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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
This is a really interesting original to me take on a possible afterlife and the different choices people make about what to do with it. The endless valley and river that forms the new home everyone finds themselves in is wonderfully brought to life.
All the characters in this story are real historical figures, the good and the bad and everyone who ever lived, from Neanderthal to Hitler to Mother Theresa comes back. There is no punishment or suffering but we bring upon ourselves.
I did read the second book, but unfortunately, personally speaking, I found the characters became so weak, spineless and lacking in redeeming qualities I think it was a disservice to the real people how they are portrayed. This first book is great to read and stands alone as a story worth reading, but the following three books, which I didn't manage to finish, get progressively worse and unreadable.
All the characters in this story are real historical figures, the good and the bad and everyone who ever lived, from Neanderthal to Hitler to Mother Theresa comes back. There is no punishment or suffering but we bring upon ourselves.
I did read the second book, but unfortunately, personally speaking, I found the characters became so weak, spineless and lacking in redeeming qualities I think it was a disservice to the real people how they are portrayed. This first book is great to read and stands alone as a story worth reading, but the following three books, which I didn't manage to finish, get progressively worse and unreadable.
My copy, bought secondhand, had a big chunk of pages missing. I carried on reading it anyway, but I can't properly review it
People keep telling me that Farmer is uhmaaaaayzzzing. I'm two novellas in, and don't see it. I see some very interesting ideas, obfuscated by the sort of navel gazing that really, only a straight white dude in the '70s is capable of.
This is now the second story of his I've read where all the women have effectively been NPCs, falling distinctly in to the virgin/whore dichotomy, used primarily as fodder for the protagonist's misdirected existential angst. I get it, Farmer blew the lid off of sex in scifi, but yeeeeeeesh, is it ever dated.
This is now the second story of his I've read where all the women have effectively been NPCs, falling distinctly in to the virgin/whore dichotomy, used primarily as fodder for the protagonist's misdirected existential angst. I get it, Farmer blew the lid off of sex in scifi, but yeeeeeeesh, is it ever dated.
This isn’t a sci-fi novel, it’s a love letter to Timothy Leary who was clearly judging the Hugo awards in 1970. Hugs not drugs kids.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
First in Riverworld series and winner of Hugo in 1972.
Interesting ideas and execution may have been good in 70s, but this was painful to read now. Women are only objects. There’s no resolution at the end. And I really can’t get past having Hermann Goring as a main character.
Interesting ideas and execution may have been good in 70s, but this was painful to read now. Women are only objects. There’s no resolution at the end. And I really can’t get past having Hermann Goring as a main character.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Imagine that you wake up and the last thing that you remember is dying. You're lying on a riverbank surrounded by strangers who are naked and hairless just as you are. As you explore your surroundings, you find that you are no longer on Earth and the people around you are all the people from the beginning of time who have lived and died on Earth. Furthermore, there are no animals or insects, but there are plenty of fish in a river that seems never never to end. Meals and wants like cigarettes, alcohol, and clothing are provided daily from unseen benefactors.
The main character of the story is Richard Francis Burton, a famous British explorer from the last half of the 1800s. He's the perfect character to follow around in such a world because of his wide acquaintance with various cultures and ability to speak 29 different languages. Joining him (wanted or unwanted) are characters such as a caveman, an alien (responsible for the destruction of most of the human race in 21st century), the real life Alice who was the inspiration for the fictional [b:Alice in Wonderland|1763117|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass|Lewis Carroll|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187890151s/1763117.jpg|2375385], Nazi leader Hermann Göring, and a well-read American.
When my husband mentioned the premise of this series to me, I knew I had to read it. He also said that it's going to be a 4-hour movie event on the SyFy channel. Unfortunately, Richard Burton isn't going to be the main character because they were worried that Americans would think of the wrong Richard Burton -- the one that was an actor and Elizabeth Taylor's husband. Are we really so dumb that we couldn't differentiate between a little-known actor and a well-known explorer? Some other things that I bet won't make it into the series are people waking up naked and hairless, marijuana and hallucinates, lots of suicides, lots of love and war, and people's questioning of their religion since the afterlife is different than they were told. Oh, what am I talking about? I'm sure they'll show war. That at least is socially acceptable on television. *rolls eyes*
I'm giving this 5 stars because I actually want to read the next book in the series when I'm usually not a reader of book series. The next book in the series [b:The Fabulous Riverboat|16536|The Fabulous Riverboat (Riverworld 2)|Philip José Farmer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166725188s/16536.jpg|18220] features Mark Twain as the main character rather than Richard Burton. While the first book gives a small idea of who created Riverworld and why everyone is there, it still leaves enough questions unanswered that I'm curious about. For one thing, there's the end/beginning of the river and a fabled Tower to reach. As for the television series, I'm not nearly as optimistic about it. I'm sure Philip José Farmer would roll over in his grave to see the changes they'll surely make.
The main character of the story is Richard Francis Burton, a famous British explorer from the last half of the 1800s. He's the perfect character to follow around in such a world because of his wide acquaintance with various cultures and ability to speak 29 different languages. Joining him (wanted or unwanted) are characters such as a caveman, an alien (responsible for the destruction of most of the human race in 21st century), the real life Alice who was the inspiration for the fictional [b:Alice in Wonderland|1763117|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass|Lewis Carroll|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187890151s/1763117.jpg|2375385], Nazi leader Hermann Göring, and a well-read American.
When my husband mentioned the premise of this series to me, I knew I had to read it. He also said that it's going to be a 4-hour movie event on the SyFy channel. Unfortunately, Richard Burton isn't going to be the main character because they were worried that Americans would think of the wrong Richard Burton -- the one that was an actor and Elizabeth Taylor's husband. Are we really so dumb that we couldn't differentiate between a little-known actor and a well-known explorer? Some other things that I bet won't make it into the series are people waking up naked and hairless, marijuana and hallucinates, lots of suicides, lots of love and war, and people's questioning of their religion since the afterlife is different than they were told. Oh, what am I talking about? I'm sure they'll show war. That at least is socially acceptable on television. *rolls eyes*
I'm giving this 5 stars because I actually want to read the next book in the series when I'm usually not a reader of book series. The next book in the series [b:The Fabulous Riverboat|16536|The Fabulous Riverboat (Riverworld 2)|Philip José Farmer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166725188s/16536.jpg|18220] features Mark Twain as the main character rather than Richard Burton. While the first book gives a small idea of who created Riverworld and why everyone is there, it still leaves enough questions unanswered that I'm curious about. For one thing, there's the end/beginning of the river and a fabled Tower to reach. As for the television series, I'm not nearly as optimistic about it. I'm sure Philip José Farmer would roll over in his grave to see the changes they'll surely make.
I finally read this because it was on Jenny Colvin’s TBR shelf. Jenny’s untimely passing over the summer was a shock to us all and a great loss to the world. Jenny was a librarian, a podcaster, and a volunteer for numerous charitable organizations, yet still managed to read more books in a month than I would’ve thought humanly possible. She was a machine in that regard, but in all other ways she was a lovely human being who made the world a better place. She and I connected over our interest in books and our passion for rescue dogs. My deepest condolences to her husband and family, and to all of her friends. Only the good die young, and Jenny was very good indeed.
This was a very enjoyable book. The hereafter turns out to be a tad different than expected.
I listened to a poor-quality audiobook recording (tape, narrator was excellent!), but the story itself was so good, I pushed on through.
I listened to a poor-quality audiobook recording (tape, narrator was excellent!), but the story itself was so good, I pushed on through.