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.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Philip José Farmer, a science fiction author for thirty years, is considered one of the most daring, innovative and far-thinking writers in the genre. He reached his deserved level of success with the Riverworld series, first begun in 1971 with the Hugo award-winning To Your Scattered Bodies Go, and culminating with last year's best-seller, The Magic Labyrinth. Mr. Farmer and his wife live in Peoria, Illinois.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the 100 best science fiction novels,
This review is from: The Unreasoning Mask (Overlook Sf&F Classics) (Paperback)
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.
3.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating idea smothered by irrelevant details and shaky execution. Mildly recommended,
By Juushika (Oregon, United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Unreasoning Mask (Overlook Sf&F Classics) (Paperback)
While exploring in a galaxy-jumping spaceship, Captain Ramstan stumbles upon a planet-wide catastrophe and is dragged into the middle of a metaphysical, multi-sided, ambigious battle to save the universe. At its best, The Unreasoning Mask is an ingenious and epic reconceptualization of the universe--but too often, small and relatively mundane aspects intrude on this grand concept. Those aspects are well-intended and not entirely out of place: Ramstan's point of view narration isn't always convincing, but his characterization is strong--and while he's often unlikeable, his moral journey is always compelling. If it weren't so dramatically outstaged, his world, too, could provide a compelling story; as it is, the human figures, alien planets, and other traditional sci-fi elements build a local stage for the universal apocalypse. The problem is that these aspects run too long, and worldbuilding, politicking, and a few anonymous characters and throwaway relationships begin to crowd out the best of the book--and so that best is left underexplored. Worse still, when the book does finally get down to business its plot grows circuitous. This is supposed to avoid repedition and sustain tension, but the effect is cheap--it belongs in an adventure novel where the emphasis is on action, not a book as meaningful and thoughtful as this one aims be.
These issues do weaken the book, but they don't entirely obfuscate its strengths. The Unreasoning Mask is always readable, even when it strays away from its true point; the moral ambiguity of the protagonist and the other powers at play do much to sustain its intrigue and forward momentum. And even if it comes late and gets crowded out, Farmer's concept of the universe is fascinating. Describing it would spoil the book; suffice it to say that it's an idea I haven't seen before, and while it wobbles a bit in its attempt to achieve metaphysical meaning (sometimes because there are too many larger-than-life concepts competing for limited space, and always because they're insufficiently explored), it remains satisfyingly large: this is grand concept which, at its best, manages to be both convincing and inconceivable. I appreciate the opportunity to encounter it, and enjoyed and recommend The Unreasoning Mask largely on that basis. But while I admire the book that this has the potential to be, and enjoy many parts of what it is, the fact that Farmer fails to push his novel to its limits is disappointing. Aiming for those limits would have been a risk and challenge--but reaching them would have been incredible. Instead, The Unreasoning Mask is only intriguing, irritating, and occasionally ingenious--which is okay, but not much more.
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read * The world isn't what it seems to be,
By alevine@lerniversum.com (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Unreasoning Mask (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book a while ago and am anxious to reread it soon. Expecially concerning the dawn of the 21st century, where strange things might - or might not - happen ( ;-), this book places you in the set of mind of someone who discoveres that the world is much more complex and unbelievable than one had thought possible before. A book that has a magical fascination - IMHO - that draws you into the story. Enjoy it! :-)
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
