See You Soon on the Riverworld, Mr. Farmer
26. Feb, 2009 
4 Comments
Word got to me late today (Amygdala, SFSignal) and I’m still shocked and mouring.
I’ve not read anyone else’s missives, although I suppose the cliche thing is to look forward to seeing Phil on the Riverworld – where everyone who ever lived – including you – has been resurrected.
It’s a really nice fantasy – one I prefer to most other afterlife fantasies – but in the end I have to remain true to my convictions and with all sadness accept the fact that someone who has given me so much joy and engendered so much thought and speculation, is gone forever.
I just signed on to his Facebook group (or some other group – myspace?) and, amongst the books I recently held out to re-read are the World of Tiers series (I hear the horn now…) and The Other Log of Phileas Fogg.
Of course everyone lauds Phil for having put the sex into science fiction (Lovers, Flesh as well as The Beast and other erotica-crossovers) and for his Wold Newton family/concept.
I just remember the stories I’ve read, the few talks I’ve had with the man over too many years.
And I’m equally saddened by the fact that yet another master is gone and will all too quickly fade from the collective consciousness, yet another victim of ‘relevance’.
It is a sad, sad day indeed.
“It’s a really nice fantasy – one I prefer to most other afterlife fantasies”
I’d sure rather be on Riverworld than in dirt for earthworms, or burned up, but I expect the latter.
Very digressively, I want to say that I saw Synecdoche, NY today, and while I suspect the same folks who hated and didn’t get “the New Wave” may hate it, I thought it was effing brilliant and wonderful, and that it’s not all that complicated to get (it’s the thoughts of a dying guy, for pete’s sake, in a nutshell!).
“One of my favorite Farmer stories was “The Sliced-Crosswise Only-On-Tuesday World”. It was my first PJF story and still brings back fond memories.”
My comment adds little, but I have to say that that was a truly great and memorable story.
One of my favorite Farmer stories was “The Sliced-Crosswise Only-On-Tuesday World”. It was my first PJF story and still brings back fond memories.
The last time I read PJF was a couple of months ago when one of my sons wanted to read a Doc Savage novel and we read some of Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life.
The world gets a little sadder with the passing of each of these writers.
Yeah, I’m going start re-reading ‘World of Tiers’
series, Black Bellers Beware!