Night Of Light

by Philip José Farmer

John Carmody visits the planet Dante's Joy on the special night when each person's inmost longings become real

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Religion, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Novels, Science Fiction Fantasy

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, but spent much of his life in Peoria, Illinois.

Farmer is best known for his Riverworld series and the earlier World of Tiers series. He is noted for his use of sexual and religious themes in his work, his fascination for and reworking of the lore of legendary pulp heroes, and occasional tongue-in-cheek pseudonymous works written as if by fictional characters.

Reviews

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Music trivia made me read this book.

Okay, it influenced my decision, and I had a nice stack of random Philip Jose Farmer books that I knew nothing about. This one definitely caught my attention when I saw it mentioned as an influence on the song Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix. That boosted my interest to read it and my expectations a fair bit.

I can’t say it totally lived up to the hype I created for myself, but it’s not a terrible read either, even if most of what Jimi probably got for the song from this is the name itself (used in the book to describe the sky during “The Night” a few times) and a few lines that sound like they’re describing the mental state of someone experiencing “The Night” that happens in the book. There’s a whole other plot after the initial experience with “The Night” dealing with the state of religion in the world, and of one man’s choices and how they are affected by “The Night.” Possibly a bit about the nature of man in the universe as well, though I may be reading too much into that side of things.

I won’t go into too many details beyond that. If you’re curious, read the book. I’ll say that I found “The Night” intriguing as an idea. The trivia was more interesting than that. Once the book gets into the religious side of things and turns it into a different sort of story, I admit I lost some interest. The writing style is quite superb though, and I will definitely check out more of Farmer’s books in the future. He seems to have some truly unique ideas, especially for the time he was writing.

[rndgmoat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Damn. I had high hopes for this paperback. Like a junkie chasing my Image of the Beast/Blown high, I had this pegged for another gonzo read. At least, that's how the paperback blurb sells it. As a reading experience, however, it's inexplicably dry and way too tame for the story it wants to tell.

Starting with the positives, this book has a GREAT hook. It centers on a planet called Dante's Joy, where every seven years (I think that timeline is right, I have to admit I glossed over a lot of the fictional theology), the citizens must make a choice: to take "the chance" and go through the Night of Light or to anesthetize themselves within their fortified homes and wait it out. Those who take the chance find themselves wandering a surreal hell scape, where vaguely described sci-fi influences cause the person's unconscious thoughts and desires to take physical form. People are transmogrified into beasts and all manner of Purge-like conduct ensues. At the conclusion, there's a complicated religious battle between the forces of good and evil to determine whether the god of Light (Yess) or the god of dark (Algul) reigns during the next cycle.

Our story begins when Carmody, a notorious criminal, has been recruited by the Catholic church to infiltrate the ritual and put a stop to the growing influence of this "heretic" religion currently spreading throughout the galaxy and undermining the church's power and influence. Instead, Carmody goes through a wholly religious awakening culminating in some very 60s-esque bizarro goings on. 30 years later, he then must return to face the Night once more...

Anyway, I really wanted to love this book. It starts out as a strong mix of new-wave sci-fi and horror. Carmody brutally murdered and then dismembered his wife; as he prepares to face the Night, horrific events begin to take place which involve a good deal of gore and body horror. However, the book eventually collapses under the weight of its mystical mumbo-jumbo. There's entirely too much fictional religion in it and I just stopped keeping track of it all after a while. Meanwhile, the book never really fulfills its gonzo premise. Farmer alludes to some fairly insane goings-on, however, the book doesn't do much more than that. It's all very tame, possibly reflective of the time period, and somewhat quaint considering the subject matter.

Not for me, but if you like a healthy heaping of invented religion with your new wave sci-fi and can handle some gruesome early scenes of violence against women, this might be a good read for you.

[Bre LoPresti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book rocked !! So intense and dark - looking forever to a re-read !!

[Nick Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

{1966} Night of Light by Phillip Jose Farmer. Holy trippin' balls, PJF! Apparently, and I didn't know this until after reading it and seeing the reviews on Goodreads but this book was the inspiration for Hendrix's purple Haze. I picked it because the blurb seemed to be a nightmare version of that movie the Purge. It was and wasn't. Main character Carmody is a horrible murdering psychopath who is on the run from the Earth pigs. He goes to an outlying planet wherein he works with two priests studying the local religion. My guess is PJF hates religion cause these were not flattering characters. They are there to experience the Night which is a two week long acid trip nightmare during which the god Yess comes to hangout. People mutate into monsters of their subconscious. Reality is created with minds. Worst fears and guilts come to life and kill you. Also mad introspection. I'd be really surprised to hear that PJF never tripped cause this is on the money. Anyway. Carmody kills Yess but then is chosen to be one of the seven fathers of Yess reborn and likewise to be one of the dad's of the evil god Asul. He chooses good. 27 years later he is now a Catholic priest on earth. He is assigned to go back to the other planet to talk Yess out of making everyone stay awake for the Night. Previously it was a choice. Fundamentalist christians from earth are also on their way to kill Yess. And someone is after Carmody also. Lots of philosophy and religion Some noir moments. Some mystery. Some science jargon. It was really great even though I wished for more nightmare Night happenings.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe my lackluster response to this book is just because I've not read much 'old' science-fiction and perhaps I'm missing something but this book to me was just a thinly veiled book about Christianity. Don't get me wrong: the pacing was good, the characters were interesting, and the whole world of Dante's Joy and it's bizarre Night of Light was fascinating. But the story itself just seemed to be the author's venue to preach. Maybe I'm missing some kind of philosophical lesson here but it was just kinda meh at the end. Regardless, I'll probably read more PJF, but I wasn't that impressed with this one.

[Paul Westwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange novel which I felt never quite delivered on the promise of the opening section. While always holding onto its Science Fiction grounding it traverses a number of sub-genres from horror, to thriller, to action to spiritual. The opening scene was definitely unique with the main protagonist, Carmody, chasing the skin of a human face down a windswept street. This was a pre-cursor to the events of the titular 'Night of Light' where people's darkest secrets and desires manifest themselves in the corporeal realm.
When Carmody goes through the Night of Light both his and other people's 'demons', for want of a better word, appear. For some people it kills them, for others it breaks them. Those that come through the Night are changed in a spiritual way which is never fully explained.
The novel is split in two to cover Carmody's two forays through the Night of Light. I really liked the first because it was extremely creative and there was the feeling that man's manifest desires could create anything, good or evil.
The second time Carmody goes through the Night there is much less focus on these materialisations. I found this disappointing because this was where Farmer could really let his imagination roam free. And especially considering the circumstances (I won't reveal too much!) and all the extra people out on the Night I think it would have been interesting to see what might have coalesced. Instead, the novel descended into a sci-fi shoot-em-up.
On characterisation, my issue with Carmody was that there was very little to distinguish between his character in the first half and his character in the second. Even though his motives have changed and the story explained why I didn't feel like the narrative portrayed this profound change adequately.
Essentially, this novel is about God, religion and belief and it uses a religion on a far flung planet to present this message. The novel ends with Carmody having had a new revelation but it also leaves some questions unanswered, the biggest of which is ‘what happened during his convalescence that changed him so dramatically from the first part to the second?’
I would recommend this to someone who loves reading Science Fiction but it’s probably not a good stairway to SF for someone who’s never read it before.

[Phil Giunta · Rating 3 out of 5]

After fleeing Earth to the planet Kareen, thief and murderer John Carmody is taken in by two Catholic missionaries who order him on a covert fact-finding mission to the Temple of Boonta on the eve of an annual ritual known as the Night of Light.

Most Kareenans take sedatives to ensure that they sleep during the chaotic and savage Night. To remain awake is to be subjected to torturous hallucinations, to lose one’s sanity, and potentially, to be murdered or commit suicide.

Fearless and irreverent, Carmody mocks all religions, until he defies regulations and remains awake during the Night in an attempt to assassinate a god incarnate named Yess. According to Kareenan beliefs, the goddess Boonta has two sons, the benevolent Yess and the evil Algul, each of whom are reborn through the ages and take turns ruling Kareen.

As me makes his way through the streets to the temple where Yess has concealed himself for the Night, Carmody is confronted by bizarre, disturbing visions that eventually compel him to renounce his old life and convert to Catholicism.

Years later, after returning to Earth and undergoing rehabilitation, Carmody enters the priesthood and is ordered by the Church to return to Kareen and dissuade the latest incarnation of Yess from sending missionaries to spread Boontism to other worlds. However, vestiges of Carmody’s old life reemerge as the Night of Light is once again nearly upon Kareen…

Strong in both plot and character arc, Night of Light was yet another captivating, original, and wildly imaginative example of Philip Jose Farmer’s propensity for using science fiction as a milieu to explore and question long-established religious beliefs. This is also evidenced by some of his other works, such as Inside Outside and the Riverworld series.

[Philip Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

After one of the greatest, weirdest opening lines of any novel I've ever read:

On earth it would be a fearful thing to see a man chasing down the street after the skin from a human face, a thin layer of tissue blown about like a piece of paper by the wind.

…Philip Jose Farmer's Night of Night gets only weirder, then all of a sudden is much less weird, then gets extremely weird--and I mean "weird" in the best sense. This is a science fiction novel written and published at the tail end of the pulp-inspired Cold War SF era, and still exhibits some of that time's propensity for action and service to authority, but goes off into entirely new and fascinating territory. This is not a comment on the politics of the day but the religion of the day, a time when the Catholic Church was facing further diminishment around the world and New Age spirituality was only barely begun.

What would become of the Church, if, in a future where interstellar travel and colonization is commonplace, a world is discovered upon which all the miracles earthly religions only tell tale of actually happen--and happen on a predictable schedule, resulting in a living god that moves among his mortal worshippers?

This was, I'm sure "next level stuff" for 1966--and it may be even more controversial today.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say that I didn't think this was one of Farmer's best, but it was interesting. The boundaries of philosophy, psychology and religion are very much blurred in this story. The reason I couldn't give it a fourth star was the major plot point of the despicable main character who has no problem becoming a church official, which bothered me in these times of "let's promote the bad priests."
The "native religion" on the alien planet is fascinating to think about, especially if the changes caused by human interference really changed the way the religion functioned. The implications of THAT were fascinating. The story itself, though, and the characters were only okay.

[Chris Corpora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a light read, but a definite thinker. The story allows Framer to layout an ecumenical framework for considering institutional religions and mysticism. Like so much of the "pulp" SF from this era, Farmer challenges the norms and values of current society by constructing a future canvas to address very real and contemporary issues. Farmer's work is often socio-cultural in approach and this is very much in that lane. This is a short book, but well worth reading if you liked Riverworld or other writers who use SF to dive into similar aspects of society.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half is surprisingly strong – Farmer writes in clear, precise language, and builds a world worth exploring. Unfortunately, the second half is a complete disaster, with multiple plot twists occurring on page after page, leaving no time for character development or exposition. It's as if Farmer was writing the Cliff's Notes for his own novel. Paradoxically, the fast pace makes for a drowsy read.

[Janne H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kummallinen tarina sarjamurhaaja psykopaatista (jonka näkökulmasta kirja on kirjoitettu), joka kokee katarsiksen painajaismaisella planeetalla.

Sisältää runsaasti uskonnollista pohdiskelua. Klassiset scifi-elementit ovat hyvin vähäisiä, mutta toki tässä liikutaan eri planeetoilla ympäri galaksia jne.

Ristiriitaiset fiilikset. Toisaalta hyvä ja mielenkiintoinen, mutta hieman jäi piippuun. Tämä on kirjoitettu jo 50-60-luvuilla.

[Kelly Charmaine Marie Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not 100%if it's 4.5, or 5. All I can think is the most blaitant cliffhanger EVEH!
And Wow Someone woke up on deadline day a chapter short. Yup. Stupid ending.
Right now I'm miffed.
Totally spend 3 sentences to make up for at least a chapter Worth of closing up threads. Sorry about my metaphores, they got jumbled in my purse when it rolled off divan in a waiting room.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part one was four-star but part two was vanilla and three stars for the whole book is generous. If you’re a fan of the Jimi Hendrix song, I’d say it’s possible that this book had something to do with it but only if we know Jimi really read it.

[Doron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half is great and gives depth to Purple Haze of Jimi Hendrix. The second is less interesting.

[Tineke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this a really funny book, making fun of religious views. Not a Christian myself, I enjoyed reading this.

[Ray Savarda · Rating 3 out of 5]

1966; Rather religious underpinnings; about a "god" made flesh on a planet, and questions about one god vs many gods, Catholicism vs extraterrestrial "new" religion; redemption.

[joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of strange... kind of loved it

[kitscheroo bitscheroo]

read this book in one sitting just to write 50 words on it in my essay about American counterculture in the 1960s

[Jaimey]

Ah, another Phillip Jose Farmer short story. Ever since I read his Dungeon series as a teenager, I was attracted to some of Farmer's ideas. For example, using famous or historic heroes/heroines, which Farmer would seemingly rip straight from a history book or from classic literature, often from a character that you would never have found interesting. Famous commanders, warriors, musicians and also childrens fictional characters were thrust into a situation, usually a bizarre sci fi world where they would struggle to survive.

Night of Light is one of Farmer's old short stories - those thin musty books you can read and finish in under four hours, giving you a quick introduction of characters, a hero, a sex scene with the enemy or an alien (or atleast a reference to one) and an epic almost wild west gunslinging show down, followed by the hero licking his wounds and summing up with rhetorical thoughts on a few untied endings. These short stories are good - in today's age, where things are moving so quickly, its good to be able to sit down and read a book like you would watch a good movie: absorb it all in one sitting and think about it later - but still use your own imagination.

*Spoilers below*

Night of Light is a unique story of a phenomenon called Night of Light on an alien planet that occurs every seven years, where a person's thoughts can manifest and come real. Those of an evil nature are often destroyed by their own thoughts, or are transformed into something even worse, while those of a good nature (if they survive) will emerge purified after facing their own manifested fears and doubts.

One of the things I find most interesting about this book, is that halfway through the book, the reader is suddenly kicked 27 years into the future. I mean, you have just gotten to know the main character: its John Carmody - the perfect anti-hero reckless, chaotic assassin type, experiencing this phenomenon and WHAM; he's suddenly an old catholic priest (a catholic priest!?) with alot of friends, a son, an arch enemy and a whole new look on life.

While there is a brief explanation for the change, as a reader you find there is a part of you trying to work it all out, but these thoughts are quickly stamped out by political intrigue and a mysterious enemy with a personal grudge known only as 'Fratt'. All in all, the change is clever and quite smooth with the constant re-introduction of past characters from the beginning of the book, some friendly and some not so, making you feel as if you really have known the character for a long time.

Like many writers, Farmer uses the names of certain places and landmarks as a blunt indication of the story, allowing you to understand certain themes on another level and encouraging you to predict and hypothesize as you are directed through the story's events. For example, the storyline is that Carmody is a convicted psychopath on the run from earth, and has landed on this planet called 'Dante's Joy', where conscience and thoughts come alive and turn on you. If anyone has read Dante's works, I would say you would get the picture pretty quickly. Carmody is visiting Dante's hell; the scenes have a ghostly and hellish quality with Carmody's past victims coming to life, and various fauns, vipers and other monsters making an appearance. The ending of this escapade is entering the God's temple and meeting Him. There are also various other references to Dante's works; such as a description of the levels of hell and heaven being described as part of the religion on Dante's Joy. Carmody's friends, when mentioning the survivial of the phenomenon, says "Yes, we both came through the fire". Using Dante's book as a reference, Farmer is able to explore many facets of hell, heaven, good vs evil and self exploration.

The theme of facing your own evil is an obvious part of the book. Through Carmody's experience, he becomes a devout priest, but of the catholic earth religion, rather than the bacchic-like religion of Dante's Joy. In this way, the writer has created Carmody as a stereotypical character that has become a servant of God through defeating his previous transgressions. However, John Carmody's life is a constant struggle against his previous life. His wife is murdered by Fratt, a mystery-man from his past with a personal grudge against Carmody, and he constantly encounters mercenaries and shady characters he used to work with. His reflexes still get him into trouble, and when he sees conflict, his actions are of an active fighter rather than a passive civilian and this often causes trouble, but also saves his life numerous times.

All in all a good read if your a fan of sci fi, like finding old books and enjoy books that reference and expand or consider other stories, themes and concepts that have gone before.

[Robert Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book that helped to inspire Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix was okay. I liked it, it was an interesting read. It did hook me with that opening of the main character pursuing a human face being blown by the wind down a street on an alien world. However, some of the first third of Night of Light seemed very much like the dreamscape psychodrama nonsense that pretty much only fills time in a lousy movie (also in some good movies but it does get tiring).

The story revolves around a living god and a special once-every-seven-years solar phenomenon that allows dreams, thoughts, and nightmares (especially those bubbling up from the subconscious) to become reality. During this night the "good" living god Yess and his "evil" twin Algul can be born when the former living god ages out or is killed. Tradition has it that only one or the other is ever alive at any one time in history but in the second part of the book, this does change. This book has no chapters but is told in two parts. The first concerns the first Night of Light that the main character, a criminal and murderer, experiences. The second part concerning the second night the protagonist goes through after being changed by the first.

The main drive of the story is the main character's subconscious desire for redemption and plots against the religion of Yess by the Christian faith of Earth. There is a lot of exposition concerning the nature of the living God and the comparisons between the tenants of both faiths. The ending falls more on the philosophical side and a crisis of faith.

Overall, I guess I would recommend it as there is quite a bit in this book to talk about. I enjoyed the near Weird Tales type of atmosphere conjured by the alien temple and the description of an alien religion. There is more going on here than just a purple haze on the horizon that may cause mutations.

[Dudley Starks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sono sei i racconti che compongono l’intero ciclo delle avventure di John Carmody, racconti scritti da Farmer in un arco di tempo variabile (tra il ‘55 e il ‘66) e riuniti in questa edizione pubblicata dalla Editrice Nord per la collana Cosmo Oro.
Notte di luce ci presenta il personaggio di Carmody, un fuorilegge psicopatico e assassino in fuga dalle autorità e in combutta con due membri della Chiesa Cattolica, lo scopo della loro missione è quello di screditare la divinità del pianeta Kareen ma gli eventi misteriosi di una notte di follia (la notte di luce appunto) stravolgono i piani dei tre e in particolare la vita di Carmody.
Tutti i racconti sono legati dalla tematica religiosa e dai misteri insondabili della fede, Farmer appassiona quando riesce a creare solidi contesti dove la morale del protagonista si specchia nei dilemmi insondabili di entità divine aliene, non a caso i risultati migliori li ottiene con Notte di luce (prima parte), Prometeo e Il padre del pianeta, che pur non privi di difetti mantengono un certo equilibrio.
La stessa cosa non si può dire per gli altri racconti dove lo scrittore più di una volta sembra partire per la tangente rendendo le vicende molto confuse e inutilmente complesse, Farmer sembra perdersi in divagazioni e lungaggini appesantendo le storie e alimentando infine un pizzico di noia, la mancanza di uniformità dovuta al fatto che le storie sono state scritte in diversi anni non aiuta e il risultato finale è discontinuo.
2*

[Phyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night of Light was what I would call a "detailed outline" for a story. I find that's typical of a lot of the earlier science fiction novels, though since this one was published in 1972, it probably shouldn't fall into that category.

But it did feel, all the way through, that we were really being told the main character's story more as observers, than really getting into his mind and emotions. When his thoughts and emotions were touched on, they were described rather than demonstrated. So it kept feeling, to me, like the description of the plot of a story, rather than the living unfolding of the story.

With all that said, it was still a very good plot outline. The world and the religion Farmer created were fascinating. (That was one reason I was disappointed that we didn't really get deeply into it, but were kept at arms' length.) I was rather disconcerted by the abrupt ending, but after a while I thought, "Oh, I get it." It leaves a very important question wide open, and that's thoroughly appropriate, since it's not a question that can really be answered.

So it's an okay book. I just feel like it could have been better written. Which of course will be blasphemy to Farmer fans! But this book definitely felt typical of a fault I sometimes find in "earlier SF:" that the ideas are so interesting that the actual writing gets a pass, and doesn't have to be that good.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pour dire vite, on suit dans ces nouvelles les pas de John Carmody, ancien psychopathe et prêtre de choc, face à des manifestations mystiques parfois déroutantes, parfois effrayantes, mais toujours surprenantes.
Les romans de Farmer m'ont toujours fait une impression bizarre.
Mais ce roman ajoute une sensation étrange.
La première raison, c'est que l'anthologiste qui a rassemblé ces nouvelles n'a pas respecté la chronologie interne du récit. Ce qui fait que les dernières aventures du curé psychopathe sont racontées avant certaines de ces aventures initiales. Et ça, c'est étrange.
La deuxième raison, c'est que les questionnements métaphysiques sont très intéressants, et mériteraient d'être largement mieux abordés, mais ne semblent être là que pour le décorum, ce qui est vraiment dommage.
Et la dernière raison, c'est que Carmody est un non-personnage. Pourtant, il a l'air plutôt charismatique, avec son gros bide, sa sale tête, et son style de malfrat mal dégrossi.
Du coup, les nouvelles perdent beaucoup de leur intérêt.
Et c'est bien dommage, parce que par exemple, "Prométhée", qui raconte la rencontre avec des quasi-oiseaux quasi-conscients, avait un très gros potentiel. De la même manière, "Père" est très intéressante, mais aurait hélas pu être absolkument géniale.
C'est donc un peu décevant, malgré certains très bons aspects.

[Ben Loory · Rating 2 out of 5]

i really love Philip José Farmer, i just never really like any of his books. he has this tremendous, completely unbound imagination-- second only, i think, to philip k. dick-- but he just can never seem to nail it down to reality or make it all feel like anything. his books lead from great ideas to allegory to madness to nonsense and then eventually tend to end up with a bunch of adventure-style runnin'-around-and-shootin' stuff... not that i'm against shootin' stuff... i'd just like to understand or (at least care about) who's being shot at, or why...

still, a pretty cool opening:

On earth it would be a fearful thing to see a man chasing down the street after the skin from a human face, a thin layer of tissue blown about like a piece of paper by the wind.

On the planet of Dante's Joy the sight aroused only a mild wonder in the few passersby. And they were interested because the chaser was an Earthman and, therefore, a curiosity in himself.

[Andrea Sacchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mirabolante viaggio di Farmer nella concezione di Dio.
Per quanto la rappresentazione della Chiesa non sia particolarmente originale: come ben evidenziato nella nota iniziale di Riccardo Valla, non è altro che la stesa Chiesa degli anni '50 del secolo scorso traslata rigidamente 200 anni nel futuro; le varie concezioni del divino sono invece interessanti e ben sviluppate, dalla versione manicheista degli dei di Dante's Joy alla religione/morale primeva del pianeta Feral, all'onnipotente e satanico Padre di Abatos.
Il personaggio principale poi è, come nella miglior tradizione Farmeriana, molto ben riuscito, anche se i rovelli morali che lo affliggono paiono un po' artificiosi nel venire accantonati velocemente quando l'azione lo richiede.
Tutto sommato un ciclo di racconti/romanzi molto godibile ed efficacie nell'intrattenere senza risultare troppo moralistico pur discorrendo di divinità.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night Of Light is about religious fanaticism in a strange world called Dante's Joy whose inhabitants go through a hellish transformation every seven years. In this period thousands are mutilated, killed, transformed. The citizens are separated by their innermost desires, either aligning withe the good god Yess or the evil god Algul. The main character, John Carmody, is an egotistical sociopath who has to face the crimes of his past in the week long period of change. This book seems to be about the proselytizing nature of organized religions with allusions to Christian religions invading and inevitably being overwhelmed by more "primitive" cultures. This book has elements of horror, sci fi, and speculation. It is a short read and I highly recommend it.

[Math le maudit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recueil de cinq récits ayant pour héros John Carmody. Tous sont superbement écrits et se dévorent avec une facilité déconcertante.

Cette facilité de lecture s'accompagne de thèmes peu évidents, mais traités avec talent (sentiment religieux, bien/mal, divinisation de ce qu'on ne comprend pas...)

La nouvelle "Prométhée" est celle qui m'a le plus plu entre toutes. Un récit tellement bien écrit qu'il fait plus penser à un récit ethnologique véridique qu'à un ouvrage de science-fiction. Très bon livre.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started off not liking this book and thought I would end up rating it a 2 and not recommended. It would be the first Farmer book I had not liked and I was kinda disturbed since he is one of my favorite writers. It did pick up about 1/3 of the way through and ended up OK, barely getting a 3 and a recommended out of me. If you are a die hard Farmer fan then read it otherwise skip this one.

[SciFiOne · Rating 2 out of 5]

1977 grade D-