10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Read Bloodhype and meet the last surviving Tar-Aiym, May 12, 2008
This review is from: Bloodhype (Mass Market Paperback)
The Adventures of Flinx and Pip are a series of 14 (so far) books that really needs be read in a specific order which is not the order published.
Bloodhype was 1st published in 1973, but is the 11th book in this series and fits neatly between
Running from the Deity: A Pip & Flinx Adventure (Adventures of Pip and Flinx) and
Trouble Magnet: A Pip & Flinx Adventure.
The Adventures of Pip and Flinx are best read in the following order:
For Love of Mother-Not (1983), ISBN 0-345-30511-6
The Tar-Aiym Krang (1972), ISBN 0-345-29232-4
Orphan Star (1977), ISBN 0-345-25507-0
The End of the Matter (1977), ISBN 0-345-25861-4
Flinx in Flux (1988), ISBN 0-345-34363-8
Mid-Flinx (1995), ISBN 0-345-38374-5
Reunion (2001), ISBN 0-345-41867-0
Flinx's Folly (2003), ISBN 0-345-45038-8
Sliding Scales (2004), ISBN 0-345-46156-8
Running from the Deity (2005), ISBN 0-345-46159-2
Bloodhype (1973), ISBN 0-345-25845-2
Trouble Magnet (2006), ISBN 0-345-48504-1
Patrimony (2007), ISBN 978-0-345-48507-6
Flinx Transcendent (forthcoming 2008)
They follow Flinx's maturation and development of his special powers from his childhood through his young adulthood and beyond (I hope). We travel to amazing worlds and meet very weird and remarkable aliens following Pip and Flinx as they try to decide what to do about the dark sentience coming from the region of the constellation of Boötes (where a great dark hole in the universe actually exists).
My only complaint about Foster's Commonwealth Universe, is in wanting more detail. Any one of the worlds or alien races could occupy a writer's entire life's work. There are some such in his stand-alone novels. But those are other stories.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting & Engaging - Great book., February 23, 2000
This book is an interesting tie-in book to the Flinx series. It is enjoyable to see Flinx largely from outside his POV for almost the entire time he appears in this novel (the latter half). I found it to be a nice contrast to the 'hardcore Flinx' novels. The main characters are both deadly serious and lightheartedly silly. A strange combo that works well and provides a constant stream of banter between the main characters.
In response to some of the other reviews below...
While Flinx's adventures in this story seem to be forgotten in the next book (the timeline at the end of 'Flinx in Flux' places the Vom/Guardian event _AFTER_ the 'FiF' events), I have hope that there is a reason for this that will be revealed later in the series. I say this because in each novel, Flinx is forced to grow and to develop his mysterious Talent in some way. As this happens more pieces are put into place regarding his destiny and the sheaf of other ongoing plotlines that Foster weaves in.
What both frustrates me (mildly) and yet draws me to the next book, is the fact that each time he aquires some new aspect of his Talent, he seems to forget he can do that particuar thing in subsequent novels. (i.e. the offensive capability he uses at the end of Flinx in Flux is never even mentioned in "Mid-Flinx," even when he is in deadly danger and would most certainly have at least considered using it.) The pattern is set in the (timeline-wise) first novel "For Love of Mother Not" when Flix experiences a haeadache and amnesia after he mysteriously resuces himself from the middle of a firefight... destroying a building in the process.
Either Foster is a schitzo or there is a deliberate pattern to this. I trust it is a pattern.. and that there is a reason for it... one that will be revealed and make sense. If that is so, I feel confident that the Vom, the Guardian, & Flinx's participation in the battle from this novel will fit into that pattern. I point to the final communication between Flinx and the Guardian for an enticing possibility.
I just hope Foster does not string this out too long. Too much frustration and I'll quit being interested in buying. Like I did with X-Files after a few years.
But for now I am content to read and enjoy the unfolding story of Flinx.
Dear Mr. Foster, WE NEED MORE FLINX! NOW! heheh
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't believe the hype., September 17, 2001
As a big fan of Flinx, especially his earnestness, I looked forwarded to following his growth in Foster's second Flinx book. Sadly, Flinx is less than a minor character in this very confused tale. Bloodhype is (oddly enough) actually a story about an alien intelligence so powerful it devours all life on planets it attacks and is a threat to the entire galaxy. Mixed in the story is also some unsavory drug dealers who deal in Bloodhype, a kinda futuristic crack that gets you addicted after one dose and you will die without another. Still, the last 80 pages or so made it actually worth finishing and possibly made the whole book worth reading.
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