TL;DR
8/10. Collects Philip Jose Farmer’s first two novels, built on one of science fiction’s great high-concept premises, every human who ever lived resurrected along an endless river, with real historical figures like Burton and Twain interacting across the ages. I like it and would reread it, rating these strong openers an eight despite slow spots and a protagonist who never quite anchors it. The later sequels lose the thread and rate much lower.
Every human who ever lived wakes up, all at once, young and healthy, on the banks of an endless river that winds across an entire planet. From that staggering premise Philip Jose Farmer built the Riverworld saga, and this volume collects its first two novels, the Hugo-winning To Your Scattered Bodies Go and The Fabulous Riverboat. I like this book a good deal and would happily read it again. It rests on one of science fiction’s great high-concept ideas, executed with real imagination and historical flair, and these opening books are the strongest of the series by a wide margin, which matters, because the saga’s later volumes lose the thread badly.
Farmer’s concept is the kind that stops you cold with its scale: not a city or a world resurrected, but the entire human species, every person who ever lived, set down together along one impossible river.
One of SF’s great premises
The premise is the saga’s triumph, and it is a magnificent one. The universal resurrection raises irresistible questions, who did this, and why, what does it mean for the billions now living a second life, and how do people from every era of human history interact when thrown together, and Farmer mines them with genuine imagination. The first novel follows the real Victorian explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton, the man who searched for the source of the Nile, as he begins to probe the mystery of the Riverworld and its hidden makers, and the sheer conceptual audacity, history’s entire cast given a second life along an endless waterway, generates exactly the sense of wonder and possibility that makes high-concept SF thrilling. The idea alone is worth the price of admission.
Keep reading
High-concept fiction: building a story on one huge idea — Farmer’s universal-resurrection premise, in the craft of the big-idea story.
History as a playground
The saga’s most distinctive pleasure is its use of real historical figures, pulled from every era and culture and set loose to interact. Farmer populates the Riverworld with actual people from across human history, Burton, Mark Twain in the second novel, and a vast supporting cast, and the fascination of seeing figures who never could have met thrown together, forced to build new lives and societies, is a genuinely original delight. For a writer, it is an inventive demonstration of how a speculative premise can become an engine for exploring character, history, and human nature all at once, using the fantastic setup to stage encounters and questions no realistic story could.
Keep reading
World-building from a single impossible premise — Farmer’s Riverworld, in the craft of extrapolating a whole world from one idea.
My gripes, and the hero problem
I will be honest about what holds it back for me. It is a little slow in spots, the pacing sags here and there as the story wanders, and it can feel somewhat all over the place rather than tightly driven. My bigger reservation is the protagonist. Burton is a fascinating historical figure, but I am not sure he was the right choice to anchor this story; the book never quite settles around him the way it should, and a different central character might have given the saga a stronger spine. None of this stops me from liking the book, and the premise and the historical interplay carry it past the rough patches, but it keeps the first volumes short of the very top even for me. Farmer’s prose, too, is serviceable rather than beautiful, the concept does the heavy lifting.
Where the saga goes wrong
The most important thing to know going in: these first two books are the good part, and the follow-up volumes lose the track. A premise this enormous is far easier to launch than to resolve, and as the series goes on Farmer increasingly defers and complicates its central mysteries in ways that wander and ultimately disappoint, so the later books rate much lower than these openers. If you read and love the premise here, temper your expectations for where the saga goes, because it does not pay off the way these strong first novels promise. I would rate the opening volumes collected here an eight; the sequels, considerably less.
Verdict
It is a strong, imaginative pairing of the first two Riverworld novels, built on one of science fiction’s great high-concept premises and enlivened by the inspired device of resurrecting real historical figures to interact across the ages. I like it, I would read it again, and I rate these opening books an eight, held just short of higher by some slow stretches, a wandering quality, and a protagonist in Burton who never quite anchors the story. The crucial caveat is the saga as a whole: the follow-up books lose the thread and rate well below these, so enjoy the strong beginning for what it is. A magnificent idea, very well begun, and worth reading for the premise even knowing the larger series wanders.
Explore the hub
The Entertainment Hub — science fiction and the big ideas that drive it, gathered in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Riverworld about?
Philip Jose Farmer’s saga, collected here in its first two novels, in which every human who ever lived is simultaneously resurrected, young and healthy, along an endless river spanning an entire planet, and begins to probe the mystery of who did this and why.
What is in this volume?
The first two Riverworld novels: the Hugo-winning To Your Scattered Bodies Go, which follows the real Victorian explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton, and The Fabulous Riverboat, which features Mark Twain. These opening books are by a wide margin the strongest of the series.
What is the saga’s greatest strength?
Its premise, one of science fiction’s great high-concept ideas. The universal resurrection raises irresistible questions and lets Farmer throw together real historical figures from every era, generating genuine wonder and an original kind of storytelling.
What holds the first books back?
Some slow stretches and a wandering, somewhat all-over-the-place quality, plus the choice of protagonist: Burton is fascinating, but the story never quite settles around him, and a different central character might have given the saga a stronger spine.
Should I read the whole series?
These first two novels are the strong part and reward reading for the premise alone. The follow-up books lose the thread, increasingly deferring and complicating the central mysteries in ways that wander and disappoint, so they rate much lower than these openers.
Why do the sequels rate lower?
Because a premise this enormous is far easier to launch than to resolve. As the series continues, Farmer defers and complicates its mysteries unsatisfyingly, so the saga does not pay off the way these strong first novels promise, and the later volumes are considerably weaker.