To Your Scattered Bodies Go (Riverworld #1)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

To Your Scattered Bodies Go (Riverworld #1)

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 11,746 ratings · 303 reviews

To Your Scattered Bodies Go is the Hugo Award-winning beginning to the story of Riverworld, Philip José Farmer's unequaled tale about life after death. When famous adventurer Sir Richard Francis Burton dies, the last thing he expects to do is awaken naked on a foreign planet along the shores of a seemingly endless river. But that's where Burton and billions of other humans...more

Paperback, 206 pages

Published October 3rd 1974 by Panther Books (first published 1971)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Unknown

Quests

38th out of 120 books — 47 voters

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Best "second world" fantasy after J.R.R. Tolkien

14th out of 33 books — 57 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 05, 2011 Gavin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

Let’s say you died in 2005. You wake up on a beach (I am simplifying here for those of that have not read this—the book does not start off on a beach), next to a river that is endless. You have no recollection of this place. You know this can't be possible because next to you are a man dressed in 16th century attire and a bit further down from him is what looks like a Neanderthal. But, hey, you're in a Philip Jose Farmer novel, so anything's possible.

I love the concept that when we die (regardl...more

like 20 likes · see review

Feb 11, 2009 Keely rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, novel, reviewed, american

For me, the appeal of Speculative Fiction is the breadth and depth of its scope. An author is free to explore the most difficult questions and imagine worlds vastly different from anything we have ever experienced. Though all literature is concerned with what it means to be human, few outside of Sci Fi go to such lengths to ask what it means to be capable of thought and self-knowledge

However, there is a drawback. Often, authors succumb to the temptation to create a world so new, so different, so...more

like 7 likes · see review

Jan 01, 2009 Manny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts

A very Kilgore Troutish book. Farmer comes up with a phenomenal idea: a world where every human being who's ever lived has been resurrected, to spend the rest of eternity coming to terms with each other along the banks of a gigantic river. Unfortunately, after a few chapters it becomes clear that the author has no real plan about where to go with his concept. I remember some reviewer expressing similar disappointment with "The Matrix". It starts with a metaphysical revelation, and ends with a sh...more

like 15 likes · see review

Feb 09, 2011 Kat Hooper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

After he died, the famous 19th century explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton wasn’t surprised to find that what the Christian priests had taught about the Resurrection wasn’t true. But he was totally bewildered by what actually happened. He woke up young, hairless, naked, and turning in midair (as if on a spit) in the middle of 37 billion other young, hairless, naked and rotating humans. Soon after waking, the bodies — all the people over the age of five who...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

After he died, the famous 19th century explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton wasn’t surprised to find that what the Christian priests had taught about the Resurrection wasn’t true. But he was totally bewildered by what actually happened. He woke up young, hairless, naked, and turning in midair (as if on a spit) in the middle of 37 billion other young, hairless, naked and rotating humans. Soon after waking, the bodies — all the people over the age of five who had ever lived — plunged to the ground and began their new lives together in a giant river valley... Is this Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, or is it some huge social experiment being run by aliens?

Most of the humans, happy that their basic needs are being met, are content to just be living again. Some people see this as an opportunity to seize the power and wealth that they had, or never obtained, on Earth. But Sir Richard just wants to know what’s going on. He seems to be the only person who got a glimpse behind the scenes of their new home and, not only does he resent being manipulated, but his curiosity is insatiable. So, he and a few companions set out to explore the Riverworld and, they hope, to discover the source of the river and find some answers.

Richard Francis Burton, a fascinating and scandalous man in real life, is the perfect character to explore the Riverworld. Philip Jose Farmer’s depiction of Burton, and several other real historical figures, is superb, though occasionally teachy when Farmer periodically interjects an encyclopedic-sounding aside about a character’s life (this minor bit of clumsiness is the reason for my 4.5 instead of 5-star rating). I won’t tell you who else shows up in the Riverworld, because I’d spoil the fun, but I’ll say that it’s hilarious to watch Burton learn about 20th-century history and interact with some of its denizens.

The best aspect of To Your Scattered Bodies Go is its original premise — the idea of all of humanity spread out, generally in chronological order, along a giant river which can be traveled, like a human timeline. There is some “scattering” of bodies (hence the title) so that a 21st century American could end up in a tribe of Neanderthals. If someone dies in the Riverworld, they are resurrected at random somewhere along the river.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go, written in 1971, is creative, exciting, fast-paced, and totally absorbing. I was completely enthralled from the first page to the last. I listened to Recorded Books’ version read by Paul Hecht and I had a hard time removing my earbuds for long enough to pay attention to my real-life duties. By the end of the story Burton has managed to get a few answers, but there are so many questions left and I can’t wait to learn more about Riverworld. Therefore, I’m already reading the next installment: The Fabulous Riverboat.(less)

like 5 likes · see review

Apr 15, 2009 Greg of A2 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-scifi, read-before-1990, favorites

The first PJF novel I ever read. His short stories from sci-fi magazines had impressed me but this novel went way beyond that. This novel has one of the most memorable opening sequences in all of sci-fi literature. Even 20+ years since I read this novel, I can still recall the fascinating opening of it with the suspended bodies and our protagonist coming awake. The mix of sci-fi and religion is always fascinating to me but in the hands of PJF, it was doubly fascinating.

like 3 likes · see review

Mar 13, 2009 Christian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: sci-fi geeks

Shelves: science-fiction, classics

Philip Jose Farmer's basic premise is both simple and complex: in the far-flung future every person who has every lived and died in Earth's history (up to 2008) is reborn in prime condition at age 25 on the banks of a seemingly endless river. The lead character, adventurer and writer Sir Francis Burton, gathers together a band of fellows and goes looking for answers. Who created this place? How does it work? And what is the reason for this enigmatic experiment? On the way, Farmer toys with ideas...more

like 1 like · see review

Feb 24, 2013 Lindz rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, gods, love-a-list, science-fiction, series

Fascinating concept, dissatisfying execution. Sir Richard Francis Burton died in the 19th century and awakened here in the Riverworld, along with every other person that died on Earth. Naked, surrounded by unfamiliar people (including an alien) and uncertain how they're going to survive (can you die in the afterlife?) he bands together with a few people to figure out how to live in this new world.

Like I said, fascinating concept. After all, in what other mind could you have a story where the mai...more

like · see review

Nov 10, 2012 La Stamberga dei Lettori rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tancredi

Dopo Hyperion e Dune, approdo a questo terzo ciclo, anche questo appena ristampato. La primissima impressione è che ha qualcosa di entrambi i romanzi sopracitati. Il che non deve oscurare la sua fortissima originalità: se lo si colloca nel suo tempo, i primi anni Settanta, ci si rende conto di quanti prodotti, non solo letterari, siano debitori nei suoi confronti.
Il Mondo Fiume è, appunto, un singolare mondo attraversato ininterrottamente da un fiume. Un paradiso terrestre, curiosamente privo di...more

like · see review

Aug 24, 2012 Dan Schuna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, speculative-fiction

This is a great little book. As a stand alone it's very entertaining in the Ripping Good Yarn or Jolly Good Tale sense, but as the start of a five book series it's an excellent setup. It's a slim volume but manages a tremendous amount of characterization and a fairly long-seeming story. More questions are posed than answered but there's a little taste at the end of the overall story arc for the series.

The lead character, a fictionalized Richard Francis Burton, is at times repulsive, at times sy...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 15, 2012 Gerald Kinro rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first of Farmer’s Riverworld series. All humans that ever lived on earth are resurrected and reside in a world defined by a HUGE river. In this volume we have explorer Sir Richard Burton, his love, Alice Hargreaves (Alice in Wonderland) ultra-terrestrials, Neanderthals, and Nazi Herman Goering. People will be themselves as there is a quest for power and domination by the humans. They are human and subject to sexual wants and subject to the ubiquitous psychedelic chewing gum. Why are...more

like · see review

Jun 21, 2012 Holden Attradies rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction

This is the opening to one of my all time favorite series ever, and I am surprised every time I read it that the same basic setting has been used many times over: what if everyone that ever lived was awaken at once all together on one new planet. Everything from that "what if" point is details, and they are VERY good details.

Having read the series before and knowing where it's going I can look at this volume as what it is: a start that really just wet's your lips. At the beginning of the book yo...more

like · see review

Jun 09, 2012 Jobarda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sci-Fi Fans

Recommended to Jobarda by: Nerdy Show Book Club

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

May 29, 2012 Fiona McGier rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one

This book was written in the 70s, but he was born around the turn of the last century, so he was already old when he wrote it, which might explain a lot. I had read a review that claimed it was the one book that person wanted to have with them, if they could only have one book. My husband had just finished and passed to one son a book of Arthur Clarke's short stories that he claimed was wonderful. That son had just finished a college lit class on sci-fi, and he's been sharing stories with us. So...more

like · see review

Mar 19, 2012 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

How does one rate/review a book written over 40 years ago? Inevitably, the story itself gets mixed in with attitudes and writing styles of the day, leaving one uncertain as to whether they are reviewing a story, or a generation.

I normally rate books, more or less, based on enjoyment, so I decided to stick with it for this book. I read this once before, years ago, but for reasons I can no longer recall, never picked up the rest of the series. I considered going straight to book two when I recent...more How does one rate/review a book written over 40 years ago? Inevitably, the story itself gets mixed in with attitudes and writing styles of the day, leaving one uncertain as to whether they are reviewing a story, or a generation.

I normally rate books, more or less, based on enjoyment, so I decided to stick with it for this book. I read this once before, years ago, but for reasons I can no longer recall, never picked up the rest of the series. I considered going straight to book two when I recently remembered the series, but decided, all things considered, to sharpen my memory. I'm glad I did, because I only had the vaguest memories from before. That in and of itself isn't a criticism. I wouldn't say the book was unmemorable -- on the contrary. The details, on the other hand, were not at all memorable, probably because of the distant approach to story-telling that didn't really allow us to get to know the protagonist the way modern stories do.

So here's the premise: Everyone who has ever lived, including some subspecies of humans from prehistoric times and a handful of aliens who visited in the early 21st century (2002, to be precise....dang, how did I miss that? :) ), are reborn onto a new world. Riverworld. There's a wide river, you see, and everyone is resurrected somewhere along it. They are resurrected in somewhat chronological order, but with a certain randomness mixed in just for fun. Or maybe spite. Who knows what the architects of this grand experiment (if that's what it is) really want.

Richard Burton, the 19th century explorer. wakes along the river bank and quickly forms a small band of allies for mutual protection. Together, they learn the rudimentary rules of survival for the new world, build shelter, and eventually, build a boat that can take them up the river. Burton is, after all, an explorer, and never content to stay put.

What follows are a few adventures, and a lot of philosophizing. Burton eventually becomes a wanted man, running from the architects of this world. In his flight, he meets many unusual and interesting people.

I liked the adventure. I liked the philosophizing, even if what I sometimes liked about it was disagreeing. I liked the interesting social experiment proposed in the pages of this book, and sadly, had to agree with the idea that many would become violent and greedy. I was intrigued by some of the things uncovered at the end (though I still don't know how much of it is true) and I look forward to reading the sequels.

I was a bit...amused...by the contents of the cylinders provided regularly for their nourishment. They'd get food, and cigarettes, pipes (that were even found in the women's cylinders), lipstick (that were even found in the men's cylinders), marijuana, and chewing gum. Be careful with the gum.

Sexism runs rampant. At one point, Burton asks a woman if she'd like to join his group, and she says, "I'm only a woman. What use would I be?" His response, couched in shall we say, polite terms, was that he wanted her for sex. She had already confessed, in a fit of rage, to having been a prostitute in her earthly life, and though she claimed to have been forced into it and hated it, he wasn't sure if maybe she was simply making excuses. That wasn't all of it, of course, or even the least of it. It was more an attitude of the male as protector, the female...well, can I just say for the record, that if I had been born onto the Riverworld, I wouldn't have behaved like any of the women he represented? And I don't know many women who would have?

As a modern reader, my biggest struggle was wanting to know more about the main character's honest thoughts and feelings. He claimed to have "fallen in love" with one of the women, but when he is separated from her, her name doesn't even come up. I would have probably found this situation a little more entertaining from a psychological or sociological standpoint, but that's not this story. And that's okay. I think the whole psychological "get closer to the character" thing is a more recent movement in literature, one I happen to enjoy, but one I can hardly fault classics for failing to live up to.

This is good, classic scifi. It does what good, classsic scifi does -- explores human nature in strange situations, working to get to the heart of who we are and why we're here. If that sounds like your kind of thing, definitely read this!

www.christineamsden.com (less)

like · see review

Nov 01, 2011 Mike Moore rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here's the premise: all of mankind is reborn, all at once, on a planet custom made for the purpose. If you think about this for a few minutes, you'll probably come up with all sorts of possibilities: anthropological exploration, meeting famous historical figures, fights with savages from various time periods. Give it a few minutes more and you'll probably start thinking about your personal interactions: folks you might want to settle a score with, or even people long dead who you'd like to take...more Here's the premise: all of mankind is reborn, all at once, on a planet custom made for the purpose. If you think about this for a few minutes, you'll probably come up with all sorts of possibilities: anthropological exploration, meeting famous historical figures, fights with savages from various time periods. Give it a few minutes more and you'll probably start thinking about your personal interactions: folks you might want to settle a score with, or even people long dead who you'd like to take to task for some reason or another. Stop right there, and you know everything there is to know about this book.

Of course, there are particulars. The main character (19th century explorer and ethnologist Richard Francis Burton) is a personal hero of Farmer's. A lot of the book is the two of them talking about Burton's life and character. There are several action sequences and some (slightly weird) love connections. There's also an over-arching plot about the creators of this experiment, but it was frankly incoherent. Farmer has a strange and (I think) not-entirely-intentional contradiction in his construction of themes, in that he has brashly declared his setting to be purely rational (no divine powers please), yet infused the execution with theological concerns. Most notable among these is Manichaeism, which rears its head about two thirds through the book and effectively subverts the possibility of viewing the novel as anything other than a theological thought-experiment.

I have no problem with thought experiments, far less when they're theological or philosophical in nature. My complaints about the novel are not the issues it raises, but what it fails to consider. I hope a guided thought experiment will explore ideas in, if not an unexpected way, at least a way that is consistent and fruitful. Farmer doesn't lack for conclusions, actually he's pretty moralistic. But his morals are delivered anecdotally, with no connection to the thought experiment. He'll have someone from 2008 (his distant future) declare "of course, the only people in our enlightened times who still held to the nudity taboo were hopeless neurotics", or have all the admirable characters from a half dozen eras agree in a blase fashion to some principle. The actual thought experiment of people from different eras cohabiting goes nowhere. If anything it regresses, as inexplicable behaviors (everyone has enough food, all their needs are provided for, there's no such thing as luxury, so why is greed still so prevalent?) are accepted without a second thought and even the ramifications of his own explicit parameters are ignored (shouldn't they all be waist deep in corpses by the end of the first week? If they're constantly forced into other cultures, why do the ethnic barriers remain so rigid? What happens to all those children?)

But the novel lurches along well enough until Farmer starts trying to explain the motivations of the creators. The final chapters are so nonsensical that I can only assume that he had gotten to the point of throwing ideas onto the page and seeing what would stick. Every explanation makes less sense than the one before, and I was left with the distinct impression that the author was hoping one of the characters would tell him what was happening in his own story. (less)

like 2 likes · see review

Mar 28, 2011 Valerie added it · review of another edition

Pretty obviously there's a need for a matchmaking bureau between people who come up with great ideas and those who are good at storytelling. This book is a prime example: everybody agrees that it's a great concept, poorly realized.

One small correction: it's not everybody who's ever lived who's resurrected. Nobody who died in infancy is included, and there's a cutoff date, though it's not clear what it is--around the 1970s, at best estimate.

Farmer's problem was at least partly that he wasn't capa...more

like · see review

Mar 13, 2011 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved the Riverworld universe; it was such a great idea with plenty of room to run around.

In a nut shell:
Humanity has been resurrected along a never-ending river in a strange alien world.
All humanity is there, politicians, doctors, shop keepers, cave men, everybody. The story revolves around prominent figures of history as they try to escape this strange world.
This means that maybe you get to see what might happen if Stalin were to meet Julius Caesar. Josse manages to do this without the book...more

like · see review

Feb 09, 2011 Vegantrav rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My interest in this novel (and in the entire Riverworld series) was peaked when I ran across an item that mentioned that the story is about another world (Riverworld) where humans are resurrected after death, and this is not a a story about heaven and hell but a sci-fi depiction of the afterlife.

I was not disappointed by the first book in the series and look forward to reading the rest; it's a great adventure story that also addresses a lot of interesting philosophical, religious, and scientifi...more My interest in this novel (and in the entire Riverworld series) was peaked when I ran across an item that mentioned that the story is about another world (Riverworld) where humans are resurrected after death, and this is not a a story about heaven and hell but a sci-fi depiction of the afterlife.

I was not disappointed by the first book in the series and look forward to reading the rest; it's a great adventure story that also addresses a lot of interesting philosophical, religious, and scientific issues:

--what is the nature of identity? are the bodies that are resurrected in Riverworld just duplicates (what Derek Parfit would call replicas) of the people who died on earth, or are the resurrected bodies identical with those who died on earth? are a shared memory and psychological continuity (as Locke argued) between the dead earthlings and the resurrected Riverworld inhabitants enough to establish that the two are identical? towards the end of this first novel, we seem to get an answer: ****POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT**** each body has a psychomorph associated with it, and it would seem that the psychomorph is the source of identity; it's not clear exactly what a psychomorph is, but it seems to be in many respects similar to a soul or to an astral body.

--is eternity something that, if we really ponder the concept and its implications, we desire? would we not eventually find ourselves so bored with existence that we would want to die, to die really and truly: to cease to exist all together? in Riverworld, if one dies, one is simply resurrected again in Riverworld, so that a Riverworld "death" is not really death; is this not a frightening concept?

--if we died and found that our expectations (or lack thereof) about a possible afterlife were completely different than anything that we had previously expected, how would we react? would we maintain the religious beliefs (or religious skepticism) that we had on earth, or would we develop new religious beliefs?

--are the gods or God necessary for an afterlife to exist? or could some highly advanced civilization discover some mechanism to resurrect the dead? does the existence of an afterlife have any bearing on our belief or disbelief in deities?

--is existence really more akin to samsara than traditional Western notions about the goodness of existence? should our ultimate goal be not some type of heavenly existence but rather moksha or nirvana? whatever type of salvation we may seek, how do we attain it?(less)

like · see review

Sep 03, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Shelves: historical-fiction, science-fiction, ultimate-reading-list, novels, fiction

This is the opening novel in Farmer's Riverworld and was a fantastic read. I just cracked open the book and hours later I blink having reached the last page--so smooth style and page turner. This was written in 1971 but didn't read as dated, aside from that time's Environmental Doom Fad(tm).

The premise is fantastical: every humanoid being born on the Earth from Homo Erectus to early 21st Century Homo Sapiens to alien visitors, about 35 billion of them, is resurrected along the banks of a river...more

like · see review

May 08, 2010 Jan M rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book a long time ago. Then I loved it and had memories of a great main character trying to find answers. It deals with Richard Burton (the author not actor) who wakes up on the shore of a large river along with (as we find out) all the humans ever born (plus some neanderthal and aliens). Richard has actually woken up before all this in the apparent place where the bodies were generated and then was put back to sleep and then woke up with all the others. Each person had a "grail" (a l...more

like · see review

Feb 15, 2010 Meg Powers rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pastoral-dystopia, science-fiction

I don't know if this book actually deserves a four star rating, but it has been haunting the back of my mind since senior year of high school, when I had to read it for my "Literature of Science" class. Haunting me not because it is an amazing piece of literature (I recall it being awkwardly written ) but because it is so WEIRD. It's weird in that way that certain low budget movies you catch on t.v. late at night are weird. The progression of events and the unfolding of the story is weird. The c...more

like 2 likes · see review

Jun 26, 2009 Bren rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, thrift-store-finds

"Purgatory is hell with hope."

So says John Collop, one of the few remaining spiritual (read: religious) people left reincarnated in the Riverworld. Although his appearance is rather as brief as a cameo within the novel To Your Scattered Bodies Go, he represents a variety of hope otherwise greatly unseen.

The protagonist of this series is the reborn adventurer Sir Richard Francis Burton. Having awakened in a void-of-sorts, surrounded by countless other hairless immobile humanoid bodies slowly spin...more "Purgatory is hell with hope."

So says John Collop, one of the few remaining spiritual (read: religious) people left reincarnated in the Riverworld. Although his appearance is rather as brief as a cameo within the novel To Your Scattered Bodies Go, he represents a variety of hope otherwise greatly unseen.

The protagonist of this series is the reborn adventurer Sir Richard Francis Burton. Having awakened in a void-of-sorts, surrounded by countless other hairless immobile humanoid bodies slowly spinning in space, Burton finds himself alive once again after his fatal 1890 heart attack.

Riverworld, as its residents have dubbed it, is a land bisected by an enormous river, perhaps a mile wide in places, which stretches beyond the lengths of all the Earth's rivers combined. Bordered by a stretch of grassy land, wooded areas, and impenetrable mountains, the reborn citizens of Riverworld find themselves thrust into a foreign new world, much like Earth with a few noted exceptions: There is no insect life, save for a few worms upon which the river's aquatic life lives; Food comes from a large mushroom-like structure of metal, within which are numerous indentations intended to hold each person's individual "grail" (or, metal canister unique to each person; The citizens are comprised solely of former inhabitants of Earth - every single one of them who have lived since the dawn of time, including the Neanderthals (numbering, according to the supreme beings of Riverworld, some 36,600,009,637 souls).

A series of coincidences affect the plot. In ordinary fiction, fortunate coincidences hinder a plot more than resolve it - a lazy way of resolving tension and conflict for the benefit of the characters -- and subsequent sequels. However, rest assured that the late Philip Jose Farmer does provide explanations for each "fortunate coincidence" before the story ends.

...With the exception of a few unanswered questions, of course. But then, it would be unfortunate to have everything resolved all at once within the maiden installment of a 5-novel series.

A thoughtful science fiction/adventure read, To Your Scattered Bodies Go begins with a strong offering, and leads one to look forward to the vast, surreal expanse of Gardner's created world.(less)

like · see review

Jan 20, 2013 Alissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I feel like giving this a 3/5, but for the plot alone I have to give it an additional star.

Even though it wasn't as interesting as it could have been, or written in a style I particularly love, the idea alone is amazing. It has endless possibilities.

After reading it at long last, I'm so disappointed that it's television/film adaptations have been so poor. This story has limitless potential and I can't help wishing an amazing film or series would come out of this.

Thirty six billion, six million,...more

like · see review

Oct 05, 2012 Bracy Ratcliff rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A compelling premise--millions of people resurrected (maybe), but why, where? Millions upon millions are magically transported naked, hairless to an unknown place--a river valley surrounded by unscalable mountains. Is it divine redemption, alien intervention, or just plain magic? Richard Burton, 19th century renaissance man (not Liz Taylor's ex-husband) has some ideas, does some exploring, but eventually goes nowhere--as does the story.

It's a great idea with some fascinating pieces, but all it d...more

like · see review

Mar 31, 2011 Lee Selwood rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I returned to this after reading it in my early teens and always held it in high regard as a sci fi classic. Revisiting after twenty years and it seems I was sorely mistaken.

The idea itself of everyone whoever lived resurrected on the banks of a river is a fantastic concept but the book is let down by clunky dialogue, poor characterisation and the glaringly obvious fact that PJF doesn't know where he is taking this story. Having famous characters from history actually weighs the story down as b...more

like · see review

Nov 30, 2010 Jay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, historical-distant, historical-recent, philosophy-and-religion, redrum, sci-fi, tab-a-in-slot-b, world-of-tomorrow

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Nov 04, 2012 Tancredi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: statunitensi, sci-fi

"Chi conosce il credo di un uomo conosce quell'uomo già per metà. Se poi conosce anche sua moglie, ne conoscerà l'altra metà."

Dopo Hyperion e Dune, approdo a questo terzo ciclo, anche questo appena ristampato. La primissima impressione è che ha qualcosa di entrambi i romanzi sopracitati. Il che non deve oscurare la sua fortissima originalità: se lo si colloca nel suo tempo, i primi anni Settanta, ci si rende conto di quanti prodotti, non solo letterari, siano debitori nei suoi confronti.
Il Mondo...more "Chi conosce il credo di un uomo conosce quell'uomo già per metà. Se poi conosce anche sua moglie, ne conoscerà l'altra metà."

Dopo Hyperion e Dune, approdo a questo terzo ciclo, anche questo appena ristampato. La primissima impressione è che ha qualcosa di entrambi i romanzi sopracitati. Il che non deve oscurare la sua fortissima originalità: se lo si colloca nel suo tempo, i primi anni Settanta, ci si rende conto di quanti prodotti, non solo letterari, siano debitori nei suoi confronti.
Il Mondo Fiume è, appunto, un singolare mondo attraversato ininterrottamente da un fiume. Un paradiso terrestre, curiosamente privo di animali e piuttosto scarno per poter ospitare l'umanità appena resuscitata: almeno così appare ai trentasei miliardi di esseri umani, presi da ogni tempo e ogni luogo della Terra, che credono di esser finiti nell'aldilà, forse più un Purgatorio che un Paradiso.
Tra questi vi è Sir Richard Burton, esplorate inglese ottocentesco, il primo tra i tanti personaggi storici fatti rivivere sulla carta, con un gusto che si incontra simile in Hyperion. Se il poliglotta, razionale, ateo e fine antropologo esploratore finisce ben presto con l'esser il protagonista-eroe del romanzo, più sfuggente e mutevole è il ruolo assegnato a Hermann Goering, Reichsmarschall della Germania nazista, dapprima antagonista, poi più antieroe, spalla dell'esploratore suo malgrado. Ma ci sono anche: un uomo dell'età della pietra, un alieno giunto sulla Terra del XXI secolo, il Re di Roma antica Tullio Ostilio... più tutta l'umanità sparpagliata lungo il Fiume.
L'ambientazione squisitamente fantascientifica si riduce essenzialmente alle particolarità del Mondo Fiume, ai meccanismi di sintesi energia/materia che riforniscono di cibo i redivivi, ma soprattutto il mistero della resurrezione, quasi illimitata: sicché è possibile morire sul Mondo Fiume e tornare ancora una volta in vita, più e più volte. C'è, poi, il mistero della volontà che si è posta dietro la resurrezione: i cosiddetti Etici (tra le cui fila si cela un traditore, deus ex machina e soccorritore del protagonista), forse a capo di un esperimento scientifico, o chissà cosa.
La trama, al contrario, si riduce a una adesione, quasi omaggio, alla narrativa fantastica e di avventura, che inizialmente rallenta la lettura mentre le domande (e le risposte) vengono posticipate: da buon esploratore carismatico, Burton si pone come leader di un suo gruppetto e si mette in viaggio. Prima di incontrare delle risposte passeranno anni, e intanto fa la conoscenza di una buona fetta di culture e civiltà che hanno popolato la Terra attraverso i secoli. A ben vedere, è proprio questo il nucleo del romanzo: il confronto socioculturale, linguistico e antropologico, nonché religioso, tra culture differenti. L'autore lavora molto su questo confronto, evidente è la cura nella rappresentazione delle varie civiltà, si ingegna anche sul fronte linguistico, elaborando fantasiosi esempi di esperanto tra lingue altrimenti separate da migliaia di anni, non dimentica nemmeno l'aspetto religioso. Di tutte queste trattazioni sono pieni due terzi del romanzo almeno, in una narrazione che si compone essenzialmente di dialoghi, mentre l'azione è quasi assente. Per fortuna, l'autore si ferma appena prima che il lettore cominci ad annoiarsi e impone un'improvvisa svolta, facendo arrivare le prime preziose risposte.
Originale, innovativo, è un romanzo gradevole che osa e convince abbastanza. Fosse solo per la gran massa di opere che ha ispirato, dalla narrativa ai telefilm ai videogiochi; telefilm come Fringe e Lost serbano nell'ambientazione e in certe suggestioni un richiamo evidente; un simile melting pot di culture e civiltà è stato poi realizzato da Arthur C. Clarke nella sua ultima trilogia, con modalità assai simili. Un must, davvero.(less)

like · see review

Apr 05, 2010 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, speculative-fiction, life-after-death, made-into-a-movie, 2010-books-read

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, a...more 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 Alice in Wonderland, 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 The Fabulous Riverboat 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.(less)

like 3 likes · see review

May 26, 2012 Theo Logos rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction

This is the introductory book of Philip Jose Farmer's five volume Riverworld series, books that do not stand alone, and must be read in sequence from beginning to end for the whole story. As an introduction to an unique series, 'To Your Scattered Bodies Go' works well, and makes a good beginning.
The premise of the Riverworld books is unique, fantastic, and the hook that will draw you in and hold you. All of humankind, everyone who ever lived, is simultaneously resurrected on an artificially form...more This is the introductory book of Philip Jose Farmer's five volume Riverworld series, books that do not stand alone, and must be read in sequence from beginning to end for the whole story. As an introduction to an unique series, 'To Your Scattered Bodies Go' works well, and makes a good beginning.
The premise of the Riverworld books is unique, fantastic, and the hook that will draw you in and hold you. All of humankind, everyone who ever lived, is simultaneously resurrected on an artificially formed world along the banks of a millions mile long river that snakes around and around the planet. Everyone is mid-twenties, ageless, and their needs are supplied by a fantastic technology none of them understand. And everyone is equally ignorant of the who, how, and why of their miraculous resurrection.
Not everyone is equally willing to remain ignorant however. Sir Richard Francis Burton, explorer, adventurer, spy, writer, linguist, swordsman, and self-style rake of the 19th century Victorian British Empire, one of the most restless and adventuring men ever to live, was resurrected naked, along with the rest of humanity. In no time at all, he is off with a group of companions, sailing up river to search for it's source (as he searched for the source of the Nile on Earth) and for the answers to the mystery of their existence in this strange after-life. Slowly, he begins to put together clues that he hopes will lead him to the hidden gnosis of his strange new world.
I would give this book five stars for its concept, but only three for its execution. The scope of the concept is huge, leaving fascinating possibilities to explore throughout the series. (This Farmer exploits well.) The choice of Burton as protagonist was inspired, as the historical Burton was well suited to the task his literary counterpart undertakes here, and he is a most amazing character. The author has studied Burton's life, and provides much biographical material on him throughout the book. (This book was my introduction to Burton when I first read it twenty years ago, and I have since found what a compelling job of capturing him Farmer did.) These are the book's strengths.
The weakness of 'To Your Scattered Bodies Go' is in the writing. Farmer will often break away from the story to give histories on characters (usually actual historic persons of note) or to make philosophical speeches. Though the words are from the character's mouths, and though the information is interesting, the style when he tries this is nearly always stilted. The writing throughout the rest of the book is competent at best.
It is unfortunate that the series that this book begins does not hold up to the promise of the first book. The second book is equally good,(concentrating of Sam Clemons) but the third falls off sharply, and the fourth (originally the concluding volume) is a major disappointment. The fifth volume, which revisited and changed the ending of the fourth, is hardly worth the effort.(less)

like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Allie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

o All Your Scattered Bodies Go is an adventure story set in a world that stretches along a massive river, where all of humanity is mysteriously resurrected. The novel’s strong points were the world itself and the characters’ attempts to determine its nature and purpose. The weaker points were poor characterization, lack of a strong sense of the multicultural tangle of the Riverworld, awkward writing, and the heavy dose of overt sexism brought in by the viewpoint character, a fictional version of...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
La Stamberga dei ...: Il fiume della vita di Philip J.Farmer	1	5	Nov 09, 2012 02:59am
Sci Fi Aficionados: * August 2012 Random Read-To Your Scattered Bodies Go	22	43	Sep 07, 2012 09:09am
Nerdy Show Book Club: To Your Scattered Bodies Go	3	5	Aug 21, 2012 08:43pm

combine
Other Editions (43)

More editions...

Genres

Science Fiction

424 users

Fantasy

114 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

38 users

Classics

19 users

Adventure

14 users

Speculative Fiction

12 users

Science Fiction > Dystopia

9 users

Adult

6 users

Novels

6 users

Sci Fi Fantasy

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Philip José Farmer

Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, but spent much of his life in Peoria, Illinois.

Farmer is best known for his Riverworld series and the earlier World of Tiers series. He is noted for his use of sexual and religious themes in his work, his fascination for and reworking of th...more

More about Philip José Farmer...

Books by Philip José Farmer

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About To Your Scattered...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from To Your Scattered Bodi...

“The fortune of the man who sits also sits” — 3 people liked it

“- И защо човечеството получи своята Втора Възможност? - попита Колоп с тихия си сериозен глас.
- Нима я заслужава? Не. С малко изключения хората са подло, нищожно, дребнаво, злобно, тесногръдо, невероятно себично, вечно препиращо се и гнусно гъмжило. Като го наблюдават, боговете - или Бог - би трябвало да повърнат. Но в тази божествена храчка се намират и съсиреци на състраданието, моля да ме извините, че си служа с подобни образи. Колкото и да е долен човекът, той съдържа сребърната нишка на божественото в себе си. Не е безсмислено твърдението, че човек е сътворен по образ и подобие Божие. И в най лошите сред нас има нещо, което си струва да бъде съхранено, и от това нещо може да възникне новият човек.” — 1 person liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: To Your Scattered Bodies Go
avg rating	preview: To Your Scattered Bodies Go Goodreads rating: 3.92 (11746 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/229394.To_Your_Scattered_Bodies_Go?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345238382l/229394.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/229394.To_Your_Scattered_Bodies_Go?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer[/url]

To Your Scattered Bodies Go (Riverworld #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website