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(More customer reviews)The Tar-Aiym Krang (1972) is the first SF novel in the Flinx series. It is also the first novel about the Humanx Commonwealth and Church founded by the Amalgamation of humans and the insectoid thranx. And it introduces their adversaries, the reptilian AAnn.
In this novel, Philip Lynx is an orphan in Drallar on Moth. He was fairly normal as a poor street kid, but he was also highly intelligent and avidly curious about many things. Flinx has developed some unusual powers as he grows older. He seems to be aware of things that he shouldn't know and he can often sense the emotions of most people.
Pip is an Alaspin minidragon, a flying reptile with a deadly toxic venom. A much younger Flinx found her scavenging for food in the garbage and they have been inseparable ever since. Although she is carnivorous, Pip also eats plant foods such as bread, raisins and pretzels.
Pip has a highly developed telempathic sense and generally knows whether a person is friendly or hostile. If anyone acts out his hostility, she is likely to spit in their eyes. They usually die within a minute.
Mother Mastiff is very old and definitely not getting any younger. She had bought Flinx from the slave coops and raised him to be independent. She had hired various performers to teach him a trade, but they were understandably nervous around Pip and tended to spend little time with him. Fortunately, he has grown into his own unusual trade.
In this story, Flinx is performing outside Mother Mastiff's shop, answering questions asked by his audience. After correctly answering the question of how much change is within the pocket of somebody in the crowd, two tough looking characters ask the location of a red-headed man with a treasure map. As Flinx is searching for an answer, a red-headed man suddenly leaves the crowd and the two toughs chase after him.
After the performance, Flinx heads toward Small Symm's bar for liquid refreshment and food for Pip and himself. On the way, they hear sounds of a fight in an alley. Flinx is ready to ignore the clash, but Pip flies off to investigate.
When Flinx enters the alley, he finds the two toughs hovering over the red-headed man. The toughs are swatting at Pip and then attack Flinx. Defending themselves, Pip and Flinx kill the toughs, but they discover that the red-headed man is already dead. Still, the red-headed dead man is clutching a treasure map in his hand.
Sticking the map in his pouch, Flinx continues on to Small Symm's bar. There he takes a job as a guide for Bran Tse-Mallory and Truzenzuzex. He shows the human and thranx around the city and then they enter the inburb where the very rich live. To his surprise, Eint Truzenzuzex shows the guard a card and they are readily admitted. Then they are admitted within the House of Malaika by identifying themselves as highly ranked scholars.
Flinx has performed in the tower, but never in the private section where they meet with Maxim Malaika. Bran and Tru speak to Malaika about an excursion that might be very profitable to him. After a while, Malaika encourages Flinx to retire to the pantry and have some refreshments.
While eating and feeding Pip, Flinx discovers a partially open door into a bar area and an eavesdropper listening to the conversation in the next room. He kicks the eavesdropper through a vent into that next room. Atha is very angry at Flinx and tries to damage him, but he successfully avoids her blows until Malaika stops the fight.
Malaika reminds Atha that she has been told many times before not to eavesdrop on his conversations. Then he sends her to prep his shuttle. When Malaika continues his conversation with Bran and Tru, Flinx is now included. The human and thranx mention a contact who hasn't shown up with data on the target planet and Flinx produces the star map.
This tale takes Flinx and the others into the Blight looking for a Tar-Aiym relic. The device is either a musical instrument or a weapon. They don't even know how big it is. Nonetheless, they are on their way, but somebody else is following them.
This book is the initial offering by the author. He has gone on to write many other books in other series, but he still comes back to the Humanx Commonwealth (see Quofum). And he still writes novels about Pip and Flinx, the latest being Patrimony.
Highly recommended for Foster fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of psionic talents, alien technology and high adventure.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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Moth was a beautiful planet, the only one with wings -- two great golden clouds suspended in space around it.Here was a wide-open world for any venture a man might scheme. The planet attracted unwary travelers, hardened space-sailors, and merchant buccaneers -- a teeming, constantly shifting horde that provided a comfortable income for certain quick-witted fellows like Flinx and his pet flying snake Pip. With his odd talents, the pickings were easy enough so that Flinx did not have to be dishonest ... most of the time.In fact, it hardly seemed dishonest at all to steal a starmap from a dead body that didn't really need it anymore. But Flinx wasn't quite smart enough. He should have wondered why the body was dead in the first place...
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