The Magic Labyrinth (Riverworld Book IV) by Philip Jose Farmer – review

At last, in the fourth novel of Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld series, The Magic Labyrinth, the answers to all of the questions the preceding three books have raised are answered. Or are they? In the Preface of the third novel, The Dark Design, which I reviewed here a couple of weeks ago, Farmer suggested that despite his original plans to conclude the series with The Magic Labyrinth, there would still be unanswered questions left that he might like to delve into more in a possible fifth novel, or in a collection of short stories based on some of the characters he’d written about in the series. Though Farmer passed away in 2009, the possible fifth novel he mentioned was just recently published by the good people at Tor. That’s why I’ve been doing a retrospective look at the entire Riverworld series, to lead up to my upcoming review of the fifth novel, Gods of Riverworld, two weeks from now. Despite numerous complaints about some flaws that many reviewers have pointed out in The Magic Labyrinth, I think it’s a pretty good “conclusion” that does answer most of the questions raised by the series.

But is The Magic Labyrinth good enough that you will enjoy reading it? Is it worthwhile to read, and spend your hard earned cash on? I’d say that it is, for at least three reasons. First, and perhaps the most obvious reason, is that it concludes the series. If you’re a fan of the preceding three novels and have been carried along by Farmer’s magical prose up until now, like with any series you enjoy, you’ll want to see if the conclusion is as great as what you’ve already read, and if it really does answer all of the questions that have previously been raised.

Second, if you have become a fan (or already were one) of the two main characters of the entire series, the explorer, linguist, and adventurer Sir Richard Burton and the American author and humorist Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), then you’ll want to read The Magic Labyrinth to absorb more of their philosophical musings and adventures, and find out which one of them makes it to the Tower headquarters of the Ethicals first at the headwaters of the globe-encircling River, and what happens when that person and his band of followers confronts the Ethical known as X.

Third, you’ll want to read it to finally learn why Riverworld was created, why when the people who were resurrected died they got resurrected over and over again, why there was a limit placed on the amount of times they could be resurrected, why only people over the age of five were resurrected on Riverworld, and why the resurrections came to an abrupt stop. You’ll also want to read about what the alien Monat Grrautat has to do with the planning and reasons behind Riverworld and the conclusion of the grand god-like experiment, and why there are two Peter Frigates.

A problem that some critics have with the book is that they call it “uneven.” For example, that there are parts of the novel with plenty of “thrilling action and adventure,” but they are interspersed with too many “long sections of mind-numbing boredom.” I’d say that viewpoint, and the one that you will ultimately arrive at as you read the series, depends on if you like to read about the history of the characters and their inner musings and their philosophies of life, or if you consider these to be just interruptions to the story’s plot and action moving forward.

Personally, I didn’t look at these places in the novel to be failings, but to be opportunities to get into the characters’ minds better, to understand their motivations, and to fill in for myself more information about the lives of the characters Farmer has researched and written about. Sure, there were some times when even I felt he got a bit too carried away; but, all in all, I really enjoyed his writing style. Also, if you’ve read all of the novels, you’d see that Farmer has written this same way since the first one, the Hugo Award-winning To Your Scattered Bodies Go. It’s kind of surprising to me that the other novels sometimes are criticized for what was apparent from the very start of the series, a novel that won one of science fiction literature’s highest honors.

The River is so long, it’s taken forty years for the upRiver chase between the rival factions to draw to an end. There is the Rex, the original riverboat Clemens envisioned and had constructed, that was originally called The Not For Hire, and which was stolen by King John Lackland and his followers; and there’s Clemens’ boat that he had built to be even bigger and better-armed than the The Not For Hire, to pursue King John, get revenge on him, and reach the Tower. After King John changes the name of the boat he’s stolen to Rex, Clemens changes the name of his newer boat to The Not For Hire.

Sir Richard Burton and gang, it just so happens, have gotten themselves signed on as crew members on King John’s boat. So, the race is not just between Clemens and King John, but it’s also between Clemens and Sir Richard Burton. Burton believes King John’s crew has been infiltrated by Ethicals and/or agents of the Ethicals who are in disguise, to try to prevent him and anyone else from reaching the Tower and learning the many mysteries behind the Riverworld. The final battle between the two boats and their crews is action-packed, and one of the book’s highlights.

The Magic Labyrinth is a suspenseful, page-turning conclusion to the Riverworld Saga. It is flawed, but, oh, what Philip Jose Farmer does within and between the flaws! To me, it’s spectacular, and an integral part of one of the best science fiction series ever written. I’m greatly looking forward to reading Gods of Riverworld, and reviewing it in the near future.

What are your opinions about The Magic Labyrinth and the Riverworld series? Do you feel similar to the way I do about it, or do you think that the stretches in the series without as much action hinder the plot’s advancement? Please leave comments below!