Customer Reviews (3)

When the Daily Earthquake Comes!
Philip José Farmer (1918-2009) was a groundbreaking writer that in the '50s & '60s starts turmoil in the scene of Sci-fi. Up to that time the genre was almost aseptic, romance: yes, sex: no.
PJF launched his short storyThe Lovers (1952) and started a change. Flesh (1960) and Riders of the Purple Wage (1967) are two interesting examples amongst other of the same kind.
The other unconventional thematic he approached is: "What happens after death?". A good example of this is his Riverworld Saga initiated withTo Your Scattered Bodies Go (Riverworld Saga, Book 1)(1971) and the excellent short story "A Bowl Bigger than Earth" (1967).

"Inside/Outside" (1964) pertains to this last group.
Here, a strange world named "Hell" is depicted. This cosmos is contained in a sphere with the "sun" in its center.
The reader is introduced to this complex universe following the daily life of Jack Cull. Thru his eyes and thoughts, bit by bit of odd and contradictory information is revealed.
Supposedly the inhabitants of Hell went there after living a previous life in Earth, but they keep vague memories of such previous life.
Cohabitating in Hell there are Demons but Humans are the dominant specie instead of them (isn't that nice?).
Among other oddities this world is subject to constant earthquakes in order to expand and make room for more and more inhabitants. Yet another cute characteristic is: no one dies. If by accident a human being dies, his/hers body is collected by an ambulance and he/she reappears unharmed hours after.
Well, that is the background where action takes place. Discover the rest by reading the book if it seems to interest you.

PJF constructs a grim and stark novel that will affect and may disturb the reader, yet is a fascinating piece of strange sci-fi.
Sci-fi addicts will surely enjoy it!

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Poor Demons, Humans Rule!
Philip José Farmer is a groundbreaking writer that in the '50s & '60s starts turmoil in the scene of Sci-fi. Up to that time the genre was almost aseptic, romance: yes, sex: no.
PJF launched his short story "The Lovers" (1952) and started a change. "Flesh" (1960) and "Riders of the Purple Wage" (1967) are two interesting examples amongst other of the same kind.
The other unconventional thematic he approached is: "What happens after death". A good example of this is his Riverworld Saga initiated with "To Your Scattered Bodies Go" (1971) and an excellent short story as "A Bowl Bigger than Earth" (1967).

"Inside/Outside" (1964) pertains to this last group.
Here, a strange world named "Hell" is depicted. This cosmos is contained into a sphere with the "sun" in its center.
The reader is introduced to this complex universe following the daily life of Jack Cull. Thru his eyes and thoughts, bit by bit of odd and contradictory information is revealed. Supposedly the inhabitants of Hell went there after living a previous life in Earth, but they keep vague memories of such previous life.
Cohabitating in Hell there are Demons but Humans are the dominant specie instead of them (isn't that nice?).
Among other oddities this world is subject to constant earthquakes in order to expand and make room for more and more inhabitants. Yet another cute characteristic is: no one dies. If by accident a human being dies, his/hers body is collected by an ambulance and he/she reappears unharmed hours after.
Well, that is the background where action takes place. Discover the rest by reading the book if it seems to interest you.

PJF constructs a grim and stark novel that will affect and may disturb the reader, yet is a fascinating piece of strange sci-fi.
Sci-fi addicts will surely enjoy it!

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

A grim, depressing, success
In this peculiar novel Farmer takes us to a radically new locale - a heretofore unknown portion of the cosmos which its inhabitants refer to as "Hell".The protagonist (one certainly can't call him a hero) isJack Cull, an agent of an investigative agency known as the Exchange. Amidst this living horror where no one seems to know any essential facts ofexistence, the Exchange seeks out information concerning the possibility ofeternal salvation, or failing that, any rumors that might suffice to givesome hope to the long-suffering inhabitants.Of primary concern is themysterious being known only as "X", who appears to collect thebodies of the deceased, delivers a cryptic moral message to any bystanders,and then retires to engineer the resurrection of the dead.Thus death doesnot end, but only interrupts, the tedious existence of these god-forsakencreatures.Without giving away the many unique twists this story presents,Farmer gives us an extensive tour of the premises, a confrontation with X,and a major cataclysm, all within this rather short novel.This adds up toa book packed full of action, and brimming with radical, even bizarre,cosmological ideas.The characters, setting, and violent action areuniformly grim, depressing, only half-familiar, and often morallyrepugnant; all of which contribute to making this book an artistic successas a view of a world without any moral compass or any real hope ofredemption.Regrettably, these same qualities make the book a ratherdepressing read, as the hopelessness and despair of the characters tends tobleed over onto the reader.Things happen so quickly that it's often hardto understand exactly what's going on, and of course no one everunderstands why (they aren't supposed to, until the very end), keeping thereader more befuddled than engrossed.The conclusion of the novel, wherethe secrets are revealed, is certainly surprising enough, although likemost theories of cosmology it may offend those with strict ideas about thenature of the universe, and it certainly is of no practical importance evenif one believed in it.All in all, readers who are neither offended nordepressed by Farmer's vision may find it both clever and even amusing,although no one's life will ever be changed by it.But in the lastanalysis, though Farmer has done a magnificent job of integrating everyfacet of his novel to create a perfect picture of soulless emptiness, aswith the artist who fills jars with urine, it's hard to believe that manypeople will actually enjoy the result. ... Read more

Product Description
Kickaha, a freedom-seeking wanderer from the planet Earth, meets his archenemy, the most powerful of the decadent interstellar lords, Lord Red Orc, in a final battle that will determine the fate of the universes. Reprint. AB. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good series, disappointing conclusion
I first read World of Tiers books in 1974, and enjoyd them over the years. As a whole, I would have given the series 5 stars, yet this one only rates 3.
The basic plot is that Kikaha and Annana have been tryng to escape from some universe for 15 years, and when they finally do, they meet up with their arch enemy, Red Orc. Farmer does bring the series to an end, but I think it was very contrived.
He does answer some questions from the earlier books, but I was left with the overwhelming question: why did I bother to buy the book in the first place?
Saying that, it is worth reading to find out how the series comes to an end.

A very good end for a great series(or it's not the end?)
Khichaka and Anana are absolutely unique:a goddess so human,a human so godlike.The pocket universe idea is wonderful,provided it's not used for making the heroes wander pointlessly from one zany universe to another.Andthe solution is so bizarre,so farmerish,one would say,but very humane.Ionly think that the petty wars between the immortal supergods who made theWorld of Tiers made me wonder about the desirability of immortality.Andwhat happened to Wolff and Chryseis,by the way? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Purple Book IS 'Purple Wage'
An amazing collection! I read this twenty years ago and am very happy to have found it again.

As to the reviewer stating that this book "is not The Riders of the Purple Wage", he is in fact thinking of'The Image of the Beast', another favorite but very much NOT 'The Purple Book'

The Purple Book is not Riders of the Purple Wage
I have been looking to find the purple book, a rare old tale of PJFs. This is an adult only read, with parts that still might shock modern readers and movie goers.A detective loses a partner, and goes on the trail... Sound familiar?Well, it doesn't end any way that you would read in detective section.This is adult science fiction and packs a punch all these years later... That's why twenty years later I want to reread this book and am looking over Amazon... Viagra wasn't invented yet, but Philip Hose Farmer knew it was coming years ago! (double entendre back there, hehe).

The title of the review is in honor of the review I read of the Purple book that described the oft confused Riders of the Purple Wage.

Shocking "Wage" rates 5 stars, but the rest is just okay
The bulk of this purple volume is Farmer's futuristic masterpiece, "Riders of the Purple Wage", a stunningly creative, explosive, riotous, ribald homage to James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake.Farmer pulls out all the stops, creating a whole new "utopian" social order, truly shocking sexual mores (even for those who thought they couldn't be shocked by anything), and, like Joyce, a richer and more complex language with which to express it all. Chaotic, but carefully structured, the story describes a couple of crucial days in the lives of a handsome but troubled young artist and his eccentric grandfather.Extraordinary as this work is, it certainly isn't for everyone, especially those who are easily offended.Furthermore, the society described in this story is a confusing one at best, and the linguistic experimentation only makes it more difficult to follow what's going on.The story's prologue, "The Oogenesis of Bird City", is no more readily comprehensible, and considerably less fun.

The long short story "Spiders of the Purple Mage" is a fantasy about magic, and how a tenacious but seemingly ordinary woman named Masha helps defeat a feared magician.It bears no relationship to the previous story except for the title, and while this is a pretty good story as such fantasies go, there's nothing really remarkable about it."The Long Wet Purple Dream of Rip Van Winkle" is a trashy send up of Rip visiting the 20th Century.Most notable is Rip's turn as a late-sixties hippie, where his exceptional sexual endowment makes him an immediate favorite."The Making of Revelation, Part I" is a short (but not short enough) story that shows God hiring Cecil B. DeMille to film the Apocalypse and is every bit assacrilegiously funny as "Riders" is, but without any redeeming social or human values.

As collections go, these stories don't really hang together very well. "Spiders" in particular, isn't humorous, sexy, or heretical, and was obviously included solely because of the title.Still, "Riders of the Purple Wage" is a science fiction classic that shouldn't be missed by those able to handle its brutal sexuality, chaotic violence, and philosophical pontification.The rest of this collection isn't in the same league, but then, not much is. ... Read more

Product Description
Dr. Chapmanprovides the first comprehensive examination of Farmer's major themes and fiction, from his earliest writings to his bestseller, The Gods of Riverworld. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Riverworld, the pinnacle of fantasy and escapist fiction
The complete series of Riverworld novels provides hours and hours of fascinating escape.From the very first chapter you will be drawn into a world with everyone you have ever known as well as everyone you have ever heard about.This series incorporates many important historical figures from Mark Twain to Sir Richard Burton. Scientists, authors, political figures and more interact with one another in a struggle for power all while living on the banks of a seemingly endless serpentine river.All of their needs are met and they are able to live out their wildest interpersonal fantasies. but It isn't enough to keep them happy.A series you will want to read over and over as have I. ... Read more

Product Description
The genius of vintage, sci-fi master Philip Jose Farmer shines in this 77-page novella originally published in 1954in long defunct pulp sci-fi magazine “Fantastic Universe.”

Like all the good ones, Farmer instantly captures your attention and makes you want to read more with his first, short opening lines: “Rastignac had no Skin. He was, nevertheless, happier than he had been since the age of five.”

This novella is written by an individual who had the vision to see ahead centuries in the drama of world we are now creating in the 21st century. I know you will enjoy a trip in his time machine as much as I did.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

What the heck is this?!
As a fan of Philip Jose farmer I'm grateful to Win for pointing out the provenance of this story. To seemingly pass off someone else's work as your own (even changing the title) and then adding a 5 star review cannot be right. Can this really be allowed to happen?

Stealing from Philip Jose Farmer
This is Philip Jose Farmer's "Rastignac the Devil," stolen and retitled "After the Apocalyptic War," supposedly "edited" by Chet Dembeck. What sort of "editing" Farmer's work would need by Mr. Dembeck is unclear.

It is unethical to take someone else's work and publish it under your own name.

Life after the end of the world can be challenging.
The genius of vintage, sci-fi master Philip Jose Farmer shines in this 77-page novella originally published in 1954in long defunct pulp sci-fi magazine "Fantastic Universe."

Like all the good ones, Farmer instantly captures your attention and makes you want to read more with his first, short opening lines: "Rastignac had no Skin. He was, nevertheless, happier than he had been since the age of five."

This novella is written by an individual who had the vision to see ahead centuries in the drama of world we are now creating in the 21st century. I know you will enjoy a trip in his time machine as much as I did.
... Read more

Product Description
By the banks of a ten-million-mile river, everyone who has ever died enjoys a new life, in a collection of science fiction stories--by Harry Turtledove, George Alec Essinger, and Philip Jose+a7 Farmer, among others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Any riverewold is good riverworld
Even though I do not think this installment of the anthologies has as much force as the previous one "Tales from Riverworld" there are some interesting installments that are

1. "A Place of Miracles" about Sitting Bull and his journeys on the river
2. "Hero's Coin" A tale about a wandering monk and a versatile man named nemo which I think is the strongest of all the stories.
3. "If the King Not Like the comedy" about the bard and how his company of players escape with the aid of an unlikely ally.
4. "Old Soldiers" the continuing adventures of one George S. Patton now in service to an Incan Warlord.
5. "Diaghiev Plays Riverworld" about the Spanish conquers of the New World and the length they have to go to in surviving this strange new place.

As for the others I could not get into the vast majority of them.Overall the stories in this book are less conflict driven and more introspective then the stories in the pervious installment.Not bad stories but just not my cup of tea.I only wish there was another installment unfortunately this is the last of the riverworld anthologies to be published.

A Satisfactory End To A Remarkable Series
I hope that most Riverworld fans out there were more satisfied with this one than I was.I appreciate what the other reviewer said about the book, but I was disappointed.I read it primarily for the Farmer stories at the beginning and the end.Some of the others were entertaining, some stretched the premise a little too far, and some just seemed like an excuse to write a story about Elvis or Wild Bill or whatever famous person the writer of the story liked.

The original series (including the original novella which lead up to "To Your Scattered Bodies Go") was a great series.My favorite will always be "The Fabulous Riverboat," the story of how Sam Clemens built the Not For Hire.There was even a Not For Hire story in this collection.I kind of enjoyed it, but it really just made me yearn for the original book.Even the fifth book of the series (which was technically the sixth book if you count the original novella) took place after the mystery of Riverworld had been solved, and showed signs of a series running out of steam.This collection, released alongside Tales of Riverworld (which was of equal calibre to this one, and included a good story by Ed Gorman) seemed to be the last of the series, and it felt to me like the stories were reaching.

I appreciate the writers taking time to pay tribute to a great series, but hopefully we will never see writers writing Dark Tower stories to celebrate Stephen King, or 2001 Hal and Dave stories to celebrate Arthur C Clarke.It is nice to pay tribute, but it never lives up to the originals... This is why I especially appreciate the Farmer stories, as if he chose to close off his tribute to his own series.I didn't know when I read these that Farmer used his own ancesters in them.I don't know if Farmer is still writing (or if he is still alive), but this will likely be the last of any Riverworld tales I read.I will be glad, however, to revisit the original series at any time.

Imaginative!Unique!Riverworld!
If you're a fan of Philip Jose Farmer's brainchild, Riverworld, you've probably already read this.If you're not, it would probably be best to start with the original materal.
However, you certainly don't need to be familiar with his five-novel series to understand or appreciate this diverse collection of well-written and intriguing SF stories.In a nutshell, Riverworld is a vast, constructed planet where everyone who's ever lived on Earth since the dawn of history to 1983 is resurrected.This leads, naturally, to an infinite variety of character meetings and confrontations through amusing and ingenious historical "what-ifs".
Like what?Like what if Shakespeare came face to face with Richard III - who is not amused at the Bard's characterization of him (as in Jody Lynn Nye's excellent contribution).Or if Admundsen and Peary attempted to fly, on one of Riverworld's primitive planes, to that planet's South Pole.Why?"Because It's There," by Jerry Oltion.How about Patton fighting it out in Roman-style gladiator games (brought to you by a powerhouse in the SF field, Lawrence Watt-Evans)?Or for even more jingoistic John Wayne-style indulgence, what if American icons Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett tussled with some Nazis?
Philip Jose Farmer contributes two stories here as bookends, and they are both superb; in addition to being engaging and thought-provoking, he uses only his own ancestors as characters!
Fun and imaginative historical speculation by a lot of great talents in the field.Warmly recommended ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Other Books
This is great.Almost mind-boggling the effort that Farmer has put in, here.Try and find the men with grey eyes. :)G-8 became schizoid after a breakdown, becoming The Shadow and The Spider.That is just fabulous.

Wolde Newton begins
At this point, Farmer's (among others) Wolde-Newton Universe is well-established, with a strong fan base.For those not in the know, the Wolde-Newton Universe chronicles the connection between almost every pulp fiction character ever created, in real-world terms, as if the fictions we know are based on a true story.This book, while centered on Tarzan, of course, is a cornerstone of the Wolde-Newton idea.The idea of Lord Greystoke as still alive and kicking today (thanks to friends and family like Doc Savage and Sherlock Holmes), and the attempt to reconcile his pulp chronicles with a real life person makes for a pretty exciting read.Farmer is always good for a read, anyway, but he is a tireless student of the pulps, and has made a strong tapestry of their characters and situations in a real-world reference.Bottom line: i dug it.That havingbeen said, Jane's measurements are a bit hard to swallow.Seriously.

The straight poop on Tarzan of the Apes
Philip Jose Farmer has a lot of fun with the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs character.This book is a "biography" which supposes that the Tarzan novels tell the story of a real figure, albeit much fictionalized to protect his true identity.Farmer seperates the "fact" from the fiction and also traces the jungle lord's kinship with such other notable figures as Sherlock Holmes, Doc Savage, the Shadow, and the Scarlet Pimpernel.An entertaining read, although often very poorly written.

The Lowdown on the Earl of Greystoke
The author once indicated that the title was imposed upon him, but outside of the title, the book is thoroughly enjoyable.As with "Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street," this book is a biography of the titlecharacter.

In Farmer's case, he had to explain, among other things, howthe young Tarzan learned how to speak, when the known great apes don't. Reconciling the history of Tarzan with what was known then, and at the timeof the book's writing, was an exercise that took a lot of time and effort,and Mr. Farmer was up to the task.

A family tree, linking Tarzan to otherfamous literary figures, is included. ... Read more

Product Description
Philip José Farmer, the wildly creative author of the bestselling Riverworld series, here delights his wide readership with a compelling new novel. All the skills and the soaring imagination which have won Farmer over a million dedicated fans are abundant in this highly charged, far-future, space adventure story.The Unreasoning Mask is the story of Ramstan, captain of al-Buraq, a rare model starship. It is capable of alaraf drive: instantaneous travel between two points of space. Three of these special ships were built to explore and make contact with the many sentient races inhabiting the universe. Suddenly, one of the ships mysteriously disappears.And then it is discovered that an unidentifiable "creature" is marauding through the universe, totally annihilating intelligent life on planet after planet. Ranstan, a thoughtful and moral man, becomes a fascinated yet reluctant pawn in the hands of the strange forces which arise to fight the deadly destroyer. Ultimately, he is the one man who, in a fearful race against time, can stop the destruction. But what price must he pay for becoming the savior of intelligent-kind? The Unreasoning Mask is Farmer at his best--fast-paced, complex, slightly mystical, high-action adventure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Plenty of imagination, but decidedly unpleasant
In this sci-fi/fantasy adventure Ramstan is captain of the al-Buraq, one of the few starships fitted for instantaneous travel through space, when he impulsively risks everything to steal the glyph, an egg-shaped artifact that is worshipped by an alien civilization.Fleeing from the religious indignation of the aliens, and following the hints he receives from the glyph, Ramstan hops from planet to planet until he encounters the bolg, a terrifying engine of destruction with world-breaking power.With the help of the immortal beings known as the Vwoordha, Ramstan resolves to take a stand against the bolg before it destroys the Earth.

Unfortunately, Ramstan is not a particularly likable character, nor even a very convincing one, and his actions are often controlled by non-human (and even non-living) forces, which does little to make him sympathetic.The myriad Islamic references, although perhaps considered suitably exotic at the time, may even grate upon the sensibilities of some Western readers in our post-9-11 world.And the story certainly takes its time getting started, although it does pick up eventually.There's almost none of the swords-and-shields, hand-to-hand combat that Farmer is so good at; most of the conflict is space chases and puppet manipulation.There's certainly no shortage of imagination here, and fans of far-out cosmic speculation should be intrigued by the concluding chapters, but ultimately this book is more successful as fantasy than science fiction.

One of the 100 best science fiction novels
I've read all of Philip José Farmer's books, and of his stand alone sf novels, this is one of his best.Apparently I'm not alone in thinking this.Interzone editor David Pringle included The Unreasoning Mask in his book, Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels, and sf author Ian Watson called it "a masterpiece, Farmer's finest."

This novel might be viewed as a thinking person's version of Star Trek's "The Doomsday Machine" or "The Immunity Syndrome"; but it's really much more than that, with its metaphysical themes and implications, as well as its well-conceived world building of alien cultures and psychological examination of human motivations.

Captain Ramstan commands a rare alaraf drive starship which allows it to jump instantaneously to distant regions of space.Just as Ramstan sets off an interstellar incident by stealing the god-idol of an alien world (called the glyfa), he is alerted that one of the alaraf ships has disappeared, a victim of a world-killer called a "bolg."What is the mysterious connection between the glyfa and the bolg, and why does Ramstan begin to have waking visions of a mystical being from his long extinguished Muslim faith?Ramstan, chased by the aliens who worship the stolen god, races across the pluriverse to find the answers.

The Unreasoning Mask is a gripping, captivatingly disturbing book.Even at his most fantastic, Farmer manages to entrance with a compelling degree of realism, in particular as regards his portrayal of human nature, which in his fiction seems to carry at least as much bad as it does good.Don't miss this darkly riveting sf adventure.

The uninteresting adventures of a spacefaring lad
In the 70s Farmer published a novel as "Kilgore Trout," taking his pseudonym from the beloved science-fiction writer who appears in several Kurt Vonnegut novels.The Trout character is notorious for combining fantastic ideas with an almost pathological inability to write them into compelling stories (and for publishing almost exclusively in pornographic magazines).

After reading "The Unreasoning Mask," I find the irony too rich; it's a book over-flowing with promising ideas, but hampered by grating prose, inconsistent and impatient plotting, and weirdly chauvinistic attitudes.If you pick this up you'll find yourself saying "it can't really be this bad - I must be missing something."You're not. It is.

When reading this book, I was not glad
I've read quite a bit of science fiction, and was rather surprised at how disappointing this book was.While the central premise of the book is potentially intriguing, the way the reader learns of it is certainly less than elegant (I won't say what it is so as to not spoil the experience if you dare to read the book yourself).The main character of the book (a starship captain) isn't someone you can bond with, or even care about most of the time, except to wonder how someone so dysfunctional could wind up being in command of an elite ship.The author seemed to have wanted to cover a LOT of territory in a fairly short book, and the result is a book where the plot is disjointed, character development is lacking, and most of the core themes of the book are revealed in essay-like sections, just to get them out there.

Having an interesting idea for a science fiction story is an important start, and 50 years ago that was probably enough to get a book published (keep in mind this book was published in 1981).However, I've come to expect good sci-fi authors to develop the story, have some interesting characters, and draw the reader into the book.You should too.

Disappointingly, surprisingly bad
The best that can be said for this book is that there are a lot of interesting ideas in it.Or, rather, there are gestures toward a lot of interesting ideas; there is absolutely no follow-through.One gets the sense of an author with attention deficit disorder:He sat down to his typewriter every day and wrote down the great new idea he had, but never got back to doing anything with the previous day's ideas.

The result is an incoherent book, in which the plot developments seem to just happen, the characters--such as there are any; we really get to know only one--are never developed, and there are several glaring holes in the world-building that are never addressed.By the end, I simply didn't care what happened.I'm not opposed to science fiction that focuses on the ideas at the expense of extensive character development, but for that to work you actually have to, well, focus on the ideas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A good description of the plot for a story
Night of Light was what I would call a "detailed outline" for a story. I find that's typical of a lot of the earlier science fiction novels, though since this one was published in 1972, it probably shouldn't fall into that category.

But it did feel, all the way through, that we were really being told the main character's story more as observers, than really getting into his mind and emotions. When his thoughts and emotions were touched on, they were described rather than demonstrated. So it kept feeling, to me, like the description of the plot of a story, rather than the living unfolding of the story.

With all that said, it was still a very good plot outline. The world and the religion Farmer created were fascinating. (That was one reason I was disappointed that we didn't really get deeply into it, but were kept at arms' length.) I was rather disconcerted by the abrupt ending, but after a while I thought, "Oh, I get it." It leaves a very important question wide open, and that's thoroughly appropriate, since it's not a question that can really be answered.

So it's an okay book. I just feel like it could have been better written. Which of course will be blasphemy to Farmer fans! But this book definitely felt typical of a fault I sometimes find in "earlier SF:" that the ideas are so interesting that the actual writing gets a pass, and doesn't have to be tht good.

Excellent read!
This was a bizarre freaky ready!Truly nothing else like this one out there.Like an LSD trip from beginning to end, as Farmer uses many images and scenes that were frightening and almost psychotic at times.Make sure you read this one if you are a Farmer fan!

A world gone berserk
every seven years , the placid planet of dante's joy becomes a waking nightmare of death,deformity and madness.to escape,the populace has a choice of sleeping - lying drugged in their tomblike houses,or taking thechance - staying awake & going abroad while their world goes berserk...john carmody , a conscienceless exile from earth ,arrogantly chooses totake the chance... this book is a mad sci-fi , lots of crazy things goingon all the time , i got tired of it in the middle ... ... Read more

Product Description
A machine that enables the living to communicate with the dead threatens to allow angry and vengeful ghosts to reenter the world of the living and enact cruel revenge. Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great idea, good story, terrible ending
Society is transformed by a device that allows communication with the souls of the dead in this science fiction/detective thriller by Phil Farmer. The so-called "Medium" is putatively the invention of entrepreneur Raymond Western, who has become extremely wealthy by guarding the secret of Medium's design, and charging exorbitant prices for its unique services. There are many skeptics, of course, especially in the religious and scientific communities, and one of the leaders of the opposition is Gordon Carfax, a hard-boiled private detective-turned-history professor who, for reasons of his own, suspects that the forces contacted through Medium might be something other than what is advertised. He is contacted by a beautiful young woman who claims that her deceased father was the real inventor of Medium, and the two set off on a desperate attempt to find the truth about what Medium is and who really developed it, before Western's men can silence them.

Farmer balances this far-out plot (the unlikely technological development of after-death communication is only the beginning) with down-to-earth characters whose actions display a day-to-day ordinariness and sometimes gritty realism that lends some much needed credibility. The story features sufficient action and plenty of wild new revelations to keep up the reader's interest, and surely fans of Farmer and the sci-fi/detective sub-genre will have fun reading this suspenseful novel.

On the down side, the ending is bitterly disappointing, and pretty much ruined the book for this reviewer. While Farmer's conclusion leaves the reader with some things to think about, the book neatly avoids most of the theosophical issues that a writer like Heinlein, say, would have mined 24-carat gold from. Perhaps what Farmer needs to do is sit down and write a good sequel, picking up from this book's clever, portentous, but thoroughly unsatisfying conclusion, and bringing the story to the kind of resolution that readers of this book deserve. Until he does, this novel really doesn't quite merit a recommendation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great story collection
It's been years since I've read this, but the title story still sticks in my mind.I can't tell you too much about it, since that would give away the powerful ending.The balance of the stories are also good, especially the hysterical "Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod" (what if William Burroughs instead of Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote Tarzan?).Definitely worth hunting for this collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not SF but an excellent Farmer novel
For those familiar with the science fiction writings of Philip Jose Farmer (1918-2009) this book will come as quite a revelation. It is a contemporary mainstream novel and as such contains none of the science fiction plot elements most readers would expect from a Farmer story. The story concerns race relations in a steel mill during WW2. Danny, a white man who aspires to be a doctor some day, works a manual labor job at the Mill. He had been discharged from the Navy after an accident. His co-workers at the mill are black men and women. Danny makes an effort to not let the prevailing prejudices affect his interaction with them. His complex relationship with an attractive co-worker, a black woman, is the core of this story.
First published in 1962 as a Monarch paperback this novel was never reprinted until 2009 in the Subterranean Press Anthology titled The Other in the Mirror. The reason why this immensely popular author's mainstream novel was "buried", is a story a biographer will be sure to unearth someday.
I found the story face paced and very perceptive as to the way racial relationships are affect by even the most innocent remark or social interaction. Recommended even if you expected a science fiction novel.
... Read more