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Dayworld
“Every bit as appealing as the Riverworld saga,” this brilliant high-concept dystopian novel features an overpopulated Earth under strict government control (Booklist).
Only by being watched may you become free.
It’s 3414 AD, the rise of the New Era, and Earth has become massively overpopulated. The worldwide government has recently implemented a system that allows human civilization to continue: Each person lives only one day a week. For the other six he or she is “stoned”—placed in suspended animation. To keep everyone to their particular day, the activities of all citizens of the Organic Commonwealth of Earth are closely monitored.
Jeff Caird is an “immer,” one of the rebels secretly working to infiltrate the government to gain influence and loosen the surveillance on citizens. He’s also a “daybreaker,” avoiding stoning and thereby conscious all seven days a week. He operates under a different identity every day, delivering sensitive messages between rebels.
Jeff is dedicated to his cause, but maintaining seven separate identities, including jobs, families, and friends, is no small feat, and when the juggling finally begins to take its toll, the immers determine that Jeff is a liability who must be eliminated. Now, he’s fighting for survival and on the run from both his fellow rebels and the authoritarian government that considers his mental state incurable and punishable by death.
From the Hugo Award–winning author of the Riverworld and World of Tiers series, Dayworld is “an excellent novel, set in a constructed society that is unique and fascinating” (Science Fiction Chronicle).
Only by being watched may you become free.
It’s 3414 AD, the rise of the New Era, and Earth has become massively overpopulated. The worldwide government has recently implemented a system that allows human civilization to continue: Each person lives only one day a week. For the other six he or she is “stoned”—placed in suspended animation. To keep everyone to their particular day, the activities of all citizens of the Organic Commonwealth of Earth are closely monitored.
Jeff Caird is an “immer,” one of the rebels secretly working to infiltrate the government to gain influence and loosen the surveillance on citizens. He’s also a “daybreaker,” avoiding stoning and thereby conscious all seven days a week. He operates under a different identity every day, delivering sensitive messages between rebels.
Jeff is dedicated to his cause, but maintaining seven separate identities, including jobs, families, and friends, is no small feat, and when the juggling finally begins to take its toll, the immers determine that Jeff is a liability who must be eliminated. Now, he’s fighting for survival and on the run from both his fellow rebels and the authoritarian government that considers his mental state incurable and punishable by death.
From the Hugo Award–winning author of the Riverworld and World of Tiers series, Dayworld is “an excellent novel, set in a constructed society that is unique and fascinating” (Science Fiction Chronicle).
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1985
139 people are currently reading
1459 people want to read
About the author
Philip José Farmer
620 books883 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
October 16, 2018
After Asimov, in my childhood, in my teens it was Heilein, Philip José Farmer and (I confess) Hubbard, that completed my initiation into sci-fi.
Farmer gave me what Ursula K. Le Guin would confirm. That clarity of the premise. The metaphorical power, as eloquent as an essay.
"A society only allows his citizens to live one day a week."
The fact that it happens in a sci-fi scenario is not relevant. What matters are the consequences tested, that become referential to the real world. To my society. To politics.
Great fiction is like that. Lord of The Flies. Frankenstein. The Road. The Left Hand of Darkness.
Forget the fetishism for robots, for time travel, of for some opposite fixation, on primitivism, for instance. What matters, and became clear in my teens, was that some writers could invent stories that were terribly eloquent. They could be used as though-experiments to see how reality works, fails, succeeds, where we fail to understand it, where we need to ask questions. And we humans are story tellers by vocation.
This was a big discovery. That we can think metaphorically about humankind, like this. With meaningfull narratives. That investigate who we are. As a teen, I was in. I wanted more.
Thank you Philip José Farmer, because you were a part of something so important in my early life. In this story, in particular, you created a world that addresses a classic civilization unrest, that even caused the creation of a creepy adjective: Malthusian. Brave New World is considered to address Malthusianism, the set of ideas that come from Thomas Robert Malthus. Measures taken by a society that addresses population growth control in a "strong" manner can be called Malthusian. Although this story does not refer to birth control, it is about population control, because it is about "the control of the population" by its leaders (using the pretext of overpopulation). The brilliancy of the narrative is linking, like the critics of Malthusianism do, one thing with the other.
Like great sci-fi and great fiction in general, this is a great thought experiment, and it does not argue nor does it produce commentary, it demonstrates. It makes the created world credible, as we read. It poses questions that we can then take to our own experience. My rating is completely partial because this was one of my most important teen years books. Don't take my word for it, read it.
Farmer gave me what Ursula K. Le Guin would confirm. That clarity of the premise. The metaphorical power, as eloquent as an essay.
"A society only allows his citizens to live one day a week."
The fact that it happens in a sci-fi scenario is not relevant. What matters are the consequences tested, that become referential to the real world. To my society. To politics.
Great fiction is like that. Lord of The Flies. Frankenstein. The Road. The Left Hand of Darkness.
Forget the fetishism for robots, for time travel, of for some opposite fixation, on primitivism, for instance. What matters, and became clear in my teens, was that some writers could invent stories that were terribly eloquent. They could be used as though-experiments to see how reality works, fails, succeeds, where we fail to understand it, where we need to ask questions. And we humans are story tellers by vocation.
This was a big discovery. That we can think metaphorically about humankind, like this. With meaningfull narratives. That investigate who we are. As a teen, I was in. I wanted more.
Thank you Philip José Farmer, because you were a part of something so important in my early life. In this story, in particular, you created a world that addresses a classic civilization unrest, that even caused the creation of a creepy adjective: Malthusian. Brave New World is considered to address Malthusianism, the set of ideas that come from Thomas Robert Malthus. Measures taken by a society that addresses population growth control in a "strong" manner can be called Malthusian. Although this story does not refer to birth control, it is about population control, because it is about "the control of the population" by its leaders (using the pretext of overpopulation). The brilliancy of the narrative is linking, like the critics of Malthusianism do, one thing with the other.
Like great sci-fi and great fiction in general, this is a great thought experiment, and it does not argue nor does it produce commentary, it demonstrates. It makes the created world credible, as we read. It poses questions that we can then take to our own experience. My rating is completely partial because this was one of my most important teen years books. Don't take my word for it, read it.
March 15, 2020
Well I am admittedly in a short slump of bad reading. I am really honestly mad at myself for even bothering to finish this thing. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of one is that I loved the idea and the first third of the book was actually pretty good. And then it all fell apart. I came so close to putting this on the DNF list several times.
The beginning is really great actually, which is why I'm even more disappointed. I feel tricked. The author has this really interesting (although I believe flawed) idea about putting people into stasis for 6 days out of the week in order to deal with overpopulation issues. Only 1/7 of the world is walking around and living each day. And there are a lot of new laws and other things that he builds up to make this work. He even addresses how the lack of interaction between these days has led to differences in life on each day. The main character, by being an immer and daybreaker has a different identity for each day and he's gone so far as to create different personas to go with it. In fact, the whole thing has made him quite mad.
The first few days, with the first 2-3 personalities I found the story intriguing. There was novelty and mystery. Each new character was very different from the last. Learning about the world in the bits and pieces of the character's lives was so interesting. I'm not sure exactly when it fell apart for me. It was at or before the appearance of Wyatt Rapp. Pretty soon I was bored to tears with the characters, the outlandish attire, and the constantly mounting complexities. And the whole thing with Gril? What in the literal *$%&?!? Sorry, but that just made me mad. That's when I knew I was done with this book. And then the ending made no sense, was very unsatisfying, and did not leave me wanting to continue. Truly tragic because I feel like this idea had so much potential.
The beginning is really great actually, which is why I'm even more disappointed. I feel tricked. The author has this really interesting (although I believe flawed) idea about putting people into stasis for 6 days out of the week in order to deal with overpopulation issues. Only 1/7 of the world is walking around and living each day. And there are a lot of new laws and other things that he builds up to make this work. He even addresses how the lack of interaction between these days has led to differences in life on each day. The main character, by being an immer and daybreaker has a different identity for each day and he's gone so far as to create different personas to go with it. In fact, the whole thing has made him quite mad.
The first few days, with the first 2-3 personalities I found the story intriguing. There was novelty and mystery. Each new character was very different from the last. Learning about the world in the bits and pieces of the character's lives was so interesting. I'm not sure exactly when it fell apart for me. It was at or before the appearance of Wyatt Rapp. Pretty soon I was bored to tears with the characters, the outlandish attire, and the constantly mounting complexities. And the whole thing with Gril? What in the literal *$%&?!? Sorry, but that just made me mad. That's when I knew I was done with this book. And then the ending made no sense, was very unsatisfying, and did not leave me wanting to continue. Truly tragic because I feel like this idea had so much potential.
April 12, 2018
Metaphorosis Reviews
2.5 stars
I've noted before that I encountered Philip Jose Farmer via Riverworld, which I thought was (mostly) a great feat of imagination. When the opportunity arose, I acquired a lot of Farmer novels. I started reading them with the World of Tiers series I'd heard of years before. I was sorely disappointed - all of Riverworld's flaws were greatly exaggerated, and new ones added.
Dayworld is a point midway between the two. Farmer gets carried away and self-indulgent (especially on sex and pop-culture), but the story and character are interesting enough to carry through. It's all a little easy, but to his credit, while the premise is thin, Farmer has thought through some of the mechanics. At the same time, he's trying to throw too much into the story - stasis, division into day worlds, immers, and a multiple personality issue which seems to develop as the story progresses (in the sense that he made it up as he went along). It's a decent book that might have been a good one with a firm editorial hand. The book doesn't end in any satisfying way, so it's not a functional standalone novel other than as an exploration of the concept - but not in terms of narrative arc or character development.
It's also odd in that, despite being based on a short-story, Farmer apparently feels the need for a long authorial introduction explaining the concept before the book's even begun. I'm not sure why - the book would work well enough without it, and the information would have worked better as an afterword.
2.5 stars
I've noted before that I encountered Philip Jose Farmer via Riverworld, which I thought was (mostly) a great feat of imagination. When the opportunity arose, I acquired a lot of Farmer novels. I started reading them with the World of Tiers series I'd heard of years before. I was sorely disappointed - all of Riverworld's flaws were greatly exaggerated, and new ones added.
Dayworld is a point midway between the two. Farmer gets carried away and self-indulgent (especially on sex and pop-culture), but the story and character are interesting enough to carry through. It's all a little easy, but to his credit, while the premise is thin, Farmer has thought through some of the mechanics. At the same time, he's trying to throw too much into the story - stasis, division into day worlds, immers, and a multiple personality issue which seems to develop as the story progresses (in the sense that he made it up as he went along). It's a decent book that might have been a good one with a firm editorial hand. The book doesn't end in any satisfying way, so it's not a functional standalone novel other than as an exploration of the concept - but not in terms of narrative arc or character development.
It's also odd in that, despite being based on a short-story, Farmer apparently feels the need for a long authorial introduction explaining the concept before the book's even begun. I'm not sure why - the book would work well enough without it, and the information would have worked better as an afterword.
July 17, 2016
Scroll down for the English version
Geniale distopia d’altri tempi
Non vado matta per i romanzi distopici contemporanei, mentre mi ritrovo sempre più spesso ad apprezzare questo sottogenere della fantascienza quando si tratta di libri di qualche decennio fa, destinati a diventare dei classici. L’inevitabile anacronismo di certi elementi della trama dona a “Il sistema Dayworld” di Farmer un fascino particolare e un’originalità che stento a vedere nelle storie più recenti.
Nello specifico in questo romanzo si tratta l’argomento dell’animazione sospesa da un’angolatura diversa da quella per cui si presume che tale tecnologia del futuro debba essere usata: per combattere la sovrappopolazione. Siccome nel mondo ci sono troppe persone, si decide di far loro vivere un solo giorno alla settimana, riducendo a un settimo il numero degli individui attivi sul pianeta. Questa idea folle è alla base della storia di Jeff Caird, un “violagiorno”, cioè una persona che, invece di vivere un solo giorno alla settimana, li vive tutti, calandosi in sette identità diverse. E qui salta subito fuori un secondo elemento geniale: Caird ogni giorno cambia nome, vita, ma anche personalità. Ognuna delle sue sette versioni è un personaggio distinto, cosa che è evidente anche al lettore, e ha persino difficoltà a “connettersi” con le sue altre versioni.
Come se non bastasse avere un protagonista che vive sull’orlo della follia a causa delle presenza di ben sette personalità nella sua testa, Caird (e tutti gli altri) è un ribelle del sistema che finisce per ribellarsi a chi vuole rovesciare il sistema. E proprio per questo motivo rischia di essere ucciso, mettendo in luce che nessuna delle due parti è veramente “buona”.
La struttura del libro, in cui vediamo una dopo l’altra mostrarsi a noi tutte le declinazioni del protagonista, è un meccanismo perfetto, che riesce comunque a coinvolgere il lettore, nonostante i continui cambi di prospettiva.
Inoltre, anche se sono trascorsi più di trent’anni dalla pubblicazione di questo romanzo, esso regge bene il passaggio del tempo. Gli anacronismi non sono eccessivi e talvolta potrebbero anche essere visti come una naturale regressione.
Molto belle ed emozionanti le scene d’azione, totalmente imprevedibili gli sviluppi compreso il finale, che è impossibile da prevedere.
Nel complesso è davvero un bel libro, il primo di una trilogia che si prospetta molto godibile.
Ho, invece, qualche perplessità su alcune scelte di traduzione dell’edizione italiana. Il traduttore, per esempio, si sofferma a spiegare in una nota il significato di “immer” e di “pathos e bathos”, anche se nel testo originale non è specificato, ma non traduce Jacob e Israel in Giacobbe e Israele, quando viene citato un episodio biblico. Un altro aspetto che stona è la scelta di non localizzare le unità di misura. Ciò è problematico, visto che sono ampiamente utilizzate, quindi risulta quasi incomprensibile per chi non conosca la lunghezza dei piedi o delle iarde (stranamente tradotte con “yarde”!) avere una corretta impressione delle distanze, soprattutto nelle concitate scene d’azione nell’ultima parte del libro.
Brilliant dystopia of other times
I’m not wild about contemporary dystopian novels, but lately I started to appreciate this sub-genre of science fiction when it comes to books of a few decades ago, destined to become classics. The inevitable anachronism of certain elements of the plot gives “Dayworld” by Farmer a special charm and originality that I can hardly see in the most recent stories.
Specifically, one of the topics of this novel is suspended animation, which is described from a different angle than the usual one for which this technology is assumed to be used in the future: to deal with overpopulation. Since there are too many people in the world, it is decided to let them live only one day a week, reducing to one-seventh the number of active individuals on the planet. This crazy idea is the basis of the story of Jeff Caird, a “daybreaker”, i.e. a person who, instead of living one day per week, lives them all, by taking seven different identities. And here immediately a second brilliant element comes up: Caird changes his name, life, but also personality every day. Each of its seven versions is a distinct character, which is also obvious to the reader, and it’s even hard to him to “connect” with his other versions.
As if that was not enough to have a main character who lives on the brink of madness because of the presence of seven personalities in his head, Caird (and the others) is a rebel of the Dayworld system and he ends up rebelling against those who want to overthrow the system, too. And for this reason he risks to be killed, revealing that neither side is really “good”.
The structure of the book, in which the many facets of the protagonist are shown to you one after another, is a perfect mechanism, which still manages to engage the reader, despite the constant changes in point of view.
In addition, although more than thirty years have passed after the original publication of this novel, it holds well the passage of time. Anachronisms are not excessive and sometimes could also be seen as a natural regression.
There are amazing and exciting action scenes, totally unpredictable developments including the ending, which it is impossible to predict.
Overall it’s a really good book, the first in a trilogy that promises to be very enjoyable.
Geniale distopia d’altri tempi
Non vado matta per i romanzi distopici contemporanei, mentre mi ritrovo sempre più spesso ad apprezzare questo sottogenere della fantascienza quando si tratta di libri di qualche decennio fa, destinati a diventare dei classici. L’inevitabile anacronismo di certi elementi della trama dona a “Il sistema Dayworld” di Farmer un fascino particolare e un’originalità che stento a vedere nelle storie più recenti.
Nello specifico in questo romanzo si tratta l’argomento dell’animazione sospesa da un’angolatura diversa da quella per cui si presume che tale tecnologia del futuro debba essere usata: per combattere la sovrappopolazione. Siccome nel mondo ci sono troppe persone, si decide di far loro vivere un solo giorno alla settimana, riducendo a un settimo il numero degli individui attivi sul pianeta. Questa idea folle è alla base della storia di Jeff Caird, un “violagiorno”, cioè una persona che, invece di vivere un solo giorno alla settimana, li vive tutti, calandosi in sette identità diverse. E qui salta subito fuori un secondo elemento geniale: Caird ogni giorno cambia nome, vita, ma anche personalità. Ognuna delle sue sette versioni è un personaggio distinto, cosa che è evidente anche al lettore, e ha persino difficoltà a “connettersi” con le sue altre versioni.
Come se non bastasse avere un protagonista che vive sull’orlo della follia a causa delle presenza di ben sette personalità nella sua testa, Caird (e tutti gli altri) è un ribelle del sistema che finisce per ribellarsi a chi vuole rovesciare il sistema. E proprio per questo motivo rischia di essere ucciso, mettendo in luce che nessuna delle due parti è veramente “buona”.
La struttura del libro, in cui vediamo una dopo l’altra mostrarsi a noi tutte le declinazioni del protagonista, è un meccanismo perfetto, che riesce comunque a coinvolgere il lettore, nonostante i continui cambi di prospettiva.
Inoltre, anche se sono trascorsi più di trent’anni dalla pubblicazione di questo romanzo, esso regge bene il passaggio del tempo. Gli anacronismi non sono eccessivi e talvolta potrebbero anche essere visti come una naturale regressione.
Molto belle ed emozionanti le scene d’azione, totalmente imprevedibili gli sviluppi compreso il finale, che è impossibile da prevedere.
Nel complesso è davvero un bel libro, il primo di una trilogia che si prospetta molto godibile.
Ho, invece, qualche perplessità su alcune scelte di traduzione dell’edizione italiana. Il traduttore, per esempio, si sofferma a spiegare in una nota il significato di “immer” e di “pathos e bathos”, anche se nel testo originale non è specificato, ma non traduce Jacob e Israel in Giacobbe e Israele, quando viene citato un episodio biblico. Un altro aspetto che stona è la scelta di non localizzare le unità di misura. Ciò è problematico, visto che sono ampiamente utilizzate, quindi risulta quasi incomprensibile per chi non conosca la lunghezza dei piedi o delle iarde (stranamente tradotte con “yarde”!) avere una corretta impressione delle distanze, soprattutto nelle concitate scene d’azione nell’ultima parte del libro.
Brilliant dystopia of other times
I’m not wild about contemporary dystopian novels, but lately I started to appreciate this sub-genre of science fiction when it comes to books of a few decades ago, destined to become classics. The inevitable anachronism of certain elements of the plot gives “Dayworld” by Farmer a special charm and originality that I can hardly see in the most recent stories.
Specifically, one of the topics of this novel is suspended animation, which is described from a different angle than the usual one for which this technology is assumed to be used in the future: to deal with overpopulation. Since there are too many people in the world, it is decided to let them live only one day a week, reducing to one-seventh the number of active individuals on the planet. This crazy idea is the basis of the story of Jeff Caird, a “daybreaker”, i.e. a person who, instead of living one day per week, lives them all, by taking seven different identities. And here immediately a second brilliant element comes up: Caird changes his name, life, but also personality every day. Each of its seven versions is a distinct character, which is also obvious to the reader, and it’s even hard to him to “connect” with his other versions.
As if that was not enough to have a main character who lives on the brink of madness because of the presence of seven personalities in his head, Caird (and the others) is a rebel of the Dayworld system and he ends up rebelling against those who want to overthrow the system, too. And for this reason he risks to be killed, revealing that neither side is really “good”.
The structure of the book, in which the many facets of the protagonist are shown to you one after another, is a perfect mechanism, which still manages to engage the reader, despite the constant changes in point of view.
In addition, although more than thirty years have passed after the original publication of this novel, it holds well the passage of time. Anachronisms are not excessive and sometimes could also be seen as a natural regression.
There are amazing and exciting action scenes, totally unpredictable developments including the ending, which it is impossible to predict.
Overall it’s a really good book, the first in a trilogy that promises to be very enjoyable.
August 4, 2014
What do you get when you take a mystery and psychological thriller and wrap it in an ooey gooey science fiction back drop? Why you get Philip Jose Farmers wonderful novel Dayworld. Set several centuries in the future, the world government has found an answer to the overpopulation problem. Each person lives only 1 day in 7. Monday people live only from midnight to midnight Monday. The rest of the time they are “Stoned” a process that stops all functions and turns the body to a stone like material that cannot be damaged. A person can be stoned indefinitely with no ill effects.
What arises are 7 distinct societies overseen by a central government. Monday’s society is not the same as Friday’s and so on. Each job is done by seven different people. Poverty and want have been eliminated. The government seems to have evolved into a form of benevolent socialist state. Among this day world is a secret society called the “Immers.” The society was founded by a scientist called Immerman who had found a serum for eternal life. Its mission was to change the government by infiltrating it in various aspects while keeping the secret of immortality restricted to the people the society judged sound enough to handle the burden of eternal life. Because this society is found in all days of the week some Immers are called “Day Breakers”, people who take on a new aspect for each day of the week so they can pass messages throughout the week. Jeff Caird is such a man.
Because Jeff is forced to live as a different person each day of the week, what develops is a sort of conscious dissociative state or to use the layman’s term, a “split personality.” Jeff Caird doesn’t just pretend to be “Bob Tingle” on Wednesday, but the Bob Tingle personality takes over the body, although at some level both “Jeff” and “Bob” are aware of each other.
All this creates one of the most unusual and engrossing sci-fi novels I have ever read. It was amazing to me to watch the psychological struggles Jeff Caird experienced when the order of his seven separate lives get thrown into chaos by events out of his control. The event that destroys Caird carefully structured lives, is the escape of a fellow “Immer” named Castor who has gone insane and believes he is God and Jeff, who was instrumental in his original capture and subsequent incarceration, is the devil and must be destroyed. Castor has started to Day Break and is hunting Caird down in all his various personae’s, thus Castor is endangering Jeff’s physical being and all his secret lives. Although some reviewers have complained that the various characters were not well developed because the reader is only introduced to them for one day each, I did not feel that was the case.
The novel was full of action and chase scenes, but was full of psychological drama as well. Jeff Caird was not only forced to fight for his physical life, but was also having an internal battle with all the other personalities. I can honestly say I have never read a novel quite like this one.
On a side note: I have to wonder why this novel has never been made into a movie. It seems like this novel would be full of cinematic gold. It may be just as well, as I have seen too many excellent novels turned to garbage by the industrial movie complex.
I am giving Dayworld by Philip Jose Farmer a strong 5 stars, for originality if for nothing else.
What arises are 7 distinct societies overseen by a central government. Monday’s society is not the same as Friday’s and so on. Each job is done by seven different people. Poverty and want have been eliminated. The government seems to have evolved into a form of benevolent socialist state. Among this day world is a secret society called the “Immers.” The society was founded by a scientist called Immerman who had found a serum for eternal life. Its mission was to change the government by infiltrating it in various aspects while keeping the secret of immortality restricted to the people the society judged sound enough to handle the burden of eternal life. Because this society is found in all days of the week some Immers are called “Day Breakers”, people who take on a new aspect for each day of the week so they can pass messages throughout the week. Jeff Caird is such a man.
Because Jeff is forced to live as a different person each day of the week, what develops is a sort of conscious dissociative state or to use the layman’s term, a “split personality.” Jeff Caird doesn’t just pretend to be “Bob Tingle” on Wednesday, but the Bob Tingle personality takes over the body, although at some level both “Jeff” and “Bob” are aware of each other.
All this creates one of the most unusual and engrossing sci-fi novels I have ever read. It was amazing to me to watch the psychological struggles Jeff Caird experienced when the order of his seven separate lives get thrown into chaos by events out of his control. The event that destroys Caird carefully structured lives, is the escape of a fellow “Immer” named Castor who has gone insane and believes he is God and Jeff, who was instrumental in his original capture and subsequent incarceration, is the devil and must be destroyed. Castor has started to Day Break and is hunting Caird down in all his various personae’s, thus Castor is endangering Jeff’s physical being and all his secret lives. Although some reviewers have complained that the various characters were not well developed because the reader is only introduced to them for one day each, I did not feel that was the case.
The novel was full of action and chase scenes, but was full of psychological drama as well. Jeff Caird was not only forced to fight for his physical life, but was also having an internal battle with all the other personalities. I can honestly say I have never read a novel quite like this one.
On a side note: I have to wonder why this novel has never been made into a movie. It seems like this novel would be full of cinematic gold. It may be just as well, as I have seen too many excellent novels turned to garbage by the industrial movie complex.
I am giving Dayworld by Philip Jose Farmer a strong 5 stars, for originality if for nothing else.
October 3, 2022
La admiterea într-o ipotetică facultate de literatură SF, alături de „Fundația”, „Dune” și „Regii nisipurilor”, povestirea „Marți oamenii sunt sparți, miercuri oamenii sunt cercuri” de Philip José Farmer ar face mai mult ca sigur parte din materia obligatorie pentru examen. Așa că era firesc să existe și o urmare, sau mai curând o dezvoltare sub formă de roman, dar la vremea la care citisem povestirea nu mi-am imaginat că Farmer o să continue excepționala sa idee chiar cu o trilogie.
Nu-mi amintesc detalii din povestirea pe care am citit-o la sfârșitul anilor ‘80, doar ideea – repet, excepțională – și câteva lucruri care țin de conținut. Șapte zile ale săptămânii reprezentând șapte societăți diferite, dacă te naști duminică atunci vei trăi doar în zilele de duminică, restul timpului fiind înghețat (stonat) într-un container special conceput pentru acest tip de hibernare, o modalitate inedită pentru a preveni suprapopularea planetei.
Eroul din povestire aparține zilei de marți, se îndrăgostește de chipul unei femei din lumea lui miercuri, o poveste de dragoste științifico-fantastică pe care o dezbăteam mai curând cu fetele în adolescență cu scopul de a încerca să-mi supraevaluez emotivitatea literară într-un cadru ideal.
Romanul „Dayworld” este cu totul altceva. Vibrațiile lirice, lacrimile amare și minunata lume de tip romancing a stone(d) au dispărut în întregime, lăsând loc eficienței. Caird, personajul central, nu are timp pentru sentimentalisme. Un om cu șapte personalități diferite, câte una pentru fiecare zi a săptămânii, care aleargă sau se ascunde, evită pericolul sau îl atacă frontal, totul în funcție de șirul nesfârșit de situații dramatice în care îl aruncă scriitorul.
Aflat în fața unei trilogii, cred că este pentru prima oară când îmi fac mie însumi promisiunea de a citi și celelalte volume, universul imaginat de Farmer fiind irezistibil, ba chiar hipnotic m-aș încumeta să afirm.
Nota acordată romanului : 9,1
http://www.bucurestifm.ro/2022/10/03/...
Nu-mi amintesc detalii din povestirea pe care am citit-o la sfârșitul anilor ‘80, doar ideea – repet, excepțională – și câteva lucruri care țin de conținut. Șapte zile ale săptămânii reprezentând șapte societăți diferite, dacă te naști duminică atunci vei trăi doar în zilele de duminică, restul timpului fiind înghețat (stonat) într-un container special conceput pentru acest tip de hibernare, o modalitate inedită pentru a preveni suprapopularea planetei.
Eroul din povestire aparține zilei de marți, se îndrăgostește de chipul unei femei din lumea lui miercuri, o poveste de dragoste științifico-fantastică pe care o dezbăteam mai curând cu fetele în adolescență cu scopul de a încerca să-mi supraevaluez emotivitatea literară într-un cadru ideal.
Romanul „Dayworld” este cu totul altceva. Vibrațiile lirice, lacrimile amare și minunata lume de tip romancing a stone(d) au dispărut în întregime, lăsând loc eficienței. Caird, personajul central, nu are timp pentru sentimentalisme. Un om cu șapte personalități diferite, câte una pentru fiecare zi a săptămânii, care aleargă sau se ascunde, evită pericolul sau îl atacă frontal, totul în funcție de șirul nesfârșit de situații dramatice în care îl aruncă scriitorul.
Aflat în fața unei trilogii, cred că este pentru prima oară când îmi fac mie însumi promisiunea de a citi și celelalte volume, universul imaginat de Farmer fiind irezistibil, ba chiar hipnotic m-aș încumeta să afirm.
Nota acordată romanului : 9,1
http://www.bucurestifm.ro/2022/10/03/...
March 30, 2018
Have been reading a lot of Farmer lately. First the Tiers series and now the Dayworld trilogy. Have loved Farmer’s books for years and plan on reading through his books in the coming years.
February 5, 2023
DNF at 33%. Traducerea in romana este execrabila. Pana o sa citesc volumul in original, renunt.
December 14, 2017
"Dayworld" is a classic novel about overpopulation in which the human overflow is dealt with in a unique manner: every person is assigned one day of the week in which to live, and when that day is done, they retreat into a pod which will keep them in suspended animation for the next six days. No one is even aware of the passage of time. Expect the main character, who is not only immortal but breaking "temporal law" by living every single day of the week, though on every day he has a unique life including different occupations and spouses.
This is such a joy to read. It's a shame that the sequels are horrible, because I could have read twenty more books that have the depth of this one. Don't miss out, read "Dayworld"!
This is such a joy to read. It's a shame that the sequels are horrible, because I could have read twenty more books that have the depth of this one. Don't miss out, read "Dayworld"!
February 25, 2022
Dayworld – Philip Jose Farmer (1986, my Edition 1986 1st Edition Paperback)
Dayworld is an expansion of Philip Jose Farmers 1971 short story The Sliced-Crosswise Only-On-Tuesday World, which I personally would have loved for the title of this book. The story is set in a future where people only live one day out of seven and for the other 6 days they are in hibernation (or stoned). This situation occurred due to over population and use of resources.
This was a reread, but I’d not read it since publication (1985), therefore I could only remember the brief outline of the ideas within the story.
The plot follows Jefferson Caird an Organic (policeman) who is in fact a Daybreaker, someone who lives illegally across multiple days. He also belongs to a group called the Immers that are a secret organisation that are secretly working to create a better government. We follow him as he struggles to balance 7 lives with 7 families and 7 jobs.
One thing Philip Jose Farmer is always good at is creating a believable world, no matter how bizarre it may seem (Read the Riverworld books for the Ultimate in this), The world shown in Dayworld feels fully realised.
The book starts of with the feeling of a detective story with Caird’s investigation in his position as an Organic policeman. We then go on to explore his ‘personalities’ as he moves from day to day whilst he juggles his lives. As the story develops, he has more involvement with the Immers and his life as a Daybreaker is threatened.
Philip Jose Farmers Dayworld is not as strange as some he has created in his fiction, it does though feel so believable and developed. There is a foreword in the book in which he explains the differing Calendars (one for the days lived awake and one for real time). He also mentions that names do not necessarily define someone’s Sex, just because someone has what we see as a Female name does not mean they are female, as he states ‘Customs change’
The world created within the novel comes back to a subject a lot of Science Fiction explored from the late 60’s to the 80’s that of overpopulation. One of the most notable in this sub-genre is Harry Harrison’s Make Room! Make Room! (you need to read it). Farmer shows a much different world to Harrisons, in some ways the extreme controls are more severe than in Harrison’s story and the Sociological ideas in the control of the population explored. Farmer manages to show how different a world would be with these controls in place. What is interesting about both books is they start by using a detective story as the basis to explore the world. This is because a Policeman investigating crimes can explore all levels of society giving the reader a way to see the world the author has created.
I really enjoy this sort of Dystopian world and I really like the way the use of aa Detective procedural slowly uncovers far more within the world. I don’t think it’s farmers best work, but it is a highly enjoyable book with a great and inventive take on the problems of over population. I’m looking forward to following on by reading the sequels that I have never read before.
Goodreads ratings are pretty limiting, my benchmark using those ratings are anything 3 or above is a good strong recommendation that I would happily reread at some point
My Blog http://www.backawayfromthedonkey.co.uk/
Dayworld is an expansion of Philip Jose Farmers 1971 short story The Sliced-Crosswise Only-On-Tuesday World, which I personally would have loved for the title of this book. The story is set in a future where people only live one day out of seven and for the other 6 days they are in hibernation (or stoned). This situation occurred due to over population and use of resources.
This was a reread, but I’d not read it since publication (1985), therefore I could only remember the brief outline of the ideas within the story.
The plot follows Jefferson Caird an Organic (policeman) who is in fact a Daybreaker, someone who lives illegally across multiple days. He also belongs to a group called the Immers that are a secret organisation that are secretly working to create a better government. We follow him as he struggles to balance 7 lives with 7 families and 7 jobs.
One thing Philip Jose Farmer is always good at is creating a believable world, no matter how bizarre it may seem (Read the Riverworld books for the Ultimate in this), The world shown in Dayworld feels fully realised.
The book starts of with the feeling of a detective story with Caird’s investigation in his position as an Organic policeman. We then go on to explore his ‘personalities’ as he moves from day to day whilst he juggles his lives. As the story develops, he has more involvement with the Immers and his life as a Daybreaker is threatened.
Philip Jose Farmers Dayworld is not as strange as some he has created in his fiction, it does though feel so believable and developed. There is a foreword in the book in which he explains the differing Calendars (one for the days lived awake and one for real time). He also mentions that names do not necessarily define someone’s Sex, just because someone has what we see as a Female name does not mean they are female, as he states ‘Customs change’
The world created within the novel comes back to a subject a lot of Science Fiction explored from the late 60’s to the 80’s that of overpopulation. One of the most notable in this sub-genre is Harry Harrison’s Make Room! Make Room! (you need to read it). Farmer shows a much different world to Harrisons, in some ways the extreme controls are more severe than in Harrison’s story and the Sociological ideas in the control of the population explored. Farmer manages to show how different a world would be with these controls in place. What is interesting about both books is they start by using a detective story as the basis to explore the world. This is because a Policeman investigating crimes can explore all levels of society giving the reader a way to see the world the author has created.
I really enjoy this sort of Dystopian world and I really like the way the use of aa Detective procedural slowly uncovers far more within the world. I don’t think it’s farmers best work, but it is a highly enjoyable book with a great and inventive take on the problems of over population. I’m looking forward to following on by reading the sequels that I have never read before.
Goodreads ratings are pretty limiting, my benchmark using those ratings are anything 3 or above is a good strong recommendation that I would happily reread at some point
My Blog http://www.backawayfromthedonkey.co.uk/
July 26, 2011
It's the far future, Earth has become a crowded place whose technology allows for supporting an enormous population, but whose geography makes this difficult. The solution? Use "stoning" technology, which freezes people (or anything else) into ageless solids, to freeze most of the Earth's population. Then unfreeze them on a schedule, so each person gets to live but one day of each week, sharing living space with six others.
Such is the premise of Farmer's Dayworld, a story that spins out from this premise, asking what people who dislike the status quo might do. The tale is told through the perspective(s) of a daybreaker, someone who lives seven different lives on seven different days as an operative for a secret organization (that also has a serum for extended life) working to free people from the oppression the government wields with its benevolent dictatorship. A few thoughts:
Dayworld is pretty good, but not really all that compelling. Perhaps part of it is that Farmer does such a good job re-casting the main character as he shifts from day to day that we have trouble maintaining our interest in him. An explanation late in the story helps establish how he can be so different each day, but it strains credulity a bit.
Farmer's real strength in the story is how he develops the wide-ranging ramifications for the seven day world. I especially like the notion that each day's culture would be distinct, so people would have different fashion styles in each day. At one point, our main daybreaker is caught in the wrong day's clothes, and he suspects the ruffled collar will give him away.
The technology in the story is interesting, with the "strips" serving sort of like computer screens and televisions in one. But these are never described in much detail, so it's hard to imagine how they work and somewhat irritating for all that. The main "miss" in this aspect is the idea that one kind of communication system--the "strip"--would completely edge out all the others.
Farmer suggests a few changes to gender politics, including multiple marriage not unlike the family marriage in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (though including, apparently, thrice-nightly consummation). He also mixes up name types to suggest that some male names would trend female and vice-versa. I suspect that he didn't research this idea much, as he didn't propose any major changes to gender relations that would allow female names to trend male. In present society, the trending is only male to female. See Alan Berliner's The Sweetest Sound for more on this.
The adventure story itself does alright, but as I wrote in point 1, I had trouble really getting into it because of the changing main character. Only toward the end, as his different personae start talking to one another, does the distinction between the characters really work for me.
A decent read, and as part of a trilogy I will see if I can get hold of the other two books through Bookmooch, but I probably won't go out of my way to get them otherwise.
Such is the premise of Farmer's Dayworld, a story that spins out from this premise, asking what people who dislike the status quo might do. The tale is told through the perspective(s) of a daybreaker, someone who lives seven different lives on seven different days as an operative for a secret organization (that also has a serum for extended life) working to free people from the oppression the government wields with its benevolent dictatorship. A few thoughts:
Dayworld is pretty good, but not really all that compelling. Perhaps part of it is that Farmer does such a good job re-casting the main character as he shifts from day to day that we have trouble maintaining our interest in him. An explanation late in the story helps establish how he can be so different each day, but it strains credulity a bit.
Farmer's real strength in the story is how he develops the wide-ranging ramifications for the seven day world. I especially like the notion that each day's culture would be distinct, so people would have different fashion styles in each day. At one point, our main daybreaker is caught in the wrong day's clothes, and he suspects the ruffled collar will give him away.
The technology in the story is interesting, with the "strips" serving sort of like computer screens and televisions in one. But these are never described in much detail, so it's hard to imagine how they work and somewhat irritating for all that. The main "miss" in this aspect is the idea that one kind of communication system--the "strip"--would completely edge out all the others.
Farmer suggests a few changes to gender politics, including multiple marriage not unlike the family marriage in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (though including, apparently, thrice-nightly consummation). He also mixes up name types to suggest that some male names would trend female and vice-versa. I suspect that he didn't research this idea much, as he didn't propose any major changes to gender relations that would allow female names to trend male. In present society, the trending is only male to female. See Alan Berliner's The Sweetest Sound for more on this.
The adventure story itself does alright, but as I wrote in point 1, I had trouble really getting into it because of the changing main character. Only toward the end, as his different personae start talking to one another, does the distinction between the characters really work for me.
A decent read, and as part of a trilogy I will see if I can get hold of the other two books through Bookmooch, but I probably won't go out of my way to get them otherwise.
March 20, 2024
Das Szenario, dass sich Farmer ausgedacht hat, ist originell, wenn auch nicht sonderlich plausibel:
wir haben ein autoritäres Regime, wo pro Wochentag nur 1/7 der Bevölkerung wach sein darf, während der Rest mittels einer elektromagnetischen Vorrichtung "versteinert" ist.
Es gibt eine Untergrundorganisation, die sog. "Immer", die mehr Freiheit für die Bevölkerung erkämpfen wollen. Der Protagonist gehört zu ihnen. Er ist eine Art Geheimagent, der an allen Tagen wach ist, wofür er sich möglichst unterschiedliche Persönlichkeiten erschaffen hat.
Ich empfand leider den Schreibstil als etwas mühsam. Wenn es spannend wird, kommt Farmer mit eher unwichtigen, seitenlangen Nebensächlichkeiten, die man dann nicht lesen will.
Stark war, wie Farmer die verschiedenen Persönlichkeiten des Hauptprotagonisten herausarbeitete. Allerdings blieb seine (ihre) Moral rätselhaft.
Der Schluss ließ mich etwas ratlos zurück. Das Buch hat mehrere Fortsetzungen
wir haben ein autoritäres Regime, wo pro Wochentag nur 1/7 der Bevölkerung wach sein darf, während der Rest mittels einer elektromagnetischen Vorrichtung "versteinert" ist.
Es gibt eine Untergrundorganisation, die sog. "Immer", die mehr Freiheit für die Bevölkerung erkämpfen wollen. Der Protagonist gehört zu ihnen. Er ist eine Art Geheimagent, der an allen Tagen wach ist, wofür er sich möglichst unterschiedliche Persönlichkeiten erschaffen hat.
Ich empfand leider den Schreibstil als etwas mühsam. Wenn es spannend wird, kommt Farmer mit eher unwichtigen, seitenlangen Nebensächlichkeiten, die man dann nicht lesen will.
Stark war, wie Farmer die verschiedenen Persönlichkeiten des Hauptprotagonisten herausarbeitete. Allerdings blieb seine (ihre) Moral rätselhaft.
Der Schluss ließ mich etwas ratlos zurück. Das Buch hat mehrere Fortsetzungen
Read
October 20, 2023Read this about 20-25 years ago and enjoyed it as I recall.
April 6, 2025
Nice writing and more modern than some PJF books that I remember, I was actually quite startled by how contemporary and sharp the story telling was. Not flawless by any means, but very contemporary.
The premise and worldbuilding of this book are excellent and pretty much what carry the story, we are in the 35th Century and as the world has overpopulated itself beyond carrying capacity a unique solution has been found with the development of 'stoner' technology. Now the 'stoner' tech allows a complete freezing at the molecular level (or at least that is how I interpret it, Farmer is coy about the tech details). So fresh produce can be 'stoned' and when de-stoned, however long later, will be exactly as it was before stoning. Yes, I do KNOW how funny using the word 'stoned' so often is, but I didn't write this!
Humans can also be safely placed in this suspended animation state as often as needed without any damage (even to pregnant women), so now, in Dayworld, everyone lives for just one day of the week, easing the requirements on resources, services and space. With the addition of a 'coffin' room seven couples can occupy the same apartment that two people would require. Farmers description of how this works is really ingenious and I thoroughly enjoyed the way he introduced the concept, with Jeff desperately running to be in the correct spot when the next day starts.
Because Jeff Caird is a daybreaker; a person who lives illegally every day, occupying seven different personas, with seven different occupations, wives, families and so on. The organisation which allows him to successfully do this are the Immers, an underground organisation which is bent on changing the status quo.
The book is to a fairly large extent a thriller, on the first day, a Tuesday, Jeff who is an 'organic' in that space, (basically a cop) encounters a violent criminal Rootenbeak who escapes the cops to become a known daybreaker. There is also a mad scientist; Caster was an Immer but went insane and now thinks Jeff is the devil for having arrested him. Another daybreaker. Then we have a special issue cop, Snick who is an organic and legal daybreaker.
And then it gets complicated.
The is the thriller element, I don't think Farmer is that great at the ability to write a thiller as, well, thrilling is a specific skill which I am not sure if PJF's skill. He manages to make a shoot-em-up boring and an escape scene tedious.
Characterisation, also not his best skill: Too many versions of Jeff exist and only at the end of the book did I realise they were meant to be autonomous.
However, still a really good book for it's worldbuilding and theme and I will be reading more.
The premise and worldbuilding of this book are excellent and pretty much what carry the story, we are in the 35th Century and as the world has overpopulated itself beyond carrying capacity a unique solution has been found with the development of 'stoner' technology. Now the 'stoner' tech allows a complete freezing at the molecular level (or at least that is how I interpret it, Farmer is coy about the tech details). So fresh produce can be 'stoned' and when de-stoned, however long later, will be exactly as it was before stoning. Yes, I do KNOW how funny using the word 'stoned' so often is, but I didn't write this!
Humans can also be safely placed in this suspended animation state as often as needed without any damage (even to pregnant women), so now, in Dayworld, everyone lives for just one day of the week, easing the requirements on resources, services and space. With the addition of a 'coffin' room seven couples can occupy the same apartment that two people would require. Farmers description of how this works is really ingenious and I thoroughly enjoyed the way he introduced the concept, with Jeff desperately running to be in the correct spot when the next day starts.
Because Jeff Caird is a daybreaker; a person who lives illegally every day, occupying seven different personas, with seven different occupations, wives, families and so on. The organisation which allows him to successfully do this are the Immers, an underground organisation which is bent on changing the status quo.
The book is to a fairly large extent a thriller, on the first day, a Tuesday, Jeff who is an 'organic' in that space, (basically a cop) encounters a violent criminal Rootenbeak who escapes the cops to become a known daybreaker. There is also a mad scientist; Caster was an Immer but went insane and now thinks Jeff is the devil for having arrested him. Another daybreaker. Then we have a special issue cop, Snick who is an organic and legal daybreaker.
And then it gets complicated.
The is the thriller element, I don't think Farmer is that great at the ability to write a thiller as, well, thrilling is a specific skill which I am not sure if PJF's skill. He manages to make a shoot-em-up boring and an escape scene tedious.
Characterisation, also not his best skill: Too many versions of Jeff exist and only at the end of the book did I realise they were meant to be autonomous.
However, still a really good book for it's worldbuilding and theme and I will be reading more.
July 24, 2017
Reader copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for a review.
Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
In Dayworld, human immortality had been unlocked. With an application of energy, humans can be "stoned," a process which suspends the animation of their cells, rendering them immune to damage or age. To accommodate the skyrocketing population of Earth, the government had instituted a time-sharing arrangement. Each person is un-stoned for one 24-hour period and allowed to live their life normally. At the end of the day, they return to their cylinders to be stoned again and someone else wakes up to take their place for the next day. This essentially allows one house or apartment to have seven different families living in it.
Of course, something like this has to be carefully monitored and organized at all times, which is handled by the government. Not everyone is happy with the government's oppressive hand in their lives and an underground of spies, rebels, and informants has developed. Jeff Caird, the protagonist is one of these, known as immers. He lives every day, juggling seven different personas, seven different lives in an effort to gather information for the immers. But when an immer goes rogue and starts daybreaking, Jeff and all his personas are in danger and it's a stop-and-go roller coaster of a chase.
I love this book. I'm a little embarrassed that I just found out that it isn't a new book (the Netgalley book appears to be a reissue/rebranding of the original), but that does help sort out my reaction. As I was reading Dayworld, I couldn't help but think of some of the original masters of science fiction and dystopian fiction: Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, E. E. Doc Smith. I was swept up in the world, integrated into the story so quickly that it was almost impossible to put it down again. Dayworld is fantastic. I am so glad they're reprinting it so it can catch the imaginations of another generation.
Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
In Dayworld, human immortality had been unlocked. With an application of energy, humans can be "stoned," a process which suspends the animation of their cells, rendering them immune to damage or age. To accommodate the skyrocketing population of Earth, the government had instituted a time-sharing arrangement. Each person is un-stoned for one 24-hour period and allowed to live their life normally. At the end of the day, they return to their cylinders to be stoned again and someone else wakes up to take their place for the next day. This essentially allows one house or apartment to have seven different families living in it.
Of course, something like this has to be carefully monitored and organized at all times, which is handled by the government. Not everyone is happy with the government's oppressive hand in their lives and an underground of spies, rebels, and informants has developed. Jeff Caird, the protagonist is one of these, known as immers. He lives every day, juggling seven different personas, seven different lives in an effort to gather information for the immers. But when an immer goes rogue and starts daybreaking, Jeff and all his personas are in danger and it's a stop-and-go roller coaster of a chase.
I love this book. I'm a little embarrassed that I just found out that it isn't a new book (the Netgalley book appears to be a reissue/rebranding of the original), but that does help sort out my reaction. As I was reading Dayworld, I couldn't help but think of some of the original masters of science fiction and dystopian fiction: Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, E. E. Doc Smith. I was swept up in the world, integrated into the story so quickly that it was almost impossible to put it down again. Dayworld is fantastic. I am so glad they're reprinting it so it can catch the imaginations of another generation.
May 17, 2020
Now this is a compelling concept for a dystopian science-fiction novel. Dayworld by Philip José Farmer is set in a world where overpopulation happened and the humankind came up with a solution: sort of like a cryofreeze method and every citizen lives only one day of the week. So, everything is new everyday--new trends, new television shows, etc.
The main character in this book is Jeff Caird. He is a daybreaker, which means he lives more than one day. He, by profession, wears a lot of caps. Jeff is one of the people who keeps things going for the one-day-only citizens. Now because he has this ability, he is sought for among the Immers, a group of people who work underground to make the government better. He acts as the messenger to tell the group about the everyday change.
However, the worst part of being a daybreaker caught up with Jeff. He developed a dissociative identity disorder, because he is unable to stay as himself and has the tendency to switch personalities without control.
What I like about this premise is that Farmer wrote about the consequences or a possible effect that can happen to someone who had to live every single day when the day in question *changes* every single day. While other dystopian novels think of going to the outerworlds or involving aliens to solve overpopulation, Farmer is one of the authors that think of another way as a solution. It’s funny that he uses the word ‘stoner’ in this book; not referring to those who smoke weed but people who became stoned as in immobile, or suspended movement. They turn this way when their time is up and have to be stoned for the rest of their six days. Farmer did a great job with this.
The main character in this book is Jeff Caird. He is a daybreaker, which means he lives more than one day. He, by profession, wears a lot of caps. Jeff is one of the people who keeps things going for the one-day-only citizens. Now because he has this ability, he is sought for among the Immers, a group of people who work underground to make the government better. He acts as the messenger to tell the group about the everyday change.
However, the worst part of being a daybreaker caught up with Jeff. He developed a dissociative identity disorder, because he is unable to stay as himself and has the tendency to switch personalities without control.
What I like about this premise is that Farmer wrote about the consequences or a possible effect that can happen to someone who had to live every single day when the day in question *changes* every single day. While other dystopian novels think of going to the outerworlds or involving aliens to solve overpopulation, Farmer is one of the authors that think of another way as a solution. It’s funny that he uses the word ‘stoner’ in this book; not referring to those who smoke weed but people who became stoned as in immobile, or suspended movement. They turn this way when their time is up and have to be stoned for the rest of their six days. Farmer did a great job with this.
June 23, 2024
Philip Jose Farmer is a very creative writer. I've read and re-read the Riverworld series three times and each time I find some new and fascinating element I missed on the previous read. Dayworld continues this fantastic exploration of science fiction. The world's population has become so large that you only get to live on a single day, of seven. So, you live in your house on Monday and someone else does on Tuesday, while you are in suspended animation. The term Farmer uses is, interestingly, stoned.
In this novel we are introduced to a Daybreaker, someone who doesn't conform to the one day a week living cycle and is looking to eventually work with his co-horts, the immers, to overturn the existing system.
Unfortunately after the initial idea and some really accurate forecasting of how technology will change (the book was written in 1986, yet accurately predicts many of the technological changes already in place today), the book falls apart. The writing is fair and character development is okay. The problem is that our daybreaker is essentially seven different people, one for each day of the week. As such none of these characters ever really gets the chance to grow and mature and we get the equivalent of six short stores (poor Monday doesn't get any time in this installment).
The end becomes a chase scene with a bit of a cliff hanger ending, but I won't be reading the next installment in the series. If you have read the Riverworld series and want more, then try this; maybe the things that bothered me won't bother you because the concept is great.
In this novel we are introduced to a Daybreaker, someone who doesn't conform to the one day a week living cycle and is looking to eventually work with his co-horts, the immers, to overturn the existing system.
Unfortunately after the initial idea and some really accurate forecasting of how technology will change (the book was written in 1986, yet accurately predicts many of the technological changes already in place today), the book falls apart. The writing is fair and character development is okay. The problem is that our daybreaker is essentially seven different people, one for each day of the week. As such none of these characters ever really gets the chance to grow and mature and we get the equivalent of six short stores (poor Monday doesn't get any time in this installment).
The end becomes a chase scene with a bit of a cliff hanger ending, but I won't be reading the next installment in the series. If you have read the Riverworld series and want more, then try this; maybe the things that bothered me won't bother you because the concept is great.
November 15, 2017
More of a 2.5 stars than a 3. This takes place centuries in the future, in a world where only 1/7 of the population is actually living their lives at any given time. The other 6/7 is "stoned," or in suspended animation, until their day of the week comes around and it's their turn to live. Of course some people want to be "daybreakers" and live more days, and those people must be apprehended and punished. For some reason the police are called "organics" and if they are very lucky/special they can also daybreak to chase the criminals. More likely the cases are handed over from day to day to that day's police. Information is only passed between days on a strict need-to-know basis. This is never really explained, but I assume it's either to better control the citizenry and/or dull their curiosity about seeing other days. The lack of explanations is one reason I give it a 2.5. I have many questions, starting with how on earth did this dumb system come about? The levels of technology this society has and this is the solution to overpopulation? And how does the dude who lives every day not eventually seem to be aging 7x more than everyone else? I do like the fact that things like global warming and overpopulation are right out in the forefront here, even if the "solutions" the world governments have come up with are pretty far out there, after all it is science fiction. It's a pretty quick read, but I'm not sure I care enough to read the next one.
January 4, 2025
In a world where overpopulation is solved by only allowing people to live one day a week, while the rest of the 6 days are spent in suspended animation ("stoned"), the ultimate act of treason is "daybreaking", living on more than your assigned weekday. Jeff Caird is such a daybreaker, living 7 different lives on each day of the week.
This is one of those high concept sci-fi novels whose worldbuilding and ideas are more compelling than the actual writing and story. A protagonist with dissociative identity disorder trying to juggle 7 different personalities and social lives as he goes from Monday to Sunday sounds like it'd make for fun reading but we don't spend enough time with anyone to really get to know them. The day-to-day cultures of the overtly communist world (streets and monuments in New York are named after Kropotkin, Lenin and Marx) are hinted at but not fleshed out enough. Farmer has obviously thought his Dayworld through but he doesn't spend enough time letting us know the cultures of Monday to Sunday's world other than vague fashion sense.
All this to serve a fairly mundane thriller story about a man chasing someone, and then being chased himself. Eventually culminating in him throwing away his life's work for a woman he literally just met, for some inexplicable reason.
An amusing enough novel, but I can't help but feel that Farmer rightly deserves his status as a mostly forgotten sci-fi author.
This is one of those high concept sci-fi novels whose worldbuilding and ideas are more compelling than the actual writing and story. A protagonist with dissociative identity disorder trying to juggle 7 different personalities and social lives as he goes from Monday to Sunday sounds like it'd make for fun reading but we don't spend enough time with anyone to really get to know them. The day-to-day cultures of the overtly communist world (streets and monuments in New York are named after Kropotkin, Lenin and Marx) are hinted at but not fleshed out enough. Farmer has obviously thought his Dayworld through but he doesn't spend enough time letting us know the cultures of Monday to Sunday's world other than vague fashion sense.
All this to serve a fairly mundane thriller story about a man chasing someone, and then being chased himself. Eventually culminating in him throwing away his life's work for a woman he literally just met, for some inexplicable reason.
An amusing enough novel, but I can't help but feel that Farmer rightly deserves his status as a mostly forgotten sci-fi author.
December 24, 2019
For a guy with seven personalities, you'd figure Jeff Caird would be an interesting character. But like everything else in this trash, he tries to be all things and ends up being a bland puddle of oatmeal.
There were a lot of interesting ideas and Farmer can occasionally turn a phrase, but Christ he picked the worst protagonist to follow. And with his tendency of just introducing random nonsense on the fly, I stopped taking the author at his word. No, I will not go along with this idea that Caird has multiple-personality disorder. He's just a boring man who took his LARPing to an extreme degree.
Wouldn't it have been nice if this was a short-story collection with some of the supporting characters in this bizarre setting? Like the policewoman (I'm not calling her an organic, Phil, to hell with your superficial terms) who gets permission to travel through the days and gets a taste of freedom? Or the fugitive rabbi who wants only to observe the Sabbath, his religious freedom having been suppressed by the world government? Or Ozma, the eccentric artist who paints grasshoppers? Anything better than this boring white-bread douchenozzle I got stuck with for 250 damned pages.
This book's engine started to conk out at the midway-point and dragged itself to the finish line at the pace of seven yards an hour. I'm done. To hell with this thing.
There were a lot of interesting ideas and Farmer can occasionally turn a phrase, but Christ he picked the worst protagonist to follow. And with his tendency of just introducing random nonsense on the fly, I stopped taking the author at his word. No, I will not go along with this idea that Caird has multiple-personality disorder. He's just a boring man who took his LARPing to an extreme degree.
Wouldn't it have been nice if this was a short-story collection with some of the supporting characters in this bizarre setting? Like the policewoman (I'm not calling her an organic, Phil, to hell with your superficial terms) who gets permission to travel through the days and gets a taste of freedom? Or the fugitive rabbi who wants only to observe the Sabbath, his religious freedom having been suppressed by the world government? Or Ozma, the eccentric artist who paints grasshoppers? Anything better than this boring white-bread douchenozzle I got stuck with for 250 damned pages.
This book's engine started to conk out at the midway-point and dragged itself to the finish line at the pace of seven yards an hour. I'm done. To hell with this thing.
July 9, 2017
Dayworld by Philip Jose Farmer- In a far future dystopian world, there are too many people, so the government breaks up the population into days of the week. Each person is allowed one day of activity while the rest of the week they are put into a stasis or hibernation state called "stoned" and kept in isolation tanks. The main character, Jeff Caird, works for a rebel group within the government that wants to remove some of the harsh restrictions. He is a daybreaker. He violates the law by being awake every day to deliver messages and handle projects for the rebel "Immers". He also has to fabricate multiple personalities, friends, families, etc, to match each day he is awake. Adding the stress of his already dangerous job, this leads to mistakes, gaps and personality disorders, and soon government agents and even his rebel contacts are hunting him.
I think the concept is intriguing and Farmer sure seems game, and for about the first two-thirds of the book it was very entertaining, but the last part starts to bog down and I wasn't that fond of the ending. This is only the first book in a trilogy. If you like a fast paced interesting story, it's not bad and way better than most of the current crop
I think the concept is intriguing and Farmer sure seems game, and for about the first two-thirds of the book it was very entertaining, but the last part starts to bog down and I wasn't that fond of the ending. This is only the first book in a trilogy. If you like a fast paced interesting story, it's not bad and way better than most of the current crop
November 28, 2017
Far in the future, the world is overpopulated. To deal with the problem society is broken down into seven days. Every person is sequestered to living only one day a week. The other six days they are frozen, or “stoned”, until their next day comes around. This creates a world with seven different societies existing apart from one another. Some people “daybreak” and live multiple days or an entire week. Jeff Caird is one such person.
This story quickly caught my attention years ago, but I never finished it. I am so glad I picked it up again and finished it! The world is a somewhat typical dystopian future. But the story combines that world with detective elements and the questionable mental health of the main character, Jeff Caird. His seven personas are distinctly different. The question becomes where does the real man end, and the fabricated personality begin? Are the different personalities a sign of pre existing mental illness, or the side effect of the world he lives in?
This was the first book I found written by Philip Jose Farmer when I was a teen. Since then I have read World of Tiers, The Green Odyssey and Riverworld. This is a great book and on par with the best I have read from Farmer. Highly recommended.
This story quickly caught my attention years ago, but I never finished it. I am so glad I picked it up again and finished it! The world is a somewhat typical dystopian future. But the story combines that world with detective elements and the questionable mental health of the main character, Jeff Caird. His seven personas are distinctly different. The question becomes where does the real man end, and the fabricated personality begin? Are the different personalities a sign of pre existing mental illness, or the side effect of the world he lives in?
This was the first book I found written by Philip Jose Farmer when I was a teen. Since then I have read World of Tiers, The Green Odyssey and Riverworld. This is a great book and on par with the best I have read from Farmer. Highly recommended.
April 29, 2025
Dayworld was a fascinating concept with a very interesting main character and a fast moving plot. Unfortunately, I didn't care for the writing style; it felt very cumbersome and old-fashioned. (Yes, I know this was written in the late 80's, but it feels even older than that, sadly.)
Jeff and his multiple personalities (one for each day of the week) keep the the story moving forward, and it held my interest. The world building could have been done better, with the history of the stoning and the process of breaking up the people into days, but Farmer gave the reader enough to get through the story. Add in the fact that he's chasing criminals (called 'daybreakers') through the days of the week, and you have a narrative unlike any other that I've encountered. For that alone, I have to give major kudos.
This story could easily have been made into a film or tv series, and I wonder if that's what Farmer was going for. I would absolutely watch it if so. I don't believe I'll be continuing with the series as I don't jive with Farmer's writing, but this was quite interesting and I'm glad I read it.
Jeff and his multiple personalities (one for each day of the week) keep the the story moving forward, and it held my interest. The world building could have been done better, with the history of the stoning and the process of breaking up the people into days, but Farmer gave the reader enough to get through the story. Add in the fact that he's chasing criminals (called 'daybreakers') through the days of the week, and you have a narrative unlike any other that I've encountered. For that alone, I have to give major kudos.
This story could easily have been made into a film or tv series, and I wonder if that's what Farmer was going for. I would absolutely watch it if so. I don't believe I'll be continuing with the series as I don't jive with Farmer's writing, but this was quite interesting and I'm glad I read it.
January 25, 2022
This was a fun read for me, and had all the charm of classic science fiction that is lost in a lot of todays' sci fi. Farmer had an interesting idea for a dystopian future ruled by woke despotism in a world so overpopulated that people were only allowed to live for one day of the week, and he executed that vision quite well.
The main character starts off as a plain average joe and develops in slightly unexpected ways throughout, along with the world around him. The story is entirely built around his 'what if?' concept and takes you for a wild ride, even if the supporting characters come up lacking.
I really enjoyed the allegories presented in the story, and the execution of the society Farmer builds, but he comes up short in implied religious and technological innovations in favor of old school retro futurism. It has a certain charm to it though, and it a surprisingly fleshed out story for having come from such a simple concept.
The main character starts off as a plain average joe and develops in slightly unexpected ways throughout, along with the world around him. The story is entirely built around his 'what if?' concept and takes you for a wild ride, even if the supporting characters come up lacking.
I really enjoyed the allegories presented in the story, and the execution of the society Farmer builds, but he comes up short in implied religious and technological innovations in favor of old school retro futurism. It has a certain charm to it though, and it a surprisingly fleshed out story for having come from such a simple concept.
Read
October 11, 2025Unsure of how to log this one. I found myself very immersed in the (Day)world and found the characters to be functional enough, but I think the story had a different conclusion in mind to the one that was eventually reached.
I struggled a little with how much was happening "off-screen" but I like to think this was intended to show how the (Day)world very much flies in the face of people living an ordinary life, I think a certain character's grief pays off really well in a unique way and I like the nuanced approach that neither the world government nor the people trying to change it are all bad or all good (you could dare say, nuance)
I think I may visit the sequels sometime soon but for now I think I need to sit with it and try to appreciate it more, because I still feel a tad lukewarm thanks to the ending. What kept and is continuing to keep me interested in the depth of the world is Farmer's talent for writing engaging genre fiction
I struggled a little with how much was happening "off-screen" but I like to think this was intended to show how the (Day)world very much flies in the face of people living an ordinary life, I think a certain character's grief pays off really well in a unique way and I like the nuanced approach that neither the world government nor the people trying to change it are all bad or all good (you could dare say, nuance)
I think I may visit the sequels sometime soon but for now I think I need to sit with it and try to appreciate it more, because I still feel a tad lukewarm thanks to the ending. What kept and is continuing to keep me interested in the depth of the world is Farmer's talent for writing engaging genre fiction
February 9, 2018
This was a really fun read. The setting is a future world where overpopulation has forced humanity to split up and 1/7 lives their lives in each day of the week. The remaining days, they are in a form of suspended animation. This story follows a "daybreaker" who go against the system to live in every day of the week, with a new and unique personality for each.
It was a fairly easy read, though there were times where I had trouble keeping up with all the names, especially since the main character ends up having 7! The premise was cool, and I definitely enjoyed it. It was a nice book to get back into the habit of reading with and to kick off making better progress on our reading list!
It was a fairly easy read, though there were times where I had trouble keeping up with all the names, especially since the main character ends up having 7! The premise was cool, and I definitely enjoyed it. It was a nice book to get back into the habit of reading with and to kick off making better progress on our reading list!
October 31, 2021
A lot of potential but some boring chase scenes and nebulous plot made this a somewhat uninspired story.
The concept of living only one day each week followed by six days of suspended animation was fascinating but Farmer’s story fell short of the setup. Our protagonist has defied the day world concept and the government instead seeking to make the world a better place. Unfortunately the counter government sect he belongs to has flaws as well.
That setup seems to the basis for a great book but the mish mosh of characters and endless chases through the city made me glad when this was over.
The concept of living only one day each week followed by six days of suspended animation was fascinating but Farmer’s story fell short of the setup. Our protagonist has defied the day world concept and the government instead seeking to make the world a better place. Unfortunately the counter government sect he belongs to has flaws as well.
That setup seems to the basis for a great book but the mish mosh of characters and endless chases through the city made me glad when this was over.
June 16, 2017
Rating: 3 stars
This book has probably been here all my life, caught in a draw from the days my dad still thought he liked reading. Turns out he didn't and this poor book has remained in the drawer for almost eighteen years. I was afraid to pick it up, not knowing whether I would like it or not.
When I finally picked it up I was positively surprised, the story is refreshing with all the different personalities providing an interesting form of storytelling. I have to say that, although the story is confined and sometimes a bit bland, the storytelling and use of different personalities add up to it. I loved the final scenes, providing action which was refreshing in the scheme of the story.
An overall enjoying nerdy science-fiction novel. Not something I would reread anytime but it was fun while it lasted.
This book has probably been here all my life, caught in a draw from the days my dad still thought he liked reading. Turns out he didn't and this poor book has remained in the drawer for almost eighteen years. I was afraid to pick it up, not knowing whether I would like it or not.
When I finally picked it up I was positively surprised, the story is refreshing with all the different personalities providing an interesting form of storytelling. I have to say that, although the story is confined and sometimes a bit bland, the storytelling and use of different personalities add up to it. I loved the final scenes, providing action which was refreshing in the scheme of the story.
An overall enjoying nerdy science-fiction novel. Not something I would reread anytime but it was fun while it lasted.
August 1, 2018
It's a tremendously inventive concept, though it's developed in a pretty lightweight way. The plot is a little silly (I kept expecting it to develop into something more, but it didn't).
I found the world-building amusing if underdone. The most detail seemed to be devoted to outlining the various hot wives one would have in each of the different worlds. I would have liked more explanation and logic, but as is, it was a pretty fun read and I'll probably try to get the rest of the trilogy.
I found the world-building amusing if underdone. The most detail seemed to be devoted to outlining the various hot wives one would have in each of the different worlds. I would have liked more explanation and logic, but as is, it was a pretty fun read and I'll probably try to get the rest of the trilogy.
February 11, 2019
This book has a great premise and it really had me at the end. Unfortunately, it was such a wobbly beginning where I sort of had the gist of it but felt like I was a little adrift in the world Farmer created. Maybe that was the point? Worth persisting with if you feel lost early on. I am going to continue the series.
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