Farscape: House of Cards

by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Book Overview

The pleasure planet Liantac was once the greatest gambling resort in the Unchartered Territories. Even now, having fallen on hard times, it remains a spectacle of glitz and greed. Astronaut John Crichton and his fellow interstellar fugitives see Liantac as the source of much-needed supplies--except for Rygel, whose boundless avarice is tempted by the promise of easy riches. Imagine his shock, then, when he loses their starship, "Moya," in a game of...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812561627
• ISBN13: 9780812561623
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Best of the Bunch

That is, if you can call three a bunch. Having read all three original Farscape adventures (Dark Side of the Sun and Ship of Ghosts), I feel House of Cards is the only one to hit the nail on the head. Point one: It had a grand story with compelling sublots, all the threads wove the larger story together for us. Point two: The characters were true to the televised versions we love, in action, inner thoughts, and dialogue. Point three: No one over-shadowed anyone else. There's nothing wrong with favoring one character for an episode but this was the first of a new series and should feature ALL the characters extensively. As it did. Point four: DeCandido gave us a new and lavish world full of vivid and easily imagined scenes. Point five: It didn't "talk down" to fans. With 2+ seasons worth of stories and histories and plotlines to include, DeCandido didn't rush thru a summary, use some quick writer's trick, or over simplify things (as Bischoff did with Ship of Ghosts). No spoon feeding of backstories here! It was new-reader-friendly without annoying loyal fans. And the final point: It was a lot of fun to read!

Great for Scapers

This is a great book for a Scaper. It has a few errors (like forgetting that Luxans put their surname first and given name last) but is all in all a good read. It gives more back-story than a Farscape fanatic would need, and less than someone who's not familiar with the show would need, which makes me wonder what audience it's supposed to be geared towards. But I loved the insights it gave, specifically into Aeryn and Rygel. Finally, someone realizes that everything isn't always Rygel's fault! Now to point out some errors in the editorial review... Moya is the ships name, it's not 'The Moya'. Crichton is not the leader of our motley crew. They really don't have a leader. The human is just another one of them. And the others are far from his cronies. They are not resting a spell in the Uncharteds, they pretty much live there. And Rygel is not insectoid. He's amphibian. He's not an irresponsible sidekick, he's a deposed dominar to over 600 billion subjects. No one ever gives the poor guy enough credit! The plot had plenty of twists and turns, but not too many to follow. I suspect that I shall re-read this book several times.

Fun and Entertaining

Liantac is a gambler's paradise and the Uncharted Territories version of Las Vegas. Having recently delivered a passenger to the planet, Crichton and the others decide to take the opportunity to buy supplies, relax, and visit the world's main attraction: The Casino. It isn't long before Rygel takes a chance and ends up losing Moya to the casino owner. Now the Farscape crew are trapped on Liantac with no means of escape and the ever-present threat of Peacekeeper intervention. Forced to work off debts, D'Argo becomes a bodyguard and Zhaan is in danger of being added to a private plant collection. Crichton however has more important issues on his mind, most notably the fact that he can't remember the words to "Viva Las Vegas"."House of Cards" is the entertaining first novel in a series based upon the popular television programme, Farscape. Packed with humour and action, this is a must-have for any fan. There isn't much of a plot, but this is so fun to read that you won't really care. The author manages to capture the atmosphere of the show perfectly. The descriptions of Liantac are vivid and the characters behave as you would expect them to. The focus is not placed upon any one member of Moya's crew and everyone is given a chance to shine. "House of Cards" is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I would recommend it to any fan of the Farscape series.

Short but Sweet

I was intially surprised at how small the book was but in the hour or so it took me to read it (199 pages)I was pleased with how "Farscape" it was. The author has written a few Star Trek books that were quite good and he doesn't dissapoint here. A fun story that will fill your Farscape needs until the new episodes coming on June 15!

Great addition to the Farscape Universe

Every fan of Farscape should enjoy this book. It's like reading the script of one of the episodes, it is that well done. The dialogue between Moya's crew is hilarious and since it's a book we also get to read what some of them are really thinking when dealing with the other members of the crew. I hope there are more books on the way.