Description:

From science fiction legend and New York Times bestselling author Alan Dean Foster, creator of the ever-popular Pip and Flinx series, comes the climactic final novel in The Taken trilogy, his electrifying space epic about a man and his dog for whom the expression “out of this world” takes on a whole new meaning.

Location is everything. In Chicago, Marcus Walker was a hotshot commodities broker. In the cargo hold of the alien Vilenjji spaceship, he and a laconic dog named George, who has been speech-enhanced to increase his value, are just two more primitive creatures being shipped to the civilized part of the universe, where the market for cuddly extraterrestrial “pets” is busting wide open.

Though Walker and George manage to escape, man and dog are far from overjoyed, being even farther from Earth–billions of miles, in fact–and without a clue as to whether the direction home is up, down, or sideways. Possessing universe-level social skills, Walker becomes the leader of his own armada. Yet even a fleet commander is hard pressed to find a piece of space that no one’s ever heard of, much less cares to find.

To make matters worse, it seems the Vilenjji are proving to be notoriously sore losers. Even if Walker does pull off the impossible and pinpoint his needle of a solar system in the universe haystack, there’s a good chance that the unrelenting Vilenjji will get to him before he ever gets to Wrigley Field.

Yep, it’s a wide-open universe out there, bursting with possibilities– and Walker’s going to get hit with all of them.

From the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In the quietly amusing last installment of bestseller Foster's Taken trilogy (after 2005's The Light-years Beneath My Feet), Marcus Walker, a Chicago commodities trader kidnapped by aliens in 2004's Lost and Found, and his companion, George, a sardonic talking dog, land on the planet Hyff. There Marcus and George help the Hyfft, peaceful meter-high creatures, battle unpleasant invaders known as the Iollth before resuming their quest to return home. Fans of E.E. "Doc" Smith's golden age space-traveling hero, Kimball Kinnison, will enjoy this slyly humorous saga, in which the good guys have plenty of human weaknesses and the villains aren't too evil. (June 27)
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From Booklist

The Taken trilogy comes to a rousing finish with more than a few surprising twists to keep fans of Lost and Found (2004) and The Light-Years beneath My Feet (2005) guessing. After escaping the ruthless, curio-collecting Vilenji and soaking up their rescuers' hospitality, Chicago commodities broker Marcus Walker and his fellow escapees are again space bound, searching for their respective home worlds. During the quest, they stumble across a planet populated by humble, catlike beings who at first mistake them for the bullying Iollth from a nearby star system, then enlist their aid in battle when the Iollth do show up. As designated leader of the expedition, Walker suddenly gains an improbable ally in the hunt for Earth when the Iollth are defeated. Meanwhile, watching their every move, the Vilenji are close at hand, setting the stage for a final, unpredictable confrontation. Readers who have come this far will revel in this book's skillful blend of amusing cultural misunderstandings and edge-of-the-seat suspense and enjoy a satisfying conclusion to one of Foster's most entertaining series. Carl Hays
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