riverworld book review

So, 4 stars for the first story and 2 stars for the second, for an average of 3 stars. A world with a 20 million mile long river and and everyone who ever lived resurrected on its banks? And in the middle of what could have been a unique take on the human condition, we get steamboat willie. Then I'll read the next book and remember why I hated the first one. Rotten Tomatoes, home of the Tomatometer, is the most trusted measurement of quality for Movies & TV. Aliens? "To Your Scattered Bodies Go" was the Hugo winner here and it ends abruptly with no resolution to any questions or mysteries (which at first I wanted to know the answers to!) If you're curious I'd recomme. I didn't like any of the characters and I didn't really care what happened to Burton. Menu. B and C-list actors (trust me, you don't know anyone in this film). It's a shame it never became a television series with the scope of, say Game Of Thrones Season 1. Jun 21, 2006. Not this girl. So don't expect big budget anything, or stellar anything, and you'll be fine. Interesting approach in that both novels (and I believe the entire series) features well-known historical figures and touches on some key themes of the era when then books were published (early 1970's) but doesn't always hold together and appears dated given our current norms. Every man in the the book had to hurry and find a woman to claim as his. Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. Loved "To Your Scattered Bodies Go," but got seriously bogged down in "The Fabulous Riverboat." But the 2nd book doesn't go anywhere until the very end, and the main character, Sam Clemens, is so unappealing that I was glad at his misfortune, and glad for the book to end. If you're curious I'd recommend buying a used paperback of Riverworld and seeing if you want to move forward. The first two books just get bogged down in irrelevant side stories. A feast for the imagination.” —Los Angeles Times on the novels of Riverworld “A virtual playground for SF's growing fascination with history.” —Locus on the novels of Riverworld “Farmer's blend of intellectual daring and pulp-fiction prose found a world-wide audience…sprawling, episodic works gave him room to explore the nuances of a provocative premise … This book is about the efforts to build the steamboat, not about the journey. What a fun book! The most thought provoking and mysterious aspects of the entire story, and they don't explore it at all. Philip José Farmer’s 1971 To Your Scattered Bodies G o is the first volume in his Riverworld series. Also, I DID NOT read the books, so I didn't come in with that bias. Start by marking “Riverworld: To Your Scattered Bodies Go/The Fabulous Riverboat (Riverworld, #1-2)” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Home > Reviews > Post Not Ready For The Darkness To Your Scattered Bodies Go (Riverworld, book 1) By Philip José Farmer . Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. The theme of The Riverworld Series is probably most succinctly expressed in Chapter Thirty-One of The Dark Design by the character Peter Jairus Frigate, Philip Jose Farmer's surrogate in the series. You do meet some interesting characters and get some measure of entertainment for a little while. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published I found the books among some paperbacks that I was cleaning out of a cabin and thought this will be just the thing for a rainy day, and it was. I was aware of this series for decades, and although Sci-fi/fantasy that involves historical figures is one of my favorite genres, I had somehow avoided reading it. Thirty billion people from throughout Earth's history have been resurrected along the great an winding waterways of Riverworld. I'm missing book thr. Free shipping. even a lame joke is better than Riverworld! terrible script & play; a total disrespect for viewers time and $. Unfortunately the goofy inclusion of historical figures and a preponderance of unfilled plot holes quickly steer an appealing concept into the realm of the asinine. The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review. Cast, acting, dialogue, visuals and plot are quite interesting, but only for someone who enjoys fantasy films. Ugh, what a jerk. Refresh and try again. It won a best novel Hugo. It dit-dit-dits all over the screen when the camera is in motion. Righto, off to choose a woman for the night,, pass me that brandy good chap. Boys-own adventure as a perfect accompaniment to go with a marijuana cigarette and some delicious liqueur whilst you disembowel the natives. I was waiting for Mali to break out the running man it was so corny bad. SFS recommends the Riverworld series by Philip Jose Farmer. Reissued to follow the Syfy Channel film of Riverworld, this fourth book in the classic Riverworld series continues the adventures of Samuel Clemens and Sir Richard Francis Burton as they travel through Farmer's strange and wonderful Riverworld, a place where everyone who ever lived is simultaneously resurrected along a single river valley that stretches over an entire planet. Gods of Riverworld: The Fifth Book of the Riverworld Series: Farmer, Philip Jose: 9780765326560: Books - Amazon.ca ... ----In regards to the other reviews of this series that I've written, I'd like to say a few words concerning the series as a whole... Well over all I'd say this is a pretty good series. My book club reads through the Hugo List - 1972 winner: I couldn’t finish it. The book gets a little lost in the details of certain characters, but overall pretty readable. gr8tak SCI FI Shit. I had so much hope for the series. To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) is the first book in Philip Jose Farmer’s groundbreaking magnum opus Riverworld saga, which continued with The Fabulous Riverboat (1971), The Dark Design (1977), The Magic Labrynth (1980), Gods of Riverworld (1983), River of Eternity (1983) and a few anthologies. I kept thinking that the quality of writing will get elevated into more ethereal concepts and plot development……but it never happened. Who wants to hear Sam Clemens whine about his sad life for eternity? If you have, skip this very disappointing attempt at putting SF on TV, Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2017. The 3 star rating was for this "stand alone" movie. As I make my way through all the Hugo Award winners, I am discovering (unfortunately) that several books are parts of a series...I may read a winner and the story is not resolved or even worse it is in the middle or end of a series. I also didn't like how the most of charac. a 9yo, Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2017. Free shipping. The story was chronicled in four previous volumes, and is now concluded in Gods of Riverworld. I also didn't like how the most of characters in the book were real people. A good choice -- everyone who has ever lived on earth has been revived on another planet along the banks of a river that winds around it. Search the archives . It is a fertile and enticing wind for a more metaphysical science fiction tack. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. The concept of this book was very interesting, it was very poor execution. Since I suspect it was supposed to be a pilot, I'm reviewing it as such. As much as I wanted to enjoy the premise, the anachronisms compounded with the slow plot made it difficult to read. Mediocre TV at best. And THAT story just "ended" as well with no resolution. But a rebellious handful burned to challenge the unseen masters who controlled their fate Where? To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. From the Publisher Rate it * You Rated it * Riverworld's omnipotent leaders must finally be confronted, and the renegades of Riverworld—led by the intrepid Sir Richard Francis Burton—will control the fantastic mechanism that rules them. The Riverworld series by Phillip Jose Farmer is an odd bird indeed! I wanted to love them but they somehow never engaged me past a tepid "like". You have to take it for what it seems to be--a made for TV movie that was made to try and get a TV show started (If that isn't what this was, I'll eat my hat). I was a fan of the books although the plot was already ridiculous by the second book. It is a family movie I recommend it for those who grew up with Jules Verne and HG Wells.. A good way to kill an hour if you haven't read the novels. The Complete Riverworld Novels (Riverworld Series) [Philip Jose Farmer] on Amazon.com. I wanted to love them but they somehow never engaged me past a tepid "like". Riverworld (5 Book Series) was brilliant, something I remember as part of my teens just as much as the music of Alice Cooper or Hawkwind. As this is a combination of two books, I've decided to simply post both reviews back to back. Don't know if I'll continue with the series: the next book sees the return of the main character from Book 1, but other reviews here say the philosophy gets heavy from here on. Then I read "The Fabulous Riverboat" which is set on the same Riverworld but did little to a. It presents a fascinating premise and builds a half-way credible world around it. I have to say I'm disappointed that no further story line was made. A made for TV movie, so just know what you are getting going in. I remember the premise of the series, but not the specifics, having read @ least 3 of the series. Fun to watch for teens and adults who can still feel like a kid. (This is for The Fabulous Riverboat: I reviewed To Your Scattered Bodies Go separately. Parts of “Riverworld” feel like an allegory centered on the second council of Lyon and the admissibility of Purgatory as a legitimate Christian concept. Write a review. Bookmark the permalink. Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2017, even a lame joke is better than Riverworld! You'll go in expecting a movie and come out realizling you just watched a pilot for a TV show/mini series that was never picked up. The concept of this book was very interesting, it was very poor execution. The location is Riverworld, a mysterious and treacherous land where every human who died between the years 99,000 BC and 2,200 AD has been resurrected on the banks of a huge river. So much sci-fi from this era is intolerable. The more I read about the beings who inhabit Riverworld, the less I care to understand exactly why they are there. I read the first two books and enjoyed them enough to read them practically straight through. They go straight up, smooth as a politician denying he ever made a campaign promise.”, “For the unholy trinity of Bobs: Bloch, Heinlein, and Traurig— may I meet them on the banks of The River, where we’ll board the fabulous Riverboat”, Goodreads Members' Most Anticipated Spring Books. Buy a cheap copy of Riverworld and Other Stories book by Philip José Farmer. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read The Dark Design: The Third Book of the Riverworld … The Idea of da the Movie waZ gr8tak. But the 2nd book doesn't go anywhere until the very end, and the main character, Sam Clemens, is so unappealing that I was glad at his misfortune, and glad for the book to end. If you liked the existential undertones in the previous 4 books… Scope for adventure, character development, and good use of New Zealand (and maybe Tasmanian) locations. Cool and clean fantasy story for daytime TV, Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2017. ), Since this is books 1 & 2 together, the rating ends up as a 3. Scattered Bodies was good but I don’t think Riverboat did the series any favors. The discussions the characters have is stimulating and the events that occur in the tower are entertaining. I didn’t finish it. No blood, no nudity, no cursing, clean for daytime TV, offers some philosophical perspectives. 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