[Keyoke]

Anyone read Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series? I've often heard of the series, and it looks interesting.

Any comments, fire them this way. Thanks! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Keyoke

[Erebus]

I read the first book: To Your Scattered Bodies Go, and quite enjoyed it, but never read any of the others. I suppose I should one of these day! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Corwwyn]

To Your Scattered Bodies Go is the first book, but I tend to think of it as a prequel, as it sets everything up, but feels more techno science fictiony, whereas the rest of the books are mostly a grand adventure/grand adventures.

Once into the second book and onwards, well, the writing style is unusual.

Every time I put a given book down wherever I needed to break, I found it hard to pick up and keep going.

However, once I did pick it up again, I was gripped and found it hard to put down.

Perhaps my reluctance to pick it up was at least partly due to knowing I'd end up reading it for a looong period before stopping.

[Steve Douglas]

Read the whole series and thought it extremely original and very good. I am planning to read it again at some point (if I ever get time) any designs for time dilatation machines out there?

Steve

[Rob B]

I read the first four in this series.

The first 2 or 3 were very good, but the fourth didn't sit very well with me. Perhaps the high standards of the first 2 or 3 were too much.

Either way the first 2 or 3 books were very good. To Your Scattered Bodies Go won a Hugo award, I think.

[Cadfael]

One of my favourite SF series, and mindboggling in its concept... I can only very strongly recommend them... for those of you not in the know... author = Philip Jose Farmer... the books...

To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971)
The Fabulous Riverboat (1971)
The Dark Design (1977)
The Magic Labyrinth (1980)
The Gods of Riverworld (1983)
River of Eternity (1983)

[SusF]

Loved it. Truely original and exciting. I have always thought Phillip Jose Farmer was an excellent writer. His World of Tiers is really good, too.

Susan

[Corwwyn]

Hehe, yeah, World of Tiers is a fun series.

The first book - The Gates of Creation - feels like it must have been Farmer's first novel to see print though. It's kinda primitive compared to the rest, though still fun (even if the main characters seem to be hungry all the time).

[Erfael]

Seems that the Sci-fi channel is doing an original movie based on this. Saturday, March 22, 9:00 EST.

[Kamakhya]

I loved the Riverworld series when I read it years ago. I recently reread some of it and found the last couple of books to be a major disappointment. I would recommend at least books 1-3 and possibly 4. It was an original (at that time) idea and I do think that Hamilton borrowed from it in his Night's Dawn trilogy.

And yes, I am way psyched to see Riverworld on the SF channel tomorrow night.

Kamakhya

P.S.: The SF Channel is also rerunning the entire Dune and Children of Dune miniseries on Sunday, March 23rd beginning at 11:00 a.m.