It is a great story, nice twists and excellent writing.
SF theranchhands.com: The Maker of Universes / Philip José Farmer ☆☆☆½
Not too much description of the surroundings, but enough to make you feel like you are there. Characters are well done and the situations they are put in keep the story going at a very nice pace. Highly recommended for Sci-Fi fans. Dec 09, Chris Bensen rated it it was amazing. This is the first in an unforgettable fast-paced series of fantasy novels that would make excellent films, very pulpy and wonderful about another realm consisting of stacked enormous planes like pancakes, each its own world.
Jul 17, Charles rated it it was amazing Shelves: Mine is a different cover from this one. Jun 05, Rafi rated it it was ok.
The start looked promising, but sadly the book didn't live up to it. The worldbuilding was interesting on a geological level, but fell flat when it came to the cultures of its inhabitants, who were all so much into fighting and killing each other that they should have died out a long time ago. Just claiming that this group has that heritage and the other group being from a different background or not even human, does nothing to make them different cultures when they all just act pretty much the The start looked promising, but sadly the book didn't live up to it.
Just claiming that this group has that heritage and the other group being from a different background or not even human, does nothing to make them different cultures when they all just act pretty much the same Neither the main character nor any of the side characters was well developed and I couldn't have cared less if the protagonist lived or died, because I just couldn't connect at all to that person. I also think that when it came to the main character, the autor made a rather big mistake in elevating the main guy by degrading everyone else or nearly everyone.
If you want to show how skilled and strong someone is, it's better to show that the others are competent too and that your hero still has something speaking for him preferably including his personality that makes him stand out. Just painting the others as pathetic cowards who can't do anything without the leadership of the main character, doesn't really make him look good, just less pathetic than the others.
I also really missed some serious character growth, or even some not so serious growth.
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Just anything at all would have been nice, but here too it doesn't really go past the superficial level. I can't honestly say if the plot was good or bad, because for me a plot has to be driven by the characters and since those felt superficial to me, I struggled with the plot as well. It's really painful to see how strongly from my viewpoint this books lacks in so many ways, because I can really see how it could have turned into a very good novel instead. The basic idea was there and I really think it could have turned into something great if the characters had been better developed.
Because really, the setting is great. But unfortunately a great setting does no good on its own if it isn't backed up by characters and plot. Mar 23, Olga rated it it was ok. I have now read the first 77 pages out of "The Maker of Universes". This book makes me want to give up on reading what is called "sci-fi" altogether. The book is really a fantasy book, there is not much "science" There is a lot of violence, plenty of corpses, Endless travel through the tiers regions.
Not much of development of characters The author threw together some bits and pieces from myths, Native American culture, Could it be more of a superficial hodge-podge of what an aver I have now read the first 77 pages out of "The Maker of Universes". Could it be more of a superficial hodge-podge of what an average reader of "sci-fi" knows?
I was especially "touched" by the mile posts on the trade road Why not "mile" posts. That's when I realized I could not continue to buy into the story for much longer This book reads as a fantasy of a middle-aged male. Just read the description of the female characters Aug 18, Tim Deans rated it really liked it. I generally love all of Philip Farmer's work and this is no exception.
Finding a doorway to another universe might not be a new concept, but the way the universe he describes is incredible. A world built in slices - the tiers of the title - with columns between them. And each world populated by creatures and people abducted from other worlds.
The World of Tiers, Volume 1
The main character, Wolff, finds himself in the world of tiers and has to unravel its mysteries and is aided by a stranded earthman, Kickaha. May 11, Travis rated it really liked it Shelves: A rift opens in space and an old man finds himself on the strange wedding cake shaped world. Fun bit of fantasy full of fights, quests, daring do, centaurs and damsels. The World of Tiers is one of the great fantasy worlds.
The World of Tiers Volume One: The Maker of Universes, The Gates of Creation, and A Private Cosmos
My only problem is that Farmer becomes more interested in the main character's sidekick and the 'hero' gradually gets phased out of the book. That and the threat of the 'Bellers' becoming the main plot and I didn't think they were the most interesting bad guy that Farmer introdu A rift opens in space and an old man finds himself on the strange wedding cake shaped world.
That and the threat of the 'Bellers' becoming the main plot and I didn't think they were the most interesting bad guy that Farmer introduces into the series. Jan 12, Andrea rated it it was amazing. I'm not a huge fan of stright sci-fi novels, however this one really caught me big time. I was drawn into it within the first three pages and could not put it down until I finished it. I closed the book and looked at it for a few minutes before I could put it down. I gave it to my mother and she had a rave review for it also.
I loved the plot in this book, the leads were interesting, and so were the villians. Pick it up and give it a go. Feb 21, Stuart rated it liked it Shelves: Unfinished, although I read most of the first volume there are two volumes in this book. Just couldn't get into it. A look at Wikipedia made the twist intriguing, but getting there was just not worth it at this moment. Still, I imagine if I had read this while younger, I would have enjoyed it much more. May 28, Zashi rated it did not like it Shelves: Old-school fantasy on crack. Complete with sexism and a super manly man guy dude.
This book's size makes it excellent for propping up rickety chairs and tables.
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I wouldn't recommend actually reading it. Mar 26, Carol Cotter rated it it was amazing. I registered a book at BookCrossing. Jan 19, Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk rated it it was ok Shelves: Entertaining - but corny! It has something of the Edgar Rice Burroughs about it.
May 26, Audrey rated it it was amazing. These were my favorite books growing up. May 07, Peter rated it it was ok Shelves: I found the Tiers trilogy fascinating when a teen but nowadays it's a bit ho hum. Pulp fantasy that goes on far too long. May 11, Albert rated it liked it. So far quite ok. May 18, Nietra rated it it was amazing. One of my all time favorites. Good for a yearly re-read. Apr 30, David rated it it was amazing Shelves: Blowing the horn, Wolff is transported to a strange new world, the World of Tiers. Wolff finds himself initially in an edenic paradise known as Okeanos.
This region is the first level of the planet, which contains a number of tiers like a wedding cake, separated by vast mountain ranges. The entire planet is ruled over by a cruel and mysterious lord named Jadawin, who created it. Okeanos consists of a beach, an ocean, and a small forest and is populated by nymph like humans who originated in and near ancient Greece. In this new world, Wolff regains his youth and vigor and falls in love with a local woman named Chryseis who lived in Troy at the time of the Trojan War. When Chryseis is kidnapped, Wolff follows after her, climbing to the next level of the world, Amerind, a plains region populated by Native Americans and centaurs.
Along the way he is joined by the adventurer Kickaha, who had also come from Earth, where he was known as Paul Janus Finnegan, some time ago. The two continue their adventure as they ascend the various levels of the World of Tiers including the medieval Dracheland and the jungle Atlantis. When they finally make it to the palace of Jadawin they make a shocking discovery; Robert Wolff is Lord Jadawin, who lost his memory after being defeated by another lord, and ended up stranded on Earth.
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