series. It is an excellent series by an excellent author. But start at the beginning, "For Love of Mother Not", to get the most out of it.
November 14, 2013
Flinx gets amnesia and joins an artist colony on a planet populated by the reptillian Aan and a race resembling the dancing mushrooms from "Fantasia." What's not to like? I doubt this contributes much to the overall story arc -- or does it? I won't know until the end. Four more books to go. Five if you count Bloodhype.
September 30, 2015
Alan Dean Foster's Pip series (and the Humanx consortium) is a great, untapped Space Opera - every story has twists and turns, and the Pip-verse is full of rich detail that rivals Star Wars/Star Trek or the Barrayaran saga. I'm both surprised and glad these have not made it to film - I'd rather enjoy Foster's imagination without seeing it adapted into opblivion.
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