Philip José Farmer
American science fiction and fantasy writer (1918–2009) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Philip Jose Farmer?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories.[2]
Philip José Farmer | |
---|---|
Born | (1918-01-26)January 26, 1918 North Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. |
Died | February 25, 2009(2009-02-25) (aged 91) Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
Pen name | more than a dozen[1] (below) |
Occupation | Novelist, short story writer |
Alma mater | Peoria High School Bradley University |
Period | c. 1952–2009 |
Genre | Fantasy, science fiction |
Spouse |
Bette V. Andre (m. 1941) |
Children | 2 |
Website | |
www |
Farmer is best known for his sequences of novels, especially the World of Tiers (1965–93) and Riverworld (1971–83) series. He is noted for the pioneering use of sexual and religious themes in his work, his fascination for, and reworking of, the lore of celebrated pulp heroes, and occasional tongue-in-cheek pseudonymous works written as if by fictional characters. Farmer often mixed real and classic fictional characters and worlds and real and fake authors as epitomized by his Wold Newton family books, which tie classic fictional characters together as real people and blood relatives resulting from an alien conspiracy. Such works as The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (1973) and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life (1973) are early examples of literary mashup novels.
Literary critic Leslie Fiedler compared Farmer to Ray Bradbury, describing both as "provincial American eccentrics" who "strain at the classic limits of the [science fiction] form," but found Farmer distinctive for his capacity "to be at once naive and sophisticated in his odd blending of theology, pornography, and adventure."[3]