Farscape: House of Cards [Paperback]

Keith R. A. DeCandido (Author), Rockne S. O'Bannon (Creator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2001 | Series: Farscape

The pleasure planet Liantac was once the greatest gambling resort in the Unchartered Territories. Even now, having fallen on hard times, it remains a spectacle of glitz and greed. Astronaut John Crichton and his fellow interstellar fugitives see Liantac as the source of much-needed supplies--except for Rygel, whose boundless avarice is tempted by the promise of easy riches.

Imagine his shock, then, when he loses their starship, Moya, in a game of chance!

To discharge the debt, and liberate their ship from the planetary authorities, Crichton, Aeryn, and the others must take on a number of challenging assignments. But all is not what it seems, for treachery and deadly intrigue hides within this...House of Cards.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With its slip of a plot and screwball ensemble, this slim spinoff of the hit Sci-Fi Channel series of the same name reads like a high-energy episode. The Moya, a sentient Leviathan starship, is home to a crew of good-natured outlaws, renegades and misfits led by Comdr. John Crichton. Relaxing for a spell in the Uncharted Territories, Crichton and his cronies are duped into visiting Liantac, a casino planet, where Rygel, their irresponsible insectoid sidekick, promptly loses the Moya in a card game rigged by Netoros, a woman with considerable power and ambitions for her planet. Paying off Rygel's debt requires Crichton and his crew to perform a series of services for Netoros that seem benign on the surface, but are really part of a ploy between Netoros and the interstellar authorities to boost Liantac's free-falling economy. DeCandido (Star Trek: The Next Generation: Diplomatic Implausibility) orchestrates events so that complications can be resolved as easily as they are in an episode's one-hour time frame, but he keeps the action brisk and the ongoing arguments between the characters sparkling with humor. No adjectives can faithfully re-create the show's trademark costume and make-up effects, but Farscape fans will find this frothy flight a tide-me-over to fill the between-season downtime.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Keith R.A. DeCandido has written four novels, one comic-book miniseries, a short story, and half-a-dozen eBooks based on Star Trek®. He has also written several Farscape novels and short stories, best-selling books based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and other fiction based on Doctor Who, Xena, Spider-Man, and the X-Men. DeCandido lives in New York City.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (May 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812561627
• ISBN-13: 978-0812561623
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #937,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Keith R.A. DeCandido was born and raised in New York City to a family of librarians. He has written over two dozen novels, as well as short stories, nonfiction, eBooks, and comic books, most of them in various media universes, among them Star Trek, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Marvel Comics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Resident Evil, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, Farscape, Xena, and Doctor Who. His original novel Dragon Precinct was published in 2004, and he's also edited several anthologies, among them the award-nominated Imaginings and two Star Trek anthologies. Keith is also a musician, having played percussion for the bands the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, the Boogie Knights, and the Randy Bandits, as well as several solo acts. In what he laughingly calls his spare time, Keith follows the New York Yankees and practices kenshikai karate. He still lives in New York City with his girlfriend and two insane cats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Scapers, August 24, 2001

By 

Jake Krauss (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Farscape: House of Cards (Paperback)

This is a great book for a Scaper. It has a few errors (like forgetting that Luxans put their surname first and given name last) but is all in all a good read. It gives more back-story than a Farscape fanatic would need, and less than someone who's not familiar with the show would need, which makes me wonder what audience it's supposed to be geared towards. But I loved the insights it gave, specifically into Aeryn and Rygel. Finally, someone realizes that everything isn't always Rygel's fault! Now to point out some errors in the editorial review... Moya is the ships name, it's not 'The Moya'. Crichton is not the leader of our motley crew. They really don't have a leader. The human is just another one of them. And the others are far from his cronies. They are not resting a spell in the Uncharteds, they pretty much live there. And Rygel is not insectoid. He's amphibian. He's not an irresponsible sidekick, he's a deposed dominar to over 600 billion subjects. No one ever gives the poor guy enough credit! The plot had plenty of twists and turns, but not too many to follow. I suspect that I shall re-read this book several times.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Entertaining, July 26, 2001

By 

Alaria (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Farscape: House of Cards (Paperback)

Liantac is a gambler's paradise and the Uncharted Territories version of Las Vegas. Having recently delivered a passenger to the planet, Crichton and the others decide to take the opportunity to buy supplies, relax, and visit the world's main attraction: The Casino. It isn't long before Rygel takes a chance and ends up losing Moya to the casino owner. Now the Farscape crew are trapped on Liantac with no means of escape and the ever-present threat of Peacekeeper intervention. Forced to work off debts, D'Argo becomes a bodyguard and Zhaan is in danger of being added to a private plant collection. Crichton however has more important issues on his mind, most notably the fact that he can't remember the words to "Viva Las Vegas".

"House of Cards" is the entertaining first novel in a series based upon the popular television programme, Farscape. Packed with humour and action, this is a must-have for any fan. There isn't much of a plot, but this is so fun to read that you won't really care. The author manages to capture the atmosphere of the show perfectly. The descriptions of Liantac are vivid and the characters behave as you would expect them to. The focus is not placed upon any one member of Moya's crew and everyone is given a chance to shine. "House of Cards" is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I would recommend it to any fan of the Farscape series.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great addition to the Farscape Universe, April 21, 2001

By 

"slightlyaskew" (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Farscape: House of Cards (Paperback)

Every fan of Farscape should enjoy this book. It's like reading the script of one of the episodes, it is that well done. The dialogue between Moya's crew is hilarious and since it's a book we also get to read what some of them are really thinking when dealing with the other members of the crew. I hope there are more books on the way.