So it ends. Not with a bang, but with a shrug. But that is life, and life is what this series of books is all about. What is life? Wherein lies the essence of life? And what are we supposed to do with it?

As a philosophical discussion about the soul, the Riverworld series works pretty good. But I can't help feeling a little bit ripped off by the far too complex storyline carrying this disussion forward. Too many characters and too many parallell storylines and things happening at the same time steal focus from the far more intriguing prospect of the wathans and the implications Farmer's vision has on religion.

The theme is a great one. Epic, to say the least. But unfortunaltely, I think Farmer fails in tranferring this to the written page.