Orphan Star

Pip & Flinx #3

by Alan Dean Foster

New English Library, 1979. British mass market paperback. This is the third book (chronologically) in the "Pip & Flinx" series.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera, Adventure, Science Fiction Fantasy, Aliens

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Bestselling 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.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it just me or are these novels just getting better? Sure, it took a few years before ADF pumped out the second published novel (or third, chronologically,) but the story sure as hell popped along.

At first glance and in Flinx's mental flavor, it's so easy to fall into the trap of thinking this might be a YA title of '77 before we got all clunky with terms. Indeed, it feels more like a more polished and popping Heinlein juvenile, full of tough situations and some truly nasty crap going on while a basically good-hearted 17-year-old with untested mental telepathy and a fiercely loyal mini-drag tries to discover his past. You know. The little things like discovering who his parents are after having been raised an orphan.

Unfortunately for him, he runs headlong into child-porn rings, slavers, a corrupt universal church, murder (some of it his doing), and even a slave uprising... of which he manufactures. Sound too good to be true? Everything follows, though, and it's fun as hell.

That's right. I'm becoming a fanboy.

I'm not quite to the point where I'm raving or anything, but this is still a tight and fun read and it has no lossy quality compared to modern fiction at all. Indeed, it's standing the test of time and why aren't all you YA fans reading this great SF series???

It even leaves a wholesome taste in my mouth. It's odd. Weird. Even refreshing. :)

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm finishing 2015 with a re-read; the next volume in Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth series.

I love this one. It starts with our hero, Flinx, and his faithful minidrag companion, Pip, looking to discover more about Flinx's missing past. This is really just your standard 'adopted boy tries to locate biological parents' story... You know; space battles, assassinations, first contact with a previously unknown alien race, corruption in the church, corruption in big business, a slave uprising, pornography rings, telepathy, jailbreaks, people getting their faces burnt off with acid, an enormous teleporting bear... The usual, run-of-the-mill stuff. Boring, really... ;-)

In other words, a great book to end the year with! Happy new year to you all.

[Ozymandias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this one of the best of Foster's Pip & Flinx stories. It focuses on Flinx's efforts to infiltrate the datacenter of the Church and uncover the secrets of his past. Because he distrusts even well-intentioned organizations (and rightly so) he has to do this in secret and hide his abilities as well as his background. The skulking and plotting was what made this book work. But then the usual Foster twists came along and we leave behind what made it interesting to head out to an only mildly-interesting plotline in a completely different direction.

Foster is one of those authors I want to love but never quite manage to. His books cover exactly the sort of story I want to see and contain interesting worldbuilding that does something original while still retaining the pulpy scifi elements. I like the idea of a young streetwise orphan with telepathic powers seeking escape and answers about his past. I like the melding of Human and insectoid Thranx into one Humanx culture. The sense of mystery he builds over Flinx's ancestry is wonderful.

But then come the same tired tropes that always consume my love for Foster's books - the needlessly evil villains monologuing all their plans, the emotionally unearned resolutions, the easy answers that could have been avoided... It's tiresome. He's great at setting up a sense of mystery and adventure and just doesn't know how make it work.

This was one of his less disappointing conclusions, for all that it never reached the heights of his earlier plot. It was silly but at least aimed at more interesting ideas. And it was just good enough to keep me curious about what comes next. Likely I will read the sequel to this and be carried along with the same sense of excitement and indifference that carried me through here. It's not a mediocre book. It's always either a deeply engaging book or a cliched one. It just looks mediocre because the two balance each other out.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orphan Star is set early in the Flinx & Pip continuity, and does a lot towards establishing Foster's Humanx Commonwealth universe. Flinx sets out to solve the mystery of his origin, and hopes to find an answer as to his strange mental abilities. He encounters a wide range of new characters (and a few old ones), many of them of the darkest and vilest variety, and he and his new allies deal with slavers and pornographers as they visit a fascinating array of new worlds, including Terra. It's more of a coming-of-age novel than any of the other books in the series, and we think of Flinx as a complex young man by the end of the book, which started out with him simply perceived as a precocious boy with a flying snake. Foster's prose is straight and direct, and he's a master of creating interesting alien characters and settings.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read “Orphan Star” when it originally came out. I had purchased a copy from B. Dalton, with their price sticker on it. I was in high school. Alan Dean Foster had cred – he had written the Star Wars movie book which everyone was buying from the Scholastic Book Club. I had read the earlier Flinx & Pip book and was looking for more of the same. At the time, I thought Foster was the best of the limited sci-fi readings I had completed.

This review is for the re-read of this book, this time on audio, roughly 36 years later. This time around, I found Flinx & Pip still have some appeal, but I see that this story is stretched. Flinx’s actions are inconsistent to the point of being flakey, and Pip didn’t have the personality I remembered, there was no personality. The book suffers from what I now understand is serial-itus – the author seems to have figured out how to extend the characters into a subsequent book about half way through this one, and stopped the original story arc to pursue a new one to set up the sequel. Most characters were cartoon-ey in their descriptions and their actions. And the plot isn’t easy to describe – it is all over the place. Despite that, I still found his take on the Thranx, insectoid partners of the humans, to be fun to read and speculate on, and the high point of his world. This wasn’t as appealing the second time around as I had hoped, and I do not plan on revisiting the others in the series. I've dropped a few stars off of what I would have given this book when I first read it.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I'm re-reading my Alan Dean Foster collection and I started with Orphan Star, which, yes, is technically Book 3 in the 'series' but I sort of consider this series like Anne McCaffrey Tower and Hive Series - it's a series I can just reach for any book, pick that book up, read it and know instantly I am at home in that universe.
I found re-reading this book very enjoyable. I think I read this book when I was about thirteen, so, ohhhh, I read it AWHILE ago now. XD I appreciated Flinx back then, but I adore him all the more now as a character. Seriously, I miss this archetype, and it's weird that I have to read books from 41 years ago to hunt for male characters I can appreciate. However, that is the great thing about books - they last through time (mostly...)

I think, however, what I loved the most about re-reading this book was how much I missed the realisation of just who Flinx himself is from my first read through - or maybe I did, but it just never struck me as much as it did now. The illustrations on the covers always depict Flinx in a particular way but after reading this book again I now have a totally different vision in my mind (now that I have grown up to be an author and illustrator) of what Flinx looks like. It was an incredible revelation to me as a reader and I am SO glad I read this book first.
Also...Australia guys. AUSTRALIA. AUSTRALIA IS IN THIS BOOK. Okay. I'm done. No. Wait. Australia is awesome!!! Okay...okay...I'm done.

Alan Dead Foster wouldn't be for everyone, his style can be a bit choppy. The Pip and Flinx stories, honestly, wouldn't be for everyone either - but if you enjoy light fun, with interesting, light world-building that you can fill in the gaps with your own imagination, and if you also really love adorable flying snake dragons - then yes, I highly recommend giving Orphan Star a go. Flinx is incredibly lovable as a character. I fell in love with him as a little girl, and I haven't stopped loving him.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of all of Foster's Flinx books. In my opinion, it adds the most of the overal story of Flinx, while being a great chase story. Foster is great at depicting future worlds, and this novels provides glimpses of many keys worlds in the Commonwealth.

If you are coming to Foster's Commonwealth/Flinx novels for the first time, I recommend reading The Tar-Aiym Krang, Orphan Star, and The End of the Matter first. While For Love of Mother-Not is chronically earlier, Foster's view of the character had changed drastically in the years since he had finished The End of the Matter, and the difference shows.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like its predecessor, this is a fun, quick, exciting book that keeps expanding the Humanx universe. It’s not my favorite novel in the world, but it’s definitely worth a read if you like cross-universe journeys, coming-of-age stories, and alien cultures with more than just physical differences.

The characters were well-done. Challis was a great villain (in that he was slobby, gross, frantic sadist) with an interesting daughter that I’m assuming is going to show up later in the series?. I liked Teleen, though her motives were a little weak regarding keeping Flinx alive. There was a character from the previous novel who returned and what I like about this guy, the Baron, is that he’s not an idiot. He’s perceptive and ambitious but he knows when to stay and when to go; I hope we see more of him. I really liked Syl. She comes into the story in the middle and despite not learning too much about her, she felt like a real person. I liked their gradual friendship despite Flinx being, well, an asshole. This exchange between them made me laugh: “There have been plenty of times when I would have cheerfully cut your throat, if I hadn’t been under oath to protect it. Then there have been an equal number of other occasions when I wished you didn’t wear your skeleton outside in.”. Related to that, I really like Syl because she was more of a window into the Thranx mentality and cultural differences. I liked the subtle changes to human expressions that she uses.

The plot is exciting and unexpected, but it’s full of many coincidences, one of which is kind of useless Syl is Truzenzuzux’s niece? This seem ridiculous to me, to be honest, another is very far-fetched really, the Baron? As much as I love that guy and was glad he was back, it seemed rather ridiculous that Flinx would stumble on another one of his plots and others that made sense that Teleen is Flinx’s sister is a coincidence that actually wraps up well in the end, as Challis learned that Teleen had a brother and that said brother possibly had telepathy which is why he tracked Flinx down in the first place.
It was also a coming of age story, which I liked. Flinx is on the edge of adulthood and has to make some decisions, some of which I didn’t agree with how he manipulated Syl and risked her career because of his own ambitions, but it was great that he had moral ambiguity and he had to make hard choices. And the result of the Ursians was not to be unexpected, but I think it was a way for Flinx to develop an understanding about how things aren’t just black and white.

Overall, a very fun book with a bit more depth than a typical silly sci-fi. Can’t wait for the next one!

[Philip Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sort of read the first half of this at the end of December and the second half in the beginning of March for some reason--busy work schedule, etc.--but I liked it lots more than the "time it took me to read it" might seem to indicate.

This is the book where it's clear Flinx starts to come into his own as a character, with the story centered around him and his quest to find his biological father--or at least find out who that was.

All the fun, space opera-ey goodness that's keeping me engaged with this series is here. Just terrific fun.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this a lot. I thought this was going to be more in the humor category of SF with names like Pip & Flinx. It wasn't - just a solid SF adventure. Now have to find the other books.

[EmBe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damals als ich etwa so alt war wie Flinx, der Held hat es mich stark beeindruckt. Es war fantasievoll und spannend. Eben habe ich hier eine "Review" gelesen und gemerkt, dass ich doch vieles vergessen habe. Vielleicht sollte ich es doch irgendwamm mal wieder lesen.
Das Cover ist immer noch ein Juwel.

[Michael Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read this series before, but got the audiobook for the third novel about a boy named Flinx and his killer flying mini-dragon Pip. He is first kidnapped by a rather evil businessman who wants to exploit Flinx's mental powers. He then sets off on a quest to learn more about his parents and where he comes from.

I really enjoyed this novel and especially Flinx. Even though he is 17 years old, he comes off as extremely cunning, wise, and lucky. It reminds me a lot of the Artemis Fowl series. It is just good fun to follow a character who is always one step ahead of everyone else. I also found the alien race in the last half of the book to very fascinating and unique. Even though the book is almost 40 years old now, you could hardly ever tell it which is a testament to the author's imagination. The only thing that might perhaps date it is the church's use of microfilm for record keeping.

I don't have too much negative to say except perhaps the plot could have had better pacing. It goes kind of slow in the beginning and then near the end its just going too fast for belief. Also since I came in without reading the prior books, it did take me more time to understand what was going on.

The narration was really very great. The only time the narration was a bit off was when the narrator was doing the voice of an annoying little girl. Otherwise, no issues.

I'm looking forward to reading future novels in this series!

NOTE: I received this for free in exchange for an honest review.

This review was originally posted on MichaelSciFan

[Kayleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had known this was the second in the series before picking it up, I would have held off until I had had a chance to read the first. But since there was no indication otherwise on the cover (or anywhere else on the book), I assumed Orphan Star marked the beginning of the series. This led to some confusion, since half of this book consists of references to the events of the previous book.
The story has promise, so I may track down the first book, reread this one, and change my rating, but there are a lot of things that fall flat. The world-building is sparse and unconvincing, the pacing uneven, and there is almost no character development to speak of.
I've heard that Foster is a wonderful science fiction writer, but I wasn't terribly impressed by this particular sample of his work. That being said, I'd like to give some of his other books a chance before completely writing him off.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the direct sequel to The Tar-Aiym Krang. Flinx becomes entangled with a corrupt merchant who may know the identity of Flinx's parents. Using the financial rewards that he received after his first adventure, Flinx pursues the merchant across the galaxy, eventually finding himself on a planet under edict accompanied by a reluctant accomplice--a young thranx female. Ultimately, Flinx learns a bit about his family while discovering a remarkable alien race. Probably the best of the first three books (Bloodhype is only marginally Flinx and Pip). A nice light space opera. The prose is unremarkable but unobtrusive.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been re-re-reading this since I was in my teens. To my delight I find that it is every bit as good, exciting and sciency as past-me thought it was.

[Sir He-Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is really beginning to grow on me. Some may think five stars are too much for pulp scifi but this really is a good character driven story. I was shocked by how much emotion Foster was able to put into his alien characters. I really enjoyed the AAnn subplot, because militant totalitarian reptilians are just fun to read about...they make really fun villains.

Flinx is a complicated young man with a lot riding on his shoulders. He is intrepid but not naive, he is hard on himself and those around him when things get tough, and he is still learning how to deal with those emotions. The plot is more than decent. Flinx is kidnapped and escapes...but that's just the beginning of a mystery he is compelled to solve regarding his origins. I will not spoil the trope Foster is going for here, but I thought it was a perfect ending and now that I know the trope he's going for, I have to say...he accomplishes it really well. Because he obviously loves the story enough so that going for that trope will work.

The worldbuilding is great. I believe all the history about our alliance with friendly insect people, known as thranx and the United Church they create with humans to combine our philosophies and religions. They do this to unite all sentient beings and bring order and peace to the galaxy...only Flinx is doubtful of this. Without seeing too much from the Church's point of view this far into the series, one can feel free to conjecture. Is the pan galactic United Church in the 2900's a force for good or are they hiding things? Are they isolating the world Flinx finds himself on for a good reason?

We can go either way here, but I'm going to say at this point that Flinx might be blinded by paranoia because he's had reason to be suspicious of people growing up in a dangerous ghetto.
He's cunning, so he suspects others of the same cunning. I feel Flinx is often at odds with himself. He is so attached to all the street savvy he adapted to survive, but it's left him bitter and resentful of the universe. This is at odds with his desires to help the innocent when they are threatened.

A great foil for Flinx is Sylzenzuzex, a name I love to say but not type. She is a mantislike thranx with long jointed hands, fingers, feet and toes. She has a unique personality that is resentful at first, a little bit pious, but overall practical. Her practicality outweighs Flinx's by the end of the novel, and I think she adds just the right amount of compassion to their situation when she needs to, but not overly so. That seems to fit Flinx's personality well. He doesn't need someone overly emotional. He craves calm, rational minds and so it's ironic he finds one from the United Church, which he is entirely suspicious of. This is in spite of the fact that there seem to be nothing but decent and good people among the members he comes into contact with.

Foster adds a new alien race of ursine sapiens and as we see them evolve with Flinx's guidance from bondage to freedom, we get a really good setup for future plots in this series. I like that Foster seems to be really good at new alien species. This is actually a pet peeve of mine with scifi but I will turn on an author if the alien species he or she creates just doesn't feel fully realized. All of the aliens in the Pip and Flinx series are really well drawn, both in design and personality. They have unique, individual characters and I never got bored with them.

SPOILER FOR THE TROPE REVEALED AT THE END:








...







The trope I talked of earlier is that of the Lost Prince. Flinx was an orphan, and as it turns out, he's related to some of the villains, very very rich villains. We also have a Lost Father. As it turns out, Flinx showed signs of being an Adept, a very high class mind as revealed by the Tar Aiym Krang, this also appeared on his medical chart at birth. He was sold into slavery, and so next in the series we will probably see the fairy tale play out. Flinx may not be royalty in the story, but then again...he may. There is a king in Drallar, and we have no idea who Flinx's father is. If he is a royal, and I'm right, I win a cookie.

[Darnoc Leadburger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'm gonna start defining a new genre when I talk about science fiction, especially that of the seventies: Adventure Sci-Fi. As the third Alan Dean Foster novel I've read - and the second one recommended by my uncle at our first used bookstore hunt - I think that fits hits style very well.

My first disclaimer and probably the biggest problem with the book... this was the first Pip n Flinx book I read. After a little bit of research, it seems like this is part of his Humanx Commenwealth universe. I think I missed a lot of context here, which is a shame because I feel like there's a real cool world being built here. And the book did seem to get going with no build-up at all, which may be because this was the second book in the series.

Or because Alan Dean Foster started swinging and never let up. We see three separate planets in the first seventy-five pages. The plot moves from Flinx digging into his parentage to... well, there's a big library, and then there's an icy planet and the book kinda goes into a weird place but it works out pretty well. Better than it should, but maybe that's because Foster balances Star Wars-esque campiness with somewhat simple but catchy prose. For example, something was as black as a gambler's consciousnesses. This is no fine literary fiction, but it's written with a charm that binds it together.

I've seen lots of criticism about the characters. I don't think it's too fair. Maybe it's because I'm giving Flinx a bit of grace because I assume he had development in the two earlier books, but I didn't mind his competency. I don't mind competency porn if the plot doesn't suffer! Now, Pip did play savior in a cookie-cutter away and that bugged me a bit... and no one particularly stands out... but overall it doesn't take away from the plot or the world.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It's not my new favorite series or anything, because it's a bit lite and fluffy and I feel I may have too much faith in the first novel, but... I enjoyed it. It was a fun, if a little janky, ride for a couple of days. I'll probably buy more if I find them on the cheap.

[Sir Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old time paper back sci fi novel.
Dean foster seems most famous for
"alien" the movies novelization.
In the spirit of hinlin.von vogt.pieffer.
Pieffer details the pulp fiction community.
How they agreed on a table top universe.
Where the aliens owned space.
There was a major d an d community.
This book has the main character.
Looking to travel in space.
Like "have suit will travel" by hinlen.
Then theres hot chicks. Busty bimbos.
Major boobage. That south park episode.
Then he has a cricket buddy like zorack.
Like space ghost of hanna barbara.
Then it's like indie game on steam.
Faster than light.
Dune or tatoon from star wars.
Hes on trial is it justified to travel space.
He does leave for space ...
Wish space travel was now and we could leave for other planets where we could have what we need instead of struggle to share or be opressed by the laws.
These paperbacks from that hinlins universe r always a thrill

[Printable Tire · Rating 2 out of 5]

About half this is the protagonist wandering randomly around, getting captured by the same guy and then looking for the same guy again and again like in a bad movie serial, dashing all over the place in extensive poorly paced summaries, one long Quest for a Plot. Then he tries to do some research in a Church library and kidnaps an insect lady, forces her to a desolate planet, teaches the "natives" there (ewoks in training) about murder, and then the story ends, nothing super exciting accomplished. Somehow this guy does all this pointless piddling while he's 17, even though by my calculation 23 months must've passed in the book.

NB: All these covers are whitewashing, as Flinx is described as Balinese-looking, but with red hair.

[James]

It is a strange childhood for a kid, to be adopted by the restless Mother Mastiff and raised in the bustling marketplace of Drallar. Flinx never knew the mom and dad who abandoned him years ago. In fact, his birth has always been shrouded in mystery. But Flinx eventually discovers that his unknown parents have passed along extraordinary mental powers that are both a marvelous gift and a dreaded curse. This double-edged legacy will lead Flinx, along with his loyal protector, the mini-dragon Pip, on a harrowing journey in search of the truth . . . about who he is and where he comes from. It is a daring adventure that brings him to another world — and into the clutches of a powerful and evil man. . . .

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foster, Alan Dean. Orphan Star. 1977. Pip and Flinx No. 3 (chronological). Gateway, 2013.
Orphan Star is the second book published in the Pip and Flinx series, and by this time Foster has his Human-Thranx world fully developed and has established the conflicts that will power the series for years to come. Pip has met aliens who have uses, both fair and foul, for his paranormal abilities. His search for his parents has put him in contact with the corporate villains who will reappear in various guises. The story is a clear homage (or rip off if you don’t like it) of Heinlein’s Citizen of the Galaxy. It has weathered well and is still as readable as ever. 4 stars.

[Shanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flinx sets off on an impulsive and ill-planned quest to find out information on his origins.

This story was okay, but I was expecting to like it more than I did. I didn't like Flinx's illogical decisions, and also the coincidental interconnections between some of the characters. When you are traveling across galaxies, it seems pretty coincidental (unbelievable) that you'd randomly run into someone related to you or a relative of someone you know. I did like the Uljurrians for their even-keel personalities and sense of humor. Sylzensuzex has potential, I hope to see her developed further in a future installment.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Pip & Flinx book I’ve read now, and I love it! As fun and lighthearted as they are, they’re also extremely elaborate. Foster has created an incredible multi-planet universe, and he somehow presents it to us without info-dumping!! He treats all situations, all alien creatures, and all environments so naturally it’s as if they’re all real and beyond question. And speaking of alien creatures, they are on par with Robert Silverberg, in that they are remarkably unique and complex.

I’m sold on the rest of the series.

[Μάριος Μητσόπουλος · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5. Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο προσφέρει μία ενδιαφέρουσα και συμπαγή ιστορία επιστημονικής φαντασίας με έναν ωραία αναπτυγμένο κεντρικό χαρακτήρα. Αν και αποτελεί μέρος ανθολογίας, διαβάζεται αυτόνομα καθώς πρόκειται για μία νέα περιπέτεια. Βέβαια γίνονται κάποιες αναφορές στο πρώτο βιβλίο, αλλά δεν κάνουν την κατανόηση δύσκολη. Η βαθμολογία ίσως να ήταν μεγαλύτερη εάν είχα διαβάσει το πρωτότυπο αντί της ελληνικής έκδοσης με τίτλο "Απαγορευμένος Πλανήτης". Σε αρκετά σημεία η ιστορία φάνηκε να αδικείται από τη μετάφραση.

[Amanda Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay seems a strong word. It took me a very long time. I can't decide what age group this book is going for. Based on the image on the front cover, I thought this character was an adult but it states a couple of times that the character is very young, but he never seems to think as a young person would and he's got all kinds of ways to get out of everything.

I found that this book meandered a lot, and dragged. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone.

It's not badly written, just, for lack of a better way to say it, boring.

[Jack Doud · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another weird combination of YA and classic Sci-fi speculative science. Foster explores the setting while completely handwaving the plot and characters. Coincidences abound, the story barrels on with no real direction and then ends with a contrived surprise that doesn't mean anything. Any quarter of this book written today would have been expanded into a 400+ page novel. While I like that it's not a massive reading commitment a level of narrative flow and character development as if they were a real person in real places would be nice.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flinx is kidnapped from the marketplace, but with Pip's help manages to escape. However something said by Conda Challis lead him on a quest to try to determine his parentage. The young slave girl is a very strong adept and they run into each other again on a planet that has be interdicted by the United Church and is in the hands of gangsters mining Janus jewels for the AAnn. The plant has a sentient race thought primitive because they never speak.

[Stephani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really love the new aliens introduced in this book.

I remember starting this series way back in college and hunting through used book stores to try to find the next in the series. I managed to collect all of them, but it is so much easier now to just get the next in the series electronically.

While the thrill of the hunt made the books more fun then, actually re-reading them now is the real fun part.

[Jacob Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best So Far

I have read the first two books (skipped Bloodhype because I’ve been told to read that later) and then just finished this one. I would say this book is the best so far. Foster really amps up the action and tightens up the plot which was one of my complaints in the last book. Can’t wait to start the next one. These books are a ton of fun. They read like 80s-90s sci-fi pulp should read. Nothing too cerebral, just lots of action and fun.

[Virch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Orphan Star has been the first book in the Pip & Flinx series to keep my interest the whole way through and be an enjoyable read. There are things I think it could have done better, like I think Flinx is a bit too much of a heartless jerk in this book and he should at the very least have apologized to Syl for all he put her through, but it was a good journey otherwise, with vibrant descriptions for once to really immerse me, and an enjoyable adventure that left me wanting more.