Rating: Summary: One hell of a ride! Review: Without a doubt, one of the best books I have had the pleasure to read! Farmer is very descriptive and his knowledge of history is remarkable. I never cared much for history until I read the Riverworld series. Now, I can't get enough of it!
Rating: Summary: New Ageish before New Age Review: This novel launches the reader into speculation regarding what happens in the afterlife. Nowadays New Age prophets talk about the afterlife as if they were there, but when you read this novel you're certain that PJF was already there. Great stuff that should appeal to fans of the X-Files (Conspiracy, dig it?), and to new age people. Sometimes it's language can be a little offensive, so take caution.
Rating: Summary: Required reading for the human race Review: Makes my list as one one the all time greats. Farmer at his best (and he keeps it clean too <g>). One of the ideas that kept me going was the idea that you and I are here somewhere. I kept trying to see where I thought I would be on Riverworld. I read it when it first hit the shelves and I usually reread it every few years.
Rating: Summary: Unexpected Review: Great for those who read underlines and extremely interesting for the one who wants to read a great book. I really can`t say much because it`s so different that you only have to read it, and worst when you end it a realize that they are 5 or 6 more books about it you will quit your job to end the story amazing until the end. I had it difficult to find it in the past because the spanish edition is out of print but i did it and i'm very happy not to missing it.
Rating: Summary: A great work by a Grand Master Review: One of the great sci-fi classics, Farmer's "human saga" is just that; the saga of humans - All humans that ever lived! - as they confront a mystery greater than death; why they have all been resurrected upon the shores of a 10 million mile long river, and who has done this to them all. Join Mark Twain, Prince John of England, some cavemen and even an alien or two, as they journey in the Riverworld.
Rating: Summary: A must for Sci-Fi fans Review: Philip Jose Farmer has written more than 100 Science Fiction books, none more original than the fantastic Riverworld Series. 'To Your Scattered Bodies Go' is the first of five books in this series, and though it gets off to a rather slow start it develops very well.Imagine a planet on which the hundreds of billions of people who have died from the dawn of man right up to 1983 have been reincarnated. They all possess the body of a 20 yr old, but they also have full memory of their life on Earth. Imagine Napoleon living with Cleopatra, JFK meeting George Washington; the possibilities are endless. This is a brilliant series, with a creative idea which is very well developed. 5 stars!
Rating: Summary: Wait 'till you see who's in this book! Review: This book begins with the main character awakening suspended and rotating slowly in space. He sees other people in the same state. His last memory until now was that of his death bed. He views a kind of ship and tries to swim to it. The passengers of the ship notice and he is put back into unconsciousness. The next scene is that of a mass of humanity awakening on the large shore of a river. What does it mean? Why are we all hairless? These and other questions are sought after throughout the whole book and its subsequent sequels called the Riverworld series. Where else can an author feasibly have Attila the Hun, Faust, and Cyrano de Bergerac in the same story, except here in this Riverworld. I highly reccomend this book to any avid Sci-Fi readers. Don't be put off by the title, or the cover. Enjoy!
Rating: Summary: Resurrection time! Review: Philip José Farmer is a groundbreaking writer that in the '50s & '60s starts turmoil in the scene of Sci-fi. Up to that time the genre was almost aseptic, romance: yes, sex: no. PJF launched his short story "The Lovers" (1952) and started a change; "Flesh" (1960) and "Riders of the Purple Wage" (1967) are interesting examples amongst other of the same kind. The other unconventional thematic he approached is: "What happens after death", good example of this was his dark novel "Inside/Outside" (1964) and an excellent short story as "A Bowl Bigger than Earth" (1967). "To Your Scattered Bodies Go" pertains to this last group. Humankind as whole is resurrected, except those who had died in childhood. Along both coast of an immense river, 15,000 miles long, they are scattered in groups composed 90% from an age and place and a 10% from elsewhere and elsewhen. They are all given a 20's years old body but with full memory of their past lives. Sir Richard Francis Burton, an English a mid 19th Century explorer and adventurer, is the central character of the novel. He is described unadorned, as a ruthless egotistic person, yet full of charisma and an energetic drive. He put himself to the task of discovering what's going on. Along his stride he meets other famous and infamous historical characters as Hermann Goring, Alice Liddell (the little girl that inspired Alice Wonderland to his author). He also encounters fictional people as a Neanderthal and an alien from outer space. On this background an interesting and captivating novel is developed. Unfortunately this is the first installment of Riverworld series and as volumes passes the quality dwindle as well as the interest in the story. Nevertheless this book and the next are great and deserve to be read. Reviewed by Max Yofre.
Rating: Summary: Start of a memorable series Review: I just re-read this book for the first time in (literally) twenty-five years. Some of my favored books from those "old days" don't hold up well. But this one does! Farmer came up with a awe-inspiring setting that gives him access to literally every human who ever lived, as well as some non-human characters, and the ability to shift settings quickly and dramatically. The hero of this book is Sir Richard Burton, the 19th Century British explorer and adventurer. After Burton breathes his last on Earth, he finds himself (after a puzzling interlude or two) reborn on another planet among everyone who ever lived on earth. All their basic needs are provided for, and in this new world, even further death is not permanent; since humanity is freed from the need to struggle for life, it's necessities, or even for many of its pleasures, there is time for something else. The focus of the series is on how different people used this unique opportunity. Burton uses it to try to uncover the motivations behind the beings responsible for the resurrection. Fortunately for him, he has a secret ally among the resurrectors. The book is interesting, very readable, and not terribly deep. I enjoyed it, and am going to re-read the whole series. You'll learn a lot about Burton in the book, but it did not inspire in me (originally or now) the fascination it appears to have inspired in some other reviewers.
Rating: Summary: An all-in-one reading experience -- brilliant! Review: Philip José Farmer picked up his third Hugo Award for this 1972 book, his first win for Best Novel. He deserved it. Packing the story into a mere 215 pages, a slender volume compared to doorstops most science fiction and fantasy writers churn out today, Farmer managed to create a science-fiction novel of grand scope that wears many different masks: it's an adventure story, an examination of the development of cultures, an amusing literary exercise, a satire on human tendencies, and a character study. Every reader will find something here to enjoy, and because Farmer knits it all into a seamless whole, even the most discerning and picky reader will find him or herself enjoying every dimension of the book. This novel introduces the setting of "Riverworld," a mysterious planet where the entire human race from all time periods is suddenly a inexplicably 'resurrected.' Constructs known as grails provide food and other items for the billions of humans. Who or what created the Riverworld, and why did it reconstruct the whole of the human race? That question hangs over the entire story, as our hero, the legendary Victorian adventurer, Orientalist, anthropoligist, writer, and swordsman Richard Francis Burton, sets out on a quest to locate the masters of Riverworld. He has some interesting companions: a 20th century American, an alien visitor from the last days of Earth, a Neanderthal, the woman who inspired the character of Alice in Wonderland, and...well, Nazi leader Hermann Göring. Burton want to uncover the secrets of Riverworld, but the entities responsible for it want to find him as well, for he holds a secret that they desperately need. "Riverworld" moves at a rapid page-turning. Farmer lets you explore the wonder of this collision of ALL Earth cultures in one place, and you never quite know what will happen next. Sometimes Farmer grabs you with a tense fight scene, the next he amuses you with watching the developing cultures and colliding civilizations of this stew-pot world. The emergence of many famous individuals in the story is one of the novel's best features. Farmer is one of the first authors to exploit the dramatic potential of slamming together many different legendary figures into one story. (Today this is commonplace, such as in "Van Helsing" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," although in "Riverworld" the famous people are all strictly historical instead of fictional). In Richard Francis Burton, Farmer picked the perfect hero. Burton is strong, brilliant, driven, and completely egotistical, just as he was in the real world. He's the sort of hero you can't stop reading about because you enjoy watching him overcome obstacles and constantly rankle the other characters. Burton is larger than life, the ideal hero for this larger than life setting. "Riverworld" will leave you with plenty to ponder, and fingers itching to pick up the next novel in the series, "The Fabulous Riverboat."
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