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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
(18/63+) In my Hugo Read-Through
Winning the Hugo Award for best novel in 1972 and was a reworking of a previously unpublished shorter story "Owe for the Flesh" he had written a decade earlier. It also has appeared as a two part novella that ran From 1965 and 1966. So after all these versions, he finally created this one and it went on to win the Hugo, so all the hard work paid off.
This is my first Philip Jose Farmer book, I own "Venus on a Halfshell" but haven't read it yet, and I'm not going to lie, as soon as I finished this book I started shopping for the second. Now in the 70s of the Hugo world, I'm certain that the award is for ideas. Even if books aren't terribly well executed, a solid idea in Science Fiction and Fantasy (which is proving harder and harder to be original) will nominate you for a Hugo. This book well deserves the Hugo from what I read, and comparing it to previous winners. I've seen a lot of people questioning it's win in the reviews and I think they are missing what the Hugo Awards are seemingly about. This book had an amazingly interesting concept, executed for the most part well and only brought down by some execution of characters and some silly sexist and racial moments that date it.
Philip Jose Farmer has created a fantastic world. A riverworld, where seemingly every human that has ever lived in time has been resurrected, healthy, young and in there prime, naked and fully shaven, along a seemingly endless river framed by mountains. We follow the rag-tag group the centers around Sir Richard Francis Burton the explorer, Alice Hargreaves (the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland), Peter Frigate (not sure if I should know who he is), A cave man named Kazz, and Monat, an alien from 2008 who helped destroy man kind... accidentally, and he feels bad about it. There are many other characters that come into play (maybe too many) but this is the main group. They wake up naked along this river, times and cultures and races interspersed, naked and with only one item, a cylindrical grail of sorts that when plugged into giant mushroom shaped stones by the river provided them with food, liquor, cigarettes and a hallucinogenic gum of sorts. Here we have it, the set up, the intriguing beginnings, why are they here, what is this?
The book then essentially becomes a Lord of the Flies survival. We have people of all times and cultures and backgrounds now strong and new with fresh starts. Some areas become friendly settlements, other slave states (one run by Hermann Goring and Tullius Hostillius). Burton gathers his group and constructs a boat, determined to find the mouth of the great river and find out why they are here.
I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave it at that. But I thoroughly enjoyed following Burton and crew as they travel this planet's river and see just how much of humanity has been resureccted. A lot of this book is just like how Burton's life probably was, just figuring out the world around him, the flora, the fauna, the people. The encounters they have with the people they encounter, and as time goes on the way the societies a long the river settle and become something. The pacing wasn't perfect, but the first 75% sped by for me, I was lured by the unknown, I needed to know why they were here, and it kept me interested and guessing.
The uniqueness and solidness of the concept of this book makes up for some of it shortcomings. I wonder how amazing the book would have been with out them. My main issue was with the number of characters. Too many, It might just be me, but I found myself mixing people up a lot, not realizing members were gone, or new members had replaced them. On top of this plethora of characters some of the main ones weren't handled well, and when I say this I primarily mean the ladies. I feel like even in the books I've read from the 50s the girls weren't so pointless. I hated Alice, so much. everything she said, she was a whiny, unrealistic, irrational nightmare. She had barely any role and when she did I always rolled my eyes. I can't tell if it's because she's a woman of HER time (so not the 70s, but 18th century Britain) or if Farmer just was terrible at writing women. This is the difficulty with characters from the past, specific characters. I don't know enough about Burton to tell if this was a well written character, from my perspective he was done well but maybe a little flat, but I'm sure those who have researched him heavily would be able to solidly say yes or no on whether these characters are well done.
The book kept my interest pretty steadily, with a lull around 75%, we had a mini climax and then the build to the final climax threw me off. I found the logic surrounding it's build up odd and a little out of left field, and since I wasn't invested in that set up it made the resulting chapters slower for me. The concept of them was interesting, but it was almost like he had an idea but not how to get his characters in the situation they needed to be in to execute it. The book has a swift recovery though, regaining it's momentum and keeping me intrigued and answering just enough by the end to make me immediately look for the other book. I can see how some may feel the book is lacking something, not A LOT happens, but what does happen was solid enough that I didn't miss anything too much.
So long story short. I really liked this book, it was interesting and unique, it could've used some more depth, and less characters, but it was worthy of it's Hugo win.
Also it has one of my new favorite quotes ever:
Winning the Hugo Award for best novel in 1972 and was a reworking of a previously unpublished shorter story "Owe for the Flesh" he had written a decade earlier. It also has appeared as a two part novella that ran From 1965 and 1966. So after all these versions, he finally created this one and it went on to win the Hugo, so all the hard work paid off.
This is my first Philip Jose Farmer book, I own "Venus on a Halfshell" but haven't read it yet, and I'm not going to lie, as soon as I finished this book I started shopping for the second. Now in the 70s of the Hugo world, I'm certain that the award is for ideas. Even if books aren't terribly well executed, a solid idea in Science Fiction and Fantasy (which is proving harder and harder to be original) will nominate you for a Hugo. This book well deserves the Hugo from what I read, and comparing it to previous winners. I've seen a lot of people questioning it's win in the reviews and I think they are missing what the Hugo Awards are seemingly about. This book had an amazingly interesting concept, executed for the most part well and only brought down by some execution of characters and some silly sexist and racial moments that date it.
Philip Jose Farmer has created a fantastic world. A riverworld, where seemingly every human that has ever lived in time has been resurrected, healthy, young and in there prime, naked and fully shaven, along a seemingly endless river framed by mountains. We follow the rag-tag group the centers around Sir Richard Francis Burton the explorer, Alice Hargreaves (the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland), Peter Frigate (not sure if I should know who he is), A cave man named Kazz, and Monat, an alien from 2008 who helped destroy man kind... accidentally, and he feels bad about it. There are many other characters that come into play (maybe too many) but this is the main group. They wake up naked along this river, times and cultures and races interspersed, naked and with only one item, a cylindrical grail of sorts that when plugged into giant mushroom shaped stones by the river provided them with food, liquor, cigarettes and a hallucinogenic gum of sorts. Here we have it, the set up, the intriguing beginnings, why are they here, what is this?
The book then essentially becomes a Lord of the Flies survival. We have people of all times and cultures and backgrounds now strong and new with fresh starts. Some areas become friendly settlements, other slave states (one run by Hermann Goring and Tullius Hostillius). Burton gathers his group and constructs a boat, determined to find the mouth of the great river and find out why they are here.
I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave it at that. But I thoroughly enjoyed following Burton and crew as they travel this planet's river and see just how much of humanity has been resureccted. A lot of this book is just like how Burton's life probably was, just figuring out the world around him, the flora, the fauna, the people. The encounters they have with the people they encounter, and as time goes on the way the societies a long the river settle and become something. The pacing wasn't perfect, but the first 75% sped by for me, I was lured by the unknown, I needed to know why they were here, and it kept me interested and guessing.
The uniqueness and solidness of the concept of this book makes up for some of it shortcomings. I wonder how amazing the book would have been with out them. My main issue was with the number of characters. Too many, It might just be me, but I found myself mixing people up a lot, not realizing members were gone, or new members had replaced them. On top of this plethora of characters some of the main ones weren't handled well, and when I say this I primarily mean the ladies. I feel like even in the books I've read from the 50s the girls weren't so pointless. I hated Alice, so much. everything she said, she was a whiny, unrealistic, irrational nightmare. She had barely any role and when she did I always rolled my eyes. I can't tell if it's because she's a woman of HER time (so not the 70s, but 18th century Britain) or if Farmer just was terrible at writing women. This is the difficulty with characters from the past, specific characters. I don't know enough about Burton to tell if this was a well written character, from my perspective he was done well but maybe a little flat, but I'm sure those who have researched him heavily would be able to solidly say yes or no on whether these characters are well done.
The book kept my interest pretty steadily, with a lull around 75%, we had a mini climax and then the build to the final climax threw me off. I found the logic surrounding it's build up odd and a little out of left field, and since I wasn't invested in that set up it made the resulting chapters slower for me. The concept of them was interesting, but it was almost like he had an idea but not how to get his characters in the situation they needed to be in to execute it. The book has a swift recovery though, regaining it's momentum and keeping me intrigued and answering just enough by the end to make me immediately look for the other book. I can see how some may feel the book is lacking something, not A LOT happens, but what does happen was solid enough that I didn't miss anything too much.
So long story short. I really liked this book, it was interesting and unique, it could've used some more depth, and less characters, but it was worthy of it's Hugo win.
Also it has one of my new favorite quotes ever:
Burton sighed laughed loudly, and said, "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Another fairy tale to give men hope. The old religions have been discredited- although some refuse to face even that fact- so new ones must be invented."
"It makes sense," Collop said. "Do you have a better explanation of why we're here?"
"Perhaps. I can make up fairy tales, too."
Oh dear. What a great plot idea - everyone who ever died on Earth is resurrected along the banks of a seemingly infinite river - but this book has not aged well. Sexist and pseudo-intellectual, I wish the idea were done justice.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Certainly an interesting and original story. The premise is pretty clever and well executed.
The pacing is good, although it does get a bit repetitive in the last third.
A few of the characters have… history attached to their names, which makes the story more interesting but also challenging.
The prose is clear and enjoyable. Overall, although I wasn’t extremely impressed by it, I quite like this novel and will probably read the next book in the series.
The pacing is good, although it does get a bit repetitive in the last third.
A few of the characters have… history attached to their names, which makes the story more interesting but also challenging.
The prose is clear and enjoyable. Overall, although I wasn’t extremely impressed by it, I quite like this novel and will probably read the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Rape
Ok, so I did not enjoy this book. It was a struggle to read, not because it was boring or dry but because it's emotionless and almost entirely without character development. Now I am a big fan of fairy tales & folk tales, which also often feature no characterization, but they are usually driving at a moralized or allegorical point. To Your Scattered Bodies Go is as yet unwilling to give us a clear moral or allegorical point (maybe he's saving it for a later book?). It's also hella sexist and racist (I assume this is at least partially because our POV character is from the 1820's but it's not ALL a product of the protagonists time. Farmer started writing in the 1950's & it's very apparent in his portrayal of women especially). I can generally gloss over the sexism of early Sci-fi for a good story but this one did not deliver. It is possible that the 'product of it's time'ness is intentional as it comes up a fair bit in the story (when you're mixing all ages of humanity together you're going to see it a bit), but if this is Farmer's intention it seems to go no where further than 'huh, that's a thing maybe'. In book club we talked about this a bit as a possible way to show that people cannot change even when faced with the more advanced/better versions of themselves but I'm not convinced Farmer sees the progression of human history as a move from 'worse' to 'better'. By choosing Burton as the POV character it often felt like Farmer was making a statement on the 'glorious past' rather than the 'wiser & better future' . Burton is extremely competent in survival, building, languages, logic, & tons of other things. The 20th century man is seen as a wise, but highly repressed person that Burton both loves but also resents. It just has a weird glorifying the past angle while also reinforcing the general cruelty of humanity through the ages even when placed in a relative paradise.
On a slightly more positive & less gripe-y note I do think the premise of the book is quite interesting. Many of the philosophical points the story brings up are discussed by characters in interesting and nuanced ways. Unfortunately it really feels like Farmer just wanted to talk about the essential nature of man and living but decided he needed to wrap it in fiction and did so as petulantly as he could.
Not particularity recommended unless your looking to wander through an extended thought experiment with a dis-likable protagonist as your guide.
Spoiler
this can be rolled all the way out to include the potential 'evilness' of the Ethicals who, in a 'humanity is always improving as we move forward in time' based world would be the absolute best nowOn a slightly more positive & less gripe-y note I do think the premise of the book is quite interesting. Many of the philosophical points the story brings up are discussed by characters in interesting and nuanced ways. Unfortunately it really feels like Farmer just wanted to talk about the essential nature of man and living but decided he needed to wrap it in fiction and did so as petulantly as he could.
Not particularity recommended unless your looking to wander through an extended thought experiment with a dis-likable protagonist as your guide.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia
As with a lot of older science fiction books, To Your Scattered Bodies Go is built on a high concept and big ideas, rather than dynamic plotting or characters. Postulation over prose. And while I do enjoy stories that present unique premises and take risks, thought experiments don't always make for great novels. For me, this book was interesting, usual, and memorable - a fine to good read, but certainly not amazing.
There are moments that can be critiqued as overly misogynist or racist, but that's also consistent with the least subtle message of the book: no matter how bizarre, fragile, or helpless the situation is, humans are likely to become tribal and be pretty shitty to each other. I don't feel it's always fair to scrutinize the arts and culture from previous eras under a modern microscope - the past will often appear problematic and that's how we should learn from it. And I'm still unsure if the more unpleasant viewpoints expressed in the book originate primarily from the protagonist's characterization, the common ideals of the era the text was written in, or Philip José Farmer's own worldview.
So while the set-up was fun to consider and chew on for a bit, I didn't find the narrative intriguing enough to keep exploring the Riverworld.
There are moments that can be critiqued as overly misogynist or racist, but that's also consistent with the least subtle message of the book: no matter how bizarre, fragile, or helpless the situation is, humans are likely to become tribal and be pretty shitty to each other. I don't feel it's always fair to scrutinize the arts and culture from previous eras under a modern microscope - the past will often appear problematic and that's how we should learn from it. And I'm still unsure if the more unpleasant viewpoints expressed in the book originate primarily from the protagonist's characterization, the common ideals of the era the text was written in, or Philip José Farmer's own worldview.