The Tar-Aiym Krang

A Pip & Flinx Adventure

By: Alan Dean Foster

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

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...

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

Check out more Pip and Flinx.

©1972 Alan Dean Foster (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

The First of the Flinx and Pip Novels AT LAST!

This story introduces the Listener to the "Humanx Commonwealth" and draws a wonderful picture of Moth. Flinx is young in this story, although written first this is later in the seres than, "For Love Of Mother Not" which comes first in Flinx's life. Either Novel stands on its own. The Story is a Rip Roaring Space opera/car chase that is a mystery as well. Flinx is introduced to many people who will influence him throughout the series Great Listen Highly recommended!

Feels like a prequel

This is a consistently enjoyable read. The characters are very nicely imagined and well drawn and the plot is clear, engaging and fairly satisfying. There is some nice detail about the worlds we encounter, enough to feed our imagination and bring the whole milieu into focus for us.
This is the first book I have read in the series. It does feel as though it is an adventure put together, competently, to introduce us to characters with whom we are destined to become more familiar over time. So there is a certain superficial quality to the whole thing as if the author is determined not to spend a moment more than he needs to in the service of providing some back story for later books. Still it was great fun.
My one more serious criticism is that the book should have been edited more expertly. There are quite a few awkward uses of language and even a couple malapropisms which I do not think were intended to establish character or style. The author is a better story teller than he is a word smith.

Good and fun investment

I got this book on a whim . . . one of Audible's penny a minute sales. The unusal title of the book got my attention, so I said what the heck!
To my suprise it was a thoughtful, entertaining, and fairly tense reading, as one seemly unconnected event leads to another. And like all good SiFi the complex events of space travel, etc, are explaided in detail - yet not so complex that we readers can get the jest of how these things work. It was a fun read and I look forward to other books in this series. Also, Stefan Rudnicki (narrator) does a wonderful job of bringing this book to life.

Classic Pip & Flinx

This is the beginning of the adventures of Pip & Flinx. The pacing is a bit slow, but well worth a listen to.

A trip down memory lane

Read this a lifetime ago and decided to have a listen. I only wish the narrator had a younger voice. His rich baritone seems a mismatch for a story about a 16 year old boy.

Enjoyed the story again.

I originally read this when it first came out in print, i found a fun enjoyable story that kept me curious as to what would happen to Pip & Flinx next. The narration was a bit slow but i liked it, though only in my opinion i felt that maybe two narrators one male and one female would have made it better.

Book 1 of Flinx & Pip Series

Both Flinx and his pet Pip are remarkable creatures. From worlds far different than our own, Flinx, who is in his late teens, embarks on a search for his biological parents. Pip is fiercely protective of Flinx which adds excitement to Flinx's own ability to land in dramatic and often unsafe situations. To add to the intrigue, Flinx is developing powers that are not yet very consistent. The narrator does a good job.

Pure Adventure

For those who don't know the adventures of Pip and Flinx. I would recommend this. One of the first space adventure books I ever read. It remains as entertaining in audio format. Unassuming it is a true space adventure that does not overwhelm with too much science. Something that you can really sit back and enjoy

Moth is a planet with wings and one small minidrag

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, as first in the series it's an excellent place to begin. An introduction to the Common Wealth as well as the main characters an inhabitants that wind through the entire series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

in this instance that's an easy question as this establishes Flinx as a character that draws you into the complete series.

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

It's more that he was able to bring to the book inline with what I had gotten from it, while reading it many years ago. I read it as an impressionable teenager when things were still possible in an immersive ScifI story

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

As I don't think this would work well as a movie and if it were I would avoid it. This came from a time when AD Foster was at his best and Science Fiction was fanciful.

Any additional comments?

Definitely an enjoyable story well worth listing to for anyone. No bad things here, well except the.....

Good Story; Narrator’s Voice Abrasive!

I’m familiar with Stefan Rudnicki’s voice work, so I can only attribute his deeply irritating basso rasp in this book to bad sound engineering. Since I could only tolerate this “Flinx and Pip” offering in short spurts over a protracted time, I’m sure I wasn’t able to appreciate this volume of a so-far enjoyed series nearly as much as I would have liked. (If I weren’t visually impaired I would have just purchased and read the book!)
Regarding the story itself, it was a bit slow once Flinx is primarily relegated to the rôle of observer upon agreeing to join this strange expedition.
He finds he’s cast his lot in amongst three odd (and diversely-motivated) beings, all in search of a long-dead planet that purportedly contains a nebulous, possibly mythic item known as “the Krang”. Whether musical instrument, weapon or something totally Other, each of the three main expedition members want it, yet the reader feels foreshadowings that this, Flinx’s first offworld trip, will result in a pivotal point in his life-story that will have impact on who he becomes from this voyage onwards.
I plan on continuing with the series even though Mr Rudnicki narrates throughout, as I’ve checked the Samples of all remaining books in the “Flinx” series, and the narrator’s voice is happily “vanilla-neutral” in all others. (Perhaps a sound re-engineering is in order for this book?)
In any case, I look forward to hearing about the future adventures of this unlikely reptile-human duo, especially whether they have acquired some permanent transformation in powers as a result of their exposure to the ancient, mysterious Tar-Aiym Krang!