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Dayworld #2
Dayworld Rebel
In the sequel to "Dayworld," Jefferson Caird joins the outlaw band of daybreakers and uncovers layers of deception that world government has inflicted on the people it has sworn to protect
314 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1988
27 people are currently reading
364 people want to read
About the author
Philip José Farmer
592 books884 followersPhilip 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 the lore of legendary pulp heroes, and occasional tongue-in-cheek pseudonymous works written as if by fictional characters.
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 the lore of legendary pulp heroes, and occasional tongue-in-cheek pseudonymous works written as if by fictional characters.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 1, 2018
2.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
This second volume follows closely on the model of its predecessor, but with more assurance. It’s less concerned with laying out the structure of the world than in sending its protagonist through a series of adventures. It’s smoother but less interesting reading.
While Farmer clearly put some thought into how Dayworld works (stoning, shared spaces, different styles), a good deal is left to implication – and it’s not always credible. That’s true for its lead characters, as well. Caird (let’s call him) has a fixation on Panthea Snick that’s simply not explained. It cropped up in the first volume, and it’s not explained here. Instead, she and another larger-than-life character traipse around in Caird’s wake for no good reason. The action moves Caird from place to seemingly at random, and the two follow along as good sidekicks do.
We do get a few revelations here (about immers and rebels), but they’re more muted than they might be. Caird & Co decide to bring things to a head with a series of irrational actions, and just barely get out of more scrapes than a comic-book hero, based only on .. nothing in particular, in fact. But get out they do.
Dayworld Rebel aimed to be the centerpiece of a clever, insightful series examining human nature and an instinct for freedom. Instead, it’s an adequate, largely forgettable chase novel that neither provokes thought nor offers an exciting escape.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This second volume follows closely on the model of its predecessor, but with more assurance. It’s less concerned with laying out the structure of the world than in sending its protagonist through a series of adventures. It’s smoother but less interesting reading.
While Farmer clearly put some thought into how Dayworld works (stoning, shared spaces, different styles), a good deal is left to implication – and it’s not always credible. That’s true for its lead characters, as well. Caird (let’s call him) has a fixation on Panthea Snick that’s simply not explained. It cropped up in the first volume, and it’s not explained here. Instead, she and another larger-than-life character traipse around in Caird’s wake for no good reason. The action moves Caird from place to seemingly at random, and the two follow along as good sidekicks do.
We do get a few revelations here (about immers and rebels), but they’re more muted than they might be. Caird & Co decide to bring things to a head with a series of irrational actions, and just barely get out of more scrapes than a comic-book hero, based only on .. nothing in particular, in fact. But get out they do.
Dayworld Rebel aimed to be the centerpiece of a clever, insightful series examining human nature and an instinct for freedom. Instead, it’s an adequate, largely forgettable chase novel that neither provokes thought nor offers an exciting escape.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 23, 2020
The world and the adventure are fairly interesting. Unfortunately, the main character went from not very interesting to annoying fast in the last 100 pages, which is why I lost patience with this book.
October 10, 2023
Era de așteptat ca Philip José Farmer să nu insiste în continuare cu dezvoltarea ideii celor șapte zile/șapte lumi diferite din “Dayworld”, primul roman al seriei, și să se axeze pe o narațiune în care Duncan, personajul său principal, (evident același Caird, omul cu personalități multiple, cu care am făcut cunoștință în “Dayworld”) este nevoit să treacă prin situații inedite, menite a-l face pe cititor să considere că lecturează ceva nou și nu doar un simplu apendice al primului volum.
Pentru mine, nucleul dur al acestui roman este reprezentat de pasajele în care Farmer analizează, prin intermediul protagonistului, “indicele elementului de personalitate” al unor grupuri de indivizi considerați a fi periculoși sau potențial periculoși. Plecând de la informațiile cu privire la complexul cromozomial al acestora, informații pe care guvernul le are deja stocate în diverse baze de date, Duncan face o clasificare a gradului de egocentrism al fiecărui cetățean din aceste grupuri. O astfel de analiză complexă constituie un obiectiv prioritar al elitelor aflate la putere, (pe care, în mod paradoxal, Duncan nu le susține) pentru că individul care se gândește un timp prea îndelungat la propriul său interes nu va mai avea timp suficient pentru a se ocupa de “binele comunității“, adică de binele elitelor respective.
Cititorul poate alege forma în care va încadra “Rebelul din Dayworld”. Dacă va considera romanul drept o continuare pentru “Dayworld” atunci se va bucura de lectura unui text bun. Dacă va opta pentru încadrarea romanului în categoria studiilor de sociologie, atunci se va bucura de un text foarte bun. Firește, există și o a treia variantă, cea în care putem face o medie a primelor două, medie în urma căreia obținem o carte… aproape remarcabilă, pe care chiar mă încumet să vi-o recomand.
Nota acordată romanului : 8,1
http://www.bucurestifm.ro/2023/10/10/...
Pentru mine, nucleul dur al acestui roman este reprezentat de pasajele în care Farmer analizează, prin intermediul protagonistului, “indicele elementului de personalitate” al unor grupuri de indivizi considerați a fi periculoși sau potențial periculoși. Plecând de la informațiile cu privire la complexul cromozomial al acestora, informații pe care guvernul le are deja stocate în diverse baze de date, Duncan face o clasificare a gradului de egocentrism al fiecărui cetățean din aceste grupuri. O astfel de analiză complexă constituie un obiectiv prioritar al elitelor aflate la putere, (pe care, în mod paradoxal, Duncan nu le susține) pentru că individul care se gândește un timp prea îndelungat la propriul său interes nu va mai avea timp suficient pentru a se ocupa de “binele comunității“, adică de binele elitelor respective.
Cititorul poate alege forma în care va încadra “Rebelul din Dayworld”. Dacă va considera romanul drept o continuare pentru “Dayworld” atunci se va bucura de lectura unui text bun. Dacă va opta pentru încadrarea romanului în categoria studiilor de sociologie, atunci se va bucura de un text foarte bun. Firește, există și o a treia variantă, cea în care putem face o medie a primelor două, medie în urma căreia obținem o carte… aproape remarcabilă, pe care chiar mă încumet să vi-o recomand.
Nota acordată romanului : 8,1
http://www.bucurestifm.ro/2023/10/10/...
July 10, 2017
Dayworld Rebel by Philip Jose Farmer- In this sequel to Dayworld, Jeff Caird, main character from the first book, has escaped from the autocratic world government prison and changed his identity. He's done this by deleting all his former personalities that he used to work around the Dayworld rules and even lost his main personality in an effort to protect himself, so he remembers nothing except that he's being hunted and he's on the run. Now he is William St.-George Duncan and he has fallen in with a rebel undercover group in the wilds of New Jersey. You might ask yourself, how can there be "wilds of New Jersey" if overpopulation has driven people to live only one day a week? That is one revelation in many that begin to pile up as Duncan tackles the government and learns more about the rebels he has just joined. Also, He gradually realizes that something important was lost when his personalities were submerged from his conscious. He spends a lot of time trying to coax out a memory that if it could be revealed, would be earthshaking.
Much like the first book, the going is fast and holds your attention, Farmer is so good at this and has such a deft touch, but the tail end of the book is a big slow down. It makes you wonder if Farmer should have just written one great novel instead of parceling and padding out the plot to involve three complete stories.
Much like the first book, the going is fast and holds your attention, Farmer is so good at this and has such a deft touch, but the tail end of the book is a big slow down. It makes you wonder if Farmer should have just written one great novel instead of parceling and padding out the plot to involve three complete stories.
April 29, 2021
Rarely does a sequel live up to the expectations of the original. Dayworld was a great read for me and the unexpectedness of not knowing what would come next was great. It was unique and I had fun reading the entire time. However I cannot say the same for Dayworld Rebel. It was not a bad book by far and I did enjoy reading. I did feel like it was instead of interesting and unexpected it was more random and all over the place.
Caird loses all memory and creates the persona known as Duncan. The story progresses as he tries to regain his lost memories and personas and his discovery of what the government and rebels are like. I feel like the whole story progression was weird in not the greatest way. I would say overall this was a good book and an enjoyable read. The idea behind dayworld is great but I think this book doesn’t capitalize on it well.
I would definitely recommend this to those looking for a good book to read. I would say young teens and adults would enjoy this.
Caird loses all memory and creates the persona known as Duncan. The story progresses as he tries to regain his lost memories and personas and his discovery of what the government and rebels are like. I feel like the whole story progression was weird in not the greatest way. I would say overall this was a good book and an enjoyable read. The idea behind dayworld is great but I think this book doesn’t capitalize on it well.
I would definitely recommend this to those looking for a good book to read. I would say young teens and adults would enjoy this.
December 8, 2017
Such a let down after the first book. It started out ok, but quickly lost direction. The characters moved throughout the world working blindly towards an unclear goal. It is too bad. The idea behind Dayworld is fascinating, but this book completely missed the mark.
January 3, 2019
8/10. Media de los 23 libros leídos del autor: 7/10.
En su momento otro de mis autores favoritos, aunque con algún gran “truño” entre sus obras. Me enamoró con su novela “Relaciones extrañas”. Y tb muy buenas “Los amantes” o la Saga “Mundo río”, tremendamente original esta última.
En su momento otro de mis autores favoritos, aunque con algún gran “truño” entre sus obras. Me enamoró con su novela “Relaciones extrañas”. Y tb muy buenas “Los amantes” o la Saga “Mundo río”, tremendamente original esta última.
October 31, 2025
I loved this sequel as teenager. The ideas within were so good. Yes it could have been better written, but I still remember this book decades later. Good series too. P J Farmer had great ideas and concepts.
July 6, 2018
I always enjoy reading Farmer, even as rereads as this one was.
September 17, 2019
Enjoyable, but a bit confusing in places.
October 13, 2020
Neat ideas. Poor execution.
November 16, 2016
Scroll down for the English version.
Il ritorno del violagiorno
Avevo apprezzato parecchio l’originalità de “Il sistema Dayworld” e mi ero divertita a leggerlo. Questo suo seguito e secondo libro della trilogia non mi ha del tutto convinto, almeno non quanto il precedente.
Come sempre Farmer mostra di avere una fantasia galoppante e il suo world building è molto accurato. Pur essendo un seguito, a causa del cambio di ambientazione ha dovuto reinventare da capo i luoghi in cui si svolge la storia, proiettando il lettore in una Los Angeles distopica che va oltre ogni immaginazione.
Jeff Caird, infatti, lascia Manhattan e con una nuova identità, che si aggiunge alle sette precedenti, scappa sulla costa occidentale. Tutti lo cercano, poiché uno dei suoi alter ego custodisce un segreto che può ribaltare l’intero sistema.
La storia che riprende esattamente dal punto in cui è finito il primo libro necessità assolutamente della lettura di quest’ultimo per essere compresa a fondo. Devo dire che le serie in cui è obbligatoria la lettura in ordine dei romanzi sono le mie preferite, quindi si tratta senza dubbio di un aspetto positivo.
Il protagonista sa ancora una volta essere coinvolgente per la sua fallibilità e follia, e la trama è del tutto imprevedibile. Non hai la più pallida idea di cosa attenda i personaggi nella pagina successiva né riesci a immaginare un epilogo possibile all’intera storia.
Purtroppo, però, non posso dare il massimo dei voti a questo romanzo, perché ci sono alcuni aspetti che non mi sono piaciuti.
La trama è infarcita di intrighi negli intrighi, creando una complessità che definirei sterile. Inoltre, il distacco necessario dalla struttura del primo libro costringe l’autore a inventarne una nuova che non risulta altrettanto vincente.
Infine, si sente che si tratta del libro intermedio di una trilogia e quindi soffre il suo essere un racconto di transizione.
A questo punto devo procurarmi l’ultimo per sapere come va a finire!
The return of the daybreaker
I’d appreciated a lot the originality of “Dayworld” and I‘d had fun while reading it. Instead, this sequel and second book in the trilogy didn’t totally convinced me, at least not as much as the previous one.
As always, Farmer shows his wild imagination, and his world building is very accurate. Despite being a sequel, because of the change of environment, he had to invent again the places where the story takes place, casting the reader in a dystopian Los Angeles that goes beyond imagination.
Jeff Caird, in fact, leaves Manhattan and with a new identity, in addition to the seven former ones, escapes to the west coast. Everybody is seeking him, because one of his alter egos guards a secret that can overturn the whole system.
The story resumes right from where the first book ended, so it is absolutely necessary to read the latter so that you can understand well the former. I must say that those series in which reading the novels in order is mandatory are my favourite, so this is definitely a good thing.
The protagonist manages once again to be addictive for its fallibility and madness, and the plot is totally unpredictable. You haven’t the faintest idea what awaits the characters on the next page nor you can imagine a possible epilogue to the whole story.
But, unfortunately, I cannot give full marks to this novel, because there are some aspects that I didn’t like.
The plot is riddled with intrigue within intrigues, creating a complexity that I would define sterile. In addition, the distance needed from the structure of the first book forces the author to invent a new one that isn’t as much winning.
Finally, you feel that this is the middle book of a trilogy and therefore it suffers its being a transition story.
At this point I have to get the last one to find out how it ends!
Il ritorno del violagiorno
Avevo apprezzato parecchio l’originalità de “Il sistema Dayworld” e mi ero divertita a leggerlo. Questo suo seguito e secondo libro della trilogia non mi ha del tutto convinto, almeno non quanto il precedente.
Come sempre Farmer mostra di avere una fantasia galoppante e il suo world building è molto accurato. Pur essendo un seguito, a causa del cambio di ambientazione ha dovuto reinventare da capo i luoghi in cui si svolge la storia, proiettando il lettore in una Los Angeles distopica che va oltre ogni immaginazione.
Jeff Caird, infatti, lascia Manhattan e con una nuova identità, che si aggiunge alle sette precedenti, scappa sulla costa occidentale. Tutti lo cercano, poiché uno dei suoi alter ego custodisce un segreto che può ribaltare l’intero sistema.
La storia che riprende esattamente dal punto in cui è finito il primo libro necessità assolutamente della lettura di quest’ultimo per essere compresa a fondo. Devo dire che le serie in cui è obbligatoria la lettura in ordine dei romanzi sono le mie preferite, quindi si tratta senza dubbio di un aspetto positivo.
Il protagonista sa ancora una volta essere coinvolgente per la sua fallibilità e follia, e la trama è del tutto imprevedibile. Non hai la più pallida idea di cosa attenda i personaggi nella pagina successiva né riesci a immaginare un epilogo possibile all’intera storia.
Purtroppo, però, non posso dare il massimo dei voti a questo romanzo, perché ci sono alcuni aspetti che non mi sono piaciuti.
La trama è infarcita di intrighi negli intrighi, creando una complessità che definirei sterile. Inoltre, il distacco necessario dalla struttura del primo libro costringe l’autore a inventarne una nuova che non risulta altrettanto vincente.
Infine, si sente che si tratta del libro intermedio di una trilogia e quindi soffre il suo essere un racconto di transizione.
A questo punto devo procurarmi l’ultimo per sapere come va a finire!
The return of the daybreaker
I’d appreciated a lot the originality of “Dayworld” and I‘d had fun while reading it. Instead, this sequel and second book in the trilogy didn’t totally convinced me, at least not as much as the previous one.
As always, Farmer shows his wild imagination, and his world building is very accurate. Despite being a sequel, because of the change of environment, he had to invent again the places where the story takes place, casting the reader in a dystopian Los Angeles that goes beyond imagination.
Jeff Caird, in fact, leaves Manhattan and with a new identity, in addition to the seven former ones, escapes to the west coast. Everybody is seeking him, because one of his alter egos guards a secret that can overturn the whole system.
The story resumes right from where the first book ended, so it is absolutely necessary to read the latter so that you can understand well the former. I must say that those series in which reading the novels in order is mandatory are my favourite, so this is definitely a good thing.
The protagonist manages once again to be addictive for its fallibility and madness, and the plot is totally unpredictable. You haven’t the faintest idea what awaits the characters on the next page nor you can imagine a possible epilogue to the whole story.
But, unfortunately, I cannot give full marks to this novel, because there are some aspects that I didn’t like.
The plot is riddled with intrigue within intrigues, creating a complexity that I would define sterile. In addition, the distance needed from the structure of the first book forces the author to invent a new one that isn’t as much winning.
Finally, you feel that this is the middle book of a trilogy and therefore it suffers its being a transition story.
At this point I have to get the last one to find out how it ends!
April 8, 2015
Dayworld Rebel (1987) 313 pages by Philip Jose Farmer
This novel picks up where Dayworld left off. Jeff Caird is in custody, but has created a new personae for himself. He is now completely William St. George Duncan, with no memory of Caird or the other six personae that had been him in Dayworld.
There was a lot of Duncan trying to learn things, about the government and about his prior selves, and also wanting to be in a position to actually do something. He escapes from the mental hospital/prison where he was being held and questioned to the wilds of New Jersey. He meets up with a band of other outlaws who help him escape from the initial manhunt, but he doesn't want to be rabbit always scurrying and trying to avoid detection.
That brings us about half way through the book, where Duncan seems to be important. We know it, because we've read Dayworld and know that he has the dangerous (to the govt.) secret of the life extending drugs of the Immermans, plus the two gifts that seem to be his alone, the ability to lie under the influence of the truth mist, and this thing with his being able to become a new person. The two may be linked.
Daywold Rebel has got me ready to ready Dayworld Breakup, even though it is at a good stopping point.
This novel picks up where Dayworld left off. Jeff Caird is in custody, but has created a new personae for himself. He is now completely William St. George Duncan, with no memory of Caird or the other six personae that had been him in Dayworld.
There was a lot of Duncan trying to learn things, about the government and about his prior selves, and also wanting to be in a position to actually do something. He escapes from the mental hospital/prison where he was being held and questioned to the wilds of New Jersey. He meets up with a band of other outlaws who help him escape from the initial manhunt, but he doesn't want to be rabbit always scurrying and trying to avoid detection.
That brings us about half way through the book, where Duncan seems to be important. We know it, because we've read Dayworld and know that he has the dangerous (to the govt.) secret of the life extending drugs of the Immermans, plus the two gifts that seem to be his alone, the ability to lie under the influence of the truth mist, and this thing with his being able to become a new person. The two may be linked.
Daywold Rebel has got me ready to ready Dayworld Breakup, even though it is at a good stopping point.
June 2, 2009
A good story, but it really doesn't stand on its own. The futuristic city of Los Angeles is an interesting setting because it is flooded and is now a city of towers and bridges jutting from the ocean-covered ruins of the old city. The hero of the story joins a subversive organization to expose that the government's use of suspended animation is no longer necessary to control the overpopulation problem. Some repeated plot themes, (such as a riot starting in the hero's vicinity,) and senseless deaths caused me to like this one less than the first volume. That being said, I am still fascinated with the concept of a world that is so deep in the grips of illusions perpetuated by the government that they sacrifice liberty for security.
May 26, 2010
Interesting idea that Farmer had pretty much given up on by the end of the first book, and while it gets vague mention in volume 2, it's more a 'man rebelling against a dysutopian future society' story .
Usual Farmer touches and adventure, but I wanted to see more about how the 'living for only one day' society would function, and the idea of our hero living in several days under several identities would play out.
This is very much a 'middle of the trilogy' book and it left me unsure if I want to track down the grand finale.
Would be interesting if somebody did a 'Dayworld' anthology, where other authors got to play with this idea. Like they did with 'Riverworld'.
Usual Farmer touches and adventure, but I wanted to see more about how the 'living for only one day' society would function, and the idea of our hero living in several days under several identities would play out.
This is very much a 'middle of the trilogy' book and it left me unsure if I want to track down the grand finale.
Would be interesting if somebody did a 'Dayworld' anthology, where other authors got to play with this idea. Like they did with 'Riverworld'.
January 27, 2012
This one is definitely not as interesting as the first book in the series. What bothers me most about it is that the main character doesn't even know what his motivation is. This leaves the story with some momentum, but none of the characters know or care where that is going. The main character, Caird, Duncan, whoever he really is, can't help but feel like the government really isn't evil, just motivated by practical self preservation. The love interest doesn't love him or hate him, she just isn't interested. And as a reader, neither am I.
March 25, 2016
I was really looking forward to this, it turned out being a real struggle to read. It was so boring and seemingly pointless. The characters bumble around the wilderness, then into the city. Their every move is observed but they just reprogram all the computers. Why is he rebelling? He admits he doesn't even know.
March 5, 2011
As with the Riverworld series, I liked Dayworld because the concept behind the series was original: In an overpopulated world, citizens are allowed to active only a day a week, being held in suspension the rest of the time. The novels are about illegal exceptions to this rule.
April 22, 2008
I thought this book never caught up to the novelty of the first and the sequence was doomed to dismal failure.
April 8, 2013
Second in the series. Read the first ages ago and finally found this one at a used bookstore. Great read. Also postapocalyptic utopia/dystopia.
Read
October 1, 2017Book 2 of this series was not as good as the first, but still kept me involved and waiting for the ending.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews