Description:

From Publishers Weekly

If the idea of big bugs (the thranx) and human-sized snakes (the AAnn) makes you squirm, you'll have fun with bestseller Foster's latest installment (after 2000's Dirge) in his saga of interspecies conflict set in the far reaches of the galaxy. The fanatic Elkanah Skettle, a human, together with his evil thranx associate, Beskodnebwyl, plan to terrorize a huge fair on the planet Dawn, as tensions on another planet build perilously close to war. After some pointless perambulations, two amiable preachers of different species manage to intervene, handily and unconvincingly putting a halt to the nefarious schemes of Skettle and his insectoid partner. Eminently readable the narrative may be, but it rambles on, more concerned with describing body parts (both alien and human) and the various species' responses to each other than with dramatizing the tale through incident and adventure. The action really picks up only when some scientists who have been examining enigmatic sculptures above ground uncover beneath the surface a colossal chamber containing millions of unknown individuals within pods. The bright and winsome heroine, Fanielle Anjou, is a plus, though those fond of the traditional BEMs who lust after human females will lament the failure of the thranx and AAnn to express any sexual interest whatsoever in Fanielle. Younger readers should be particularly enthralled. (Mar. 1)Star Wars, the first three Alien films and Alien Nation.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The conclusion to the Founding of the Commonwealth trilogy cements the affinity of humans and the insectlike Thranx. At first, the Thranx's delicious natural perfume captivated humans; thereafter, people discovered the aliens' dry sense of humor and love of poetry and art. Mutual appreciation for the finer things by the Thranx and at least some humans is the driving force behind the intercultural fair held on the planet Dawn. Meanwhile, on the frontier world Comagrave, an uneasy archaeological alliance of Thranx, humans, and Aan explores the well-kept secrets of the lost civilization of the Saun. After a series of accidents that occur where the Aan are convenient for helping an injured or stranded human, the chief Thranx scientist starts suspecting an anti-Thranx conspiracy. Back on Dawn, such a conspiracy seems to be up and running, for terrorists there plan vicious destruction to crush the infant commonwealth. Unexpected players in this engrossing drama are the brothers, human and Thranx, of the anything but dogmatic United Church, which ministers to both species with laughter and sensitivity. Roberta Johnson
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