Tales Of Riverworld

Riverworld

by Philip José Farmer

In a collection of new Riverworld stories, all the world's dead awaken in Riverworld and play out the grand saga of human history by a new set of rules along the banks of the ten-million-mile river.

Contents:

ix · Foreword · Philip José Farmer · fw
1 · Crossing the Dark River [Part 1 of 2] · Philip José Farmer · n. *
65 · A Hole in Hell · Dane Helstrom · ss *
73 · Graceland · Allen Steele · nv *
101 · Every Man a God · Mike Resnick & Barry N. Malzberg · nv *
141 · Blandings on Riverworld · Phillip C. Jennings · nv *
173 · Two Thieves · Harry Turtledove · nv *
207 · Fool’s Paradise · Ed Gorman · nv *
237 · The Merry Men of Riverworld · John Gregory Betancourt · na *
283 · Unfinished Business · Robert Weinberg · nv *

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Short Stories, Collections

326 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1993

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

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of stories based on Farmer's brilliant idea. Some good stories, some
poor:

"Crossing the Dark River," by Farmer. Half a story, continued in the next volume. Half a story is more annoying than no story at all.

"A Hole In Hell," Dane Helstrom (interesting name). Dante is held prisoner and
tortured by the vile Boniface VIII, until Beatrice shows up. A nasty six-page story.

"Graceland," Allen Steele. The King, Lennon and other dead rockers form a
supergroup until the converted and fanatical Jim Morrison shows up. Okay.

"Every Man a God," Mike Resnick & Barry N. Maltzberg. Frederick Selous,
Caligula, Huey Long, Beethoven. Good descriptions of madness but an
incomprehensible, somewhat bombastic, story. I have no idea what it was all about.

"Blandings On Riverworld," Phillip C. Jennings. P.G. Wodehouse writes a story
about and for al-Hakim bi'Amr Allah. Great language in Plum's own style, interesting
plot.

"Two Thieves," Harry Turtledove. Alexios Komnenos and Richard J. Daley form an
uneasy truce to fight a common enemy. By far the best story. Excellent characterization,
tense plotting, and with a surprise twist at the end.

"Fool's Paradise," Ed Gorman. Dashiell Hammett solves an attempted assassination.
Threadbare mystery, weak premise. Yawn.

"The Merry Men Of Riverworld," John Gregory Betancourt. Robin Hood and his
gang --- well, not really --- defeat Al Capone. Original and spirited.

"Unfinished Business," Robert Weinberg. A great cast of characters --- Bowie,
Crockett, Socrates, and others --- sail upRiver to settle some scores. Along the way they
learn a thing or two. Excellent battle scenes, as in his story in the next volume. Overall,
a very good offering.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically, some of the top writers in the biz got their chance to write fan-fic in Philip Jose Farmer's universe of Riverworld. Interesting to see other takes on the subject matter, and the folks they "brought back" varied for the most part from those Farmer chose to use. Some of the stories bogged down but overall a pretty enjoyable continuation of the Riverworld universe.

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Philip José Farmer's Riverworld on which these are based, but while everyone that's ever lived can become a character, it still feels like the world's limits make the stories kind of the same anyway. Still, there are some interesting ones in here, like Allen Steele's Graceland - in which the King and other great rockers build a island of godless rock'n'roll music that might be taken down by Jim Morrison - and Philip C. Jennings' Blandings on Riverworld - which features P.G. Wodehouse. A few smiles along the way, but let's say I'm not in a hurry to start on the other volume, Quest for Riverworld.

[Andrew Hennessey · Rating 5 out of 5]

my first ever idea and cosmology that made me think we could be getting farmed by aliens

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like with any anthology, this is pretty uneven. Some stories are very clever, some not so much.

It's fun to see other writers playing in Farmers world though, and I wish they'd done more of these.

[Peter Roach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved every book in this series. May seem dated nowadays though.

[Durval Menezes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short-story collection, I read it in 1991, and still remember most of the stories.

[Tymothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading this collection of Riverworld stories by different authors from the core series and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Some of the stories are better than others. I'm sort of sad to know that there aren't anymore Riverworld books to read now.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the original 5 Riverworld books.

[Alvaro Espírito Santo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some unbalanced quality in this book, but altogether a good read :-)