1965; 247 pages. New Author? : No. Book 1 (out of 7) in the “World of Tiers” series. Genres : Classic Sci-Fi; multiverses, pulp
fiction. Overall Rating: 4*/10.
Robert Wolff is in his 60s and has just
realized he is losing his mind. Well, this
sometimes happens to people his age, but it’s especially unfair to Robert,
since he also has zero memories of the first twenty years of his life.
His latest realization is
also ill-timed. He and his wife Brenda
are doing a walkthrough of an empty house they’re considering buying for their
retirement years. And Robert keeps
hearing a bugle playing behind one of the closet doors.
Apparently neither his wife
nor the real estate agent accompanying them hear the blaring horn, which is why
Robert is sure he’s losing his mind. Maybe
he should just get it over with: open the closet door, discover there’s nothing
there, and accept his mental deterioration.
Don’t do it, Robert! If that bugling you hear is unsettling,
you’re going to freak out when you see what and who is causing it!
What’s To Like...
The Maker of
Universes is the opening volume in Philip José Farmer’s World of Tiers 7-book sci-fi series. We tag along with our hero, Robert Wolff, as
he gets dropped into a strange, multi-tiered world, ruled by a Lord who seems
to like kidnapping beings from other dimensions and time-periods to populate his domain. Each of the five tiers resembles a specific
time and place in terrestrial history, but it would be a spoiler to give full
details.
The book is written in what I’d
call “classic 1950s science fiction” style.
That means non-stop action, paper-thin character development, and a hero
who can perform feats of bravery while attracting every female he meets. Here, our protagonist is initially in his sixties, but
magically tones-up and ages-down in the new universe he’s plopped into.
There are lots of creatures
for Wolff to cross paths with. Some are
helpful; others want to kill and eat him.
Philip José Farmer gives a name to just about every beast, being, or
geographical area and I’m sure he amused himself greatly when doing this.
The Maker of Universes
may be written in classic-50s style which targets YA male readers, but Philip
José Farmer does some tweaking to that to spice things up. Lots of humanoids run around unclothed and several rolls-in-the-hay are hinted at. Natives
enjoy eating something called a punchnut,
which is an alcoholic fruit, and chewing the leaves of a plant called dhiz, which turns their teeth black, gives
their eyes a smoldering look, and slows down their physical motions. Hmmm.
The ending is typical for
classical sci-fi tales. The old Lord is
vanquished, the new Lord assumes the throne, and Wolff is a changed man, and of
course, for the better. However, a chance still exists of thwarting all that, in the form of a cliffhanger ending,
which is one of my pet peeves.
Ratings…
Amazon: 4.2*/5, based on 132 ratings
and 24 reviews.
Goodreads: 3.82*/5,
based on 2,094
ratings and 132 reviews.
Excerpts...
“The histoikhthys is handy. They seem almost too much of a good thing.”
“The Lord designed and made them for our
pleasure and his,” Ipsewas replied.
“The Lord made this universe?” Wolff said,
no longer sure that the story was a myth.
“You better believe it,” Ipsewas replied,
and took another drink. “Because if you
don’t, the Lord will end you. As it is,
I doubt he’ll let you continue anyway.
He doesn’t like uninvited guests.” (pg. 65)
“I am as much the enemy of the Lord as you,
and he hates me, he would kill me! He
knows I stole the horn and that I’m a danger to him. His eyes rove the four levels of the world
and fly up and down the mountains to find me.
And . . .”
“Where is this horn you said you stole from
the Lord? Why don’t you have it
now? I think you are lying to save your
worthless carcass!”
“I told you that I opened a gate to the
next world and that I threw it to a man who appeared at the gate. He stands before you now.”
Podarge turned her head as an eagle swivels
hers, and she glared at Wolff. “I see no
horn. I see only some tough stringy meat
behind a black beard!” (pg.
81)
“You Lords are a
mean, crafty, sneaky bunch.” (. .
.) “But I like your style, anyway.” (pg. 239)
The cussing is sparse in The Maker of Universes, just 16 instances in the
entire book, and limited to damns and
hells. A possible rape is mentioned, and one of the
females suffers a miscarriage. Those
sorts of things are atypical in old-time science fiction.
There were a few typos, such
as: decible/decibel; slivery/silvery;
muscial/musical; carnivous/carnivorous; tired/tried; and wll/will.
I’d make a bigger fuss about this, except the paperback version I read was published
in 1965, long before spellchecker existed.
My biggest issue was with the
storytelling itself. Even for the
1950s-60s timeframe, it was terrible.
The plotline teemed with dei ex machina. Wolff and his companions repeatedly travel
hundreds of miles through perilous lands within a single sentence. A bunch of the humans in the alternate
dimension speak Mycenaean, an ancient Greek dialect, and wouldn’t you know it,
so does Wolff! And somehow, his
newly-acquired muscle tone is bigger and better than anybody else’s.
Then there are the ethical
slurs. The “negroid” fighters
encountered are portrayed as stereotypical savages. At one point, Wolff is encouraged to make
some passes at the ladies at a social gathering, because if he doesn’t, “they’ll think you’re queer.” And last but not least, Wolff—our
hero!—cavorts with several beautiful well-endowed damsels in the new world, since he’s
lost interest in his 60-ish wife because she’s fat and wrinkly. No matter that he was fat and wrinkly too,
before his coming to this dimension magically rejuvenated him.
All these issues will make for
a terrible read for any adult. But I
have a funny feeling I would’ve loved this book when I was 12 years old.
4 Stars. One last thing. At one point (page 147), a chemical reference is made about water, calling it “hydrogen oxide.” Folks, you can call it “dihydrogen oxide’, or “hydrogen hydroxide”, but not “hydrogen oxide”. Trust me. I’m a chemist.
