Maker Of Universes (original 1965; edition 1984)

Really liked it when I read it growing up. Have to read it again to comment though. ( )

Mildly fun to read - excellent description, interesting characters. However, it gets to be a little too much wish-fulfillment after about the half-way mark. I like Wolff while he's figuring things out (the getting-younger part, though - eh). But once his adventures start they run a little too much on rails. Even Kickaha is surprised when Wolff manages to find him after the capture by slavers. And all the challenges are just a little too easily overcome. There are also two points - the description of the World of Tiers, and what Abiru had to say to Wolff - where we the readers aren't told what's happening, it's left to come out later. In both cases, this is a bit too much auctorial fiat for me. In the first case, Kickaha has to 'say' again what he just said the night before to Wolff in order to explain to the readers, which is silly - either he shouldn't have explained it before, or we should have gotten the whole story the first time. In the second, there's better reason - it's a twist ending. But concealing it by waving a red cloth and shouting "I'm hiding something! Right here! Look - no, you can't look at it!" is annoying. It could have been done more subtly. It is fun to read, and very memorable - I don't think I'd read this series in the past 10 years, maybe 20, but everything was still quite familiar to me. Good but not excellent. ( )

I'm re-reading this now after finally completing the series. It's been almost 40 years since I first read it, so I'll see if it keeps its 4 star rating (I doubt it), but I HAVE to find out how the entire story winds up.The re-read was great. There are some holes in the story, but it still stands as a fun, quick read. It's still a fairly unique adventure story that is based on SF, but has some fantasy elements, sort of. -----------For years, I considered it a good, stand-alone, novel. I still think so. However, I got sucked into reading the following books, through the 5th & wanted to scream in frustration since the ending was a cliff hanger. It is now a series of 7 books. The series was completed in the 90's, a 14 year gap between books 5 & 6. I haven't read 6 or 7, yet. Reviews for the last book are not encouraging, but I will get them because I need closure!!! -----------The first book starts out with Wolf on Earth. He falls in with a knave who leads him on a merry chase through a private world of tiers that is inhabited by a bizarre collection of mythological beings that were grown in the labs of the creator of the universe. When I first read this, what impressed me most, was the new (to me, then) idea of private universes & worlds that Farmer came up with & how he handled them. It's really just a fun, action story with an SF basis but really more of a fantasy novel. He's managed to pack so many different genres into one book & tied them all together in a unique (then) & seamless way. ------- Spoiler below ---------Farmer posits a race that humans are descended from & our 'Earth' is just one more private universe. Space travel isn't really possible since the 'stars' aren't really there, they're imperfections in the lining of the bubble universe we inhabit. The makers of the universes aren't even the originators of this, they found out the same thing as they developed. They are now an old, declining race. They've forgotten the science behind the wonders they control & are fighting among themselves - the implication being they are repeating the cycle of those that created them. The main character of the series is Kickaha, the merry knave that first introduces Wolf to the new universe. He's originally from Earth & is now something of a legend & thorn in the side of the 'Lords'. His battle with one lord, Red Orc, in particular is a central theme - the clean cut hero against the decadent villan. ( )

A ragged 1965 Ace paperback edition of Farmer's picaresque "doorway to another world" romp sat atop a cardboard box of book donations in the library workroom. I snapped it up before it got carted away to the dumpster. In high school I'd read some Farmer - The Green Odyssey is the one I remember. The Maker of Universes is pure delight. The hokey parts may really be parodies - hard to tell. But no matter - Farmer is such a splendid yarn-spinner, with an extraordinary gift for describing the details of exotic alternate worlds - the flora, the fauna, the fabulous characters. Now I'm hooked. It turns out this is the first of seven books in the World of Tiers series. I'm hungrily eyeing the next six! ( )

I've read this book several times now and I am never disappointed. Fast paced and swashbuckling. A wonderfully created world. A great read!

Heartily recommend. ( )