Exploring Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld

Imagine waking up one morning on a grassy field along with a crowd of other people. Like everyone else, you are naked, and your only possession an empty tube-shaped container. Before you lies a river that divides a mountain-lined valley, and spaced along it, every mile or so, are large stone sculptures shaped like mushrooms. Oh, and one more thing: you remember your death. Vividly.

This is the situation in which Sir Richard Francis Burton finds himself in Philip Jose Farmer's novel To Your Scattered Bodies Go. This nineteenth century British explorer traveled widely, wrote prolifically, and spoke numerous languages. Given his extensive experience of other cultures and societies, he nonetheless feels a moment of panic at the thought that this must be the afterlife, and Judgment Day awaits. But then he remembers another dream he had, about waking up in a vast chamber, and discovering other naked bodies floating around him, some of them lacking skin, or with portions of their skeletons showing. Clearly some power brought all of them back to life, for some inexplicable purpose. This situation hardly resembles those described in the Biblical book of Revelations. For, just like everyone else here, despite having lived a long life, he is young again.

In this first day, he will discover that each person's canister fits into one of the many slots in the stone mushrooms. Three times each day, after electricity surges through these mushrooms, the people remove their canisters to find them filled with various food and drink items. It would seem that whoever placed them in this river valley intends to care for their basic needs. Some might view this situation as a return to Eden. Burton, given his understanding of human nature, commences a survey of available resources. He and another man, a hairy Neanderthal, gather suitable pieces of stone, and begin shaping them into stone axes. While he has no desire to hold power over others, he knows that some people will always seek to rule over or take advantage of others. And so he determines to assemble tools he can use to build a home for himself, and weapons he can use to defend himself, as well as what he has built. 

With this imaginative premise, Philip Jose Farmer ushers us into Riverworld, a planet containing every person who died after age five or so, from thousands of years BCE to the early twenty-first century, when an apocalyptic event occurred. (As proof that Humanity suffered a great cataclysm, Richard Burton meets a revived alien who landed on Earth in his future, only to find that nations soon fight over the right to the technology he has brought with him). Like a snake, this river winds its way around the planet, always surrounded by a grassy valley, and hemmed in by unscalable mountains. It's a planet of infinite possibilities, where people can begin again, and put all past mistakes behind them. In a world in which each person can remake his life in any way he or she pleases, Richard Francis Burton can feel no satisfaction in building a house or even founding a kingdom. His overwhelming ambition drives him to discover who resurrected Humanity, and why. To fulfill his quest, he vows to travel along the river and discover the beings who brought him here. For what is life without adventure, and the challenges that promise great rewards? 

To Your Scattered Bodies Go won the 1972 Hugo award for best novel, voted on by attendees of the World Science Fiction Convention. Its overwhelming popularity spurred Farmer to write numerous sequels. Eventually, Farmer invited other others to write their own stories about Riverworld. Riverworld games appeared, followed by TV programs set on this fantastic world. As yesterday marked the ninety-seventh anniversary of Philip Jose Farmer's birth, why not observe this occasion by exploring (or returning to) the fictional world for this great author is best known? In this timeless series, you may just find yourself carried away on one the greatest vicarious adventures of your life. 

That is, of this life, I mean.

Dragon Dave

Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta: Consummate Professionals

A Sampling of the Couple's Work

I first met Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta at the Westercon held in San Diego in 2006.  As the World Science Fiction Convention was being held in Los Angeles that year, just a few weeks later, many published authors opted to skip it, and no New York editors or agents attended.  Given the lack of professional interest, the number of attendees seemed way down.  The convention felt like a ghost town.  The hotel facilities had been built for so many more people. 

Kevin J. Anderson had agreed to serve as Toastmaster.  He and his wife not only attended, but injected life into every panel discussion they participated in.  I remember one panel on designing a Fantasy world, where the other panelists wafted on about, “Oh, you could do this,” or “Yes, but that would suggest...” and so on.  Lost in their conversation, they ignored those listening.  After this had gone on for awhile, Kevin pointed out that there were people in the audience who might be aspiring authors and could use some practical advice.  I, for one, appreciated his steering the dialogue toward something that could benefit me directly.

He and his wife also gave a panel discussion of their own.  If memory serves, it was labeled something like “The Eight Keys to Getting Published.”  They went step by step through the various rules that guided their careers.  They gave examples of how they worked, and suggested ways to work around problems when we found our current methods stilted. 

Every chair in the room was occupied.  Would-be authors stood in the back and hugged the walls, listening to every word of advice.  The couple received a rousing ovation when they finished.

I’ve met up with Kevin and Rebecca several times since then, from their visits to my local bookstore, to the 2008 Worldcon in Colorado.  Each time, they’ve been the models of generosity.  Any question I asked they took the time to answer, even if I caught them in the hall and they were hurrying to another panel.  They dressed and acted like consummate professionals.  In short, they conducted themselves like the author I wish to become: someone who can meld business sensibilities with artistic vision to create memorable fiction that keeps readers, and publishers, coming back for more. 

As Roger Zelazny said in his introduction to Steven Brust’s novel “To Reign in Hell,” there are writers who are great prose stylists, others known for writing engaging dialogue, and many other types of literary specialists.  Aside from their ability to craft entertaining fiction, the main reason I started following Kevin and Rebecca’s work, and have continued to search out their stories, is not due to some unique artistic sensibility, but because of all the help they’ve given me.  They’ve always treated me as an equal, never looking down on me because I’ve not yet proven my capabilities.  In doing so, they give me sufficient reason to continue looking up to them. 

In gratitude,

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

Actors, Heroes, and Ambition

Of Ayrton Senna and Ray Bradbury

Related Internet Links

Kevin and Rebecca’s Website

Three Shining Moments

Some fans of science fiction and fantasy have never attended a convention, while others cons as a way of life, traveling to and attending as many as they can voraciously take in.  Some only attend the big ones, such as Worldcon or World Fantasy, while others specialize in niche cons devoted solely to particular aspects of fandom such as comic books, anime, or media properties such as Star Trek.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the first one I mark on each year’s calendar is Condor, and it was those three days of programming that I enjoyed this last weekend.  Some years it may be better attended than others, sometimes a Guest of Honor (as well as other guests) lends a particular flavor to the panel discussions that particularly inspires, while other years it is another aspect of the convention that I walk away remembering most strongly.  This year’s Condor offered three highlights, pleasant and inspiring moments that I am sure I will remember for years to come.

Steven Spielberg is not only a great director: he has become an icon within the TV and movie industry.  The second movie I saw in a theater, one that I subsequently viewed many, many times, was Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Sadly, I could not say that I derived the same level of enjoyment from his remake of H. G. Wells’ classic story War of the Worlds.  So I am grateful to the San Diego Vintage SF Society for screening the 1950s version on Friday afternoon.  This movie had it all: humor, likable characters, great action, and of course, a love story.  It also showed a respect for the sustaining role that Faith plays for people experiencing turmoil and crisis.  I am sure the new version has its advocates, but for me, the earlier vision revealed humanity at its best, which is how I prefer to view our species.

That is not to say that the collective actions of humanity are always laudable.  One of the issues we face right now is the rapid transformation of our planet known as Global Warming.  Dr. Gregory Benford, this year’s Guest of Honor, summarized some of the geo-engineering studies that he has been involved with in the past few years.  I know there is a great deal of debate out there regarding how much the level of warming is due to human activities versus the planet’s natural processes, but one of the arguments that he made is not a scientific one, but is Biblical in origin.  While every country is scrambling for new ways to generate more power for its citizens, we, the populace and the government, must also remember that we are the stewards of this planet: it is up to us to do what we can to care for our home: not only for our own use, not only for future generations of people, but for all life which now or will dwell upon it.  In a very real way, we are the present day Adam and Eve. 

After attending movie screenings, perusing the dealer room and art show, and sitting through various panel discussions, I was looking for something different.  So I welcomed the visit of Herb Jefferson Jr., who played Boomer in the original Battlestar Galactica TV series, to Condor.  Instead of delivering a prepared speech, he answered any and all questions from the audience, and proved by far the most personable speaker of the weekend.  The answers, anecdotes, and the laughter flew thick and fast, and he always made sure he satisfied the curiosity that generated each particular question.  As I look now on the photograph he autographed for me: I cannot help but smile, remembering the warm dialogue we shared concerning a show that marked not a high point in his acting career, but in mine as a young fan.

A screening of a 1950s movie.  A discourse on Geo-Engineering.  A dialogue with the actor who portrayed a beloved TV character.  I would never had guessed that these three moments would be the ones that I look back on most fondly, but that is what I love about Condor: it always surprises.  I’ve already purchased my membership for next year, and look forward to what that 2012 con will offer up.  How about you?  Will you join us for next year’s convention?