hillip Lynx--Flinx, as he is known--is a young man with many problems and more enemies. The most pressing of his troubles, however, lie with the mental powers he has been honing since childhood. When they work, the abilities allow him to influence the emotions of others, convincing them to trust or help him, and the powers are growing stronger as Flinx becomes an adult. However, the change comes at a price--terrible headaches of increasing severity.
Erratic though they may be, his special abilities do give Flinx a head start as he attempts to determine their origin. The target of his research is the Meliorare Society, a group of outlaws who performed genetic experiments on Flinx's mother even before his birth. Managing to convince an AI of his desperate need for information on the Meliorare, he finds a trail that leads out of Commonwealth space--into territory controlled by the hostile reptilian AAnn.
With the help of his ever-watchful companion, an Alaspinian mini-dragon named Pip, Flinx creeps out to the dangerous world of Pyrassis. It is a desert filled with voracious carnivores and a well-armed AAnn garrison, and what he finds there will test all of his survival skills. Flinx has Pip, an AI-equipped starship and an entire population of sentient plants on his side. Even so, it seems likely that he will get himself killed long before he discovers the spectacular secret of Pyrassis.
Soul-searching with a light touch
Alan Dean Foster's latest Pip-and-Flinx outing, Reunion, is remarkably measured for an action-adventure novel. It is a book where hazards like slow dehydration are almost as lethal as the hostile AAnn. This is not to say that the pacing is dull. There are adrenaline rushes aplenty in this book, enough for even jaded suspense readers.
Many common Foster elements are present in this novel, in helpings that will please his fans. Reunion features a long hike through dangerous wildlands, for example, as well as stunning alien life forms, riveting visuals and grand discoveries. As a young adult, Flinx masters his curiosity more easily than he has in the past, and his fondness for Pip--as well as the pair's teamwork--is as lively and enjoyable as ever.
Foster is at his best when creating non-sapient life forms. The AAnn culture is typical of many SF lizard races, far less engrossing than the unintelligent creatures fighting the age-old battle of tooth and maw on Pyrassis. They cannot even compete with the alien houseplants running amok aboard Flinx's ship, the Teacher. Even the human characters in Reunion are overshadowed, to some extent, by the environment they are moving through.
While Reunion will be a welcome sight for readers who are already fans of Pip and Flinx, the book also serves well as a stand-alone. It delivers light entertainment, solid thrills and some wondrous sights. Though it slights characterization to some degree--and though Flinx's wander through the Pyrassian desert may seem a little long even for worldbuilding junkies--the lengthy trip comes with a worthwhile payoff.
Put differently: the revelation which lies at the heart of Flinx's quest is well worth the journey.
