Up the Bright River | ||||||||
Philip José Farmer, edited by Gary K. Wolfe | ||||||||
Subterranean Press, 336 pages | ||||||||
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A review by D. Douglas Fratz
The stories are arranged chronologically, and, with a few exceptions, are very emblematic of the times in which
they were written. But throughout the decades, Farmer returns to several common themes, especially those dealing
with religion and medical doctors. In the later stories, his focus moves to putting historical figures in new
settings -- whether it real people as in the Riverworld series, or imaginary characters as
in the Wold Newton stories.
The collection begins with "Attitudes," the first of the fascinating Father Carmody stories that were
collected in 1981 in Father to the Stars. The next two stories are from the early 60s, "How Deep the
Groove" and "The Blasphemers," are satires set in dark futures typical of Cold War era SF. The latter is
an especially complex piece of work. In 1967's "A Bowl Bigger Than Earth" we begin to feel the New Wave
fomenting in this strange tale of an afterlife that could been seen as a precursor to Riverworld. "Down
in the Black Gang" (1969) is a bizarre but effective tale of aliens working clandestinely on Earth to crew
an interstellar craft that could only have been written in that period. Two stories here -- "The Voice of
the Sonar in My Vermiform Appendix" (1971) and "The Sumerian Oath" (1972) -- are New Wave silliness in full
New Worlds mode, both dark satires of the medical profession. Several stories from this era diverge somewhat
from this trend, including "Father's in the Basement" (1972), an emotionally effective horror story,
and "Skinburn" (1972), a minor but effective science fiction mystery, as well as "Toward the Beloved City,"
an extremely interesting post-apocalyptic story based on the premise that events similar to those described
in the Biblical Book of Revelations have actually occurred.
"Extracts from the Memoirs of Lord Greystoke" (1974) is the only story included from Farmer's fascinatingly
clever and engaging Wold Newton universe, written in first person by the "real" man chronicled by
Edgar Rice Burroughs as Tarzan. It provides an effective, if anecdotal, introduction to the wonderful stories
Farmer told in that series. "The Two-Edged Gift" (1974) is the first of the Paul Eyre stories that include
as a character Farmer himself in the guise of writer Leo Queequeg Tincrowder, and also give a brief taste of
the work collected in Stations of the Nightmare (1982).
The remaining stories included here were written somewhat later in Farmer's career. "St. Francis Kisses
His Ass Goodbye" (1989) is a marvelous story of time travel. The final three stories are the last works Farmer
wrote in his Riverworld series, and feature primarily characters based on Farmer's actual
ancestors -- "Crossing the Dark River" (1992, from Tales of Riverworld) and "Up the Bright River"
and "Coda" (1993, Quest to Riverworld).
This is a valuable collection, and must reading for all fans of Philip José Farmer's brilliant fictional
oeuvre. It is, however, only a sampling, and as such can prove somewhat frustratingly incomplete in some
instances. Some of these stories are the start of a series, and might have been better left to separate
volumes where all of the stories could be included. (This is especially true for "The Two-Edged Gift,"
which ends mid-plot.) Although Wolfe provides an insightful introduction to the volume, it would have been
useful to have introductions to each story to put each in the proper context.
But for Farmer fans who can afford all of these beautiful but expensive Subterranean Press editions, these
books are providing a more permanent source for the brilliant and varied work of one of the finest science
fiction authors of the 20th century.
D. Douglas Fratz has more than forty years experience as editor and publisher of literary review magazines in the science fiction and fantasy field, and author of commentary and critiques on science fiction and fantasy literature and media. |
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