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...

The Quozl knew they'd love the third planet from the sun. But it never occurred to them that anyone lived there...

One grew up in the cornfields of Iowa, fighting for his independence, for a way out of a life that promised only indifference, aimlessness and obscurity.<p align="center">"You will forever be a child of two worlds, capable of choosing your own destiny. The only question you face is, which path will you chose?"

The other grew up on the jagged cliffs of the harsh Vulcan desert, fighting for acceptance, for a way to reconcile the logic he was taught with the emotions he felt.

In the far reaches of the galaxy, a machine of war bursts into existence in a place and time it was never meant to be. On a mission of retribution for the destruction of his planet, its half-mad captain seeks the death of every intelligent being, and the annihilation of every civilized world.

Kirk and Spock, two completely different and unyielding personalities must find a way to lead the only crew, aboard the only ship, that can stop him.<p align="center">"The wait is over."

Flinx is on earth to hunt down classified information about the Meliorare Society, the sect of renegade eugenicists responsible for his telepathic gifts. To get into a top-secret installation, he uses his powers to charm one of the key security people so he can gain access to their AI program. However, the file with the information he's looking for has been taken, and he barely escapes.

In an effort to hunt down the file, Flinx and Pip end up on a dangerous trek across the galaxy into the heart of AAnn space. When their shuttle crashes on a desert planet, Flinx and the minidrag soon find themselves up against native dangers and a nest of reptilian AAnn soldiers. But that's only the beginning for Flinx, because before it's over he will discover an ancient mystery and face an old foe who may turn out to be his most dangerous enemy yet.

Reunion is the eighth novel in the series and it is less a complete book than a continuation of the story. It's clear that Foster has bigger things in mind for Flinx and Pip. The novel is a page-turner, with lots of action to keep things moving. Fans of the series will find revelations in the book that make Reunion a must-read. However, those new to the series will wonder why they would want to read about a hero who seems, at best, morally questionable based on his first actions in Reunion. A bigger problem still is that the entire book seems to be just a teaser for the ninth novel, and if it takes another five years to arrive, that's a long tease. --Kathie Huddleston

The actual first contact between the humans and the thranx takes place in the quite exciting Nor Crystal Tears, but you don't have to have read that novel to follow what happens in Phylogenesis. In this book, which takes place soon after the first contact, the races have embarked on a program of slow, careful cultural exchange. If all goes well, the planners feel, in some decades a few tentative agreements might be reached. But they never planned on the chance meeting of a rogue thranx poet and a human thief who's hiding in the Amazon jungle. The events that surround the friendship of these two, each an outcast from his own society, will force scientists and politicians of both races to alter not only their plans but also their beliefs about human/thranx compatibility.

Foster makes excellent use of his knowledge of Latin American culture to paint a picture of a vibrant yet realistic future South America. The Amazon jungle is presented in such vivid detail it seems almost an alien world itself. Fans of the Commonwealth novels won't want to miss this crucial chapter in its history. --Brooks Peck

The space babes in question call themselves the Pitar, and after somewhat stunted relations with the insectoid Thranx (first contacted in Nor Crystal Tears), humanity falls all over itself fawning over this "drop-dead, overpoweringly, stunningly gorgeous"--if strangely reticent--new race. But everything isn't what it seems, of course, or there wouldn't be much of a story here. Not to give anything away, but even the most unobservant reader will soon realize that something's suspicious about these alluring aliens--especially when 600,000 colonists on the otherwise boring outpost of Treetrunk are swiftly, brutally, and mysteriously exterminated. --Paul Hughes