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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
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.
Spoiler
Regardless of all of these issues, my biggest disappointment with the book is the lack of a satisfying conclusion. Instead, we are encouraged to read on to the next part of the series and beyond. There is no clarity or even good hints as to the who, how, and why of the situation the characters find themselves in. Although I'm glad I was wrong in my initial guess about future Earth's possible invasion of Tau Ceti for their secret to immortality eventually being revealed as the Riverworld itself, it would have been a better conclusion than nothing. Instead, we are left with the initial mystery and only small snapshots of the bigger picture.
I'm not even sure where to begin with how terrible this was.
Look there’s a lot of Interesting in this but there’s also a lot of “oh get fucked”
Misogyny by the bucket
Is there ever going to be a Hugo award winner with a female character that doesn’t make me want to bash the author in the genitals??
Maybe in the 80s
Misogyny by the bucket
Is there ever going to be a Hugo award winner with a female character that doesn’t make me want to bash the author in the genitals??
Maybe in the 80s
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
'Most men still feared death because the fear was in the cells of their bodies, and they reacted instinctively. A few had overcome their fear, and others had never really felt it.'
'So, now, perhaps I can escape again. But to what? To another camp? There seems to be no end to them. Man is forever building them and putting the perennial prisoner... into them. Even here, where we have a fresh start, where all religions, all prejudices, should have been shattered on the anvil of resurrection, little is changed.'
'Death was not forever here, although it had lost nothing of its sting.'
'Purgatory is hell with hope.'
'[speaking of the stars] So many and so bright were they that even the noonday sun at its zenith could not entirely dim the greatest of them. Like ghosts reluctant to retreat before daylight, they hovered in the burning air.'
'Time hangs heavy on the hands of immortals.'
'So, now, perhaps I can escape again. But to what? To another camp? There seems to be no end to them. Man is forever building them and putting the perennial prisoner... into them. Even here, where we have a fresh start, where all religions, all prejudices, should have been shattered on the anvil of resurrection, little is changed.'
'Death was not forever here, although it had lost nothing of its sting.'
'Purgatory is hell with hope.'
'[speaking of the stars] So many and so bright were they that even the noonday sun at its zenith could not entirely dim the greatest of them. Like ghosts reluctant to retreat before daylight, they hovered in the burning air.'
'Time hangs heavy on the hands of immortals.'