What do you think?
Rate this book
World of Tiers #1-3
The World of Tiers Volume One: The Maker of Universes, The Gates of Creation, and A Private Cosmos
The first three adventures set in the amazing realm created by the Hugo Award–winning author of Riverworld and “an excellent science fiction writer” (Isaac Asimov). His past a mystery and his present unbearably mundane, Robert Wolff is simply trying to buy a new house in Arizona when he stumbles upon a secret doorway through space and time and enters the World of Tiers. Made up of ascending levels of jungles, plains, medieval cities, and, at the top, a Garden of Eden, and populated by fantastical creatures, from nymphs and centaurs to merpeople and strange amalgams nonexistent on Earth, it’s beyond anything Wolff could have imagined in his previous humdrum existence. And when his youth is restored in the bargain, it seems he’s truly found paradise. But there are dark forces in this new world, and Wolff is plunged into an epic quest up through the tiers, accompanied by Paul Janus Finnegan, another earthling, now known as Kickaha. Wolff’s journey to find Jadawin, the Lord of this world, will lead to answers about his own identity—and determine his fate. Wolff and Kickaha will face off against feuding Lords—who hold the power to control private worlds of their own design—and the depraved Bellers. Devices originally created in the biolabs of the Lords, the Bellers are now conscious entities waging war on the Lords and their “pocket universes.” As they infiltrate the bodies of creatures throughout the World of Tiers and hunt down the Earth-born, the survival of all the worlds hinges upon the battle between the strangers from Earth and enemies disguised as their allies. This omnibus contains the author’s preferred text, reprinted from the limited edition volumes published by Phantasia Press.
726 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1965
319 people are currently reading
600 people want to read
About the author
Philip José Farmer
620 books882 followersPhilip 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
December 2, 2015
The World of Tiers is a step-pyramid of mind-boggling size, each tier populated with people plucked from various points in the earth's history as well as monsters created by the super science of the Lord, Jadawin. On with the show.
The Maker of Universes: The Maker of Universes starts out with Robert Wolff, a hen-pecked retiree, hearing the sounds of a horn being blown inside the basement closet of a house he and his wife are thinking of buying. Wolff opens the door and discovers a gateway to another world. Upon entering the gateway, Wolff finds himself on a paradysical beach, the lowest tier. Without giving too much of the plot away, Wolff ends up on a journey to the Lord's house on the highest level, along with the trickster Kickaha and Chryseis, a gorgeous woman from ancient Greece.
Farmer's writing reminds me a lot of Roger Zelazny's. His books are full of ideas but short and to the point. Why take a thousand pages to say something that can be said in one-hundred and fifty? The story is gripping. It doesn't fall into the trap most quest stories fall into, aka the boring middle of the journey syndrome. It's essentially a planetary romance. On a side note, The Maker of the Universe is one of the books that inspired Roger Zelazny to write the Amber series.
The Gates of Creation: Wolff is awakened in the middle of the night by a flying hexaclum sent by his father, Urizen, telling him he's kidnapped Chryseis and wants Wolff to try to get her back. He touches the hexaclum and is transported to a water world where his siblings have likewise been trapped. The siblings travel across multiple pocket dimensions, some dying along the way, until arriving at Urizen's citadel. Unfortunately, things aren't completely as they seem...
I thought the writing was better in Gates of Creation than in The Maker of Universes. The story was good and although I half-suspected one of the twists, it was still surprising. On the other hand, it suffered from a lack of Kickaha. I'm looking forward to the third story.
A Private Cosmos: Kickaha leaves the Bear People and heads for Talanac and stumbles upon an otherworldly invasion by the body-stealing Black Bellers in the process. In the process of combatting the invasion, he jumps to all leveles of the Tiers and even to the moon, developing a relationship with a Lord, Anana, Wolff's sister.
A Private Cosmos was probably the fastest-paced book in this volume. Kickaha goes from the frying pan into the fire many times but his escapes are fairly believable. The relationship between Kickaha and Anana didn't seem forced. I loved that Wolff turned the moon into a copy of Barsoom for Kickaha's amusement.
The first World of Tiers is a great addition to the collection of any reader of science fantasy. It's like Edgar Rice Burroughs but with better science and better writing. It should also appeal to fans of Roger Zelazny's Amber series, of which it is an ancestor of sorts.
The Maker of Universes: The Maker of Universes starts out with Robert Wolff, a hen-pecked retiree, hearing the sounds of a horn being blown inside the basement closet of a house he and his wife are thinking of buying. Wolff opens the door and discovers a gateway to another world. Upon entering the gateway, Wolff finds himself on a paradysical beach, the lowest tier. Without giving too much of the plot away, Wolff ends up on a journey to the Lord's house on the highest level, along with the trickster Kickaha and Chryseis, a gorgeous woman from ancient Greece.
Farmer's writing reminds me a lot of Roger Zelazny's. His books are full of ideas but short and to the point. Why take a thousand pages to say something that can be said in one-hundred and fifty? The story is gripping. It doesn't fall into the trap most quest stories fall into, aka the boring middle of the journey syndrome. It's essentially a planetary romance. On a side note, The Maker of the Universe is one of the books that inspired Roger Zelazny to write the Amber series.
The Gates of Creation: Wolff is awakened in the middle of the night by a flying hexaclum sent by his father, Urizen, telling him he's kidnapped Chryseis and wants Wolff to try to get her back. He touches the hexaclum and is transported to a water world where his siblings have likewise been trapped. The siblings travel across multiple pocket dimensions, some dying along the way, until arriving at Urizen's citadel. Unfortunately, things aren't completely as they seem...
I thought the writing was better in Gates of Creation than in The Maker of Universes. The story was good and although I half-suspected one of the twists, it was still surprising. On the other hand, it suffered from a lack of Kickaha. I'm looking forward to the third story.
A Private Cosmos: Kickaha leaves the Bear People and heads for Talanac and stumbles upon an otherworldly invasion by the body-stealing Black Bellers in the process. In the process of combatting the invasion, he jumps to all leveles of the Tiers and even to the moon, developing a relationship with a Lord, Anana, Wolff's sister.
A Private Cosmos was probably the fastest-paced book in this volume. Kickaha goes from the frying pan into the fire many times but his escapes are fairly believable. The relationship between Kickaha and Anana didn't seem forced. I loved that Wolff turned the moon into a copy of Barsoom for Kickaha's amusement.
The first World of Tiers is a great addition to the collection of any reader of science fantasy. It's like Edgar Rice Burroughs but with better science and better writing. It should also appeal to fans of Roger Zelazny's Amber series, of which it is an ancestor of sorts.
September 8, 2012
Lightweight, episodic fantasy adventure inclusive of everything but the kitchen sink; boasting gobs of violence, the obligatory objectification of the female form as well as the prototypical prepubescent obsession with "manly manliness".
July 14, 2014
This is an Omnibus volume of the first 3 books. I read these long ago and really had almost forgotten them. When Robert Wolff finds a horn that opens a gate into what is apparently another universe (and steps through, don't they always? But then if he hadn't we wouldn't have a book to read would we?). He finds himself on a world made up of ascending "Tiers", much like one disc atop another (No, Terry Pratchett had nothing to do with it).
We get a "revelation about Wolff as the first volume ends (though I'd be surprised if the revelation surprises you) and then we move on. The first book bases a lot of the creatures and so on on varied religious traditions and the second volume (Volume 1 The Maker of Universes, Volume 2 The Gates of Creation, volume 3 A Private Cosmos) seems to lean heavily on the poetry of William Blake (religious poetry). Without spoilers I'll just say there is action and constructed worlds to adventure in here also.
The third volume is okay but not as good as the others in some ways. lots of action, but, well there is a point when you almost need a program to know who is who...no more or it'll again be a spoiler.
As I said I read these a long time ago (this is not the edition I read and I no longer own them) and was tempted to go the three star route, but decided that the enjoyment factor outweighed any slight... predictability etc.
We get a "revelation about Wolff as the first volume ends (though I'd be surprised if the revelation surprises you) and then we move on. The first book bases a lot of the creatures and so on on varied religious traditions and the second volume (Volume 1 The Maker of Universes, Volume 2 The Gates of Creation, volume 3 A Private Cosmos) seems to lean heavily on the poetry of William Blake (religious poetry). Without spoilers I'll just say there is action and constructed worlds to adventure in here also.
The third volume is okay but not as good as the others in some ways. lots of action, but, well there is a point when you almost need a program to know who is who...no more or it'll again be a spoiler.
As I said I read these a long time ago (this is not the edition I read and I no longer own them) and was tempted to go the three star route, but decided that the enjoyment factor outweighed any slight... predictability etc.
September 27, 2019
Great fun. A ride for a life. A fantastic homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs and also Farmer at his best. Science Fiction and pulp adventure tied up with good doses of humor and sense of wonder. I really don't understand why The World of Tiers' series is not put side by side to the stories of Robert E. Howard or Michael Moorcock. A very good reading. Jump on it now.
January 24, 2018
A collection of the first three "World of Tiers" books
I read this in equal parts because it is specifically mentioned in Gary Gygax' (in)famous Appendix N (the list of works that were fundamental to the inspiration of Dungeons & Dragons) and because I have enjoyed Farmer's work in the past (notably "Riverworld"). The conceit behind the series is a simple enough one - a character who seems to be a normal human man from our world finds a gateway into another world, the World of Tiers. It is an artificial universe constructed by an ancient an immensely powerful being known as the Lord, who we later find to be from a decadent race who call themselves Lords. They look human, but have access to technologies far beyond us (such as building private universes!). They Lords are not immortal, but live a very long time, and have made changes to the biology of their worlds to make beings who live in them long-lived as well. The series spans adventures in several worlds, with several of the Lords, and even an ancient race of artificial beings capable of challenging the Lords.
I read this in equal parts because it is specifically mentioned in Gary Gygax' (in)famous Appendix N (the list of works that were fundamental to the inspiration of Dungeons & Dragons) and because I have enjoyed Farmer's work in the past (notably "Riverworld"). The conceit behind the series is a simple enough one - a character who seems to be a normal human man from our world finds a gateway into another world, the World of Tiers. It is an artificial universe constructed by an ancient an immensely powerful being known as the Lord, who we later find to be from a decadent race who call themselves Lords. They look human, but have access to technologies far beyond us (such as building private universes!). They Lords are not immortal, but live a very long time, and have made changes to the biology of their worlds to make beings who live in them long-lived as well. The series spans adventures in several worlds, with several of the Lords, and even an ancient race of artificial beings capable of challenging the Lords.
November 10, 2008
This was a totally random find. I realized I had the series digitally and could put it on my PDA so I started reading it. It is a great story, nice twists and excellent writing. 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.
Highly recommended for Sci-Fi fans.
July 13, 2013
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.
June 9, 2015
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. I wouldn't recommend actually reading it.
August 31, 2008
I have the Science Fiction Book club Omnibus of the first two Tiers books, "The Maker of Universes" and "The Gates of Creation." Both books are excellent. Mine is a different cover from this one.
June 25, 2013
Started strong, but then it fell apart. I've been spoiled by more contemporary sci-fi/fantasy authors!
August 15, 2019
Deteto um certo padrão na obra que vou conhecendo deste escritor de FC clássica. Mistura muito claramente FC com fantasia, em histórias de aventuras que se passam em espaços exóticos e selvagens, com criaturas de fábula. No entanto, a base narrativa é sempre de FC. Ou são planetas artificiais criados por alienígenas para experiências para compreender a humanidade (estou a pensar na série Riverworld), ou são mundos criados por seres cuja tecnologia avançada os faz assemelhar a deuses, mas que se perderam em rivalidades lutas internas.
É o caso deste World of Tiers, onde o palco é um mundo artificial em camadas, cada qual habitada por mutações geneticamente induzidas de seres retirados da Terra. Cada nível tem a sua inspiração, que se traduz na geografia e nos seres que nela habitam. Há um inspirado pela Grécia antiga, com ninfas, sátiros, harpias e humanos. Outro inspira-se nas américas, com sucedâneos de índios americanos e pré-colombianos, centauros, e até um tipo de vikings. O nível seguinte mistura o feudalismo de cavaleiros teutónicos com civilizações de inspiração árabe. Antes de se chegar ao topo, no magnífico palácio do senhor do mundo, ainda há um nível inspirado na Atlântida.
São romances divertidos, mas lê-los em sequência rápida faz notar que são fundamentalmente formulaicos. O primeiro romance estabelece o mundo ficcional, e aplica a fórmula de périplo/aventura, em que os personagens superam inúmeras peripécias.
Maker of Universes
Prestes a reformar-se, um antigo professor universitário de línguas clássicas depara-se com um mistério na casa que pretende comprar com a esposa para passar a reforma. Um estranho artefacto esquecido num armário abre um portal para um misterioso mundo selvagem. O homem, farto da esposa e da vida morna que leva, não hesita em atravessar a passagem e mergulhar num novo e estranho mundo. Um mundo que descobrirá ser artificial, composto pela sobreposição de vários níveis, cada qual correspondente a uma visão mítica da Terra. O primeiro nível é uma variante da Grécia antiga, e nele irá começar a descobrir a verdade sobre o mundo artificial .
Criado por seres de uma civilização extra-espacial como recreio pessoal, este é um de muitos mundos artificiais onde os sobreviventes desta antiga civilização se fazem de deuses. A sua ciência futurista permite geografias que violam as leis da física, e povoam os seus mundos com espécimes trazidos de outros planetas. Este mundo foi criado por um amante da Terra, e divide-se em quatro zonas que replicam zonas míticas terrestres. Ao chegar, apaixona-se por uma dríade, que acabará raptada por estranhos seres selvagens que querem capturar os artefactos que permitem a passagem entre mundos. Seres ao serviço do senhor destes mundos em terraço, que o homem terá de atravessar para recuperar a mulher e o artefacto. Com isso, viverá grandes aventuras na companhia de outro exilado da Terra, e irá descobrir a verdade sobre si próprio. Irá recuperar a memória, apercebendo-se que é o senhor original destes mundos em terraço.
The Gates of Creation
Na segunda aventura de Wolff, o senhor de mundos transformado pelo seu lado humano, este ver-se-á envolvido em mais uma perigosa aventura. Começa com o rapto da sua companheira humana, aparentemente às mãos do seu próprio pai, que o desafia a dar-lhe caça. A sociedade destes poderosos senhores não se caracteriza pela bonomia nas relações. Estão constantemente a tentar aniquilar-se uns aos outros, e as relações filiais não são empecilho a violências ou facas espetadas à traição. Para recuperar a sua amada (ser raptada parece ser um tema recorrente nestas histórias), terá de dar caça ao próprio pai, talvez o mais poderoso dos senhores de mundos. Terá de superar os puzzles complexos dos diversos mundos que atravessará para chegar ao assento de poder familiar. E terá a companhia dos irmãos e irmã nesta luta, também cooptados para uma reunião familiar de contornos com extremo prejuízo. O final da aventura trará uma revelação e uma traição. Mas a argúcia e imaginação de Wolff, arrancado pelo seu humanismo ao marasmo decadente da sua espécie, demasiado acomodada a um poder cujas bases técnicas e científicas já não é capaz de compreender.
A Private Cosmos
No primeiro livro da série World of Tiers, há um personagem secundário que praticamente rouba o protagonismo ao principal. Este, Kickaha, é um terrestre que se descobriu no mundo artificial graças a um artefacto que encontrou quando era soldado. E, nos diferentes níveis do mundo, despertou o seu sentido de aventuras, explorando tudo e tornando-se uma lenda entre as várias culturas. Adorado por uns, caçado até à morte por outros, mas sempre capaz de dar a volta por cima. Agora, com o senhor do mundo fora, a viver as aventuras do livro anterior, cabe a Kickaha a aventura principal: nada menos que defender-se de invasores que estão a tentar dominar todos os mundos dos Senhores. Mas estes são uma espécie à parte, seres artificiais criados há muito, que após milénios de hibernação foram despertos, e procuram vingar-se dos seus criadores. Kickaha irá unir forças a uma Senhora, que acabará por conquistar com o seu humanismo.
É o caso deste World of Tiers, onde o palco é um mundo artificial em camadas, cada qual habitada por mutações geneticamente induzidas de seres retirados da Terra. Cada nível tem a sua inspiração, que se traduz na geografia e nos seres que nela habitam. Há um inspirado pela Grécia antiga, com ninfas, sátiros, harpias e humanos. Outro inspira-se nas américas, com sucedâneos de índios americanos e pré-colombianos, centauros, e até um tipo de vikings. O nível seguinte mistura o feudalismo de cavaleiros teutónicos com civilizações de inspiração árabe. Antes de se chegar ao topo, no magnífico palácio do senhor do mundo, ainda há um nível inspirado na Atlântida.
São romances divertidos, mas lê-los em sequência rápida faz notar que são fundamentalmente formulaicos. O primeiro romance estabelece o mundo ficcional, e aplica a fórmula de périplo/aventura, em que os personagens superam inúmeras peripécias.
Maker of Universes
Prestes a reformar-se, um antigo professor universitário de línguas clássicas depara-se com um mistério na casa que pretende comprar com a esposa para passar a reforma. Um estranho artefacto esquecido num armário abre um portal para um misterioso mundo selvagem. O homem, farto da esposa e da vida morna que leva, não hesita em atravessar a passagem e mergulhar num novo e estranho mundo. Um mundo que descobrirá ser artificial, composto pela sobreposição de vários níveis, cada qual correspondente a uma visão mítica da Terra. O primeiro nível é uma variante da Grécia antiga, e nele irá começar a descobrir a verdade sobre o mundo artificial .
Criado por seres de uma civilização extra-espacial como recreio pessoal, este é um de muitos mundos artificiais onde os sobreviventes desta antiga civilização se fazem de deuses. A sua ciência futurista permite geografias que violam as leis da física, e povoam os seus mundos com espécimes trazidos de outros planetas. Este mundo foi criado por um amante da Terra, e divide-se em quatro zonas que replicam zonas míticas terrestres. Ao chegar, apaixona-se por uma dríade, que acabará raptada por estranhos seres selvagens que querem capturar os artefactos que permitem a passagem entre mundos. Seres ao serviço do senhor destes mundos em terraço, que o homem terá de atravessar para recuperar a mulher e o artefacto. Com isso, viverá grandes aventuras na companhia de outro exilado da Terra, e irá descobrir a verdade sobre si próprio. Irá recuperar a memória, apercebendo-se que é o senhor original destes mundos em terraço.
The Gates of Creation
Na segunda aventura de Wolff, o senhor de mundos transformado pelo seu lado humano, este ver-se-á envolvido em mais uma perigosa aventura. Começa com o rapto da sua companheira humana, aparentemente às mãos do seu próprio pai, que o desafia a dar-lhe caça. A sociedade destes poderosos senhores não se caracteriza pela bonomia nas relações. Estão constantemente a tentar aniquilar-se uns aos outros, e as relações filiais não são empecilho a violências ou facas espetadas à traição. Para recuperar a sua amada (ser raptada parece ser um tema recorrente nestas histórias), terá de dar caça ao próprio pai, talvez o mais poderoso dos senhores de mundos. Terá de superar os puzzles complexos dos diversos mundos que atravessará para chegar ao assento de poder familiar. E terá a companhia dos irmãos e irmã nesta luta, também cooptados para uma reunião familiar de contornos com extremo prejuízo. O final da aventura trará uma revelação e uma traição. Mas a argúcia e imaginação de Wolff, arrancado pelo seu humanismo ao marasmo decadente da sua espécie, demasiado acomodada a um poder cujas bases técnicas e científicas já não é capaz de compreender.
A Private Cosmos
No primeiro livro da série World of Tiers, há um personagem secundário que praticamente rouba o protagonismo ao principal. Este, Kickaha, é um terrestre que se descobriu no mundo artificial graças a um artefacto que encontrou quando era soldado. E, nos diferentes níveis do mundo, despertou o seu sentido de aventuras, explorando tudo e tornando-se uma lenda entre as várias culturas. Adorado por uns, caçado até à morte por outros, mas sempre capaz de dar a volta por cima. Agora, com o senhor do mundo fora, a viver as aventuras do livro anterior, cabe a Kickaha a aventura principal: nada menos que defender-se de invasores que estão a tentar dominar todos os mundos dos Senhores. Mas estes são uma espécie à parte, seres artificiais criados há muito, que após milénios de hibernação foram despertos, e procuram vingar-se dos seus criadores. Kickaha irá unir forças a uma Senhora, que acabará por conquistar com o seu humanismo.
June 5, 2018
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 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. 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.
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 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. 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.
January 3, 2019
"The World of Tiers Volume One: The Maker of Universes, The Gates of Creation, and A Private Cosmos" is a compilation of the first three novels (circa 1965) in Philip Jose Farmer's "World of Tiers" series. Regarding the individual novels, they're all about the same level and type of writing: pulp science fiction somewhat reminiscent of Edgar Rice Burroughs, though not as good. The "plot" is thin in all the books (though the 3rd is a bit better), the pacing is pretty poor (a lot of time covered with huge gaps in the timeline - again, the 3rd is better), and they read too much as a travelogue description of all the "cool" worlds and people the author has created. As to the compilation itself, it's fine. The Kindle version has some editing problems here and there. But, those are easily overshadowed by the level of writing. I'm rating the whole thing at a Pretty Bad 2 stars out of 5.
October 14, 2020
This is a review of the first three books in the World of Tiers stories.
Farmer has a knack for mashing together different cultures and epochs of history into one setting and making it work as a piece of fiction without it seeming forced. He paints pictures of immortals for us that have all the flaws of any character in a Shakespeare play. His plots are gonzo and superbly pieced together.
He tells very pulpy sci fi stories without falling into the old tropes of pulp fiction- racism and sexism. Each of the three stories in this first collection tell tales of people with immense power coming to realize that being human and caring for others is better than wielding their immortal abilities as lord and master over others.
The stories read fast and only occasionally suffer from Farmers attempts to describe seemingly fantastic creatures or places.
Farmer has a knack for mashing together different cultures and epochs of history into one setting and making it work as a piece of fiction without it seeming forced. He paints pictures of immortals for us that have all the flaws of any character in a Shakespeare play. His plots are gonzo and superbly pieced together.
He tells very pulpy sci fi stories without falling into the old tropes of pulp fiction- racism and sexism. Each of the three stories in this first collection tell tales of people with immense power coming to realize that being human and caring for others is better than wielding their immortal abilities as lord and master over others.
The stories read fast and only occasionally suffer from Farmers attempts to describe seemingly fantastic creatures or places.
July 22, 2021
Philip Jose Farmer was one of the most creative and brilliant minds in science fiction and fantasy during the period 1950 to his death in 2009.
The World of Tiers (seven books) is a bit uneven in places and Mr. Farmer states in the introductions, written ca. 1981, that he more or less went through Hades trying to get the editors at the original publishers to stop changing his work around and stop trying to re-punctuate it. They even re-titled many of them.
Anyway, I read the first five of these in the 1980s when I was young and stupid, and I thought the series ended there. Imagine my surprise when I learned there were two entire books that I never saw!
Mostly the stories have held up well, though some of the slang is rather dated. Read and enjoy!
The World of Tiers (seven books) is a bit uneven in places and Mr. Farmer states in the introductions, written ca. 1981, that he more or less went through Hades trying to get the editors at the original publishers to stop changing his work around and stop trying to re-punctuate it. They even re-titled many of them.
Anyway, I read the first five of these in the 1980s when I was young and stupid, and I thought the series ended there. Imagine my surprise when I learned there were two entire books that I never saw!
Mostly the stories have held up well, though some of the slang is rather dated. Read and enjoy!
August 2, 2019
DNF there's potential here, but it's a book out of time, the women characters don't have any agency, the one non-white protagonist turns out to actually be Irish. Meh. There's lots of pulp to read out there so I don't need to waste my time on a book that keeps pulling me out of its story with its dated viewpoints
November 8, 2019
As good as I remember
I first read these novels in paperback format about forty years ago. I enjoyed them so much that repeated readings by myself and my brothers caused the to eventually lose their covers from repeated flexing. Now I am enjoying them again in handy kindle format! Highly recommended!
I first read these novels in paperback format about forty years ago. I enjoyed them so much that repeated readings by myself and my brothers caused the to eventually lose their covers from repeated flexing. Now I am enjoying them again in handy kindle format! Highly recommended!
October 15, 2023
Exceptionally creative and //big//, it holds its place in literary history for a reason, but man did it age poorly. It suffers from the obsession with "females" and their mating habits that you would expect.
From a modern perspective it basically feels like incel drivel at times and that made it nearly unreadable to me.
From a modern perspective it basically feels like incel drivel at times and that made it nearly unreadable to me.
April 4, 2020
Pretty disappointing. Farmer has sure written better stuff than that.
July 2, 2022
Not his best
January 22, 2023
Disappointed as I like his Riverworld books. A poor imitation of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
July 17, 2025
A trilogy of wildly inventive adventure novels, with archetypal and pulpy heroes visiting fantastical worlds. It's fun and mostly unpredictable, though often dated.
August 25, 2025
I read this book when I was a teenager and thoroughly enjoyed the entire series. I definitely need to read it again.
June 28, 2024
In Maker of Universes Wolff steps through the wardrobe and finds himself in a parallel universe. At the top of the mountain lives the ‘Lord’. This Lord has created the universe to his own specifications and peopled it with creatures from Greek myth. Periodically he comes down from the mountain and disports himself with the nymphs. In other words he has created the ultimate male fantasy. This is a world where men are men and women are buxom and potentially hysterical.
I read this when I must have 13 or 14. I saw it as very much a book for boys, but was just carried away by the drive and sheer invention of everything. I suppose we have enough fantasies at that age that it’s rather difficult to put your finger on the questionable nature of some of them. Coming back to it thirty years later it’s pleasing to see that Farmer was saying something deeper than I could read. I’ve seen a couple of reviews where they abandoned the book as being sexist. I think it’s important to note that Farmer is not being sexist, but rather that the Lord is sexist. The laws of the universe conform to his fantasy. Farmer was taking the piss out of this 14 year old. It’s like he was offering me something sweet and waiting to see if I noticed it was also toxic.
Anyway, Wolff soon gets into the swing of things.
‘Wolff handed Chryseis the gworl’s knife. “Here, take it!”
She accepted it, but she seemed to be in shock. Wolff slapped her savagely until the glaze went from her eyes. “You did fine!” he said. “Which would you rather see dead, me or him?”’
What kind of a man creates a world like this? A shallow one, so it’s not surprising that Wolff likes it so much. This is a man who can’t stand his wife because she’s fat and old and abandons her to a life on Social Security with hardly a second thought.
Not only is Farmer taking the piss out of 14 year old boys, he’s also taking the piss out of himself. When we find out Kickaha’s real name he has the same initials as Farmer. But in place of the balding writer we have a sort of he-man who runs about playing Red Indians.
In Gates of Creation Farmer turns the satire on Jadawin the Lord, and generally on people who think they’re just the bees knees.
So Jadawin’s wife has been stolen by his father because that’s the kind of thing that happens when you’re a God. Now he must complete a series of tasks to win her back. It’s like something out of The Great Task of Gwondor. I’ll not bore you with it but it had a girl in it, and a hammer. And something about mid-wives. At at the end the musicians squeaked out, quietly and incredibly fast the name of the poet, and their names, and the number of their agent.
Legends may call it a task, but we call that a short story. String enough together and you’ve got a novel. But then anyone can be subjected to a plot. Only a god may assail a series of tasks. Wolff does have a head-start though as he’s the only one with a gun.
In A Private Cosmos we have Kickaha, Farmer’s self-insert, who’s far to good to be real. Ridiculously brilliant at everything he does. Yadda yadda yadda makes you want to puke. I’m not sure if this is a satire on himself or if he’s just taking the piss. Kickaha doesn’t need a head-start. In fact, he can do it with one hand tied behind his back.
‘The shirt was charred off, and his hand was blackened and beginning to blister. At another time, he would have been concerned with this. Now, he had no truck with anything except major crippling injuries. Or with death.’
I read this when I must have 13 or 14. I saw it as very much a book for boys, but was just carried away by the drive and sheer invention of everything. I suppose we have enough fantasies at that age that it’s rather difficult to put your finger on the questionable nature of some of them. Coming back to it thirty years later it’s pleasing to see that Farmer was saying something deeper than I could read. I’ve seen a couple of reviews where they abandoned the book as being sexist. I think it’s important to note that Farmer is not being sexist, but rather that the Lord is sexist. The laws of the universe conform to his fantasy. Farmer was taking the piss out of this 14 year old. It’s like he was offering me something sweet and waiting to see if I noticed it was also toxic.
Anyway, Wolff soon gets into the swing of things.
‘Wolff handed Chryseis the gworl’s knife. “Here, take it!”
She accepted it, but she seemed to be in shock. Wolff slapped her savagely until the glaze went from her eyes. “You did fine!” he said. “Which would you rather see dead, me or him?”’
What kind of a man creates a world like this? A shallow one, so it’s not surprising that Wolff likes it so much. This is a man who can’t stand his wife because she’s fat and old and abandons her to a life on Social Security with hardly a second thought.
Not only is Farmer taking the piss out of 14 year old boys, he’s also taking the piss out of himself. When we find out Kickaha’s real name he has the same initials as Farmer. But in place of the balding writer we have a sort of he-man who runs about playing Red Indians.
In Gates of Creation Farmer turns the satire on Jadawin the Lord, and generally on people who think they’re just the bees knees.
So Jadawin’s wife has been stolen by his father because that’s the kind of thing that happens when you’re a God. Now he must complete a series of tasks to win her back. It’s like something out of The Great Task of Gwondor. I’ll not bore you with it but it had a girl in it, and a hammer. And something about mid-wives. At at the end the musicians squeaked out, quietly and incredibly fast the name of the poet, and their names, and the number of their agent.
Legends may call it a task, but we call that a short story. String enough together and you’ve got a novel. But then anyone can be subjected to a plot. Only a god may assail a series of tasks. Wolff does have a head-start though as he’s the only one with a gun.
In A Private Cosmos we have Kickaha, Farmer’s self-insert, who’s far to good to be real. Ridiculously brilliant at everything he does. Yadda yadda yadda makes you want to puke. I’m not sure if this is a satire on himself or if he’s just taking the piss. Kickaha doesn’t need a head-start. In fact, he can do it with one hand tied behind his back.
‘The shirt was charred off, and his hand was blackened and beginning to blister. At another time, he would have been concerned with this. Now, he had no truck with anything except major crippling injuries. Or with death.’
July 18, 2017
The World of Tiers, Volume 1 by Philip Jose Farmer- This omnibus collection contains the first three novels in the World of Tiers series: The Makers of Universes, The Gates of Creation, A Private Cosmos.
The Maker of Universes- Robert Wolff, bored with his stagnant life, blows a horn that opens a portable to another universe. He finds there a world split into levels like a pyramid with its own sun and moon and in it's own "Pocket Universe". He meets a woman who quickly captures his heart, but when she is taken away, he enlists the help of another Earth-expatriate, who calls himself Kickaha now. They begin a desperate climb through the levels, with many strange and odd discoveries, to confront the Lord of this universe, Jadawin. There is a great reveal near the end that you can probably guess if you've ever read much Philip Jose Farmer before.
The Gates of Creation find Wolff called upon by one of the dreaded Lords. He must travel through this Lord's multi-tiered world in order to save a loved one and see some of the strangest sights along the way. Each Lord has the power to change the physical properties of his own universe and this makes for some crazy goings on, but the entire plot premise is really quite close to the first book, so I think this is mostly Farmer having fun with his creation.
A Private Cosmos is Kickaha's story as Wolff has disappeared and their multi-tiered world is being invaded by bodies controlled by other Lord's. Again we get a lot of action but little resolution and the premise is beginning to get confusing and over wrought. The series is fun to read if you don't take it too seriously and don't worry about the plot snafus. I read these back in the 70's when they first came out and thought they were fun then, but reading them back to back just points out the flaws in their construction. Still, Philip Jose Farmer knows how to juice up a great idea.
The Maker of Universes- Robert Wolff, bored with his stagnant life, blows a horn that opens a portable to another universe. He finds there a world split into levels like a pyramid with its own sun and moon and in it's own "Pocket Universe". He meets a woman who quickly captures his heart, but when she is taken away, he enlists the help of another Earth-expatriate, who calls himself Kickaha now. They begin a desperate climb through the levels, with many strange and odd discoveries, to confront the Lord of this universe, Jadawin. There is a great reveal near the end that you can probably guess if you've ever read much Philip Jose Farmer before.
The Gates of Creation find Wolff called upon by one of the dreaded Lords. He must travel through this Lord's multi-tiered world in order to save a loved one and see some of the strangest sights along the way. Each Lord has the power to change the physical properties of his own universe and this makes for some crazy goings on, but the entire plot premise is really quite close to the first book, so I think this is mostly Farmer having fun with his creation.
A Private Cosmos is Kickaha's story as Wolff has disappeared and their multi-tiered world is being invaded by bodies controlled by other Lord's. Again we get a lot of action but little resolution and the premise is beginning to get confusing and over wrought. The series is fun to read if you don't take it too seriously and don't worry about the plot snafus. I read these back in the 70's when they first came out and thought they were fun then, but reading them back to back just points out the flaws in their construction. Still, Philip Jose Farmer knows how to juice up a great idea.
March 24, 2013
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 average reader of "sci-fi" knows? I was especially "touched" by the mile posts on the trade road... Sure... Why not "mile" posts. So convenient... 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...
July 22, 2010
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.
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 introduces into the series.
The World of Tiers is one of the great fantasy worlds.
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 introduces into the series.
October 1, 2013
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 main character, Wolff, finds himself in the world of tiers and has to unravel its mysteries and is aided by a stranded earthman, Kickaha. Brilliant!
January 12, 2011
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.
February 28, 2013
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.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews