Riverworld

Riverworld is the setting for a series of book written by the author Philip José Farmer. The five books in the series are as follows :

• To Your Scattered Bodies Go[?]
• The Fabulous Riverboat[?]
• The Dark Design[?]
• The Magic Labyrinth[?]
• The Gods of Riverworld[?]

The Riverworld is a planet, where the landscape has been sculpted by unknown forces, to consist of one enormous river that spirals around the planet from pole to pole. The banks of the river rise up to form an impenetrable mountain range. The whole of humanity from the time of early humans through to the early 21st Century appear to have been reincarnated along the banks of the river. Should an individual die on Riverworld they will soon find themselves once again reincarnated somewhere else along the banks of the river. The reason behind the existence of Riverworld is initially a complete mystery. In Farmer's books a number of historical figures - including Sir Richard Burton, Alice Hargreaves, Samuel Clemens, King John, and Hermann Göring - interact with fictional characters in a quest to discover the purpose behind the creation of Riverworld and their reincarnation.

Since the publication of the original books, a number of authors have used to Riverworld setting for their own stories.

The Fabulous Riverboat portrays Göring as a missionary of the Church of the Second Chance, a peaceful religion. Since all the languages of mankind are represented in Riverworld, the Church spreads Esperanto as a common tongue to ease its preaching.

A set of rules for the GURPS role-playing game system based on Riverworld was released by Steve Jackson games.

In December 2001 work began on a TV series based on the Riverworld saga.