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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
fun tour of the galaxy, July 5, 2006
On the planet Hyff, an astronomer sees three ships approaching and fear the Iollth are approaching as they do every century or so to loot and plunder. The Hyffs are pacifists by nature and simply do not have the military mindset to wage war even on an enemy. However, the ships the astronomer saw are not from Iollth but are Nyyuan carrying Marcus Walker, the sentient speaking canine George, the squid like creature Sque and the giant Braouk from the planet Tuuqalia.
These four aliens have been abducted from their homeworlds by the Vilenjii traders who believe sentient beings are commodities to be taken. The astronomers of Hyff find Braouk's planet but before they can travel there the Iollth arrive. The people of Hyff have been so kind and helpful to them, they find they can't leave without solving the Iollth problem. On Braouk's world they find the homeworld of Sque and once they arrive there, the isolationist egotistical beings of K'eremu refuse to help George and Marcus find earth because it is not their problem.
Readers are treated to a tour of the galaxy filled with sentient aliens of all shapes and sizes. It is a dazzling universe and Earth is considered such an isolated backwater place, nobody knows where it is. Allen Dean Foster has written an excellent Star Wars like novel that dazzles the readers with characters that are so realistic and unusual. There is plenty of action but what makes this tale stand out from others is that that these different worlds are explored in intricate detail.
Harriet Klausner
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent End to a Decent Series, November 17, 2006
THE CANDLE OF DISTANT EARTH (2006) is the third book from THE TAKEN TRILOGY, following LOST AND FOUND (2004) *****, and THE LIGHT YEARS BENEATH MY FEET (2005) ***.
In LOST AND FOUND, we were introduced to Marcus Walker, the "All American Boy" who gets abducted by aliens while on a solo camping trip in the Sierra Nevadas. Walker is paired with the "All American Mutt", abducted from a Chicago alley, whom he calls George... the dog is able to speak, due to brain enhancement and implant technology of the "evil" abducting aliens. While in captivity aboard a giant alien ship, our heros encounter all sorts of strange oxygen-breathing aliens in a Wild Animal Park setting; and eventually work with some of them to execute an exciting escape attempt - but as they are breaking free in a "life boat", an even bigger space ship arrives on the scene manned by "interstellar cops" who take pity on the 4 individuals, whom they take back to their planet near the center of the galaxy, which can be described as near the height of galactic civilization, and where they put the four abductees on the government dole as hardship cases.
In the 2nd book, the 4 folks (human, dog, giant poetical monster, & genius pompous land octopus), manage to find a way out of their "boring" government sponsered lives, where they are basically provided everything they want, except for a ride home (nobody knows exactly where home is)... they are put to work on an alien planet that is hopefully closer to their homes out on the galactic "outback"... this alien planet turns out to be constantly at war, but with some strange rules (that closely parallel those from the STAR TREK Original Series episode A TASTE OF ARMEGEDDON). Suffice it to say, those adventures were far less believable than the ones from the first book.
In the third book, the 4 aliens eventually manage to find their way back to their individual worlds, and new adventures and situations transpire... the book starts off well, but slows down in the middle, and winds up with an unsatisfying ending that leaves the door open for similar future books.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Series, Implausible Ending, November 25, 2007
This review is from: The Candle of Distant Earth (Taken) (Mass Market Paperback)
Spoiler:
Ever read a book or a series of books, enjoy them thoroughly, only to reach the end and then have the author deliberately choose an "easy" resolution which not only seems entirely implausible but has you seething at being cheated out of what could have been the best part of the entire story?
Candle of Distant Earth is the most frustrating of books, as the consistently entertaining series screeches to a most disappointing ending as our reluctant hero and dog and friends decides AGAINST visiting earth and - most unlikely of all - somehow manages to convince the arch villain to not only spare his life but become - incredibly - a likely business partner! Keep in mind that in Book 1 our hero and friends managed to KILL several representatives of the kidnappers and Pret-Knob spends the entirety of the last two books trying to reacquire his cargo! And never mind the bloodthirsty Iollth whose brief appearance in this book raises far more questions than it answers. And can anyone not see the cosmic and comic possibilities of a Man and Talking Dog and "Weird" Friends actually visting good old Earth! But nope - Walker decides that after finally reaching his home he can't go home again so there goes the book (even though Pret-Knob never said that he wouldn't kidnap yet more human cargo or for that matter that they haven't been doing it for some time!).
One can only hope ADF revisits this series which was otherwise well-written, charming, and immensely sly and entertaining - at least until page 254 of this book (with the words "I am going to kill you") before it jumps the shark....
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