Dayworld Rebel (1987) 313 pages by Philip Jose FarmerThis novel picks up where Dayworld left off. Jeff Caird is in custody, but has created a new personae for himself. He is now completely William St. George Duncan, with no memory of Caird or the other six personae that had been him in Dayworld. There was a lot of Duncan trying to learn things, about the government and about his prior selves, and also wanting to be in a position to actually do something. He escapes from the mental hospital/prison where he was being held and questioned to the wilds of New Jersey. He meets up with a band of other outlaws who help him escape from the initial manhunt, but he doesn't want to be rabbit always scurrying and trying to avoid detection.That brings us about half way through the book, where Duncan seems to be important. We know it, because we've read Dayworld and know that he has the dangerous (to the govt.) secret of the life extending drugs of the Immermans, plus the two gifts that seem to be his alone, the ability to lie under the influence of the truth mist, and this thing with his being able to become a new person. The two may be linked.Daywold Rebel has got me ready to ready Dayworld Breakup, even though it is at a good stopping point.
Interesting idea that Farmer had pretty much given up on by the end of the first book, and while it gets vague mention in volume 2, it's more a 'man rebelling against a dysutopian future society' story .Usual Farmer touches and adventure, but I wanted to see more about how the 'living for only one day' society would function, and the idea of our hero living in several days under several identities would play out.This is very much a 'middle of the trilogy' book and it left me unsure if I want to track down the grand finale.Would be interesting if somebody did a 'Dayworld' anthology, where other authors got to play with this idea. Like they did with 'Riverworld'.
