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Dirge: Book Two of the Founding of the Commonwealth (Founding of the Commonwealth, Bk 2)
 
 
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Dirge: Book Two of the Founding of the Commonwealth (Founding of the Commonwealth, Bk 2) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Kairuna was kneeling beside a flattened blue-brown bush that rose no higher than his knee, watching half a dozen dull yellow slugs with legs combine..." (more)
Key Phrases: Twin Worlds, Alwyn Mallory, Grand Council (more...)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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  Kindle Edition, November 28, 2006 $5.59 -- --
  Hardcover, June 5, 2000 -- $14.49 $0.30
  Mass Market Paperback, May 28, 2001 $6.99 $1.99 $0.01

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

First, humanity establishes ties with intelligent, extraterrestrial bugs. Some 20 years later, humanity makes first contact with intelligent, extraterrestrial babes. Or so goes the chronology in Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth, as detailed in the second book of the Founding of the Commonwealth prequel trilogy. Following up on Phylogenesis, Dirge fleshes out the foundation for the universe that's home to the ever-popular Pip and Flinx, among other Foster favorites. And while it's not exactly Heinlein, Dirge provides essential background for fans of all the Humanx books in typical action-packed Foster style.

The space babes in question call themselves the Pitar, and after somewhat stunted relations with the insectoid Thranx (first contacted in Nor Crystal Tears), humanity falls all over itself fawning over this "drop-dead, overpoweringly, stunningly gorgeous"--if strangely reticent--new race. But everything isn't what it seems, of course, or there wouldn't be much of a story here. Not to give anything away, but even the most unobservant reader will soon realize that something's suspicious about these alluring aliens--especially when 600,000 colonists on the otherwise boring outpost of Treetrunk are swiftly, brutally, and mysteriously exterminated. --Paul Hughes



From Publishers Weekly

Derivative and predictable, this second novel in Foster's Founding of the Commonwealth series reinforces the lesson that looks can be deceiving. When Alwyn Mallory explores the new world of Argus V, he inadvertently becomes part of the first contact team to meet the alien Pitar. Unlike the unpleasantly buglike alien thranx, the Pitar are "drop-dead, overpoweringly, stunningly, gorgeous." Relations with the friendly but disliked thranx slow to a crawl as humanity overwhelmingly embraces the Pitar. Their telegenic appearances are so compelling that the media scarcely notices when the thranx are attacked by terrorists in a protected diplomatic enclave on Earth. Possibly the only good thing to come out of the slaughter is the founding of a joint religion by two clerics, one human and one thranx. As years pass, and the Pitar continue to refuse access to their homeworld, the media spin explains that they are "shy" and refuses to believe they could have anything to hide. Meanwhile, humanity is happily expanding through the galaxy and colonizing Argus V--until disaster strikes and all 600,000 colonists are hideously slaughtered by an unknown force. When Mallory is discovered, crazed and near death, hiding on one of the Argus's moons, he is the only hope humankind has for ascertaining just who the villainous, slaughtering aliens really are. Although Foster implies that interesting things are going to happen with human-thranx religious philosophies, that doesn't happen in this novel. Instead we get a vision of humanity as a race unable to see beyond the reflection of surface beauty and incapable of restraining itself from its basest instincts when that enhanced mirror is shattered. (June)

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (June 6, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345418646
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345418647
  • Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #653,862 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Alan Dean Foster
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Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
Kairuna was kneeling beside a flattened blue-brown bush that rose no higher than his knee, watching half a dozen dull yellow slugs with legs combine their efforts to spin a mutual home out of what appeared to be cerise silk. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Twin Worlds, Alwyn Mallory, Grand Council, New Riviera, Irene Tse, Argus Five, Chagos Downs, Father Pyreau, Low Thranx, New Ireland, Major Rothenburg, Treetrunk One, Minister Saluafata
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This book cites 21 books:
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars The set-up was pretty obvious...., July 26, 2000
By Terry Mathews (a small town in east Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

I didn't read the first book in this series, so I can't make comparisons, but I did like the story.

Six hundred thousand humans are slaughtered on Treetrunk, a remote planet. Their destruction is mythodical and complete. However, one man survives by taking a worn out shuttle and leaving the planet before the death squad reaches him.

Once found, the survivor recovers and recounts the horrific events, but no one believes him when he reveals who was responsible for the planet's genocide.

I decided who the 'bad guys' were early on. Figuring that out so early usually ruins a book for me, but I kept reading because I wanted to see how it all turned out.

Foster cleaned up all the story lines and created a new one right at the end -- perfect planning for a sequel.

Enjoy!

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Dirge - a song of grief, July 25, 2000
By "ammike" (CEDAR PARK, TX USA) - See all my reviews
Phylogenesis; Alan Dean Foster was the first in the series just published in paperback last year. That book was the hook and this expensive hardback is pure publisher greed. Foster is a great storyteller and this series is a good sci-fi humanx interest tale. I would wait for the paperback, however, and save your praise for the paperback version to reward this great author and deny his greedy publisher.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Founding: Book Two, October 7, 2002
This review is from: Dirge (Founding of the Commonwealth, Bk 2) (Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
It has been twenty years since the chance meeting of street thug Cheelo Montoya and Thranx poet Desvendapur revealed the bug colony hidden deep within the Amazon Basin, and not much has changed. Contact between the species is still proceeding at a far too reluctant pace for some. Sadly, that pace is further hindered by the arrival of the Pitar, a species of alien that embodies all that humankind aspire to on a physical level (i.e. a planet inhabited by Playgirl and Playboy centerfolds). However the Thranx are rather suspicious of these newly arrived and friendly, yet very secretive, aliens and fear that the humans may pay a price for their blind confidence. And pay the humans do, when 600,000 settlers are wiped out in a brutal surprise attack that has left no trace of the aggressors.

ADF's second chapter in the Founding Trilogy is a tight, brisk read. The fallout from the events of the first book is still being dealt with and the Big Picture lessons that humanity needs to learn about its own arrogance and addiction to visually pleasing lifeforms is well delivered, albeit with a heavy hand (600,000!?!). Some reviews mention the rather abbreviated ending, but this book is the second act in a three act play and, while this particular chapter's story could be expanded into a series of its own (yeah, I thought it was THAT good), in this telling it serves only as an important step in the trail that leads to the Founding. Recommended.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A slow start, but eventually got me hooked.
The book starts out kind-of slow, but once the attack on Argus V takes place, things get a lot more interesting. Read more
Published 7 months ago by elderpav

5.0 out of 5 stars turning point in the commonwealth
Twists and Turns....Makes the whole of the Commonwealth make sense. If you are a Flinx or just a Foster Commonwealth fan this book is a must.
Published on March 18, 2003 by Dirk Diggler

3.0 out of 5 stars More Thranx, less Pitar please
Dirge is Book 2 of the Founding of the Commonwealth (thus the sequel to Phylogenesis). Dirge picks up pretty much where Phylogenesis leaves off, humans and Thranx trying to... Read more
Published on November 3, 2002 by Adam Missner

3.0 out of 5 stars More Thranx, less Pitar please.
Dirge is Book 2 of the Founding of the Commonwealth (thus the sequel to Phylogenesis). Dirge picks up pretty much where Phylogenesis leaves off, humans and Thranx trying to... Read more
Published on November 3, 2002 by Adam Missner

3.0 out of 5 stars More Thranx, less Pitar please.
Dirge is Book 2 of the Founding of the Commonwealth (thus the sequel to Phylogenesis). Dirge picks up pretty much where Phylogenesis leaves off, humans and Thranx trying to... Read more
Published on November 3, 2002 by Adam Missner

3.0 out of 5 stars Not believable.. but enjoyable
This seems to be another victim of Foster's ever accellerating pace of production. Sure the storyline is predictable, we were told what would happen in "The End of the... Read more
Published on July 22, 2001 by Ben Cooley

3.0 out of 5 stars Background info...is a good thing!
when i read this book i already knew who the bad guys were, having read the entire Flinx&Pip series repeatedly, but that did not alter the fact that this was a very enjoyable,... Read more
Published on July 12, 2001 by chamedragon

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Foster's best, but very enjoyable!
This book did not have all the action or grandness of a usual Foster book. It was still a good read though and I think he is setting up some really good stuff for the... Read more
Published on July 11, 2001 by David Rogers

1.0 out of 5 stars This is the WORST of the Commonwealth-related books...
This book truly stinks. But let me clarify. The first 80-90% is actually a fun read, and anyone familiar with Foster's Commonwealth-related books will enjoy that part. Read more
Published on February 17, 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing New - But Fun To Read
For those who have been pay attention the Commonwealth books for years, we all knew who the bad guys were here, who the good guys were, and how it ends. Read more
Published on November 28, 2000 by jimbokaplan

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