For Love of Mother-Not

A Pip & Flinx Adventure

By: Alan Dean Foster

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

He was just a freckle-faced, red-headed kid with green eyes and a strangely campelling stare when Mather Mastiff first saw him an the auctioneer's block. One hundred credits and he was hers.

For years the old woman was his only family. She loved him, fed him, taught him everything she knew - even let him keep the deadly flying snake he called Pip.Then Mother Mastiff mysteriously disappeared and Flinx took Pip to tail her kidnappers. Across the forests and swamps of the winged world called Moth, their only weapons were Pip's venom . . . and Flinx's unusual Talents.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and read by author Alan Dean Foster.

Check out more Pip and Flinx.

©1983 Alan Dean Foster (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Fantastic Sci-Fi Novel

I thought this book was extremely well done. I enjoy Flinx's personality. Although he does have a special "talent", it is his intelligence that gets him through most of the adventures in this book and I love a protagonist with a brain. :)

Foster delivers another great pip & flinx story

If you could sum up For Love of Mother-Not in three words, what would they be?

Fast paced

What was one of the most memorable moments of For Love of Mother-Not?

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What does Stefan Rudnicki bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

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Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

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Any additional comments?

Great read

For Love of Mother-Not

Wish I could find out what book comes next in the
series. I intend to listen to all.

Best of series

In my humble opinion this book is the best of the series. You are introduced to Flynx,Pip, and Mother Mastiff. Mother Mastiff is a great character, very human, flawed, loved by Flinx. The story is fun, full of action, and touching, a great beginning to the series.

Like visiting an old friend.

Alan Dean Foster is a Sci-Fi author I have enjoyed.
I really liked the characters in For Love of Mother-Not in 1983. It had an interesting take on a future world and people centered around "Flinx and Pip."
I purchased this audio version for a motor home trip and it entertained us evenings after dusk as we camped near the Grand Canyon National Park.
I recommend this author & narrator for adult, youth or the whole family. Younger children may require a few word or phrase explanations and one can pause the story as needed.

Best read in chronological order

Best read in chronological order:
For Love of Mother-Not (1983), ISBN 0-345-30511-6
The Tar-Aiym Krang (1972), ISBN 0-345-29232-4
Orphan Star (1977), ISBN 0-345-25507-0
The End of the Matter (1977), ISBN 0-345-25861-4
Flinx in Flux (1988), ISBN 0-345-34363-8
Mid-Flinx (1995), ISBN 0-345-38374-5
Reunion (2001), ISBN 0-345-41867-0
Flinx's Folly (2003), ISBN 0-345-45038-8
Sliding Scales (2004), ISBN 0-345-46156-8
Running from the Deity (2005), ISBN 0-345-46159-2
Bloodhype (1973), ISBN 0-345-25845-2
Trouble Magnet (2006), ISBN 0-345-48504-1
Patrimony (2007), ISBN 978-0-345-48507-6
Flinx Transcendent (2009), ISBN 978-0345496072

Fantastic Adventure

It has been many years since I've read the Flinx & Pip Series. Listening to this book drew me back into this fantastic adventure. I'm looking forward to listening to the remaining books in the series.

I am definitely a fan of Alan Dean Foster.

Where it All Began

An interesting YA prequel to a long running (though now complete) NA SF series.

BOOK DETAILS:
For Love of Mother-Not by Alan Dean Foster, read by Stefan Rudnicki, published by Audible Studios (2009) / Length: 8 hrs 15 min

SERIES INFO:
This is (chronologically) Book #1 of 14 in the completed "Pip & Flinx" series, all of which are available on audio. If you prefer to read in publication order, it is #5.

SUMMARY:
This is probably my favorite of the Pip & Flinx adventures that I have read (I am currently a little over half way through the series.)

CHARACTERS:
Flinx: His ethics aren't what I would consider acceptable, specifically regarding other people's property. But considering his lack of true parental guidance, I guess it's to be expected. He is such a complex yet essentially likable character though.

Mother Mastiff: Very interesting as a fictional character, but not someone I would entrust with an actual child. She does really love him, and makes some unselfish decisions to try and protect him.

WORLDBUILDING:
Let me start by saying that I spent many years in the Pacific NW of the US (where it rains a lot), and I think I would go crazy living on a planet where it rains nearly constantly.

This is not a "central" world; so, although there is lots of tech that is more advanced, it is mostly the little things. A favorite piece of tech is the oil based version of a water bed (it sounds nice & toasty, and I'm writing this in the Fall). And I really like the large riding bird that Flinx eventually rents.

The book doesn't really try to get you up to speed on all the details of the vast Humanx Commonwealth. That's actually OK, because Flinx's "world" is much smaller at this point. I never felt like I had a firm grasp on the details of the market area Flinx grew up in, however; but once we got out into the forest, the descriptions were great.

PLOT:
This is the first book, chronologically, in Flinx's story, but it was not written first. In a way, it is just a much longer version of all the prequel novellas being written now days to fill in a character's backstory. But there is also a fully developed adventure here as well.

That mix means that we jump fairly quickly through Flinx's childhood before getting to the main body of the story. I really like the beginning, with his meeting Mother Mastiff. The rest of his childhood seemed a bit rushed. The last hour is very engrossing, and does a good job of setting things up for the remaining books in the series.

HIGHLIGHTS:
--The moment when Flinx first takes Mother Mastiff's hand
--There are some interesting perspectives on who are "good people" vs "bad people" and how outward behavior and attitudes can be one thing while your goals can be another.

CONTENT NOTES(?): Children can be "adopted" from the government by paying a fee (i.e. slavery, although they don't like to call it that). Abuse, by some, of the process and the children is hinted at. / There is a group of people who basically feel that any horror is justified if it is for the greater good. / Flinx is a teenage boy and experiences the usual physical & emotional responses to an attractive older woman.

I COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT: Some swearing / I don't think it is a good idea to give a small child complete freedom. / Theft

NARRATION:
Character voices differentiated = Yes, mostly through mild accents & manner of speaking. It is not strong for minor characters. He has a very deep voice, so neither the child nor female voices sound authentic; but they are acceptable. / Phrasing, Pacing & Pronunciation = The non-dialog parts are a bit flat / Emoting = Good enough, for dialog / Speed = Slow. I listened on 1.5, rather than my usual 1.25, and it is still a touch slow.

There was a small repeated section

Excellent

This is where you meet Flinx for the first time...and where he meets Pip for the first time, as well. It's an auspicious beginning.

Excellent reading

This is an excellent reading of an awesome story.
I read this book years ago. It was enjoyable to experience the book in a new way.