This collection of short stories is absolutely wonderful. It includes Sci/Fi stories about Hell, Trolls, and the absolute worst wish ever imagined. I've read this book a number of times and it never fails to make me burst into laughter.

Star Trek Log Three contains three adaptions of episodes of the animated television series, including "Once Upon a Planet," "Mudd's Passion," and "The Magicks of Megas Tu." This is another must have for fans of Star Trek.

This book contains nine stories, each about 60 pages long. The stories are adaptations from the animated Star Trek series. I found this very enjoyable. I recommend this to all Star Trek fans.

Few of the stories herein are set in the (currently) known Humanx Commonwealth, and Pip and Flinx do not appear. Don't let that distract you; this is good stuff.

"Dream Done Green" (1974) Far in the future, humanity has spread across the galaxy, dragging other species in its wake. To use another author's term, many (possibly all) of the other surviving animal species once native to Earth have been 'uplifted' to become sapient. The stallion Pericles is not content with the lot of the 'mals', however. He approaches rich, bored young Casperdan on the day before she comes of age, to persuade her to help him make his dream a reality - a life's work. See if you can figure out the details of his dream before the author reveals them.

"The Emoman" (1972) The 'emoman' in question deals in mysterious drugs - the buyer asks for a particular emotion and gets it. Although his full name isn't given in the story, Sawbill the emoman is Sawbill September, brother of Skua September.

"The Empire of T'ang Lang" (1973) A day in the life (and from the perspective) of the warrior T'ang Lang - have fun identifying the various species and objects he encounters. (T'ang Lang himself is a cat, incidentally.)

"He" (1976) A *really* big sea monster (Foster considers Jaws a minnow by comparison). :)

"A Miracle of Small Fishes" (1974) Reminds me of Hemingway's _The Old Man and the Sea_. Josefa prays for her grandfather to make one last good catch of sardines before the cough takes him - but in this day and age, the sardine schools are manipulated by controlled releases of nutrients, and are intercepted far north of Josefa's hometown...

"Polonaise" (1975) An alternate history, in which Poland was not partitioned in 1772, but rose to become a great world power, lending assistance to the American Revolutionary War.

"Some Notes Concerning a Green Box" (1971) Foster's first professional sale, originally just a Lovecraftian fan letter to August Derleth.

"Space Opera" (1973) Captain Cleve has been ordered to take a major newscaster along on the first mission to contact an alien race - and fears that the mission may be jeopardized for the sake of ratings.

"Why Johnny Can't Speed" (1971) What if Congress opted to pay for a nationwide mass transit system by eliminating highway patrols, and the Supreme Court ruled that attempts to regulate interstate highway systems were in violation of the 1st Amendment? Machine guns and rocket launchers built into cars, that's what. Frank Irwin, learning of the death of his only son in a lane change dispute, prepares to exact payback.

"With Friends Like These" (1971) The Yops, who prey on all other species for food, have driven the remaining strength of the united galaxy to violate the Edict forbidding contact with the most feared race in known space, left trapped on their own planet for centuries: the humans of Earth.

IRRELEVANT NOTE: The paperback edition's Michael Whelan cover painting, taken from the title story (introducing the alien visitors to chocolate chip cookies and ice cream), includes a self-portrait of the artist.

"Wolfstroker" (1977) "Sam Parker...was an agent. Not undercover, but theatrical, which was harder on body and soul." After a disastrous incident with a talent who worked with trained dogs, Sam is due for luck - and finds it, in the form of Willie Whitehorse, who can play his audience's emotions as he plays his guitar.

"Ye Who Would Sing" (1976) Caitland, having just killed a man for his employers, crashes in an isolated forest - the only place anywhere on Chee, or anywhere else, that more than four of its priceless chimer trees still sing. But Katie, the solitary woman studying the trees who rescues him from the wreck, must be crazy - she hasn't staked a claim or sold a single seedling.

I first found interest in ADF when my father told me he was a friend of Mr. Foster. Aparently, dad actually had the honor of building Foster's garage. It's true. This was the first of his books that I read, and I loved it. The concept of a world where the defining line between the plant and animal kingdom is faint is an excellent one. And there is also a valuable lesson to be learned from midworld. I'll leave that to the reader to find out, though. I reccomend anyone who likes Sci/fi reads it.

I've read nearly everything Foster has written and this book is my absolute favorite (Into the Out of is a close second) The flora and fauna of this world is what grabbed my imagination and the different levels of the rain forest is very well thought out. I'd love to see Jim Hensons production company make this into a movie

I read this years ago when I was a pre-teen, and it had me hooked on SF.
Alan Dean has let me down time and time again since, but this book is a classic.
You MUST read this one. It'll be fun, and you won't be able to put it down.

After finishing this one, try hunting down "Dark Star", a movie-novelization that is almost as good as "Midworld".

This book overall was a good book for any favorite Fanticy lover.
this book is about a young man who is a mail diliver in the land of Dionotopia. He dilivers mail on the back of a skybax. A sky bax is a dinasaur. it can fly long distancsis.
The young man goes on a joueney to find his feonca. Along ther way he meets up with carnavorious dinasaurs, grumpy hermits, and some nomadic tribes of humans and dinosaurs.
I recomend this book to those who can read well. their is some chalanging gramer and some going frome one person to another.
For the most part the book really held my attention. i didn't want to put teh book down. i kept telling telling my self just one more chapter, but i ended up reading 3 more chapters.

You would love to read this book if you are a science fiction kind of person. It couldn't really happen but it is cool to think it could. If you have read any of the other Dinotopia books, you will love this one.

I loved this book! the writing was descriptive and this book was written in great detail. I can't wait to read the others!

This is one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. Just watching the opening title of this film suggests a story that will bring you terror and fascination at the same time. Director Ridley Scott ("Blade Runner") has created a masterpiece which transcends time. I sometimes look back on a movie that was made two years prior called "Star Wars" and I laugh at how primitive it seems today. However, Alien is as spectacular as it was in 1979. This movie could be rereleased today with as much fanfare as it had twenty years ago. "Alien" broke the mold when it was made and almost every aspect of it has been copied since. This includes the ingenious set designs and the alien creature itself.

All aspects of this film, the screenplay, direction, acting, special effects, and the awesome set designs took a vast amount of imagination and creativity. The thought process alone that went into conceiving an alien which gestates in a human host, and goes through an incredible metamorphosis of various stages to its final horrific form, was a major accomplishment. Sigourney Weaver, as "Ellen Ripley", is the greatest warrior in movie history. She is not only fighting to save her crew from the "Alien", but she's fighting to save humanity from the evil "Company" that will stop at nothing to gain what they desire.

I cannot say enough good things about this movie. JUST SEE IT!

In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream....Those are the exact words to the slogan that attracted movie-goers to this masterpiece of science fiction and horror. British director Ridley Scott brings us an excellent story that deals with the unknown. With frightening and terrifying results. One could say that it has elements of John Carpenter's Halloween in it. In a way it does. But in this case, we are not dealing with a psychopathic or sociopathic killer with supernatural tendencies. We are dealing with something alien (no pun intended).

With a superb cast that consists of Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver(in her first role), Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton(a Kentucky native), British actors John Hurt and Ian Holm, and veteran method actor Yaphett Kotto, the film tells the story about the seven crew members of a commercial starship that recieves a transmission from an alien planet, while returning to Earth. As per compnay orders, they set down on the planet to investigate. What they find there is an old derelict starship and the fossilized remians of its crew. They also find alien spores/eggs that releases a creature that hugs to a persons' face and implants an embryo inside its victims. When one of the crew members finds an egg, he sufferes the aforementioned fate. When the embryo explodes out of the crewmembers thorax in a bloody scene, the terror begins. For now an alien is running loose on the starship and killing off the crew members one by one. Another shocking event is that the company that the crew works for has put them in this situation because they wanted the alien for its bio-weapons division. In the end, it comes down to a showdown between the last surviving crewmember and the alien. And the results are most horrifying, if not explosive.

This movie is defiantely a classic! A successful fusion of science fiction and horror. All the cast members give excellent performances. Ian Holm gives a remarkable performance as Science Officer Ash, a crewman who is actually revealed to be an android in an unexpected plot twist. Yaphet Kotto gives an explosive if not sarcastic performance as the ill-fated engineer Parker (his death scene as well as Veronica Cartwright's is the most intense and frightening). Cartwright's performance is very convincing as her character becomes hysteric and frightened by the turn of events. And finally, Sigourney Weaver turns in a powerful performance as the iron-willed Warrant Officer Ripley. A woman who holds the fate of the human race in her hands.

ALIEN not only has wonderful special effects(courtesy of 2001 and Space:1999 alumni Brian Johnson and Nick Allder), great costumes, an excellent plot, superb actors, spectacular set design(courtesy of Swiss Artist H.R.Giger), and a wonderful,if not frightening design for the alien itself, it is a truly wonderful movie that relies on the audiences imagination. One that allows suggestibility to enter the audiences minds instead of actually showing some of the violent moments in the film. The soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith is superb and haunting. And Scott's direction even better. Many of the cast members read parts of the script during the shooting, and some did not know the fate of their characters until it was too late. They did not even see the actor in the alien costume until the scene where Stanton's character was killed off was filmed. No one even knew about the chestburster scene with John Hurt until it was filmed as well. These actual moments in filming the movie are the actors real responses. Not acting. But for real. It was this secrecy, close attention to detail, and the unique script that added to the surprising plot twists in the film. Most of the actors actions in the film are reactions to some unexpected events. That is what makes a good film. Suggestibility and unpredictability.

ALIEN is as intense and violent, if not disturbing as The Exorcist and Halloween. It plays on your senses and does an extremely good job of terrifying its audience. If you want good science fiction and horror, this is the film to watch. I just wish ITC Entertainment distributed this film(seeing as how it was made at Shepperton Studios in England).

Interesting trivia notes: Harrison Ford was once approached to play the role of Captain Dallas in the film, yetvturned it down. He wuld work with Ridley Scott again on another science fiction classic. Blade Runner.

Yaphet Kotto had developed a deep dislike for the tall actor playing the alien, and a fight almost broke between them. Which would explain his character's intense hostility towards the alien and why he wanted to kill it. Very convincing acting on Mr. Kotto's part.

I know, I know, Alien has been written and talked about a lot over the last 22 years, so what's left to say? What will my review add to the discussion that hasn't been said before? Probably, not much at all, but I will let others judge the value of my review. Alien has not lost any of its edge. It still is very effective and works very well even today. The film is about the crew of the spaceship Nostromo, that while returning to Earth,they must fight for surrvival, when an alien life form is brought on board. Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt) leads the crew of seven Lt. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is a tough talker who tries to keep it together as things spiral out of control. The rest of cast is great and has good chemistry with one another. Director Ridley Scott made a sci-fi/horror materpiece that set a standard that proved you can do "smart" horror. One of the most amazing things is how well everything is put forth to really scare you. If you have never seen this film before the script has some real surprises and the alien is truly the stuff of nightmares. Weaver came into her own as Ripley. Since then the character has been imitated but rarely duplicated.

The 20th anniversary DVD is loaded with awsome extras. The commentary by Scott is informative and engaging. There are a lot of deleted scenes, some good, some not. Each deleted scene can be seen with commentary or not. The photo gallery is quite large and has some facinating F/X shots included that are cool. There is also a completely altternate musical underscore by composer Jerry Goldsmith that didn't make the final cut. Rounding the disc out are the usual trailers/t.v. spots and a screensaver. A really great disc for everyone to enjoy.

The first meeting between Thranx and Humans. The plot is a standard first-contact story but contains a few interesting twists; the writing is engaging and colorful, with good depth of character. I enjoyed this novel very much

I rate "Nor Crystal Tears" as Alan Dean Foster's best work, and as one of the best books I have ever read. It is a masterfully written story of first contact. With rarely a dull moment, it really is worth reading.

If you haven't read anything by Alan Dean Foster, this is a good place to start.

This novel became a favorite of mine when I first read it in the early 1980's when 'first contact' themes were less common and were not a staple or 'genre' of science fiction. Despite the large amount of additional recreational reading I have engaged in since that time, Nor Crystal Tears still remains one of my favorite reads.

Alan Dean Foster's "novelization" of James Cameron's screenplay for "Aliens" is certainly above average as such things go. What is really interesting now is that with the complete director's cut of the film we discover that all of the "depth" Foster was providing, such as the scene where Newt's parents discover the wrecked ship, were in Cameron's original script. But that is fine, since you do not really want the person writing a novelization to go out and create too much new material. The true strength of this novelization is in fleshing out the scenes, not so much the action sequences but those between people trying to make the best out of a bad situation that is only getting worst. The story still maintains a pace consistent with the driving force of the film. Alan Dean Foster does so many of these novelizations that when he really nails one like he does with "Aliens," we need to stop and take notice.

Commentary

I usually am one to read relationship/unrealistic novels such as The Outsiders or Catcher in the Rye, but after falling in love with the movie "Aliens" when I was seven I thought reading the book may be fun to. I have to admit, I have read this before, but not since the third grade so picking it up again was not a problem because I had lost all memory of the tale. The thing I like about reading books based on movies is that you get a whole new idea of what each character is feeling when something happens. For instance although Sigourney Weaver is a truly talented actress, when Ripley is trying to get Newt (AKA Rebecca Johnson) to drink the hot chocolate in the movie you don't get the same essence of her emotion towards the child as you do in the novel. I appreciate Alan Dean Foster because he has a tendency to go over what is expected and dive into the depths of a character, making them more distinguishable and easier to get to know. This book is truly one of the only books that makes reading it before or after you see the movie a fun ride. Plus there's a lot of swearing, that's always a plus.

Great book! Like the movie is was suspenseful, action packed, and scary. The first book wasn't as good as this one though. The best parts are the end, and the part where Ripley is trapped with the facehuggers, and without weapons!

Judging by the other reviews here I'm clearly missing something.

I came to this book expecting an easy to read Sci-Fi pulp story, hopefully entertaining, at best uplifting. I almost got what I was expecting, but not quite.

To it's credit, it held my interest enough to actually finish it, and the internal logic and scientific concept was consistant and well-thought out enough to be believable. That's about the most positive thing I can find to say about it.

As I began to read I was so stricken with the clumsiness of the dialogue and the two dimensional gimmickry of the characterisation that I assumed this must be a very brave (and lucky to be published) first novel. Not sure if that's the case, but my hopes that there might be a powerful or clever twist that had contributed to it's acceptance by the Publishing House were sadly not to be realised.

There is a sense throughout that it might all be worth it, but the ending is so weak as to leave me resenting the time spent ploughing through the final chapters, misprints and all. I was amazed to find on completion that the author has gone on to pen a whole series based on the characters found in this book, each of which can be reduced to one 'interesting' personality trait.

It is littered with the sort of literary rule-breaking that requires an artist of much greater stature than this for justification. For instance, I accept that his use of dialogue so clumsy as to be (literally) sometimes in fictional alien tongues was an attempt to give his conceptual hybrid human/alien language an exotic feel... unfortunately it succeeded, in my case, only to irritate.

Probably the most interesting character is introduced in detail early in the story, only to play no further role. The Sci-Fi cliches come thick and fast.

A strong ending could, perhaps, have excused the weakness of the prose, but this, unfortunately, was simply not forthcoming.

I don't normally find it useful to contribute such negative reviews, but amidst the shining praise found here, I really felt there needed to be at least one dissenting voice to warn to potential first time reader.

The first of the 7 Flinx of the Commonwealth books. I don't think the Flinx books are actually an ordered series, rather they are just stories of Flinx and his minidrag Pip (a minidrag is a kind of lethal flying snake). In The Tar-Aiym Krang we are introduced to Flinx, a mind-reading orphan who lives off of his street act (and a little crime). Through some believable coincidences, Flinx ends up helping two scientists and a trader as they search for an ancient artifact, the Tar-Aiym Krang. Although the fact of the Krang is a little bit of an anti-climax, this book is a fine story and is also notable as the introduction of the entire Humanx Commonweath that Foster has returned to over and over.

The book that started it all. It is a must have, if you plan on reading Mid-Flinx and Reunion, A Pip and Flinx Novel. I might add that Alan Dean Foster's Midworld should also be enjoyed prior to reading Mid-Flinx. In all four books, Alan paints a tapestry full of vivid characters, larger than life environments and surprise endings. I highly recommend them!