macrev (02/22/83)
"Riverworld" disappointed me too, but I think pynchon would only have made it worse. He seems to prefer a lot of little climaxes to blowing his wad in one big one, and as a result his stories ("V," "Gravity's Rainbow") have a tendency to peter out at the end. If Farmer had gone to Zelazny with his ideas, "Riverworld" might have been a more satisfying story. Mike Lynch
tim (02/23/83)
The last two Riverworld books were definitely a disappointment; The Magic Labyrinth was about as coherent as Number of the Beast. However, the first two (To Your Scattered Bodies Go, The Fabulous Riverboat) were excellent. Obviously, during the fifteen-or-so-year hiatus between the second and third books, Farmer lost conviction in the idea. Has anyone else read Farmer's World of Tiers books? They are his best, and a strong influence on Zelazny's Amber series. If you haven't read these, you have no right to judge Farmer. I disagree that Zelazny's modern output is vastly inferior to his older stuff. Granted, there hasn't been another Lord of Light or Nine Princes in Amber, but these books are well worth reading: Roadmarks, Doorways in the Sand, Madwand, and Dilvish the Damned. I do not recommend Changeling (although it would help if you're going to read Madwand) or The Changing Land; the first is a technology vs. magic story (eeeyuucchhh), and the second is a plotless and rambling fantasy adventure. His collaboration with Saberhagen, Coils, is fun if improbable, and I haven't yet read his absolute latest, Eye of Cat. Tim Maroney