The novel “Strange Music” by Alan Dean Foster was published for the first time in 2017. It’s part of the Pip & Flinx series.

Flinx has been living with his girlfriend Clarity and obviously with Pip on the planet Cachalot for more than a year now when he receives the unexpected visit of Sylzenzuzex, a Thranx member of the United Church. This is not a courtesy visit because the Thranx explains that his help is needed for a very special mission on a backward planet that’s not part of the Commonwealth.

A problem emerged on the planet Largess, which has still limited relations with the Commonwealth although it may join it in the future. For the time being, advanced technologies are prohibited on Largess, but the presence of a human being who imported them has been reported. Officially, the Commonwealth can’t send anyone to capture the human but Flinx is a wanted man and the request for intervention comes from the United Church. The mission turns out to be really complex because the natives use a sung language and unexpected events might endanger it.