Upon the Riverworld

In my previous examination of Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld, I spoke much about Farmer and very little about his setting. I'm afraid I find Farmer's work tedious, but the Riverworld setting incredibly fascinating. In particular, I'm fascinated by Farmer's depiction of Riverworld as an archetypal paradise and mankind's inability to accept this paradise as the Heaven it is meant to be. Heaven ought to be a place where all of your needs are met and you can be at perfect peace with yourself. On Farmer's Riverworld, no one is ever at peace.

Welcome to Paradise, Welcome to Hell

Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series postulates the mass awakening of the entire deceased population of the Earth on a paradise planet where a single, massive river separates two shores bounded by impassable mountains. All of those who have died, from all throughout history, inexplicably find themselves once more "in the flesh" and placed within a garden where they do not require shelter and do not need to work for food or drink. Luxuries are provided for them. They are in perfect health and without any kind of physical or mental deformity. Mankind has entered paradise.

Nothing could be more like Hell.