Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mastefully done with the utmost care, August 24, 1999
By A Customer
What captures your attention and holds it is not just the brilliantly creative story premise, which by itself would be worth a read, but the quality of research which Philip Jose Farmer clearly put into creating this novel. By using Burton as his main character, a flesh-and-blood anti-hero plucked straight from history, the fantastic action takes on a very believable feel, being no more amazing than anything else Burton accomplished in life. JPF has done an incredible job of researching Burton and painting him in a completely understandable and human way. I'd almost consider this book a hybrid of science fiction and historical fantasy - the historical characters are generally, more fleshed out and better developed than any of the fictional characters. I highly recommend this book, but suggest avoiding the rest of the series - they are just a series of cliff-hangers clearly designed to milk the River World story for everything it's worth. This first story makes a wonderfully self-contained adventure, and the rest of the books add nothing (and subtract much through revisionist plot-adjustment) that I sincerely wish I'd avoided them myself.
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Five Stars for Concept, Three for Execution, September 5, 2004
This is the introductory book of Philip Jose Farmer's five volume Riverworld series, books that do not stand alone, and must be read in sequence from beginning to end for the whole story. As an introduction to an outstanding series, 'To Your Scattered Bodies Go' works well, and makes a good beginning.
The premise of the Riverworld books is unique, fantastic, and the hook that will draw you in and hold you. All of humankind, everyone who ever lived, is simultaneously resurrected on an artificially formed world along the banks of a millions mile long river that snakes around and around the planet. Everyone is mid-twenties, ageless, and their needs are supplied by a fantastic technology none of them understand. And everyone is equally ignorant of the who, how, and why of their miraculous resurrection.
Not everyone is equally willing to remain ignorant however. Sir Richard Francis Burton, explorer, adventurer, spy, writer, linguist, swordsman, and self-style rake of the 19th century Victorian British Empire, one of the most restless and adventuring men ever to live, was resurrected naked, along with the rest of humanity. In no time at all, he is off with a group of companions, sailing up river to search for it's source (as he searched for the source of the Nile on Earth) and for the answers to the mystery of their existence in this strange after-life. Slowly, he begins to put together clues that he hopes will lead him to the hidden gnosis of his strange new world.
I would give this book five stars for its concept, but only three for its execution. The scope of the concept is huge, leaving fascinating possibilities to explore throughout the series. (This Farmer exploits well.) The choice of Burton as protagonist was inspired, as the historical Burton was well suited to the task his literary counterpart undertakes here, and he is a most amazing character. The author has studied Burton's life, and provides much biographical material on him throughout the book. (This book was my introduction to Burton when I first read it twenty years ago, and I have since found what a compelling job of capturing him Farmer did.) These are the book's strengths.
The weakness of 'To Your Scattered Bodies Go' is in the writing. Farmer will often break away from the story to give histories on characters (usually actual historic persons of note) or to make philosophical speeches. Though the words are from the character's mouths, and though the information is interesting, the style when he tries this is nearly always stilted. The writing throughout the rest of the book is competent at best. It is only this less than stellar writing which holds this series back from being considered a masterpiece, however, as the concept and characters should rivet your interest throughout the entire series despite any drawbacks the writing style may have.
This is the beginning of as fascinating and unique of a sci-fi series that you will ever run across, and I recommend it despite its flaws.
Theo Logos
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but misunderstood, May 20, 2003
Reading the other reviews, as I usually do, I was horrified to find that no-one seemed to understand the Riverworld series. "Not too deep", "Not really science fiction" ... ?? I don't know if i'm reading a different series than the rest of the people reviewing this book, but it's a very deep, very classic science fiction novel. It's not set on a far-off planet (well, not exactly); no space ships, only one alien; barely noticeably set in the future at all. If that was what made a good SF novel, then Star Trek would be the be all and end all of the genre. Any good SF reader, though, knows that Riverworld is what makes SF great reading: Deep philosophical and sociological questions, answered by way of an artificially created society that tests the author's answers to the questions, or else helps discover the answers. Riverworld, and particularly To Your Scattered Bodies Go (by far the best of them), is an interesting attempt to analyse the creation of civilization from anarchy, as well as being an amusing exploration of several historical characters, probably some of Farmer's favourite personages from history. I say attempt, because it's not perfect; I find myself disagreeing with his ideas of what society would become, mostly because it is a bit too simplistic for my tastes. All in all, it is an interesting experiment, and a thoroughly enjoyable one. Read if you like Asimov's Foundation novels, Clarke's Rama novels, or some of the less academic alternate histories.
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