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Pip & Flinx #11
Running from the Deity
From science fiction legend Alan Dean Foster comes a thrilling Pip and Flinx adventure, wherein a certain red-haired, green-eyed young man blessed (or cursed) with strange powers finds himself and his mini-dragon sidekick on a top-secret mission concerning deep space, alien worlds . . . and a primordial horror intent on devouring all of it. In the outer depths of the universe lies the Great Emptiness, where something dreadful lurks, hidden behind a great gravitational lens of dark matter. Something horrific that howls and writhes and rages across three hundred million light-years of space–and is now heading straight for the Commonwealth and moving faster all the time. One slim chance exists to avert catastrophe, and only Flinx can take it. Roaming the galaxy is a conscious planet-size weapons system, the legacy of a long-extinct race. As Flinx is the only one who has ever experienced mental contact with the machine, it is his job to find the powerful alien artifact and coax it into joining the battle against the behemoth from beyond. So Pip and Flinx valiantly sail into the unknown aboard their little spaceship, which is immediately forced down for emergency repairs on planet Arrawd, home to less advanced sentients and therefore off-limits to space travelers. But what with Arrawd being very beautiful, and Flinx being Flinx, this particular rule doesn’t stand a chance. Now, Flinx is no stranger to murderous attacks and stalking assassins—evading them occupies most of his waking hours–but to be besieged by hordes bent on worshipping him as a god? Worse still, escaping this fate is going to be as impossible as fulfilling his dire mission. What’s a deity to do?
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
105 people are currently reading
622 people want to read
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
488 books2,000 followersBestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 21, 2017
I expected something light for Flinx's ongoing adventure and kinda expected the big galaxy consuming monstrosity to feature big because of the title, so what I did actually get is rather funny.
Running from the Deity? LOL Who is it? FLINX.
Oh, Flinx, what have you done?
Really, what could have been kinda corny or a flashback to C3PO among the Ewoks was actually rather cool in a Flinx-specific kind of way. He's not a bad kid, after all. He's just kinda stupid sometimes and he never watched Star Trek. Or maybe he did and he took all the wrong lessons from Janeway or something.
What could be the harm? Just heal some locals while I wait for my ship to fix itself. NO BIG DEAL.
Right. Well, the aliens are cool which is kinda a standard thing for ADF and the implications and runaway events are suitably wild and Flinx just can't keep up with the crazy.
Light fun, indeed. I'm quite happy with this series. :)
Running from the Deity? LOL Who is it? FLINX.
Oh, Flinx, what have you done?
Really, what could have been kinda corny or a flashback to C3PO among the Ewoks was actually rather cool in a Flinx-specific kind of way. He's not a bad kid, after all. He's just kinda stupid sometimes and he never watched Star Trek. Or maybe he did and he took all the wrong lessons from Janeway or something.
What could be the harm? Just heal some locals while I wait for my ship to fix itself. NO BIG DEAL.
Right. Well, the aliens are cool which is kinda a standard thing for ADF and the implications and runaway events are suitably wild and Flinx just can't keep up with the crazy.
Light fun, indeed. I'm quite happy with this series. :)
August 22, 2021
Flinx and Pip are on a quest to find a Tar-Aiym weapon to keep the galaxy safe from the approaching doom, when they're forced to land on a backwards planet to make repairs to their ship. Prime directive? They don't need no stinkin' prime directive! Readers hoping for advancement in the overall plot arc will be disappointed, but it's a very clever and engaging diversion, and another step in Flinx's growth. It's a very enjoyable entry in the series, and another nice look at a corner of the Humanx Commonwealth.
May 27, 2010
Flinx starts out to find a weapon to use against the hungry evil accelerating toward the galaxy, only to be diverted to a planet, on which landings are forbidden because of the low technological level of its inhabitants. Flinx has to land so his ship can make repairs. There he meets a backwater race of aliens empaths, and does what he can to heal the sick and injured, breaking the prime directive of the Commonwealth not to interfere with primitive species, especially using technology. The natives begin worshipping Flinx as a God, which infuriates religious and political leaders. Other countries prepare to invade to gain control of the new God, and Flinx realizes why the alien contact rules exist.
This is a somewhat interesting alien contact story. The main storylines involving Flinx learning to control his power and save the galaxy don't go anywhere. It does not add anything to the overall storyline.
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.
This is a somewhat interesting alien contact story. The main storylines involving Flinx learning to control his power and save the galaxy don't go anywhere. It does not add anything to the overall storyline.
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.
March 26, 2016
'He's not the messiah; he's a very naughty boy!'
- Brian's mum
In this instalment of the Humanx Commonwealth/Pip & Flinx saga, Flinx is forced into yet another diversion from his ongoing mission to save the galaxy due to his ship, the Teacher, needing to land on a planet to make essential repairs.
Not wanting to be delayed any longer than necessary, Flinx makes the unfortunate decision to land on the nearest planet, which happens to be a world that has yet to make first contact with any spacefaring species. Rather than cloaking the ship and staying put for the few days the repairs will take, our boy Flinx decides to have a look around. Not a good idea!
Flinx ends up getting injured and being taken in by a couple of the natives who are amazed by his 'powers' and advanced technology. Bad becomes worse and word about Flinx spreads like wildfire, causing the relatively unadvanced natives to view him as a god, fallen from the stars.
It's basically Monty Python's Life Of Brian but without the laughs. In a good way!
This is another solid entry in the series with enough action to satisfy the space opera fans and enough intelligence to satisfy the speculative fiction fans. I am getting a little frustrated by all these detours, though... :-)
- Brian's mum
In this instalment of the Humanx Commonwealth/Pip & Flinx saga, Flinx is forced into yet another diversion from his ongoing mission to save the galaxy due to his ship, the Teacher, needing to land on a planet to make essential repairs.
Not wanting to be delayed any longer than necessary, Flinx makes the unfortunate decision to land on the nearest planet, which happens to be a world that has yet to make first contact with any spacefaring species. Rather than cloaking the ship and staying put for the few days the repairs will take, our boy Flinx decides to have a look around. Not a good idea!
Flinx ends up getting injured and being taken in by a couple of the natives who are amazed by his 'powers' and advanced technology. Bad becomes worse and word about Flinx spreads like wildfire, causing the relatively unadvanced natives to view him as a god, fallen from the stars.
It's basically Monty Python's Life Of Brian but without the laughs. In a good way!
This is another solid entry in the series with enough action to satisfy the space opera fans and enough intelligence to satisfy the speculative fiction fans. I am getting a little frustrated by all these detours, though... :-)
April 4, 2010
Fails to advance the main superarching plot of the series and frankly is just not that great.
Just another attempt by del rey to stick it to the Flinx fans by publishing a 255 page book in hardcover, this slim volume is slim pickings for the ADF fans.
Skip it.
Just another attempt by del rey to stick it to the Flinx fans by publishing a 255 page book in hardcover, this slim volume is slim pickings for the ADF fans.
Skip it.
May 25, 2011
If you don't want to read another story about Flinx having another vacation on an alien world, skip to the end and read the last chapter.
The writing wasn't bad, but the storyline is predictable and bland. No surprises, twists or anything particularly exciting in this one. It's like Foster had to pump out another Flinx novel for his contract, and finished it as fast as possible with the simplest and most straight forward plot ever.
Just skip to the end if you want to spare yourself some boredom. Definitely my least favorite so far.
The writing wasn't bad, but the storyline is predictable and bland. No surprises, twists or anything particularly exciting in this one. It's like Foster had to pump out another Flinx novel for his contract, and finished it as fast as possible with the simplest and most straight forward plot ever.
Just skip to the end if you want to spare yourself some boredom. Definitely my least favorite so far.
April 14, 2016
A not very interesting diversion that seems intended solely to provide a transition from the end of the previous book to the beginning of Bloodhype, which is being retconned into the continuity here. (In a rather forced fashion, given the out of character behavior of Flynx in Bloodhype, especially in light of his relationship with Clarity.) Here's hoping the concluding three books bring it all to a satisfying ending.
September 18, 2012
a Pip & Flinx adventure that I missed when I read the series the first time. Honestly, I didn't miss much. Flinx encounters another primitive empathic race during a repair stop over in his continuing search for a weapon against the Great Emptiness/Void. At this point in the series I think ADF just plain ran out of good ideas and was up against a deadline. The results were sadly mediocre.
July 5, 2020
Probably the weakest Flinx and Pip book I've read. Feels like a "filler episode". But the last two pages gets me excited about what's to come next.
February 6, 2018
Book 11 in the Pip and Flinx saga finds the duo on a protected world in a "The Gods Must Be Crazy" situation. No good deed goes unpunished and the quest to stop the destruction of the galaxy heats up. This is a solid series, check it out.
March 7, 2011
All the recent Pip and Flinx books have been disappointing.
December 18, 2012
Another enjoyable, Foster novel. I'm looking forward to the next one. :D
April 4, 2018
Running From the Deity by Alan Dean Foster is the tenth book chronologically in the Pip & Flinx series and continues the tradition of dropping Flinx off on an alien world and everything going to hell. Much like Jack Reacher, no matter where Flinx lands trouble follows. Here, Flinx’s spacecraft The Teacher is taxed from the events from the previous few books and must land on a planet with sufficient raw materials to commence repairs. The best option available is the planet Arrawd, home to a “primitive” society of multi-limbed sentient pixie lifeforms called the Dwarra. The only problem? The Dwarra are not advanced enough to interact with spacefaring races (they are currently at the dawn of the steam age), and there is a Commonwealth edict banning interaction with the Dwarra under effect. Flinx, who grew up a thief and possesses the only interstellar spacecraft capable of landing on a planet’s surface in the known universe, decides to risk it.
Once Flinx has landed on the surface, the plot starts to require a few leaps that seem out of character for our protagonist. For starters, Flinx leaves the ship to do some exploring and is sidetracked by a twisted ankle. I understand that the gravity on Arrawd is lower than other planets, and that requires some additional care, but this is the same protagonist who survived unscathed Midworld, where every life form was capable of killing him, as well as the camouflage predator planet of Pyrassis from Reunion. Much like the Gunslinger from Stephen King’s The Drawing of the Three, it’s obvious that Foster needed an excuse to have Flinx dependent on others in order to facilitate a story about intertwining himself with this alien race. Unfortunately, the excuse he settled on didn’t feel true to the character.
The Dwarra have a few interesting aspects that make them particularly appealing to Flinx. For starters they are emotionally empathic. Unlike Flinx, this is not a constantly working ability with a wide radius, but instead is dependent on antenna touching amongst themselves. Flinx can still read these aliens emotions, but unlike all other sentient beings he has met, he can also tune them out resulting in a peaceful mental experience. Flinx ends up in a position where he heals an animal with his advanced medical technology, and the two Dwarrans who are sheltering him begin to realize the possibility of profiting from utilizing their new friends good nature/scientific resources. As word of Flinx’s miraculous abilities to heal spreads, other Dwarrans begin to worship Flinx, and others still connive to take advantage of the “deity,” or decide to attack him based on the political climate of the area.
As a standalone story in the series, this was pretty memorable. Flinx’s dilemma is how much should he help these individuals while he’s stuck there for a few weeks? He is able to heal all sorts of ailments, and since he’s not able to leave anyways what is the downside of fixing some people up? The answer of course if the effect his presence has on the behavior of the rest of the population of Arrawd. The switch in perspectives to the various High Borns (basically governors) of the tribes displayed the sort of thinking that you’d find in Napoleonic Europe or the Cold War. As the potential for war breaks out, Flinx must again improvise to save his own skin as well as avert disaster on a planetary scale.
My favorite character in the story was the netcaster (fisherman) who discovered Flinx. A simple, but good hearted man, his wife's overbearing nature and poor decision making is the catalyst for the entire enterprise going horribly wrong, and who among us can't related to that? The only thing in this book that ties into the larger mythology of the devastating force approaching the galaxy is a final chapter tacked onto the end catching us up with Flinx's supporting cast. These stories are always at their best when they focus on smaller events with unique settings and this book did a nice job on both counts.
Once Flinx has landed on the surface, the plot starts to require a few leaps that seem out of character for our protagonist. For starters, Flinx leaves the ship to do some exploring and is sidetracked by a twisted ankle. I understand that the gravity on Arrawd is lower than other planets, and that requires some additional care, but this is the same protagonist who survived unscathed Midworld, where every life form was capable of killing him, as well as the camouflage predator planet of Pyrassis from Reunion. Much like the Gunslinger from Stephen King’s The Drawing of the Three, it’s obvious that Foster needed an excuse to have Flinx dependent on others in order to facilitate a story about intertwining himself with this alien race. Unfortunately, the excuse he settled on didn’t feel true to the character.
The Dwarra have a few interesting aspects that make them particularly appealing to Flinx. For starters they are emotionally empathic. Unlike Flinx, this is not a constantly working ability with a wide radius, but instead is dependent on antenna touching amongst themselves. Flinx can still read these aliens emotions, but unlike all other sentient beings he has met, he can also tune them out resulting in a peaceful mental experience. Flinx ends up in a position where he heals an animal with his advanced medical technology, and the two Dwarrans who are sheltering him begin to realize the possibility of profiting from utilizing their new friends good nature/scientific resources. As word of Flinx’s miraculous abilities to heal spreads, other Dwarrans begin to worship Flinx, and others still connive to take advantage of the “deity,” or decide to attack him based on the political climate of the area.
As a standalone story in the series, this was pretty memorable. Flinx’s dilemma is how much should he help these individuals while he’s stuck there for a few weeks? He is able to heal all sorts of ailments, and since he’s not able to leave anyways what is the downside of fixing some people up? The answer of course if the effect his presence has on the behavior of the rest of the population of Arrawd. The switch in perspectives to the various High Borns (basically governors) of the tribes displayed the sort of thinking that you’d find in Napoleonic Europe or the Cold War. As the potential for war breaks out, Flinx must again improvise to save his own skin as well as avert disaster on a planetary scale.
My favorite character in the story was the netcaster (fisherman) who discovered Flinx. A simple, but good hearted man, his wife's overbearing nature and poor decision making is the catalyst for the entire enterprise going horribly wrong, and who among us can't related to that? The only thing in this book that ties into the larger mythology of the devastating force approaching the galaxy is a final chapter tacked onto the end catching us up with Flinx's supporting cast. These stories are always at their best when they focus on smaller events with unique settings and this book did a nice job on both counts.
January 25, 2025
Coming off the horrible Sliding Scales, I was hoping that the series would get back on track and back to the central plot - or at least a side mission that was fun - nope. This sucked - I can't tell if ADF is sick of writing Flinx, or if he's out of ideas.
Here - ADF announces in toss-away sentence that Flinx is "bisexual," um, what? There hasn't been one mention of that in the past...as a matter of fact, he's been pretty into Clarity Held - to the point of the two wanting a life together...so, without any evidence, ADF just blithely states that his central character is something the reader hasn't read. I don't care one way or the other (you have to say that, right?), but it's just sloppy.
The story here is lame...what happens when you go to a world that the Commonwealth deemed off-limits and wow the local superstitious peasants with your your healing laser and flying contraption. Nothing good. The local aliens were goofy and really annoying - and like Sliding Scales, Pip/Flinx are off the page for large chunks of it.
I got annoyed with the government leaders and all the lame, predicable and clunky speeches. Nothing here was interesting or advanced Flinx's story...it bummed me out, because having read all the Commonwealth and the P/F series to this point, I have mostly LOVED the journey. With two losers in a row, I'd bail...but, like a idiot, I bought the entire series.
At the vary end, the story doves back to Clarity, Tru & Tse as they discuss the impending disaster and Flinx gets an ominous "dream," and instructs Teacher to head off to a new place to investigate.
You could read the last 25 pages and move on with the series - or probably skip it all together.
Here - ADF announces in toss-away sentence that Flinx is "bisexual," um, what? There hasn't been one mention of that in the past...as a matter of fact, he's been pretty into Clarity Held - to the point of the two wanting a life together...so, without any evidence, ADF just blithely states that his central character is something the reader hasn't read. I don't care one way or the other (you have to say that, right?), but it's just sloppy.
The story here is lame...what happens when you go to a world that the Commonwealth deemed off-limits and wow the local superstitious peasants with your your healing laser and flying contraption. Nothing good. The local aliens were goofy and really annoying - and like Sliding Scales, Pip/Flinx are off the page for large chunks of it.
I got annoyed with the government leaders and all the lame, predicable and clunky speeches. Nothing here was interesting or advanced Flinx's story...it bummed me out, because having read all the Commonwealth and the P/F series to this point, I have mostly LOVED the journey. With two losers in a row, I'd bail...but, like a idiot, I bought the entire series.
At the vary end, the story doves back to Clarity, Tru & Tse as they discuss the impending disaster and Flinx gets an ominous "dream," and instructs Teacher to head off to a new place to investigate.
You could read the last 25 pages and move on with the series - or probably skip it all together.
April 16, 2018
Flinx is on a quest to find the secret Tar-Aiym weapon with planet destruction capability. After entering the galaxy called the Blight the Teacher his space ship finds it needs to make some repairs or they could be stranded among the stars. The only close location to make the repairs is a Commonwealth proscribed planet named Arrawd. Of course Flinx's curiosity once again puts him behind the eight ball. And the unknown menace to the Commonwealth and civilization in general is moving toward them ever faster.
October 31, 2019
This was an excellent type of story that made me think about religions and ancient aliens again. I loved that show and that guy with the freaking hair, it gives hope for people with bad hair days, maybe even Donald Trump, Oops I got off track. um This was a Good Read.
October 27, 2024
Not as enthralling as most of the Pip and Flinx books. Flinx lands on a planet with a medieval development level and interacts with the natives. To his surprise (but not ours) they think of him as a god.
July 5, 2025
A very interesting book in the series. Many science fiction tales warn against intergalactic entities making contact with primitive societies. This book takes that theme and enlarges on it wonderfully. What an imagination Mr Foster has.
January 26, 2020
I am still quite enjoying this series, it is one I can easily dip into from time to time and to be right into the mix of things. This entry is not an exception as things quickly get away from Flinx.
December 12, 2020
No good deed goes unpunished. Flinx finds a planet he can relate to the natives and relax, till he tries to be of help.
Read
October 17, 2023Never has Flinx seemed more naive.
April 2, 2024
It seems as though Flinx is confused.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2024
It was pretty good. Had I not known that it was the eleventh book in a series, I would’ve read the other books first. But it still gave me “Back to the Future” vibes!
February 16, 2009
Based strictly on the packaging, I was expecting more humour than I found in the story, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I'm not sure I could even really explain why I thought it was comical. Perhaps I was on cold medication at the time. It's entirely possible.
I found the idea of a man who accidentally stumbles into a people willing to worship him as a god, regardless of his intentions or desires, something really interesting to explore. Flinx is a very sympathetic hero, as well. It's easy to understand the decisions he makes, even when you know it'll end in disaster. His wry observations and tendancy to self-effacement make him very human.
In the very beginning, I actually wasn't sure if I'd make it all the way through the book. I'm really not big on hardcore science fiction, simply because I have a hard time following it. I don't understand how my computer works, let alone some imaginary super machine in a book. If I have to understand the mechanics to follow the story, it's just not going to happen. The beginning of the book looks like it's going to get pretty mechanically specific, with plenty of invented and "alienese" words, but that's really all they are. That being said, a lot of the alien or technological terms were hard to pronounce, even in my head. Note to fantasy and science fiction writers: if I can't say it, I can't really remember it, either. And if you're going to be coming up with a whole load of names, whether it be for characters, places, races, or whatever, please please keep it simple. If not, I'll be forever doomed to confusing Pyrrpallinda with Pakktrine and Peryoladam. What's wrong with words that are one or two syllables long and aren't overly dominated by consonants?
The writing style in general was uneven. The tone was very light and modern, with big words randomly thrown in on occasion, as if for good measure. A number of the metaphors made me pause, too. Unfortunately, these were not good pauses, relishing the beauty of the phrase or the succinctness of the thought, they were generally me being confused as to what exactly the author was trying to say. "...like the caressing hand of a beautiful woman, he would know it when he felt it." What does that mean? How can you tell the beauty of a woman by her touch? Couldn't it be a dude with soft hands? At best, the metaphor is very awkwardly worded.
At 280 pages, this was not a long book, although I felt it should have been one chapter shorter. Chapter 16 had nothing to do with the rest of the story, and just felt like it was tacked on to sell more books in the series. The packaging and the enclosed excerpt of the next book at the end was more than enough to tell me the story continues. I really don't need a full chapter that was really just one of those previews at the end of the tv show. "How do our heroes get out of this sticky situation? Tune in next week, to the Continuing Adventures of Pip and Flinx, same bat-time, same bat-channel!"
So overall, I'll have to give Running From the Deity a middle-of-the-road rating. Some really interesting ideas with a thoroughly likeable protagonist, but so many of the little mechanical things bugged me, I wasn't able to enjoy it the way I should have. Which is a shame, really, because it has some great potential.
I found the idea of a man who accidentally stumbles into a people willing to worship him as a god, regardless of his intentions or desires, something really interesting to explore. Flinx is a very sympathetic hero, as well. It's easy to understand the decisions he makes, even when you know it'll end in disaster. His wry observations and tendancy to self-effacement make him very human.
In the very beginning, I actually wasn't sure if I'd make it all the way through the book. I'm really not big on hardcore science fiction, simply because I have a hard time following it. I don't understand how my computer works, let alone some imaginary super machine in a book. If I have to understand the mechanics to follow the story, it's just not going to happen. The beginning of the book looks like it's going to get pretty mechanically specific, with plenty of invented and "alienese" words, but that's really all they are. That being said, a lot of the alien or technological terms were hard to pronounce, even in my head. Note to fantasy and science fiction writers: if I can't say it, I can't really remember it, either. And if you're going to be coming up with a whole load of names, whether it be for characters, places, races, or whatever, please please keep it simple. If not, I'll be forever doomed to confusing Pyrrpallinda with Pakktrine and Peryoladam. What's wrong with words that are one or two syllables long and aren't overly dominated by consonants?
The writing style in general was uneven. The tone was very light and modern, with big words randomly thrown in on occasion, as if for good measure. A number of the metaphors made me pause, too. Unfortunately, these were not good pauses, relishing the beauty of the phrase or the succinctness of the thought, they were generally me being confused as to what exactly the author was trying to say. "...like the caressing hand of a beautiful woman, he would know it when he felt it." What does that mean? How can you tell the beauty of a woman by her touch? Couldn't it be a dude with soft hands? At best, the metaphor is very awkwardly worded.
At 280 pages, this was not a long book, although I felt it should have been one chapter shorter. Chapter 16 had nothing to do with the rest of the story, and just felt like it was tacked on to sell more books in the series. The packaging and the enclosed excerpt of the next book at the end was more than enough to tell me the story continues. I really don't need a full chapter that was really just one of those previews at the end of the tv show. "How do our heroes get out of this sticky situation? Tune in next week, to the Continuing Adventures of Pip and Flinx, same bat-time, same bat-channel!"
So overall, I'll have to give Running From the Deity a middle-of-the-road rating. Some really interesting ideas with a thoroughly likeable protagonist, but so many of the little mechanical things bugged me, I wasn't able to enjoy it the way I should have. Which is a shame, really, because it has some great potential.
March 10, 2008
Another great read in this series. I enjoy the realistic turn of events that happen to Flinx, how the what seems like an innocent enough course of action can cause so much trouble. Even though it is not happening on earth and not everyone is human, you feel the same thing would have happend to you in that situation. It's just that Flinx has a much better chance of getting out of many of these situations than most of us.
August 1, 2016
So, this book follows Flinx as he finds himself on an undeveloped world and tries to make the best of accidental first contact. What he's not prepared for is the reaction of the native people of the world on which he landed. Pip plays less of a role in this book, and the natives play a strong supporting role. The exploration of how best intentions can so easily go astray was interesting and entertaining.
October 3, 2022
Pretty good. On par with the series. Think I have five more to go to finish the series. If it ends with the last published book. I want to see how it ends, but I am enjoying the trip there. To those not aware, this is a fifteen book series. Go back and start at the beginning for the best read. Don't go by publish date. Go by timeline. Betterworldbooks is a great site for out of print books to fill your holes.
September 17, 2024
Running from the Deity is Book 10 in the Adventures of Pip & Flinx.
Well our hero Flinx and his minidrag (flying snake) Pip need to make an unscheduled stop for repairs. What kind of trouble can they find...or will find them?
Read on to discover what happens! ;)
Enjoy!
Well our hero Flinx and his minidrag (flying snake) Pip need to make an unscheduled stop for repairs. What kind of trouble can they find...or will find them?
Read on to discover what happens! ;)
Enjoy!
February 18, 2016
If you think your day is rough imagine finding out that everyone on the planet thinks you're a god whose unwilling to help them. What's a guy gotta do to get away from his unwanted followers? Read this to find out.
August 17, 2019
Another world, another twist, a new type alien, a new dilemma. A good story. A good lead in to my favourite book Bloodhype (which I read before this one by mistake). The series continues to hold my interest.
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