Review: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer

To Your Scattered Bodies Go 
by Philip José Farmer

Published: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1971

Series: Book 1 of the Riverworld Saga

Awards Won: Hugo Award

Awards Nominated: Locus SF Award

The Book:

”Imagine that every human who ever lived, from the earliest Neanderthals to the present, is resurrected after death on the banks of an astonishing and seemingly endless river on an unknown world. They are miraculously provided with food, but with not a clue to the possible meaning of this strange afterlife. And so billions of people from history, and before, must start living again.

Some set sail on the great river questing for the meaning of their resurrection, and to find and confront their mysterious benefactors. On this long journey, we meet Sir Richard Francis Burton… and many other [people from history], most of whom embark upon searches of their own in this huge afterlife.” ~barnesandnoble.com

This is my fourth review for WWend’s Grand Master ReadingChallenge. I’d never read any of Philip Jose Farmer’s work before, but I’d heard of the Riverworld series.  I vaguely remember watching the Sci-Fi Channel adaptation in the early 2000s, but I'm pretty sure it strayed rather far from the story of the novel.

My Thoughts:

My favorite part of To Your Scattered Bodies Go was the setting and mystery of the Riverworld.  It’s admittedly a very contrived environment, but that’s acknowledged in the story. Whether it is an afterlife arranged by some deity or a grand experiment arranged by some alien race, it is clear that the Riverworld was constructed with thought towards keeping the whole of humanity in comfort. The Riverworld was also presumably constructed to serve some unknown purpose for its mysterious creator(s).  I enjoyed seeing the many characters’ ideas on this central mystery, and I also had fun imagining what the purpose could possibly be.  In this case, I think the mystery might be much more fascinating than any actual answer that may be eventually given.

In the Riverworld, all of humanity, from all different cultures and historical periods, live together.  With so many different perspectives and life philosophies, and so many real historical figures to draw on, I think this premise has a lot of potential.  Unfortunately, I don’t really feel as though the novel capitalized on this potential.  For one thing, the different cultures did not seem particularly distinct.  For instance, a Neanderthal man seemed surprisingly similar in views and temperament to a Victorian gentleman.  I feel like it could have been a much more interesting story if it had engaged with the dramatic differences in worldview between cultures that span the whole of human history.

While the story didn’t significantly feature cultural differences, it did cast a very cynical eye toward the tendency of human beings to create conflict.  In a world where everyone was set on equal ground, with no pain, illness, or shortage of resources, people began almost immediately to establish hierarchies.  Despite the fact that there was plenty of food, drink, and luxuries (drugs, etc.) for all, many were quick to use force to establish inequalities in wealth and power.  This seemed very realistic to me.  While I don’t think hierarchical thinking is THE tragic flaw in humanity, I do think that many people pursue power for power’s sake—not just to gain control of limited resources.

Despite its fascinating central mystery, and the opportunity to use the world explore cultural differences and human nature, To All Your Scattered Bodies Go seems to be mostly a boy’s adventure story.  The characters were fairly flat and not very memorable beyond the brief recognition of their historical period or real-life counterpart.  Each character tended to be introduced with an awkward little infodump about their previous life.  There’s also a character who seems very much like an author insertion, and who constantly spouts off facts about the hero (Richard Francis Burton).  I felt like, with so many people to choose from, a more compelling cast could have been constructed.

On that note, I was a little frustrated that, chosen out of all of human history, the hero and narrator was a Victorian gentleman explorer (Richard Francis Burton) and the first villain was a Nazi (Hermann Göring). I think that, even in 1971, it must have already been a little hackneyed to use Nazis as an example of human evil and guilt.  However, the situation was not quite as simple as that may make it sound, and Göring did prompt some interesting discussion of post-resurrection identity and culpability. The hero and narrator, Richard Burton, is essentially a real-life adventure hero, so I can see why he was an obvious choice for the protagonist.  However, he manifested enough of the attitudes and views of the typical fictional Victorian gentleman explorer that I found him very irritating as a narrator.  One of these typical attitudes is the remarkably blatant sexism that permeates the story. For a few quick examples:

"She was a product of her society – like all women, she was what men had made her …”

"Even if she had been a whore, she had a right to be treated as a human being.  Especially since she maintained that it was hunger that had driven her to prostitution, though he had been skeptical about that."

It seemed like Burton classified every woman he met as either a prude, a whore, or a nag, and he made it quite clear he had little interest in the women of the story outside of sex.  It seemed that most of the female characters had little relevance to the story besides being sex resources for the male explorers.  I know this may be a realistic representation of the attitude towards women in the 1800s, but that didn’t make it any less annoying. The narrator, the occasionally clunky writing, and the relatively flat characters dimmed my enthusiasm for the story, but I still think the novel has a really fun premise with lots of possibility for interesting stories to be told.  

My Rating: 3/5

To All Your Scattered Bodies Go is an adventure story set in a world that stretches along a massive river, where all of humanity is mysteriously resurrected.  The novel’s strong points were the world itself and the characters’ attempts to determine its nature and purpose.  The weaker points were poor characterization, lack of a strong sense of the multicultural tangle of the Riverworld, awkward writing, and the heavy dose of overt sexism brought in by the viewpoint character, a fictional version of the historical explorer Richard Burton.  There were plenty of ideas to like in Farmer’s Riverworld, but, for me, they were not altogether enough to overcome the novel’s weaknesses. I am glad to have read To All Your Scattered Bodies Go, but I doubt I will continue on with the rest of the series. 

Read-Along: The Lies of Locke Lamora, Part 5

This is the fifth and final post for my participation in a read-along of Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, hosted by Dark Cargo, @ohthatashley at SF Signal, My Awful Reviews, and the Little Red Reviewer.  What this means is...

Read-Along posts discuss a specific portion ofThe Lies of Locke Lamora and are therefore full of spoilers!  I will do a usual review post once the book is complete.

Today's section is from "Orchids and Assassins" to the end of the novel.  This novel was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to participating in the read-along for the sequel!

1.       The Thorn of Camorr is renowned - he can beat anyone in a fight and he steals from the rich to give to the poor.  Except, of course, that clearly most of the myths surrounding him are based on fantasy and not fact.  Now that the book is finished, how do you feel the man himself compares to his legend?  Did you feel that he changed as the story progressed and, if so, how did this make you feel about him by the time the conclusion was reached?

Well, he doesn’t exactly steal from the rich to give to the poor.  He steals from the rich to pile their wealth in a hole and forget about it!  I think he changed as the story progressed from someone who relied entirely on trickery to someone who was not afraid to use violence if necessary.  I still don’t think he would resort to violence without a very good reason, though.  I also think that Locke eventually started buying into his larger-than-life myth, which is one reason why he tended to overestimate himself towards the end of the novel.   Even Locke was forced to admit that he was not unbeatable when he chose to take on Capa Raza in single combat. 

2.       Scott Lynch certainly likes to give his leading ladies some entertaining and strong roles to play.  We have the Berangia sisters – and I definitely wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of them or their blades plus Dona Vorchenza who is the Spider and played a very cool character – even play acting to catch the Thorn.  How did you feel about the treatment the sisters and Dona received at the hands of Jean and Locke – were you surprised, did it seem out of character at all or justified?

The fight between Jean and the Berangias sisters was very tense.  I think it could have believably gone either way, since all three combatants were highly skilled fighters.  Perhaps Jean had a slight advantage from the fact that the Berangias sisters often fought sharks, where I imagine the strategy is quite different.

I was disappointed by how easily Dona Vorchenza was tricked by Capa Raza, but I guess it just shows the power of the Bondsmagi.  I enjoyed her interaction with Locke, though.  I didn’t see his punch-and-escape coming, though that was certainly bad judgement on her part.  I half-expected the ‘antidote’ she was holding to be fake.  The whole bit with the Satisfaction and the waste barges was hilarious, though. 

3.       Towards the end we saw a little more of the magic and the history of the Bondsmagi.  The magic, particularly with the use of true names, reminds me a little of old fashioned witchcraft or even voodoo.  But, more than that I was fascinated after reading the interlude headed ‘The Throne in Ashes’ about the Elderglass and the Elders and why their structures were able to survive even against the full might of the Bondsmagi – do you have any theories about this? Do you think it’s based on one of our ancient civilisations or maybe similar to a myth?

The true names reminded me of Le Guin’s Earthsea series, but I know the idea of names holding power is much older than that.  I thought that interlude was fascinating, but I don’t have any real theories about the Elders.  Perhaps they were mages that practiced an art that is now lost from the world?  Or maybe, as in conspiracy theories surrounding Earth’s oldest architecture, they were aliens!

4.       We have previously discussed Scott Lynch’s use of description and whether it’s too much or just spot on.  Having got into the last quarter of the book where the level of tension was seriously cranked up – did you still find, the breaks for interludes and the descriptions useful or, under the circumstances did it feel more like a distraction?

Every once in a while, when I turned the page to find an interlude, I would think, “Oh come on, why now?” Overall, though, I loved the amount of detail that Lynch put into Camorr, its people, its history, and its geography, and its culture.

5.       Now that the book has finished how did you feel about the conclusion and the eventual reveal about the Grey King and more to the point the motivations he declared for such revenge – does it seem credible, were you expecting much worse or something completely different altogether?

I was very satisfied by his motivations and goals.  I mentioned last time that I was a little disappointed that all he seemed to want was a gang takeover, but that I thought we didn’t know everything yet.  In the set of questions before that, I commented that I thought he was after the nobles of Camorr, or possibly the Duke.  Lynch also foreshadowed very early that gentling humans using wraithstone would play some part in the later story.  I am absolutely delighted in the culmination of all of these hints, most especially because I didn’t work out exactly how everything fit together before it was revealed.

6.       Were you surprised that Locke, being given two possible choices (one of which could possibly mean he would miss his chance for revenge on the Grey King) chose to go back to the Tower  – especially given that (1) he would have difficulty in getting into the building (2) he would have difficulty in convincing them about the situation and (3) he would have difficulty in remaining free afterwards? Did anyone else nearly pee their pants when Locke and the rest were carrying the sculptures up to the roof garden? 

 I suppose I was not surprised that he took that route.  For one thing, while Locke will use violence when necessary, he’s not cold-blooded.  Once he heard that hundreds of men, women, and children would be gentled by wraithstone, I don’t think he could have turned his back on them.  Also, at this point in the story Locke seemed to be a little high on adrenaline and the idea of his own reputation.  I don’t think, up until the point where Capa Raza was killing him, that Locke even considered the idea that he might fail there.  Also, yes, I was terrified something would go wrong with the statues and everyone would end up gentled (except Locke, somehow).

7.       Finally, the other question I would chuck in here is that, following the end of the book I was intrigued to check out some of the reviews of LOLL and noticed that the negative reviews mentioned the use of profanity.  How did you feel about this – was it excessive? Just enough? Not enough?

There was definitely a lot of profanity, but I didn’t mind it all that much.  All the characters were criminals, after all—petty thieves, strongmen, gangsters and so forth.  I would expect them to have some salty language.   

8.       Okay one further, and probably most important but very quick question – having finished, will you pick up the sequel, Red Seas Under Red Skies?

Absolutely!

Review: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Published : Simon & Schuster, 2009

Series :  Book 1 of the Monstrumologist Series

Awards Won : Michael L. Printz Award

The Book :

” ‘These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for nearly ninety years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me.’

So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphan and assistant to a doctor with a most unusual specialty: monster hunting. In the short time he has lived with the doctor, Will has grown accustomed to his late night callers and dangerous business. But when one visitor comes with the body of a young girl and the monster that was feeding on her, Will's world is about to change forever.

The doctor has discovered a baby Anthropophagi—a headless monster that feeds through the mouthfuls of teeth in its chest—and it signals a growing number of Anthropophagi. Now, Will and the doctor must face the horror threatening to overtake and consume our world before it is too late.” ~barnesandnoble.com

This was the March selection for Calico Reaction’s Theme Park Book Club for 2012.  I fully intend to keep up with this book club, but I’d already read (and reviewed) the January and February selections, Redemptionin Indigo and How to Live Safely in aScience Fictional Universe.  The Monstrumologist, as a young adult horror novel, is a little out of the ordinary for me. While this is marketed as a Young Adult novel, I want to point out that it is extremely graphically gory, more so than I could easily handle reading.  I would recommend parental discretion.  This novel clearly kicks off a series, but I think that it also stands alone well as a complete story.

My Thoughts :

The main part of The Monstrumologist was set within a framing story that was present only in the very beginning and very end of the novel.  The idea was that someone external to the story had come into possession of a set of journals written by the main character, Will Henry.  This reader was unclear as to whether the story set within was true or merely a fiction dreamed up by a madman.  It was an interesting idea, but it didn’t really work for me.  Since very little happened in the framing story, I felt like it didn’t add much beyond a depressing glimpse into Will Henry’s future.  To me, the text also didn’t feel convincing as a journal.  The narrative voice seemed like an adult Will Henry recounting the experiences of his childhood.  However, the journal contained, in perfect detail, exact conversations, very precise physical descriptions, and explorations of Will Henry’s state of mind from moment to moment.  As far as I know, Will Henry is not meant to have perfect memory, so it was difficult to suspend my disbelief and accept the novel as a ‘journal’.

The style of writing in the fictional journals that make up The Monstrumologist marked the narrator as an adult Will Henry, rather than Will Henry at his age in the story.  The style of the novel, in addition to its small town New England setting, seems kind of reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft (which is interesting, since I read in an interview that Yancey hasn’t actually read any Lovecraft).  Personally, I found the style to be charming and occasionally amusing, though it did feel like a little bit like an affectation.  I think that the novel might be useful in building vocabulary for some teenagers, though I could see where some might find it a little too dry or overblown.  Here are a few examples of the writing style:

“Above me the stars seared the obsidian canopy of the sky…” (p. 35) 

“The morning light, streaming with glorious spring abundance through the open windows, flooded down the narrow stairway, yet it seemed as if the darkness at the bottom pushed back or acted as a seawall whereupon the light crashed and broke impotently against its unyielding edifice.” (p.70)

Despite its ornamented prose, The Monstrumologist was very much a monster novel.  By this, I mean that there were man-killing monsters of animal intelligence that needed to be exterminated by our courageous heroes, and this endeavor made up the majority of the plot.  As a result, the story was extremely gory.  I am not a usual reader of horror fiction, so it ended up being a little too much for me.  I wouldn’t say I found it terribly scary, but the descriptions definitely gave me a lasting queasy feeling.  In general, keep in mind that there will be many exquisitely detailed descriptions of men, women, and children being dismembered and eaten, and some detailed descriptions of people being eaten alive by parasites.  I believe I would say the gore level is higher than R.L. Stine, which is the only other young adult horror author I can think of for comparison. 

While the story was very focused on the monstrous Anthropophagi, the characters also became quite interesting through the course of the story. The main characters were Dr. Warthrop (a professor of Monstrumology) and his orphaned assistant, adolescent Will Henry.  They initially appeared to have a peculiarly cold, professional relationship, in which Will Henry was horribly neglected.   Their relationship develops quietly through the novel, and I was surprised to find it quite touching by the end.  Another interesting main character is John Kearns, an amoral monster hunter.   His vivid, devilish personality really brought his parts of the story to life. Overall, I can see that this story has a lot of room to expand, and there are interesting ways the characters’ relationships might develop over multiple novels.  Honestly, though, I can’t take the gore, so I probably won’t be continuing this series.  

My Rating : 3/5

The Monstrumologist is a particularly gory, slightly Lovecraftian monster novel, featuring Dr. Warthrop, of Monstrumology, and his often-neglected orphan assistant, young Will Henry. I didn’t really care for the novel’s framing device, or the conceit that the story was told from found journals.  However, I was charmed by the carefully crafted, deliberately over-ornamented prose.  It took me a while to warm up to most of the characters, but I was really interested in Will Henry and Dr. Warthrop by the end.   In my opinion, John Kearns, a cheerfully conscienceless monster hunter, was the most fascinating character.  In the end, though, I think the graphic goriness of the novel was just too much for me, so I probably won’t be reading the subsequent novels.  I think that The Monstrumologist would probably be most appreciated by teenage fans of creative monsters and extensive gore.