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Philip Jose Farmer

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The Maker of Universes (World of Tiers, Book 1) Mass Market Paperback – January 1, 1980

by Philip Jose Farmer (Author), Boris Vallejo (Illustrator)

128

Book 1 of 7: World of Tiers

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Philip Jose Farmer, The Maker of Universes, paperback

Book 1 of 7

World of Tiers
Print length

247 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ace Books
Publication date

January 1, 1980
Dimensions

7 x 1 x 5 inches
ISBN-10

0441516246
ISBN-13

978-0441516247
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Philip Jose Farmer
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ace Books (January 1, 1980)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 247 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0441516246
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0441516247
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1 x 5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,470,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #40,229 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
128

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Philip Jose Farmer

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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.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

128 global ratings

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L. Soares

Beautiful Book!

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2023

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Just as described - beautiful book, and now I finally have one autographed by the great Philip Jose Farmer! Thank you!

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2023

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The book came as expected. Hardly used in good shape as was indicated when I ordered it.
Thank you!

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2022

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The book is in good condition for its age.

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Dave Deubler

Action, adventure, and precious little else

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2001

This first volume in the World of Tiers series features fast-paced, non-stop action/adventure from one of the finest practitioners of such in the fantasy genre. There's no time for character development or detailed scientific explanations in this one - once Robert Wolff hears that trumpet call and pops through a hole into another world, everybody's too busy swinging and ducking to philosophize much. But as with Farmer's truly brilliant Riverworld series, the extreme breadth of physical settings and social groups keeps readers constantly wondering what comes next. The whole adventure takes place on an other-dimensional world shaped like a giant wedding cake, with different societies existing on each tier, and the quest structure ensures constant movement from one locale to another. The plot is painfully simplistic, and quickly breaks down into a pattern of travel sequences followed by fight scenes, whereas more space could've been devoted to establishing motivations, and explaining various phenomena. The ending seems particularly rushed and the surprising twists are revealed so hastily they have almost no impact - by the time we know who's who and what's what, the book's already over. Of course there are plenty of other books in the series, so maybe this story is just the beginning, but having read just this first volume, I would not be quick to recommend this book to science fiction fans. Fantasy/adventure addicts should enjoy this book for Farmer's mastery of slam-bang action, but overall, it's really only a little better than average.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

I was quite impressed.

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2020

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Book arrived in amazing shape.

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2015

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I got this book because my dad read it when he was my age. But because it is 50 year old i had a few small problems with it. But its a good read.

One person found this helpful

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Roger Carrier

Great Fun and Adventure--A Must Read!

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2007

Note: There are a couple Mormons who are angry over my negative reviews of books written in defense of the Book of Mormon, and they have been slamming my reviews.

Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks.

I don't like telling the whole plot of novels. Long reviews are better to read after you've read the novel, itself. A short review that can capture the "hook" can still be a good review. So here it is:

The hero goes into a basement in Arizona and finds a lute in a closet. He strums it, and a gate into another world opens. He finds himself in a land as large and wild as the wild west, but also full of gates that allow him to walk between worlds.

Philip Jose Farmer is probably the most imaginative writer I've ever read. The hero passes through many gates into other worlds in a great series of adventures.

In illustration of Farmer's wonderful imagination, take note of the idea that the stars are NOT suns but actually small dots in the sky. In another case, there is a floating village that travels about thirty feet above the ground. It is held up by gas bags.

I loved this series, and I would rank it the equal to the Riverworld series. I'll write a bit about Riverworld (the first is "To Your Scattered Bodies Go") to encourage you to read it.

In "Riverworld," Farmer probably created the most original fantasy ever written. Everyone who has ever lived wakes up from death on the banks of a ten-million-mile river on a strange planet. They are all young again, and the first thing they do is engage in a vast orgy in this false heaven (where you can die and wake up again).

Each morning a bucket full of toiletries and food appears at these giant mushroom structures--one bucket for each person. Later, the characters go flying around in armchairs--what a way the fly!

The hero is Sir. Richard Burton, and Farmer's choice was perfect. Mark Twain and Alice in Wonderland are also in the story, as well as Hermon Goring (the Nazi). They build a riverboat and set out on a bunch of great adventures.

I don't want to tell too much, but I would rank the "Riverworld" series in the top three fantasies I have ever read. Highly recommended.

Read the World of Tier's first.

7 people found this helpful

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martin

... when I was about 12 and remembered it being wonderful I read it again now I an in my ...

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2014

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I read this the first time when I was about 12 and remembered it being wonderful I read it again now I an in my 50's oh dear how the world has moved on the scientific references and lack of sophistication would make a 12 year old laugh that being said the language is very simple so I would say an 8 year old would love it

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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数学ファン

懐かしの名作

Reviewed in Japan on July 20, 2022

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半世紀近く前に読んで印象が残っていたので、暇にあかせて読み返してみた。小説の全体的組み立ては覚えていたが、細部はすっかり忘れていたので、初めてのように楽しめた。
　奇想天外ながらも整合的で説得力のある舞台設定、魅力あるキャラクター、他の作家ならもったいなくて三冊くらいで書きそうなストーリーを一冊にまとめたテンポの良さ。知名度は高くないが、SF古典の名作の一つだと思う。冒険好きな読者におすすめしたい。
　日本語版はシリーズ最後まで出版されなかった覚えがあるので、続きを読むのが楽しみである。

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Emanuela

Fantascienza e avventura

Reviewed in Italy on February 5, 2017

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Per gli amanti della fantascienza che privilegiano l'avventura rispetto alla tecnologia, attraverso Farmer conosceranno un universo coloratissimo e ricco di colpi di scena

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Holger Schmitz

Gute alte Bekannte

Reviewed in Germany on May 22, 2013

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Ein Muß für die Fans alter SF. Schön, daß mal wieder zu lesen. Als E-Book auf dem Handy perfekt für Wartezeiten unterwegs !

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Simon's dad

Great series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2013

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I've read this series through from beginning to end and thoroughly enjoyed it but why does Amazon have to spoil half my fun and issue ebooks with such crappy covers ?. For me, the cover art work is what drew me to the series in the first place when I read them, oh so long ago. Do they also provide paperback editions with plain brown paper wrappers ?.

5 people found this helpful

DAVID R DANBY

The Maker Of Universes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2018

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Interesting read, I will continue reading the series. Hopefully this will be as good as the excellent River world series

One person found this helpful

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