the fabulous riverboat series

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The Fabulous Riverboat: In which we learn very little about Riverworld

Posted by Kat Hooper ´s rating: 3 | Philip Jose Farmer | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

To Your Scattered Bodies Go , the first of Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld novels, was a fast-paced, highly creative, and extremely exciting story, so I was eager to continue the tale in the second novel, The Fabulous Riverboat . This part of the story of mankind’s resurrection onto a million-miles-long stretch of river valley focuses on Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) — one of the people who’ve been contacted by a traitor who hopes to use twelve special humans to disrupt the plans of the creatures (gods? aliens?) who are responsible for the Resurrection.

At the beginning of The Fabulous Riverboat , we meet Sam Clemens and his 800 lb Neanderthal bodyguard named Joe Miller. (Note: I highly recommend Recorded Books’ audiobook version narrated by Paul Hecht. Joe Miller’s lisping speech is difficult to read in print, but Mr. Hecht is brilliant with him.) Sam Clemens and Joe Miller are on a Viking ship that is searching for iron-rich meteors (the Riverworld has very few mineral deposits). The Vikings want the iron for weapons, but Sam wants to build a huge steamboat so he can sail up the river to its source and confront the beings who run the planet.

Sam gets some help from the mysterious traitor who tells him where to find required materials, but then he must work with tyrannical humans who want to hoard their countries’ natural resources or promote their political or religious agendas. Thus, there’s a lot more threatening, squabbling, political maneuvering, dealing, double-dealing, and war going on than actual ship-building.

It’s fun to meet real historical tyrants in Riverworld — they tend to rise to the top and become the leaders of aggressive city-states. It’s also amusing to watch the interactions of humans from such a wide range of time periods. For example, we see Joe Miller gradually becoming more cynical and humorous as he spends time with Mark Twain and we watch a 20th century engineer teach Twain how to store electricity to power the riverboat.

What’s not fun is that Philip Jose Farmer takes every opportunity to provide information about each of the characters who’s a real historical figure, and this is inelegantly done:

I read about him in school!” von Richthofen said. “Let’s see. He was born in 1797, died about 1853, I believe. He was an artillery expert and a good friend of Frederick Wilhelm IV of Prussia. He was called ‘The Warlike Monk’ because he was a general who also had strict religious views. He died when he was about fifty years old, a disappointed man because he had been dropped from favor…

And sometimes the facts are repeated. For example, we’re told at least twice that John Lackland was such a bad king that the English swore they’d never have another king named John.

Also annoying is that Farmer frequently takes the opportunity to address topics such as racism and determinism by either having characters hold long philosophical discourses, or by obvious and clumsy manipulation of the plot. The end result is that there is lots of teaching and moralizing and little action in The Fabulous Riverboat . If you look at the book cover, you’d expect to be exploring Riverworld from the deck of Mark Twain’s steamboat, but the boat finally gets finished at the end of the novel.

It’s the wonderful world-building and intriguing questions that make this series so compelling: Why has humankind been resurrected? Who created this world? Who is the traitor? Is there a way out? What’s the purpose of dream gum? But we don’t get to explore much of Riverworld and we learn very little about it in The Fabulous Riverboat . I’m still so curious, though, so I’m hoping we’ll progress more quickly in the next installment: The Dark Design .

Later addendum : When I began downloading the audio version of The Dark Design , I realized it was 18 hours long — twice the length of the previous novels. I decided to investigate before committing and was disappointed to learn from other reviewers that the series degenerates after The Fabulous Riverboat . Readers cite the same issues I’ve mentioned here and other issues that killed their enjoyment of Riverworld . There was such a consensus that I feel I should believe them and not waste my time on a series that will ultimately disappoint me. I’m sad to say that I’m going to quit here — I just don’t have time to read bad books. This is especially upsetting because I really loved To Your Scattered Bodies Go . I also want to find out the answers I posed in the previous paragraph. If you know the answers, please tell me in a comment below. If nobody knows, I’ll just skim through the last half of book 4, The Magic Labyrinth , to find out. According to readers, that’s where the uninspiring answers are to be found).

Riverworld —  (1971-1983)  Bangsian  fantasy. Available in audio formats. Publisher: All those who ever lived on Earth have found themselves resurrected — healthy, young, and naked as newborns — on the grassy banks of a mighty river, in a world unknown. Miraculously provided with food, but with no clues to the meaning of their strange new afterlife, billions of people from every period of Earth’s history — and prehistory — must start again. Sir Richard Francis Burton would be the first to glimpse the incredible way-station, a link between worlds. This forbidden sight would spur the renowned 19th-century explorer to uncover the truth. Along with a remarkable group of compatriots, including Alice Liddell Hargreaves (the Victorian girl who was the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland), an English-speaking Neanderthal, a WWII Holocaust survivor, and a wise extraterrestrial, Burton sets sail on the magnificent river. His mission: to confront humankind’s mysterious benefactors, and learn the true purpose — innocent or evil — of the Riverworld…

KAT HOOPER, who started this site in June 2007, earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience and psychology at Indiana University (Bloomington) and now teaches and conducts brain research at the University of North Florida. When she reads fiction, she wants to encounter new ideas and lots of imagination. She wants to view the world in a different way. She wants to have her mind blown. She loves beautiful language and has no patience for dull prose, vapid romance, or cheesy dialogue. She prefers complex characterization, intriguing plots, and plenty of action. Favorite authors are Jack Vance , Robin Hobb , Kage Baker , William Gibson , Gene Wolfe , Richard Matheson , and C.S. Lewis .

February 20th, 2011. Kat Hooper ´s rating: 3 | Philip Jose Farmer | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

I couldn’t finish this. It probably didn’t help that I hadn’t read the first one. Based on your review I think my plan should be to read the first one only.

The first book, To Your Scattered Bodies Go , is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s such a disappointment that the sequels are quite bad, especially since TYSBG left us with so many questions that we can’t get the answers to unless we read the horrible sequels!

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Body of drowning victim, Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy, recovered

by KATU Staff

CORVALLIS, Ore. (KATU — People who were canoeing on the Willamette River on Wednesday morning spotted the body of Naomi Pomeroy, an acclaimed Portland chef who drowned over the weekend while floating in the river, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said.

Her body was spotted at about 10 a.m. about a half mile upstream of Hyak Park between Corvallis and Albany.

Benton County deputies said her body was found in the middle of the river in about one to two feet of water.

Pomeroy, 49, drowned in the Willamette River near river mile 132 in Corvallis, about 100 yards upstream from the Mary’s River on Saturday.

She was with two other people. The sheriff’s office said three floaters on tubes and a paddle board, secured together, were caught on an exposed snag in the water.

One of the floaters, Pomeroy, was pulled under the water and held by the paddle board leash. She was not wearing a life jacket and, unable to resurface, drowned. Her husband, also one of the floaters, survived the incident.

On the day of the incident, rescuers found Pomeroy's body underwater but were unable to recover it due to strong currents. Her body floated downstream, and authorities resumed the search on Sunday. However, due to the current and heavy debris, searchers were unable to find her.

One Wednesday, the deputies released Pomeroy’s body to a funeral home and notified her family.

Pomeroy first formally appeared on the radar when she opened the fine-dining restaurant Beast in 2007. She won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Northwest in 2014. A successful series of other restaurants, pop-ups, cookbooks, and more followed.

Beast shuttered in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Pomeroy opened Ripe Cooperative, an at-home meal prep service, in the space.

KATU interviewed Pomeroy during the pandemic in 2021, which you can see HERE .

According to Pomeroy's social media , her most recent culinary endeavor was Cornet Custands, a frozen custard shop run alongside her husband.

On Monday, Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer released a statement on the death of Pomeroy.

“What a loss. Naomi was not just a fabulous chef and entrepreneur, but an amazing human being," he said. "Her impact went far beyond Portland, helping establish our leadership and reputation for food excellence. She will be greatly missed.”

Also on Monday, mourners could be seen leaving flowers, candles, and heartfelt notes in a makeshift memorial outside Cornet Custards.

As the Portland community grieved the loss of her culinary prestige, she was also remembered for far more than just her food.

“Naomi was a co-founder of this independent restaurant coalition, which was a national organization that you know, fought for funds and other things for independent restaurants,” said Michael Russell, a restaurant critic for The Oregonian.

You can learn more about Naomi's career and legacy HERE: A look at culinary icon Naomi Pomeroy's legacy in Portland .

This story may be updated.

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The Fabulous Riverboat (The Gregg Press Science Fiction Series) Hardcover – January 1, 1980

• Book 2 of 5 Riverworld
• Print length 253 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Gregg Pr
• Publication date January 1, 1980
• ISBN-10 0839826192
• ISBN-13 978-0839826194
• See all details

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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gregg Pr; First Edition Thus (January 1, 1980)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 253 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0839826192
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0839826194
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds

About the author

Philip jose farmer.

Philip José Farmer (1918-2009) is a three-time Hugo Award winner, and Nebula Grand Master. He has long been recognized as one of the foremost writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. He is best known for being the author who introduced sex into science fiction in 1952 with his groundbreaking novella "The Lovers"; his biographies of Tarzan and Doc Savage; his love of pulp characters; his Riverworld, World of Tiers, and Dayworld series; and his Wold Newton Family concept.

Visit www.pjfarmer.com to keep up on all the latest news about Philip José Farmer.

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