Stations of the Nightmare

by Philip José Farmer

Book by Farmer, Philip Jose

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

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 the lore of legendary pulp heroes, and occasional tongue-in-cheek pseudonymous works written as if by fictional characters.

Reviews

[Insert name here · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first few Philip Jose Farmer books I read blew me away, but the more of his work I read, the more inconsistent I think he was. This wasn't a bad book--I finished it, after all--but it's definitely not one of his better works. Mildly enjoyable but ultimately forgettable.

[King_In_Yellow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bizarre story about a man who is turned into a UFO/Superhuman Messiah. It gets a little tedious at times and the dialogue is a bit silly, but it's not a bad read overall. I've had trouble getting into Farmer in the past, but this was relatively painless.

The only other thing I'd like to add is that the cover features a man who appears to be a cross between Norm Crosby and Burt Convy suffering from a severe migraine while trying to read the dictionary. This makes the whole thing seem like a made-for-TV film from the late 70s. Enjoy!

[Catfantastic]

I don't remember the book that well, but there shouldn't be an apostrophe in the title.

[John Rennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read part of this book in Roger Elwood's Continuum paperbacks back in the 1970s when I was an impressionable teenager, and I thought the part I read was deep, meaningful and altogether wonderful. In the years since I had forgotten what the book was called and been unable to find it again, so when a friend recognised it from my vague memories I immediately started looking for a copy.

Sadly it isn't deep, meaningful or wonderful at all. Philip José Farmer has written some great books, but this isn't one of them. It feels as if it was written hastily to meet some contractual obligation (maybe it was). Whatever the case, the book has little to recommend it.

[Matthew Reads Junk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn. Somewhat of an interesting if over-used concept of space messiah, but poor execution. The concept doesn't go anywhere new, and the protagonists powers seem designed by a five year old. "nuh-uh,he has triple infinity force fields". The only redeemable portion, is the author stand-in character who by the end of the book gets the power to enact his wish of humanity's eradication.

[Durval Menezes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. I read it about 20 years ago and still remember a good part of the story.

[Isen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story of a man serving as an unwilling host for an extra-terrestrial parasite is a great premise for a sci-fi horror. Unfortunately, this book does not deliver. The characters are too dull to care about, the dialogue is textbook tell-not-show, and the plot doesn't really go anywhere. A central aspect of the book is the magical power granted to the protagonist, but it's not clear what the author wanted to do with it. It's clearly meant to be a central point of the plot, given how much time the characters talk about it and how it leads to the resolution, but it really doesn't do anything. No theme is expanded upon, no character development occurs, and nothing exciting happens. It's just magic for the sake of magic.

The book concludes with a retelling of the myth of Osiris in a sardonic tone and with a self insert. I'm not sure what the point of that is, either. I think the author was trying to be witty.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powers for Algernon

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice solid entertaining SiFi story. Farmer writes a good quick read but with tons of interesting ideas. Recommended