World of Tiers
Jun 03 '00 (Updated Jul 13 '00)
No discussion of best series would be complete without mentioning the World of Tiers trilogy by Philip José Farmer. Here we visit worlds of such imagination and brilliance that they could only be envisioned by a true master of his art.
This trilogy is composed of seven books so far -- fortunately, Farmer is much better at writing than he is at counting. In these books, we discover an ancient race called the Lords.
At the peak of its power, this race of immortals had the technology to build "pocket universes," the way we build homes. Content and powerful, they dominated the cosmos. Then in their arrogance, they made a mistake -- a minor thing, an oversight -- and their worlds came crashing down. Unwittingly they turned their greatest fear into their greatest enemy and found themselves fighting a war for their very existence.
The war is over; there were no winners; it simply ceased when there were not enough survivors left to fight. The few remaining Lords still have their power, their machines, their universes -- but all the scientists died in the war. No one left alive understands the technology. There will be no new miracles; nothing damaged can be repaired. Anarchy ensues as the survivors fight over the toys that remain. Paranoid and powerful, the Lords retreat to their private universes. Hiding behind their traps and force fields, they simmer in rich stew of their own madness.
The first book, Maker of Universes, is set in the World of Tiers from which the series takes its name. This world is like a many-tiered wedding cake, with immense cliffs separating the levels. The lowest level is the Garden of Eden, the next is the American Plains, the third level has Knights and Chivalry, the final level, the Lords Palace, is the most dangerous level of all. The plot is simple, climb to the top and kill the Lord. The result is one of the most imaginative and magical novels you will ever read.
In the second novel, The Gates of Creation, circumstances force our hero into a pocket universe that has but one purpose, to kill anyone who enters. The third novel, A Private Cosmos, which completes the original trilogy, sees the hero's best friend set out to rescue him. Either together or individually, these are three of the best Science Fantasy books ever written.
The fourth book, Behind the Walls of Terra, continues the rescue attempt. This is the weak book in the series for me. It is well written and brilliant, but lacks the magical quality that infuses the prior three. The Lavalite World, novel number five, came as a surprise. Not only is it the longest in the series so far, it is arguably the best. It's world, which twists and flows like a gigantic lava lamp, is a creation of true genius.
Red Orc's Rage, may be number six in the series. It was certainly the next novel published, but is it a member of the series or is it just a book about someone reading the prior five. Blurring the boundary between fact and fiction, this book is raw, powerful and deeply disturbing. It is totally out of character with the preceding books, but it is as compelling as a train wreck. It could be the best book, it could be the worst, you decide.
In the final novel, More than Fire, Farmer finally concludes the adventure he started in the third. He wraps up many loose ends, and reveals many secrets, and yet I did not find this novel as satisfying as I hoped. Is my disappointment with the novel or just a natural reaction to the end of a story, which I had enjoyed for over two decades?
We could debate the best series for a month of Sundays, and many of us would enjoy doing so. Is this the best, who can say, but it is certainly a contender. Get yourself a copy, pull up a chair and prepare to be amazed.
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