Customer Reviews

Bloodhype (Pip and Flinx)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

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.

This is a truly well done novel. No, Flinx is not the only character in this book, but he is the main character. In response to a previous review, I think he is totally in character. I read this novel when it was brand new (I think I was twelve at the time) and saw the series evolve. This is truly an entertaining read, I've read it many, many times. I cannot but say that you will not be disappointed with this book, unlees you happen to be that "Reader from California". (See lame review below) :) Enjoy!

I really liked the Flinx of the Commonwealth series but this book really disapointed me. This book is poorly written and doesn't seem to fit into the rest of the series. Flinx isn't even the main character and barely exists. When Flinx does appear in the story he doesn't act very much like Flinx anyway. This book however does include one of the main recurring themes of the Filnx of the Commonwealth series: long lost alien races leaving significant legacys. This book starts out with these two Church agents trying to find a killer narcotic called bloodhype. By the end of the story a big, mean, lifeform called the Vom escapes from this planet and Flinx and this revived Tar'Aiym wage a psionic battle with it. If it were completely about the Tar'Aiym Flinx and the Vom this book would be pretty cool. Unfortuneately most of the books actually about trying to hunt down the bloodhype. THe bloodhype only effects the psionic war in about one paragraph. The Only thing made me keep reading is the fact that it was part of the Flinx of the Commonwealth series. Spare yourself the time and don't read this book unless you REALLY want to read the entire series. Read the rest of the series it's really good. Besides nothing in this book is so much as mentioned in the following books.

IF you like Alan Foster's writing and have been reading the Flix "epic" this is a must read. As usual, an above average plot and Flix's character must have become an alter ego for Foster by now. The best twist was the observation for Flix from an outside looking in viewpoint. Worth reading.

I started reading this series because the first book, For Love of Mother-Not, was free on Kindle. That book was a great read, so I bought the next book in the series and on and on until I got to this one. So I've read The Tar-Aiym Krang, Orphan Star, and The End of the Matter. Each of those books built on the last and we got to see Flinx's talents develop. Then came Bloodhype. After reading this book, I have no interest in going further into the Flinx series. Not only was the book a serious departure from the development of Flinx's character, but the writing was not up-to-par.

The main character is a horribly oversexed, arrogant, narcissistic church agent named Kitten Kai-sung. There is nothing likable about this character. You only root for her because the alternatives are so much worse (homicidal maniacs and sadistic rapists). I only kept reading because I thought it had to get better. I kept thinking that at some point Flinx would appear and we would move away from Kitten and forget she ever existed (or at least she'd become a satellite character). But no. When Flinx finally appeared, he was only recognizable because he had Pip on his shoulder. Little else about him jibed with the Flinx we learned about in the previous novels.

In this book, he completely lacked personality, motivation, and even dialogue. There was no explanation given for why he was working for the most degenerate person on the planet, or why he was on this planet to begin with.

To make matters worse, everything was just a little too convenient. At least in the past Flinx books, we could chalk up the coincidences to the fact that he can read emotions and Pip amplified that ability. There was no such excuse this time. The main characters were repeatedly getting pulled out of life-threatening situations JUST IN TIME. After a couple of these episodes, suspension of disbelief began to wear thin.

If you haven't read this book yet and enjoy the Flinx series, skip this one and move ahead to the next. Flinx is barely in it, so you won't miss much. Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately for my wallet), I won't keep reading because this book has completely turned me off of the series.

And one last thing, the formatting for the Kindle was horrible. When I got to a certain point in the book, sections kept being repeated with a lot of visible HTML formatting between the repeated parts.

This book is different from the rest of the Flinx series, but still great. Flinx is not the major character, which is one of the neat things about it. There are other commonwealth books that never mention Flinx yet hint at his fate (e.g. the Howling Stones), and this book is a strange crossover between those other commonwealth books and hardcore Flinx books. The book is an easy and fast read, yet features the Vom, simply one of the neatest entities in the sci fi world.

What a disappointment! I just started reading Alan Dean Fosters Flinx in the Commonwealth collection by getting the first book free on my kindel. I found it very entertaining until I got to Bloodhype. It seems Foster had a short story and wanted to sell it. He decided to add a Flinx in as a very minor character in the background and a few more pages. Great! I can make it one of the commonwealth series!
The book in poorly written and you can foresee the ending in the beginning of the book. It's just plain boring. I feel ripped off! If I had not all ready bought Flinx in Flux I would have discontinued reading the series. I will see if that book returns to the fun adventures of Flinx and continues me in reading on.

I have a handful of books from 20 to 30 years ago that I still read over, and this one is near the top of the list.