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nnewbykew's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
1.75
olityr's review
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
3.0
furicle's review against another edition
2.0
I love the premise of Riverworld, and enjoyed the earlier books, but the last couple feel like either the authour, the reader or both have lost interest. It's just meandering along to an finish, any finish will do. The endless possibilities of the Tower are expressed in bursts of mindless creativity with almost no logic at all, and some of the most intriguing ideas are picked up and dropped after only cursory examination. Serious Riverworld fans only I'm afraid.
pacardullo's review against another edition
3.0
(actually 2.5 stars)
35+ years after reading "The Magic Labarynth", I finally got around to reading "Gods of Riverworld" and finishing the series. Sadly, it is a bit of a disappointment. Honestly, it feels more like an extended epilogue than a finale. While TML ending was a bit anticlimactic, it still felt like an ending. Yes, there were stories left to tell, but it fell like the main plot threads were (mostly) tied. Here, they seem to be unraveled again and retconned/revised.
Having not read the series in decades, I cannot say if the earlier books suffered the same problem,s but GoR also had issues w/ race and gender.
All in all, I probably would have been fine ending w/ book #4 instead of reading this.
35+ years after reading "The Magic Labarynth", I finally got around to reading "Gods of Riverworld" and finishing the series. Sadly, it is a bit of a disappointment. Honestly, it feels more like an extended epilogue than a finale. While TML ending was a bit anticlimactic, it still felt like an ending. Yes, there were stories left to tell, but it fell like the main plot threads were (mostly) tied. Here, they seem to be unraveled again and retconned/revised.
Having not read the series in decades, I cannot say if the earlier books suffered the same problem,s but GoR also had issues w/ race and gender.
All in all, I probably would have been fine ending w/ book #4 instead of reading this.
yeoldemandan's review against another edition
3.0
It has been a while since I read the 4th book in the series. I recall struggling to get through it at times and not being very satisfied with the way the story had ended. This one did not lag or cause me to ignore it for any stages, but was not very satisfying in different ways. The plot seemed a little contrived and I didn't like the ultimate explanation for why things happened. As a series it is still a great achievement, I am just disappointed that the writing near the end did not live up to the greatness of the concept.
nicholasbobbitt1997's review against another edition
2.0
It's not usually a good sign when the cover bears little resemblance to the source material. It's less of a good sign when an author feels they have to remind their audience of the characters and plot of the previous installments. This, thankfully, is the last book in the series. It has little of the good that the original book had. Farmer writes well but it's clear the well of ideas has run dry for him in this setting.
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