Difference between revisions of "The Dark Design"
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* The lengthy prose about a Bedouin who farted was juvenile. | * The lengthy prose about a Bedouin who farted was juvenile. | ||
* The discussion Peter Frigate has with Richard Burton about the definition of science fiction was a bit dull and self-serving. It would make more sense had Farmer written a non-fiction article to get his opinion out. | * The discussion Peter Frigate has with Richard Burton about the definition of science fiction was a bit dull and self-serving. It would make more sense had Farmer written a non-fiction article to get his opinion out. | ||
| − | * The way Burton's party robbed the Babylonians was anti-climactic. | + | * The way Burton's party robbed the Babylonians of their freebie grails was anti-climactic. |
* Having the native Americans be a bunch of drunks wasn't a culturally sensitive choice. | * Having the native Americans be a bunch of drunks wasn't a culturally sensitive choice. | ||
* For a book that's supposed to be about science fiction, a lot of stock is put into mesmerism and hypnosis. Farmer must not have done much research into how fake most of it is. This required a fair amount of suspension of disbelief on my part. | * For a book that's supposed to be about science fiction, a lot of stock is put into mesmerism and hypnosis. Farmer must not have done much research into how fake most of it is. This required a fair amount of suspension of disbelief on my part. | ||
| Line 27: | Line 27: | ||
* Farmer describes the rape of 15two-year-old Eve by her uncle as being "not entirely unwilling." | * Farmer describes the rape of 15two-year-old Eve by her uncle as being "not entirely unwilling." | ||
* Farmer continues his misunderstanding of the female hymen. | * Farmer continues his misunderstanding of the female hymen. | ||
| + | * Female characters are typically described by their sexuality. | ||
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
Revision as of 08:51, 6 October 2022
The Dark Design is a science fiction novel by Philip José Farmer published in 1977. The book is the third novel in the Riverworld series, the sequel to The Fabulous Riverboat, and was followed up by The Magic Labyrinth.
The story takes place 30 years after the resurrection day and follows the characters from the first two books. The citizens of Paralando are now working on a giant air ship, and Richard Burton's crew encounters the paddle boat of King John. However, the stakes are raised with death seeming to be permanent once more as automatic resurrection no longer seems to be in effect.
Personal
After finishing the first two books in the series, I was curious to see what was going to happen as it went on.
Review
— This section contains spoilers! —
Good
- It's nice that there is finally a strong female character in the series. Jill Gulbirra is witty and powerful and not afraid to tell the patriarchs where to stick it.
Bad
- The lengthy prose about a Bedouin who farted was juvenile.
- The discussion Peter Frigate has with Richard Burton about the definition of science fiction was a bit dull and self-serving. It would make more sense had Farmer written a non-fiction article to get his opinion out.
- The way Burton's party robbed the Babylonians of their freebie grails was anti-climactic.
- Having the native Americans be a bunch of drunks wasn't a culturally sensitive choice.
- For a book that's supposed to be about science fiction, a lot of stock is put into mesmerism and hypnosis. Farmer must not have done much research into how fake most of it is. This required a fair amount of suspension of disbelief on my part.
- Having Monet and Peter both in league with the ethicals is another hard-to-believe scenario. They lived with Burton for 30 years, and never let anything slip?
- For some reason, the chapter breaks sometimes occur right in the middle of related prose.
Ugly
- The first strong female character in the series is tortured and raped. Yes, it's only a hallucination from the dream gum, but it's still in there.
- Farmer describes the rape of 15two-year-old Eve by her uncle as being "not entirely unwilling."
- Farmer continues his misunderstanding of the female hymen.
- Female characters are typically described by their sexuality.
Links
