Alan Dean Foster

Thanks psik. Yes, I realise that by internal chronology its out of whack very slightly, but order doesn't matter much with Foster. Its been interesting to read The Tar Aiym Krang, as this book (1972) describes a lot of back story that he already had planned out for the Commonwealth that crops up again in much later books. It's quite amazing really that back in 1972 he laid out the whole future history of his universe so well. A specific example is the war with the Pitar, which becomes the main thrust of the book Dirge (2000), which as indicated above, was the book I read immediately before TAK.

I shall be moving on to Midworld now. I've heard really good things about this one, and it features on list of best SF books occasionally, which is unusual for ADF.

It may look a little as though I've become stuck in an ADF rut... well, yes okay perhaps I have. :)
 
Well, I finished Midworld, and I thought it was excellent - probably the best Alan Dean Foster I've read yet. It's a Gaia storyline, and makes me wonder if Avatar owes it a debt - there are certainly similarities.
 
I've started reading another ADF book: The End of the Matter, which is a Pip and Flinx novel. The list of Foster's Humanx Commonwealth novels is now pretty long, and incorporates several series. All are set in the same universe however, and there is an acknowledged chronology with standalone novels intermingling with Pip and Flinx and Icerigger, etc. The exact order had me slightly puzzled, I must admit. I spent a bit of time trying to work out where Midworld sat relative to The Tar-Aiym Krang, and so on. Anyway, I found the order online and have set it down here in an edited fashion so other members have access to the info, in case that's of interest. The novels are standalone books set in the Humanx universe, unless otherwise stated.

ADF Humanx Commonwealth Books in Chronological Order

Nor Crystal Tears (1982)
Phylogenesis (1999) – Founding of the Commonwealth
Dirge (2000) – Founding of the Commonwealth
Diuturnity's Dawn (2002) – Founding of the Commonwealth
Voyage to the City of the Dead (1984)
Midworld (1975)
Icerigger (1974) – Icerigger
For Love of Mother-Not (1983) – Pip and Flinx
The Tar-Aiym Krang (1972) – Pip and Flinx
Mission to Moulokin (1979) – Icerigger
Orphan Star (1977) – Pip and Flinx
The Deluge Drivers (1987) – Icerigger
The End of the Matter (1977) – Pip and Flinx
Flinx in Flux (1988) – Pip and Flinx
Mid-Flinx (1995) – Pip and Flinx
Reunion (2001) – Pip and Flinx
Drowning World (2003)
Quofum (2008)
Flinx's Folly (2003) – Pip and Flinx
Sliding Scales (2004) – Pip and Flinx
Running from the Deity (2005) – Pip and Flinx
Bloodhype (1973) – Pip and Flinx
Trouble Magnet (2006) – Pip and Flinx
The Howling Stones (1997)
Patrimony (2007) – Pip and Flinx
Flinx Transcendent (2009) – Pip and Flinx
Sentenced to Prism (1985)
Cachalot (1980)

Foster has written a new Pip and Flinx novel, tentatively called "By the Throat" according to his website, which will be his first return to the Humanx Commonwealth universe in 6 years. Where this novel will sit in the chronology isn't known (presuming it's published), though it is likely to be after Flinx Transcendent.
 
Wow, this is a blast from the past, I'd forgotten about ADF.

I read quite a few of his books when I was younger, Some of the Spellsingers, Alien, and some Starwars stuff - probably more.

I'm not qualified to comment on the standard of his writing, but I always enjoyed them so I guess that's the main thing.
 
I'm kind of amazed but, looking over his ISFDB bibliography, I can only recall having read probably both the Alien(s) books and definitely Season of the Spellsong (the first three Spellsinger books) and possibly the next set. I also might have checked out one of those Star Trek Log books from the library but that may have been some other ST book by someone else. Like you kind of hint or wonder, Bick, I suppose it's possible I had the Black Hole novelization - I have the faintest feeling I might have - but why? I hated the movie. Maybe hoping the book would be better? But I could have sworn a good chunk of shelfspace was taken up by Foster at one point (though I don't currently own any). I think of him as being one of those authors I read back in the day. Maybe I've forgotten some.

This thread got me kind of curious about what I'd do if I did give him another look, so I played with his bibliography and tried to clear out the underbrush to see what he'd actually done. I'll append a couple of lists to the end of this which kind of go along with the following:

As far as what happened to him, I think it might be a couple of things: yes, he's written so many ties that his reputation is mostly "a tie writer". Also, he's written so much (eight novels in 1984 alone (one every six or seven weeks!) and, from 1972-2010, usually writing multiple titles and never skipping a single year) that nobody can keep up with him and I think many people just lose track of him altogether. "Oh, another ADF. Maybe I'll pick up the next one." Also, he just doesn't seem to have had much success lately. I read a review of Sagramanda which portrayed it as a sort of breakout SF novel with literary ambitions but I don't think it sold and it was the last singleton he's written (2006). Other than the Icerigger trilogy (which is itself part of the larger Humanx series) he'd never written anything that stayed a trilogy but, beginning in 1991, he's written four trilogies that don't seem to have done much and none of his singletons (books which remained that way starting in 1983) ever have. So basically he's known for a giant SF series that may have been written into the ground and a fantasy series that seems to have exhausted itself, too.

As far as individual titles he's known for, the books I hear of the most and most favorably are The Tar-Aiym Krang, Icerigger (though I think the whole trilogy is well-regarded), Midworld and, among the ties, Splinter of the Mind's Eye. All of these were 70s titles. And he had apparently great commercial success with the first several Spellsinger books, but those were basically 80s titles. Not as much since.

Anyway - to preserve spacing and so people who aren't interested won't have to scroll as much, here's some "code" of his stuff by type ordered by publication and another list of everything just in a single ordered list with little series abbreviations or '*' tie markers. He's written almost thirds of Humanx/ties/everything else with the Humanx series actually the "smallest third" and ties bigger than that.

Code: 
HUMANX (28)
  Pip & Flinx
    The Tar-Aiym Krang (1972)
    Bloodhype (1973)
    The End of the Matter (1977)
    Orphan Star (1977)
    For Love of Mother-Not (1983)
    Flinx in Flux (1988)
    Mid-Flinx (1995)
    Reunion (2001)
    Flinx's Folly (2003)
    Sliding Scales (2004)
    Running from the Deity (2005)
    Trouble Magnet (2006)
    Patrimony (2007)
    Flinx Transcendent (2009)
  Icerigger Trilogy
    Icerigger (1974)
    Mission to Moulokin (1979)
    The Deluge Drivers (1987)
  Humanx (general)
    Midworld (1975)
    Cachalot (1980)
    Nor Crystal Tears (1982)
    Voyage to the City of the Dead (1984)
    Sentenced to Prism (1985)
    The Howling Stones (1997)
    Drowning World (2003)
    Quofum (2008)
  The Founding of the Commonwealth
    Phylogenesis (1999)
    Dirge (2000)
    Diuturnity's Dawn (2002)

SPELLSINGER (8 fantasy)
    Spellsinger (1983)
    The Hour of the Gate (1983)
    The Day of the Dissonance (1984)
    The Moment of the Magician (1984)
    The Paths of the Perambulator (1985)
    The Time of the Transference (1986)
    Son of Spellsinger (1993)
    Chorus Skating (1994)

LATE TRILOGIES

  The Damned
    A Call to Arms (1991)
    The False Mirror (1992)
    The Spoils of War (1993)

  Journeys of the Catechist
    Carnivores of Light and Darkness (1998)
    Into the Thinking Kingdoms (1999)
    A Triumph of Souls (2000)

  The Taken Trilogy
    Lost and Found (2004)
    The Light-years Beneath My Feet (2005)
    The Candle of Distant Earth (2006)

  The Tipping Point
    The Human Blend (2010)
    Body, Inc. (2012)
    The Sum of Her Parts (2012)

SINGLETONS (19)
    The Man Who Used the Universe (1983)
    Slipt (1984)
    The I Inside (1984)
    Into the Out Of (1986)
    Glory Lane (1987)
    Maori (1988)
    To the Vanishing Point (1988)
    Quozl (1989)
    Cyber Way (1990)
    Cat-A-Lyst (1991)
    Codgerspace (1992)
    Greenthieves (1994)
    Parallelities (1995)
    Life Form (1995)
    Jed the Dead (1997)
    Kingdoms of Light (2001)
    Interlopers (2001)
    The Mocking Program (2002)
    Sagramanda (2006)

TIES AND/OR COLLABORATIONS (33)
    Luana (1974)
    Dark Star (1974)
    Star Trek Log Seven (1976)
    Star Trek Log Eight (1976)
    Star Trek Log Nine (1977)
    Star Trek Log Ten (1978)
    Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978)
    The Black Hole (1979)
    Alien (1979)
    Clash of the Titans (1981)
    Outland (1981)
    The Thing (1982)
    Krull (1983)
    Shadowkeep (1984)
    The Last Starfighter (1984)
    Starman (1984)
    Aliens (1986)
    Alien Nation (1988)
    Alien 3 (1992)
    Design for Great-Day (1995) with Eric Frank Russell
    Voyage of the Bassett (1996) w/James C. Christensen & Renwick St. James
    The Dig (1996)
    Dinotopia Lost (1996)
    The Hand of Dinotopia (1999)
    The Approaching Storm (2002)
    The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
    Ghosts of Yesterday (2007)
    Transformers (2007)
    Terminator Salvation: The Official Movie Novelization (2009)
    Star Trek (2009)
    The Veiled Threat (2009)
    Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
    Into Darkness (2013)

-----------
Single list
-----------

H-P The Tar-Aiym Krang (1972)
H-P Bloodhype (1973)
*   Luana (1974)
H-I Icerigger (1974)
*   Dark Star (1974)
H-H Midworld (1975)
*   Star Trek Log Seven (1976)
*   Star Trek Log Eight (1976)
H-P The End of the Matter (1977)
*   Star Trek Log Nine (1977)
H-P Orphan Star (1977)
*   Star Trek Log Ten (1978)
*   Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978)
*   The Black Hole (1979)
H-I Mission to Moulokin (1979)
*   Alien (1979)
H-H Cachalot (1980)
*   Clash of the Titans (1981)
*   Outland (1981)
*   The Thing (1982)
H-H Nor Crystal Tears (1982)
*   Krull (1983)
SS  Spellsinger (1983)
SS  The Hour of the Gate (1983)
H-P For Love of Mother-Not (1983)
1   The Man Who Used the Universe (1983)
*   Shadowkeep (1984)
1   Slipt (1984)
SS  The Day of the Dissonance (1984)
1   The I Inside (1984)
*   The Last Starfighter (1984)
H-H Voyage to the City of the Dead (1984)
SS  The Moment of the Magician (1984)
*   Starman (1984)
H-H Sentenced to Prism (1985)
SS  The Paths of the Perambulator (1985)
*   Aliens (1986)
SS  The Time of the Transference (1986)
1   Into the Out Of (1986)
1   Glory Lane (1987)
H-I The Deluge Drivers (1987)
*   Alien Nation (1988)
1   Maori (1988)
H-P Flinx in Flux (1988)
1   To the Vanishing Point (1988)
1   Quozl (1989)
1   Cyber Way (1990)
1   Cat-A-Lyst (1991)
TD  A Call to Arms (1991)
*   Alien 3 (1992)
TD  The False Mirror (1992)
1   Codgerspace (1992)
SS  Son of Spellsinger (1993)
TD  The Spoils of War (1993)
SS  Chorus Skating (1994)
1   Greenthieves (1994)
*   Design for Great-Day (1995) with Eric Frank Russell
1   Parallelities (1995)
1   Life Form (1995)
H-P Mid-Flinx (1995)
*   Voyage of the Bassett (1996) w/James C. Christensen & Renwick St. James
*   The Dig (1996)
*   Dinotopia Lost (1996)
1   Jed the Dead (1997)
H-H The Howling Stones (1997)
JC  Carnivores of Light and Darkness (1998)
JC  Into the Thinking Kingdoms (1999)
*   The Hand of Dinotopia (1999)
H-F Phylogenesis (1999)
JC  A Triumph of Souls (2000)
H-F Dirge (2000)
1   Kingdoms of Light (2001)
1   Interlopers (2001)
H-P Reunion (2001)
*   The Approaching Storm (2002)
H-F Diuturnity's Dawn (2002)
1   The Mocking Program (2002)
H-H Drowning World (2003)
H-P Flinx's Folly (2003)
*   The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
TTT Lost and Found (2004)
H-P Sliding Scales (2004)
TTT The Light-years Beneath My Feet (2005)
H-P Running from the Deity (2005)
TTT The Candle of Distant Earth (2006)
1   Sagramanda (2006)
H-P Trouble Magnet (2006)
*   Ghosts of Yesterday (2007)
*   Transformers (2007)
H-P Patrimony (2007)
H-H Quofum (2008)
*   Terminator Salvation: The Official Movie Novelization (2009)
*   Star Trek (2009)
*   The Veiled Threat (2009)
H-P Flinx Transcendent (2009)
*   Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
TTP The Human Blend (2010)
TTP Body, Inc. (2012)
TTP The Sum of Her Parts (2012)
*   Into Darkness (2013)
 
That's an interesting listing, J-Sun, thanks. He's certainly prolific. I think I mentally put him into the easy-read category of SFF, where in my minds eye he sits alongside the likes of Harry Harrison or Chalker. But I think he's been dreadfully under-rated over the years and I personally think his output is more interesting and engaging that most of the newer wave of 'easy read' SF authors, like Weber or Scalzi. His ideas and characterisations are good, and he manages to create memorable colourful scenes with a appealing spare style. I think his output is probably so large because he naturally writes simply and well, without perhaps a great need to go back and rewrite or edit much. Asimov had the same talent (and a similar clear, spare style), and was lauded for the ability. Foster receives far fewer accolades and I'm sure you're right that this has to do with the slew of novelisations he puts out. But one has to ask, when the studio want a novelisation, they go to Foster - always it seems. Why would that be? Presumably because they can rely on very fast output, good quality, a page-turner style and no bitching about creative freedom. These are all meritorious in a tie-in author of course. So, he's been labelled as lesser in the minds of the SF reading public for reasons that actually speak to his skill and dedication. It's a strange thing. Also, of the few tie-ins I have read, they are excellent reads. That said, I have most enjoyed his own inventions. My favourites books overall would probably be:

Midworld - this is a terrific SF book. It's basically Avatar, with a more interesting nuanced storyline, written 30 years earlier
Nor Crystal Tears - a first rate first-contact novel, introducing Foster's intriguing Thranx aliens
Phylogensis - this just really appealed somehow, and its very readable - a wilderness survival novel with a human and alien as the two protagonists
Alien - its decades since I read it but my memory was that, if anything, its a better experience than the film
 
He did indeed. I've not read that one, though. Of the film novelisations, I only recall reading Star Wars (ADF writing as George Lucas), Alien, The Black Hole, and (I think) The Last Starfighter. The last was a not great kids/teen SF movie from the 80's. I was a teen at the time, and seem to recall quite liking it.
 
Incidentally, I have a hankering to pick up some more old ADF and I shall be visiting my local used book store later today. Let's see what I come back with. I'm pretty sure I saw Greenthieves there last time I was browsing. I may even pick up a novelisation or two if they have any. Its an astonishingly good used book store by the way (Auckland, NZ), with perhaps 5,000 used SF books on the shelves. I'll be back to report my success or failure later!
 
Bick said:
I only recall reading Star Wars (ADF writing as George Lucas)
Click to expand...

Oops. The ISFDB screwed up and listed that as a "George Lucas" book and didn't list it under Foster at all. Of course, I read that one, too. (Wonder what else they missed?)

As far as what you say, if he's got a clear, spare style and skill (rather than "artistry" and "genius") then he's almost doomed from the start when it comes to critical reputation and most awards. In terms of public success, though, until recently (I suspect) he's sold well and is a well-known name. But he doesn't have the Hugo awards or the like, either. Not sure why that would be unless he just would frequently be the N+1 favorite of N nominees and so just miss the ballot. I mean, I think that's the problem: he seems to have many fans from writing many enjoyable works but has apparently never written The Great Work that would conquer all.

Of course, when you talk about easy-read authors and awards, I remain flabbergasted at whatever Jack McDevitt's managed to pull off - I enjoy the heck out of the Alex Benedict books and they are a cut above even "enjoyable works" but there is nothing "Nebula award" about his stuff (thank goodness) and yet he's been nominated for practically everything he's written since 1996 (and a couple of times prior) and even won once. Guess fame and accolades are just fickle, partly inexplicable things.
 
Well, I picked up Greenthieves, and The Hour of the Gate at the used book store.

J-Sun - I agree that the award nominees and winners can look out of whack - I think they seem to reflect favouritism. Like you say, McDevitt gets a nod for everything, as does Bujold. Now, if we're going to make comparisons, I would argue that Foster is a better writer than Bujold (at least in her earlier works) and that, for instance, Midworld is a much better book that Falling Free. Yet Falling Free actually won the Nebula and Midworld didn't get nominated for anything. But then you look at who was publishing stuff back in 1975, and it seems reasonable to overlook Foster's book: Le Guin published The Dispossessed, PKD published Flow My Tears the Policeman Said and Niven and Purnelle's Mote was still in the running for the Hugo. Perhaps part of the truth is that books of genuinely high quality were released in the years when Foster produced some of his best stuff. He'd arguably have made his name as a leading light if any of his earlier books ('72-'79) had received a gong I think. I don't think McDevitt's books are intrinsically better or more enjoyable after all - I like them both.
 
Bick said:
He did indeed. I've not read that one, though. Of the film novelisations, I only recall reading Star Wars (ADF writing as George Lucas), Alien, The Black Hole, and (I think) The Last Starfighter. The last was a not great kids/teen SF movie from the 80's. I was a teen at the time, and seem to recall quite liking it.
Click to expand...

I loved The Last Starfighter and it should have been given at least one sequel. I didn't even realise there was a novelization though.
 
Okay - looks like I caught the bug. I picked up Midworld and The Tar-Aiym Krang (along with Spellsinger to refresh my memory on that since I recall being entertained by it though I'd be surprised if I liked it now - also picked up John Cramer's Einstein's Bridge and a couple of CDs but that's not relevant here :)).

Let me know how Greenthieves goes - that was up there, too. (It might not be if I went back for it, but it'd be worth a look if it was really good.)
 
I just read Spellsinger and I really liked it. It's rather charming in its use of animal races and I also enjoyed the Marxist dragon. If you're a bit sick of modern epic fantasy, this is rather enjoyable. Like a cross between Tolkien and The Wind in the Willows! And I still haven't read an ADF book i didn't enjoy.
 
As noted elsewhere, reading Cachalot now. Too early on to say much, other than the setting is interesting...
 
Now that was an early Commonwealth novel (1980?) but set later than all the others. Is the further future aspect obvious?
 
I haven't read any of the other Commonwealth offerings (in fact, I've only just reached the part where any description of the Commonwealth is provided), but yes...now that you ask, there are references that sound like they could be earlier story lines from the way Foster alluded to them in the story. Guess I'll have to get back to you on that after I've read some of the others...
 
I haven't seen anything new by him for a while.:unsure:
 
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