"Dayworld" by Philip Jose Farmer (1985) has elements that remind me of a lot of other classic sci-fi books. For example, some of the police procedural, hi-tech dystopian world elements and pulp sci-fi & action story tropes of "Dayworld" remind me of "Bladerunner", (the Ridley Scott movie more so than the "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" Philip K. Dick novel from which it was based). I guess its not that surprising as the visually-stunning and goundbreaking vision of a future dystopia that was Bladerunner came out in 1982, just a few years before Farmer published Dayworld.And the author of both stories first names were Philip... Okay, never mind. As I was saying...The point is that while many of the individual elements of the "Dayworld" world may seem similar to other sci-fi novels; the main sci-fi "hook" of Dayworld is to my knowledge totally unique. It does what another of my favorite sci-fi novels ("Ringworld" by Larry Niven) does so well. It takes a very cool and BIG science-based idea that sounds a little crazy at first, and then explores it and its implications in a very serious yet action-packed and entertaining way.So what is Dayworld's hook?Due to overpopulation and strained resources the world long ago adopted the use of a technology called "Stoning" which essentially is a form of stasis or advanced suspended animation where the atoms of matter are basically frozen in time. Everyone in the world is allocated one day of the week in which they live their life as a part of a very organized and controlled society. The other days of the week they are stoned, essentially dead until revived when their day comes around again. With only one-seventh of the world's population awake each day, each day of the week becomes it's own individual "world".The main character is a "Daybreaker", a criminal who lives multiple lives with different identities (one for each day of the week) while secretly working as a kind of cross-day courier and operative for a powerful and secret organization called "the Immers" whose motive claims to be a gradual subversion of the overbearing government with an aim towards relaxing the harsh controls it keeps over its citizens."Dayworld" is the first in a trilogy of books, one of Farmer's later series. I have read "Dayworld" and its sequels multiple times, as it has become one my favorites. I discovered it shortly after its publication when looking for more books by the author. I had read and loved one of his earlier series of books, "The World of Tiers" series, which was written mostly in the 1960's & 70's, and is a great pulp sci-fi/fantasy action-adventure series with nods to Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter & Tarzan series while being completely its own animal. Farmer is also well known for his Riverworld series which I have never really given a serious reading. (I've acquired copies and they are in my queue though.)I give "Dayworld" 4 out of 5 stars. The story is rich in awesome ideas and themes, and interesting exploration of the "Dayworld" society & technologies. There is mystery, intrigue, action and adventure. The story shifts gradually from these action and sci-fi tropes to a very psychological thriller as well. There are SOME minor issues though: ONE: An action scene has an unnecessary bit of overly dramatic touches that feel a bit "Deus ex machina". (view spoiler)[Lightning strikes nearby during a gunfight, taking out some of the protagonist's enemies. And in yet another dramatic chase scene yet another lightning storm strikes nearby with less effect... But STILL that's a lot of lighting flying around our hero in a short period of time. (hide spoiler)]
http://theprettygoodgatsby.wordpress....The only reason this book received a star was because I thought the premise was amazing. It’s always such a disappointment when a book has a great idea, but the execution is terrible. Such was the case with Dayworld.I first stumbled upon this book at work and was so drawn to it I began reading it that same night. In the distant future, Earth is too crowded and the government decides to allow each person one day out of the week to live. The other six days they’re in a frozen state (the book chooses the word ‘stoned’ which took on an entirely different meaning). Jeff Caird is a daybreaker – he’s able to live the entire week although he has seven individual personas/families/homes for each day.Right from the start I was disappointed. The writing is very juvenile; normally short sentences and quick transitions means a fast read. Unfortunately, this book (my copy was just barely over 200 pages) took nearly an entire week for me to finish. It seemed unending. Not only was the writing not up to par, but the author chose names that simply confused me. Granted, odd naming schemes and sci-fi go hands-in-hand; however, Farmer decided – for some reason that was never explained other than a ‘it’s how things go in the future’ – to give some women male names and some men female names. This became EXTREMELY confusing when a character introduced Rupert as his wife or Dorothy was described as a man.While it was interesting that each day has their own fads, Farmer took it to an extreme – and, again, for an discernible reason. On one of the days, everyone carries around teddy bears. Men, women, and children. They all walk around with teddy bears. One character paints grasshoppers and a current fashion trend is to be painted. I simply couldn’t wrap my head around it and all the ~wackiness~ became frustrating (& I’m normally a fan of wacky, quirky books – Jasper Fforde, I’m looking at you!).Toward the end I had had enough and began skimming – never a good sign. I wound up skimming through a big, climactic fight scene. Not even a battle was interesting enough to keep me entertained. In the end I had skimmed through the final 80 pages & as I had mentioned, my copy was just over 200. 80 pages is quite a big portion of the book to skim.Sadly, as excited as I was about this book, Dayworld was a huge letdown and I will not be reading its sequels.
What do You think about Dayworld (1988)?
I recently re-read this book. I remember I enjoyed it a lot the first time. Reading it again, 20 years later in 2007 I still like the plot but the writing and characters left me a bit flat. Maybe it was the mood I was in, maybe I was just overthinking it. It's still worth a read. The premise is, or was, unique. Overpopulation has taken it's toll on resources so 1/7 of the world's population is placed in a rotating suspended animation for six days. On the seventh day, they live their normal lives. Rebels are bucking the system (wonder why?) and agents are sent after them. These agents and some of the criminals begin personality hopping becoming schizophrenic paranoids in the process. I'd recommend it, but sub-par to other of his works.
—David Monroe
Farmer has a strange and creative imagination, but in this case he created something so unlikely that I had to work very hard to suspend disbelief.Would you believe that people everywhere will voluntarily agree to live only one day a week? I think that the number of cheaters would be so high as to make the system unworkable. After you get over this hump, the book is enjoyable. As always with Farmer, there is a lot of action and stuff going on – not a dull moment.I wonder whether he intended this book as a sort of warning. Not as forceful as Orwell’s “1984″ but a warning nevertheless. I had this thought while reading the book. The basic assumption seems extremely implausible, but who knows? In any case, I enjoyed the book.
—Nachman Kataczinsky
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.
—Badseedgirl
