It's been a long time since I used to say Foster was my favorite author, and there's no doubt my tastes have changed since then. But because Midworld was one of his best and I remember liking the Pip & Flinx series too, I decided to pick up this one that combines the two - somehow I never read it in my younger days. So... it was okay. I'm giving it three stars on the general principle of once having been a big fan. The story was fine, with the Midworld-specific aspects being pretty much a rehashing of what was presented in Midworld, while the Flinx aspects were clearly just making some minor steps forward in his larger story. Maybe my standards are higher these days, but the writing seemed just a bit lazy to me this time around - just little things like the use of occasional contemporary expressions instead of futuristic ones that might have fit better, and some repetition - I definitely got tired of hearing the Midworld natives call the offworlders stupid for not magically having an in-depth knowledge of all the flora and fauna on a planet they've never visited before. Anyway, I wasn't thrilled, but it was enjoyable enough.
My favorite of the Pip and Flinx series.Foster is a master of creating alien life and ecologies, and Midworld is his masterpiece. Pip and Flinx find themselves on this unusual world while being tracked by bounty hunters. The world is a giant forest, both beautiful and deadly. Humans also live there, but they have integrated themselves into the structure of the world and live in harmony with it. In the end Flinx comes out of it with a powerful new ally, a living world, which can see the threat looming to Humanx space.
What do You think about Mid-Flinx (1996)?
I don't think this book advanced Flinx's story at all, however, this is my favorite so far simply because I love this type of story. Pip & Flinx are being chased by a squad of assassins through a killer jungle. Flinx finds a native to help keep him safe, while the assassins get picked off one at a time by the killer jungle.I wanted for Flinx to develop and use his psionic talents. The series is now something like 13 books and his mental talents are still unreliable and pretty much useless; this was a very, very, very big disappointment to me for the series as a whole.
—Bryan457
