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lunaseassecondaccount's review
4.0
As many others have said, the premise is what drives this book. The idea of the billions of people who have populated the planet all coming back to life at the same time is a fascinating idea. How would different people interact, what ideas would form, and so on. The group Farmer has pulled together is also an interesting one- explorer Richard Francis Burton, Alice Liddell of Alice in Wonderland fame, a Holocaust survivor and a Neanderthal.
The world Farmer has built is both scintillating and disappointing. Much time is given into explaining how people get food, luxuries, and later, clothing. But time passes by so rapidly, and I can't help but wonder if at some point Farmer just wanted to get on with it and decided to skip all the necessary in-between. This could have been done much better, in my opinion.
What gets the rating for me, though, is the premise. This is what drives the story. Farmer also released several sequels (as well as a shared universe series), and so I wonder if perhaps the timing was improved in later novels. I suppose I shall have to wait andsee read!
The world Farmer has built is both scintillating and disappointing. Much time is given into explaining how people get food, luxuries, and later, clothing. But time passes by so rapidly, and I can't help but wonder if at some point Farmer just wanted to get on with it and decided to skip all the necessary in-between. This could have been done much better, in my opinion.
What gets the rating for me, though, is the premise. This is what drives the story. Farmer also released several sequels (as well as a shared universe series), and so I wonder if perhaps the timing was improved in later novels. I suppose I shall have to wait and
dhasenkampf's review against another edition
3.25
An incredibly fascinating premise. Somewhat awkward execution with all the focus on sex. Interesting idea to make an actual historic figure the MC.
eliaseuler's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shelitelschow's review
3.0
I would like to eventually continue reading this series but I don’t have time right now. TOO MANY BOOKS!
michellem767's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
abibliophagist's review
4.0
(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."
elfington's review
2.0
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.
alh1957's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0