Philip Jose FarmerPhilip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was a science fiction and fantasy novelist and short story writer from the United States. Farmer is most known for his novel series, particularly his World of Tiers (1965-93) and Riverworld (171-83) series. He is known for his groundbreaking use of sexual and religious themes in his work, as well as his obsession with and reworking of the legend of celebrated pulp heroes, and for his occasional tongue-in-cheek pseudonymous works written as though by imaginary people. Farmer frequently blended actual and classic fictional characters and settings, as seen by his Wold Newton family stories, which connect classic fictional characters together as real people and blood relatives as a result of an alien conspiracy. Early examples of literary mashup novels are The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (1973) and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life (1973). Leslie Fiedler, a literary critic, compared Farmer to Ray Bradbury, describing both as "provincial American eccentrics" who "strain at the classic limits of the [science fiction] form," but Farmer stood out due to his capacity to "be at once naive and sophisticated with his odd blending of theology, inappropriate material, and adventure." Read More Read Less