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Riverworld is a fictional universe and the setting for a series of science fiction books written by Philip José Farmer.

Works

The five novels in the series are as follows :

To Your Scattered Bodies Go
The Fabulous Riverboat
The Dark Design
The Magic Labyrinth
Gods of Riverworld (later published as The Gods of Riverworld)

There are also several Riverworld short stories. The first of these appeared in Farmer's anthology:

Riverworld and Other Stories (a Farmer anthology with one Riverworld story, titled Riverworld)

In the early 1990s, it was decided to turn Riverworld into a shared universe anthology series, with numerous authors being invited to participate. Only two volumes were released:

Tales of Riverworld (includes one story written by Farmer: Crossing the Dark River)
Quest to Riverworld (includes two stories written by Farmer: Crossing the Bright River and Coda.)

Story

Located at an indeterminate distance from the Sol system and centuries in the future, the Riverworld is an Earthlike planet whose surface has been sculpted to consist solely of one staggeringly long river-valley. The river's source is a small North Polar sea, from which it follows a course tightly zig-zagging across one hemisphere before flowing back up the other along an equally labyrinthine path to return to the same sea. The river has an average width of 2.5 km, and is shallow near the shore but plunges to enormous depths towards the channel. The banks are generally smooth and gentle, expanding into wide plains on either side, then climbing into ever more jagged hills before leaping up into a sheerly impenetrable enclosing mountain range, taller than the Himalayas. The valley averages 15km in width, but variations on the basic geography exist, including narrows and occasional widenings into lakes with islands. From source to mouth, the river is 32 million kilometres long (Books I , II, & III state the river is 16.09 million km long). The weather is absolutely controlled; there are no seasons, and daily variations are metronomic. The only animal or insect life consists of several varieties of fish and a few soil worms. The vegetation is lush but of limited variety, including trees, shrubs, several kinds of fast-growing bamboo and a resilient mat of grass which covers the plains and continues on along the riverbed for as far down as anyone has ever been able to reach. The Riverworld has no visible moon, but a greater density of stars and nebulae render the night sky at least as bright as a full-moon night on Earth.

The story of Riverworld begins when almost the whole of humanity, from the time of the first homo sapiens through to the early 21st century, is simultaneously resurrected along the banks of the river. The number of people is given as "thirty-six billion, six million, nine thousand, six hundred and thirty-seven" (36,006,009,637). Of these, at least 20% are from the 20th century, due to the high levels of population in later centuries compared to earlier ones. There are no people from a time later than the early 21st century, ostensibly because an accident in space wiped out the human race at that time. In each area, there are initially three groups of people: a large group from one time period and place, a smaller group from another time and place, and a very small group of people from random times and places (most of the twentieth and twenty-first century humans are spread across the river as part of this last group).

Everyone awakens in a body equivalent to that of their twenty-five year old selves, except in perfect health and free of any previous genetic or acquired defects (for instance, all chemical addictions are gone). Over time it is further discovered that these bodies do not age and can regenerate nearly any non-fatal injury, including dismemberments and blindings. The new bodies are completely free of infection and seem resistant to it (though later it is discovered that this has as much to do with the fact that there are no hostile bacteria or viruses on the Riverworld). Initially completely hairless, the bodies grow head hair and pubic hair at a normal rate. However, men do not have foreskins or grow facial hair. Women are resurrected as biological virgins (i.e, with intact hymens). It is impossible to conceive children on Riverworld, though whether this is because the men, women or both genders are sterile is not revealed until much later in the series.

Anyone who died at an age younger than 25 is resurrected into a body equivalent to that lesser age, which then ages at a normal rate before stopping at 25. No one who was less than five years old at death is resurrected on the Riverworld (it is eventually revealed that children under the age of five were resurrected on another planet, Gardenworld). In addition to all the benefits of their Riverworld-bodies, the resurrected human race is effectively immortal as, should an individual die, they will soon find themselves once again reincarnated, whole in body, somewhere else along the banks of the river. Some people even utilize this "Suicide Express" to travel randomly.

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Movies - Riverworld

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