The Founder [Mass Market Paperback]

Christopher B. Rowley (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rowley's ( The Vang ) latest is an episodic tale of a man's ambition to build a giant spaceship and sail it to liberty among the stars. Even after Dane Fundan completes his massive project, the last free space-colonization vessel, and offers passage to those who want to escape the domination of Earth's World Government, his unholy alliance with wealthy, corrupt Arabs threatens to turn the craft into an interstellar slave-ship. In the absence of a plot beyond the chronicling of the journey itself, the book moves along without compelling force. Each new scene of cruelty on Earth, on the starship, or on the New World is a self-contained drama in which the band of expatriates keeps learning the same lesson: treachery will be found wherever conscious life appears. Despite the 25th-century setting, Rowley's message is a time-worn platitude: people must purge the dross from their own souls or risk incurring their own destruction.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (November 13, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345331753
• ISBN-13: 978-0345331755
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #910,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Founder...An Intro to the Universe, February 13, 2001

By 

"bugdude60" (NorthBay, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Founder (Mass Market Paperback)

I found that 'The Founder' was an excellent intro to the series that followed, namely; The War For Eternity, The Black Ship, The Starhammer, The Vang: The Military Form, The Vang: The Battlemaster, although I believe it was written as an afterthought. All in all, The Founder introduced me to a universe that was natural in course to our own but with some very unique plot twists and some very real aliens, especially biologically speaking. The amount of detail given to the entire series was excellent. Characters, biology, technology, and psychology were well covered so that I didn't want to put any of the books down, once started. Some of the original cover art could have been pumped up but that is the only critique I have. I found 'The Founder' and the rest of its accompanyment quite enjoyable, immensely strong and very real.

4.0 out of 5 stars Sci-Fi Space Adventure !, September 19, 2007

By 

Jeff Van Gastel (CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Founder (Paperback)

"The Founder" starts off slow, but definitely speeds up as the book takes place off of Earth! I believe this is the first book in his series about the Fenrille. The other two being "The War For Eternity" and "The Black Ship."
The plot revolves around Dane Fundan, of the Fundan Clan. He and his guardian commence building a great ship, The Founder, to explore space and find another planet to inhabit. There are invaders coming to Earth and the surrounding solar system. Funding drys up for the ship, and then Dane is forced to make an agreement with Ibrahim, the leader of the Khalifi, an outlaw group of pirates and thieves who have been at war with the Fundan Clan for a long time. The ship gets built, and they take off for deep space. During the trip, the Khalifi take over command, and keep Dane, his comrades, and the rest of the travelers under guard. They eventually arrive at the planet Fenrille, where the local fauna of the planet strongly disagrees with the invading settlers of the Founder.
The book was an enjoyable read, but ended abruptly for me. There were also "leaps" forward in the book, where major events happened with very little explanation. For example, Dane leads a coupe against the Khalifi when they are orbiting Fenrille, but it is never explained how it was successful.
Definitely check out the "Vang" books by Christopher Rowley.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Colonists in an alien world, May 14, 2000

By 

Vang "vang" (Nebraska, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Founder (Mass Market Paperback)

This story of a group of people escaping an Earth wallowing in its own decay and eventual doom is very good though not as much as the author's other titles. I felt the author took too much time on getting the refugees to their new planet than was necessary and does not serve any purpose. Beyond that, the book is excellant and does not bludgeon you with its message as some authors do. The message is there, you just have to realize it. All in all, this book is a worthy read.