1971:
The trivia:
- Astronaut Ed Mitchell, who piloted the Apollo 14 lunar module, said of his experience on the moon: "From out there...international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch."
- There is no known written documentation of the word "fajitas" prior to 1971.
- Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to enter the orbit of another planet when it reaches Mars on 14th November.
The item:
To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer
At the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow
Your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise
From death you numberless infinities
Of souls, and to your scattered bodies go.
7th of the "Holy Sonnets" by John Donne
This was one of those books that I initially purchased on a whim because I was interested by both the cover and the blurb on the back of the paperback. It's the first volume in the phenomenal "Riverworld" saga, which eventually grew to encompass five novels and two collections of short stories. I think I must have originally picked it up in around...hmmmm....1979?. I worked this out because I know that once I started, it was a book I just could not put down and I sped through it in around three days. I was so absorbed that I immediately went out and bought the other two in the set that had been published to date - only to find that the final (at the time) book had still not been released !
Here's the premise. Millions of years in the future, every single human who has ever lived are resurrected along the banks of an endless winding river. From the earliest Neanderthals through to the 21st century (when 99% of the population was apparently wiped out during a disastrous first contact with aliens from Tau Ceti). They awaken on the shore naked, but in their bodies as they were at age twenty-five - and in perfect health. Lost limbs have reappeared, genetic defects and diseases are all cured. Those who died younger than 25 appear in a body from that point of death (and age up to 25), but there is no one under the age of five and children cannot be conceived. Should an individual "die" due to suicide, an accident, or at the hand of someone else, they just resurrect at a different place along the river.
Every person appears with a metal container strapped to their wrist which can only be opened by them. When placed in huge mushroom-shaped "grailstones" which are dotted along the riverbank, and charged via a periodic electricity bolt, these "grails" dispense food, drink, cloth and luxuries such as alcohol, mild drugs, tobacco and "dreamgum" which can induce hallucinations.
At the start there is no technology on this world and metals and ores are almost non-existent. The mountains that rise steeply from the plains are impassable and life exists at a very basic level. But what initially seems like paradise soon turns into anything but, as human greed and violence asserts itself. Thousands of tiny fiefdoms and kingdoms appear along the river - some are peaceful but many are ruled by dictators who put those unfortunate enough to be reborn in their areas into "grail slavery" - giving the poor people only basic rations and keeping the luxuries for themselves.
The renowned colonial explorer Richard Francis Burton (no relation to the actor) awakens in this strange world and he soon surrounds himself with a disparate group of friends from all eras, which includes Alice Lidell (the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland). Burton is unique because he awoke in the "holding space" before resurrection and has seen a glimpse of the race that created Riverworld. Visited by a mysterious figure in the night, Burton is compelled to take his friends and find the source of this endless river - and confront the "Ethicals" in control. After many trials, including being enslaved by the infamous Nazi Herman Göring, Burton finds himself close to being captured by the Ethicals,so kills himself over and over and over again - each time hoping that he will get closer to the secrets of the tower at the headwaters of the river.
If that doesn't sound fascinating enough, the subsequent books introduce an even wider array of characters both real and fictional and detail their various efforts to discover the reason for humanity's rebirth. Take author Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). Thanks to the assistance of the Mysterious Stranger, he enlists the help of Viking warlord Eric Bloodaxe, Lothar von Ricthofen (the WWI fighter pilot known as the Red Baron), King John of England and Cyrano de Bergerac to help mine a fallen meteorite and build a huge paddle boat known as the 'Not For Hire'. He intends to sail upriver and find the source of the river. Though it may be millions of miles and his voyage may take centuries, Clemens is determined to find answers.
Through the course of the five novels, Farmer weaves the adventures of a dozen or more famous faces and people from a vast range of cultures and time periods into his huge sweeping narrative. He even writes himself into the storyline in the guise of author Peter Jairus Frigate. The true purpose of the "Ethicals" and their reasons for creating Riverworld are shrouded in mystery and the metaphysical answer challenges everyone's opinions of what it means to be alive. Of course you only really get the full effect of Farmer's imagination if you read the first four books together (I'd argue that you could miss out book five and not lose anything).
Richard Francis Burton is a extraordinary man to choose as the main protagonist. A 19th century explorer, translator, soldier, writer, spy and diplomat, who apparently spoke 29 languages, he was also one of the first Europeans to visit Mecca. Translator of the "1,001 Arabian Nights" stories and the "Karma Sutra". Part of the group who discovered the great African lakes while hunting for the source of the Nile. Burton did all these things and much, much more. You can see why Farmer picked him. Learning about him through his fictitious exploits in the novel, I became fascinated with the real person, seeking out books by him and about him from my local library (this being in the days before the internet of course). I learned many, many interesting facts through reading Philip Jose Farmer's most famous work.
There have been a couple of attempts to turn Farmer's vision into a TV show. The Sci-Fi Channel tried once in 2003 (but only went to a pilot) and then tried again in 2010 as a 4-hour TV movie. Both version are very flawed and hampered by both the lack of budget and the fact that the producers just don't seem to really *get* the concept or the characters. Burton is turned into an American astronaut in the first attempt and then becomes the villain in the second. That's no way to treat one of the greatest explorers of the 19th century !
Despite the fantastical setting and the SF concepts that are explored, the novels paint a disturbing picture of mankind. No matter the circumstances, we seem to degenerate into the worst examples of our species. There will always be those who want power and wealth and will do whatever it takes to obtain it. Looking back now I can see that Farmers writing is very description-heavy and perhaps veers into a pulp style sometimes - but that's okay, I've grown to really appreciate that genre (and like Farmer, I love the stories about Tarzan, Doc Savage, The Shadow and the like) Some may also find the occasional violent scenes unpalatable, but I don't think that it's gratuitous and it's all within the context of the heaven / hell world the author has created.
It is worth mentioning that Farmer also created two other unique fictional settings that are worth looking into. First there is the "World of Tiers" which features a series of artificially created pocket universes and one specifically which contains a planet consisting of cylindrical layers stacked on top of each other to form an enormous cone-shaped tower. The other series is "Dayworld", set in a dystopian future where overpopulation is solved by allowing people to exist for only one day a week - the rest of the time they are in suspended animation. However there are a few individuals who are 'Daybreakers' - living seven different lives across the week and working to destabilise the system. If you like high concept science fiction, Farmer is the man to go for. Some brilliant covers by Chris Foss too.
When I was young and first read them, I found "To You Scattered Bodies Go" and it's sequels to be brilliant pieces of science fiction with plenty to say about the human condition. Despite their age and changing tastes and moralities, I still think they stand up amazingly well today.
Honourable mentions:
Through the course of the five novels, Farmer weaves the adventures of a dozen or more famous faces and people from a vast range of cultures and time periods into his huge sweeping narrative. He even writes himself into the storyline in the guise of author Peter Jairus Frigate. The true purpose of the "Ethicals" and their reasons for creating Riverworld are shrouded in mystery and the metaphysical answer challenges everyone's opinions of what it means to be alive. Of course you only really get the full effect of Farmer's imagination if you read the first four books together (I'd argue that you could miss out book five and not lose anything).
Richard Francis Burton is a extraordinary man to choose as the main protagonist. A 19th century explorer, translator, soldier, writer, spy and diplomat, who apparently spoke 29 languages, he was also one of the first Europeans to visit Mecca. Translator of the "1,001 Arabian Nights" stories and the "Karma Sutra". Part of the group who discovered the great African lakes while hunting for the source of the Nile. Burton did all these things and much, much more. You can see why Farmer picked him. Learning about him through his fictitious exploits in the novel, I became fascinated with the real person, seeking out books by him and about him from my local library (this being in the days before the internet of course). I learned many, many interesting facts through reading Philip Jose Farmer's most famous work.
There have been a couple of attempts to turn Farmer's vision into a TV show. The Sci-Fi Channel tried once in 2003 (but only went to a pilot) and then tried again in 2010 as a 4-hour TV movie. Both version are very flawed and hampered by both the lack of budget and the fact that the producers just don't seem to really *get* the concept or the characters. Burton is turned into an American astronaut in the first attempt and then becomes the villain in the second. That's no way to treat one of the greatest explorers of the 19th century !
Despite the fantastical setting and the SF concepts that are explored, the novels paint a disturbing picture of mankind. No matter the circumstances, we seem to degenerate into the worst examples of our species. There will always be those who want power and wealth and will do whatever it takes to obtain it. Looking back now I can see that Farmers writing is very description-heavy and perhaps veers into a pulp style sometimes - but that's okay, I've grown to really appreciate that genre (and like Farmer, I love the stories about Tarzan, Doc Savage, The Shadow and the like) Some may also find the occasional violent scenes unpalatable, but I don't think that it's gratuitous and it's all within the context of the heaven / hell world the author has created.
It is worth mentioning that Farmer also created two other unique fictional settings that are worth looking into. First there is the "World of Tiers" which features a series of artificially created pocket universes and one specifically which contains a planet consisting of cylindrical layers stacked on top of each other to form an enormous cone-shaped tower. The other series is "Dayworld", set in a dystopian future where overpopulation is solved by allowing people to exist for only one day a week - the rest of the time they are in suspended animation. However there are a few individuals who are 'Daybreakers' - living seven different lives across the week and working to destabilise the system. If you like high concept science fiction, Farmer is the man to go for. Some brilliant covers by Chris Foss too.
When I was young and first read them, I found "To You Scattered Bodies Go" and it's sequels to be brilliant pieces of science fiction with plenty to say about the human condition. Despite their age and changing tastes and moralities, I still think they stand up amazingly well today.
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - a gold-plated five-star classic (despite what Roald Dahl thinks). Gene Wilder. Oompa-Loompas. That boat tunnel sequence. The songs. Hideous children getting their comeuppance. How can you not love this film? The Burton remake isn't even worthy to shine its shoes.
- Mr Benn - to a certain generation, the phrase "As if by magic, the Shopkeeper appeared" immediately transports us back to a period when all of space and time was accessible via the door of a changing room. This wasn't "Doctor Who", it was a little man in a bowler hat who went on the most incredible animated adventures. The nation's children took him to their hearts and he became a national institution.
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