To Your Scattered Bodies Go

Author: Philip Jose Farmer

First novel in the Riverworld series. Along the winding river valley in a place somewhere no on Earth or maybe not even in this universe, people (dead people) awake, bald as eggs, at a physiological age of 25, un-aging (except for those who dies before 25, who'll age to that point and then stop) and mostly immortal. Nourishment is supplied through a process that is at once simple and yet gives rise to an unexpected number of social behaviorisms, making it clear that what motivates human beings is vastly more complex than mere nourishment. Throughout the cycle of novels in this series, we observe the development of various social configurations and follow the individual adventures of protagonists and antagonists (sometimes hard to distinguish) alike. The rationale behind what's happening here is eventually revealed, and unsurprisingly involves aliens with their own clever plans and tricks. Why it's on the list: An amazing mealange of science, post-life mythology, speculation about the nature of the 'soul', and browsing through human history by using and abusing historical personages. The novel was awarded the Hugo in 1972. There was an aborted TV series and a long movie as well. The novel's subjects bear a resemblance to Seahorse in the Sky (#17 on this list), but Farmer and Cooper have very different takes on the subjects they deal with. Read if you like: Speculations about the nature of the science of the 'soul'. Aliens messing with our minds like we do with rats in mazes.