World of Tiers
Encyclopedia
The World of Tiers is a series of science fiction
novels by American writer Philip José Farmer
. They are set within a series of artificially-constructed universes, created and ruled by decadent beings who are genetically identical to humans, but who regard themselves as superior, the inheritors of an advanced technology they no longer understand. This technology enables the "Lords" (or Thoans, in their own language) to create novel lifeforms, and also to prevent aging or disease, making them effectively immortal. Their technology also allows them to create small artificial universes, and the planets and stars within them, and modify the physical laws (e.g., changing the behavior of gravity) to create unusual or interesting phenomena within these universes. Instantaneous travel within and between these universes is achieved by the use of gates which seem to function as teleportation
devices, or as a means of creating wormhole
s between different regions of spacetime.
The overall series title comes from the main 'pocket universe
' featured in the books. This consists of a single planet with a green sky, shaped in the form of a huge stepped pyramid on five stages, with each stage being a disk or squat cylinder. A small sun and a single moon orbit around this planet (thus, in this universe Geocentrism is a correct description of astronomical reality). There are no other stars or astronomical bodies. This world was created by a Lord named Jadawin.
The overall storyline of the series follows the adventures of two people from Earth who independently discover gates into the World of Tiers. The earlier books focus on the character of Robert Wolff as he explores this world and tries to discover its secrets. From the third book onwards the action shifts to Paul Janus Finnegan (known as Kickaha, along with many other aliases), who is drawn into a battle between an ancient enemy of the Thoans, and ultimately into the feuds between rival Thoans as they try
to take over each other's universes.
A French-language
roleplaying game
inspired by the World of Tiers has been released.
The novel Red Orc's Rage
(1991) can be included in the series, but the connection is marginal rather than central. Although the main characters from the other books do not occur directly, this novel provides some background material on events and characters in the other novels.
There is no diminution of atmosphere from one level to the next, due to Jadawin's manipulation of the local gravitational fields. The various tiers are populated with plants and animals creating different environments. Some of these were abducted from Earth throughout history, while many were created in Jadawin's biolabs. Many creatures have bodies created by Jadawin to replicate mythological creatures (e.g. merpeople
, centaur
s) implanted with the minds of abducted humans. The various inhabitants are immortal
as far as physical aging is concerned, though they can be killed by most other means.
The World of Tiers consists of a series of flattened cylindrical layers, or monoliths, stacked one on top of the next, with
habitable environments on the upper surfaces (tiers) of each monolith. The tiers are, in order, from largest (bottom) to smallest (top):
and the monoliths on top of which the tiers are located are:
The exact dimensions of the monoliths are not stated, and so they must be inferred from hints in the novels, such as the quote above. Unfortunately the various statements in the books seem to be inconsistent. For instance, the distance from the
outer edge of the Amerind tier to the base of the monolith Abharhploonta is quoted as being 1500 miles (approximately 2400 km), while the surface area of the Amerind tier is quoted as being equal to that of North and South America combined (approximately 42 million square kilometers). From this information it can be inferred that the outer radius of the Amerind tier (and hence the radius of the monolith Thayaphaeawoed) is approximately 4000 km. The next tier down (Okeanos) consists of a circular ocean girdling the monolith Thayaphaeawoed, approximately 480 kilometers wide, and a circular beach and forest. The edge of the Okeanos tier is easily reached by foot from the beach in less than a day. It follows that the outer radius of the lowest (largest) tier of the planet is approximately 4500 km. This disagrees with the quote above, since, in order to have a surface area equal to that of the water surface of Earth, the world of tiers would require a radius of approximately 10,700 km.
Furthermore, the heights of the various monoliths are not consistent between novels. As one example, in the first novel of the series the monolith Idaquizzoorhruz is quoted as being 30,000 feet (approximately 10 km) tall, while in the third novel it is stated as being 100,000 feet (approximately 33 km) tall. These discrepancies may be explained by saying that the various characters initial estimates of the height of the monoliths are inaccurate, and become more accurate as they learn
more about Alofmethbin.
In any case, while the overall shape of the planet is a conical stepped pyramid, it is clearly much broader (several thousand kilometers) than it is tall (around 100 km).
effects of drugs in the water supply provided by the Lord Jadawin. He meets and falls in love with Chryseis, and when she is kidnapped, he sets out to rescue her, ascending the various levels of the planet. Most of this journey is undertaken in the company of Paul Janus Finnegan, aka Kickaha.
At the start of the first novel in the series, Finnegan has lived on the World of Tiers for approximately twenty-four years. In that time, he has learned many of the local languages, become extremely skilled at knife-throwing, archery, and other combat and outdoors survival skills, and lived under many assumed names and identities. In Dracheland, his identity is "Baron Horst von Horstman", whose coat of arms is a red jackass' head surmounting a fist with the middle finger extended. His favourite identity is that of Kickaha (meaning "trickster"), which he uses on the Amerind level.
Paul Janus Finnegan shares the initials of the author (PJF). This is also true of one of the main characters in the Riverworld
series, Peter Jairus Frigate
.
In The Lavalite World, Philip José Farmer strongly implies that Finnegan is the great grandson of Phileas Fogg, the hero of Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days".
created in Jadawin's biolabs. She claims to be the same Chryseis
, daughter of Chryses
portrayed in the tale of the Trojan war
. The body created for her by Jadawin is essentially human, except that her eyes are exceptionally large in proportion to her face (like a cat's eyes), her legs are exceptionally long, and her hair is tiger-striped.
opens in order to escape from creatures sent by the Lord of that world. Wolff enters the World of Tiers, arriving on the Okeanos level, and over the space of a few months regains his youth thanks to chemicals in the water and food. He meets Chryseis and falls in love with her, but she is captured by the same creatures who captured Kickaha. Wolff sets out to pursue them, climbing the monolith towards the second (Amerind) level of the planet. On the way he meets Kickaha again, and the two join forces to rescue Chryseis. Eventually they
ascend all the levels of the planet and launch an attack on the Lord's palace. It is revealed that Wolff was actually the Lord, Jadawin, who created the World of Tiers, but that he was attacked by another Lord and marooned on Earth, where the shock of being in such primitive surroundings caused him to suffer amnesia.
In the second book, Wolff, now reinstalled as the Lord of the World of Tiers (but more humane and compassionate, after his amnesia erased the original Jadawin personality), enters a Universe constructed by
his father Urizen. Urizen has kidnapped Chryseis, and Wolff finds himself reunited with his brothers, sisters and cousins, all of whom must travel from one dangerous planet to another to escape.
The third book chronicles Kickaha's adventures while the events of the second book are occurring. He meets three dispossessed Lords (one of whom is Anana) who are fleeing an army led by the Black Bellers - artificial intelligence
s capable of taking over the bodies of human hosts. It is revealed that the civilization of the Thoans, including their understanding of the scientific principles behind their advanced technology, was destroyed during the war with the Black Bellers ten thousand years before. Since then the few remaining Black Bellers have been in hiding, waiting for an opportunity to rebuild their ranks and attempt to take over again. Kickaha and Anana are pursued across the Amerind level, as they attempt to escape and simultaneously counterattack the Black Bellers. Eventually they enter the Lord's palace and manage to kill all but one of the Bellers, who flees to Earth.
It is revealed that Earth is itself an artificial world constructed to be an exact replica of the Thoan's home world during the stone age, and allowed to develop as a social experiment. Earth's "pocket universe" extends only to the edges of the solar system; the rest of the visible universe is effectively a 3-D Trompe-l'œil on the walls of the pocket universe. It is strongly implied that this is all an exact copy of the Thoans' homeworld universe and that Thoa is itself artificial, but this question is not explored in the later novels.
The remaining books in the series follow Kickaha and Anana as they travel to Earth to kill the final Black Beller. The secret Lord of Earth, Red Orc, attempts to kill Kickaha and Anana despite their informing him that they simply want to kill the last Black Beller and will then leave peacefully. Eventually they manage to kill the Black Beller, but wind up in a battle between Red Orc and another Lord called Urthona. They are all gated to the Lavalite world, a planet that changes shape periodically like the wax in a lava lamp
, and which was created by Urthona. The only gate out of this world is located in Urthona's palace, which floats over the surface of the planet. Finally they manage to return to the World of Tiers and go searching for Wolff and Chryseis who have disappeared.
The final book of the series takes place fifteen years later, Anana and Kickaha having been directed into a trap universe by Red Orc. They escape, but Kickaha is forced by Red Orc to go in search of an entrance to a universe he found ten thousand years earlier but has been unable to return to. Red Orc wants Kickaha to bring a fresh approach to the problem. This universe contains the last remaining databanks that preserve the technology of the Thoans and Red Orc plans to use this technology to conquer all the artificial universes. The story culminates with Kickaha defeating Red Orc in hand-to-hand combat, and returning to the World of Tiers to resume his adventuring trickster lifestyle.
. This mythology is referred to by the characters in the stories (mainly in The Gates of Creation, Red Orc's Rage, and More than Fire).
Many features of the world of tiers appear to be drawn from early cosmological ideas and mythologies. The structure of the world of tiers, with a central mountain or tower which the sun passes behind at night is equivalent to early Babylonia
n and Egypt
ian cosmological
theories. The placement of the Lord's palace at the highest level of the world is reminiscent of the home of the gods atop Mount Olympus
. The lord Jadawin uses
intelligent ravens that roam across the world, observing, carrying messages, and reporting back to him,
much like Odin
in Norse mythology
(See Hugin and Munin
. Notice also the similarity in the names Odin and Jadawin).
The moon of the world of tiers is modelled after Barsoom
, from Edgar Rice Burroughs
' novels, a homage which Farmer openly admits in the third book of the series.
The novels are at least in part a vehicle to represent mythological
character archetypes. Robert Wolff is a hero
ic character who primarily overcomes obstacles by using strength (physical and mental) to confront the Thoans. By contrast, the character of Kickaha is a trickster
, who avoids the affairs of the god-like Thoans wherever possible, and who survives and defeats his enemies by cunning, trickery and skill.
The central concept of the series is the existence of arrogant beings who possess awesome powers (as a result of technology) and use these powers to play the role of gods. They are able to travel from place to place almost instantaneously by using gates to teleport from one location or universe to another. This is extremely similar to several central concepts in the fictitious Stargate
universe, although there is currently no suggestion that Stargate copied these ideas from the World of Tiers stories.
The overall setting: a family of feuding dimension hopping immortal lords, as well as the specific plot of the first book: wherein an amnesiac immortal lord must travel from Earth to another dimension to regain his powers, bears striking similarities to Roger Zelazny
's Amber series. Indeed, Zelazny himself has acknowledged that in writing Nine Princes in Amber
he drew inspiration from the World of Tiers.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels by American writer Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
. They are set within a series of artificially-constructed universes, created and ruled by decadent beings who are genetically identical to humans, but who regard themselves as superior, the inheritors of an advanced technology they no longer understand. This technology enables the "Lords" (or Thoans, in their own language) to create novel lifeforms, and also to prevent aging or disease, making them effectively immortal. Their technology also allows them to create small artificial universes, and the planets and stars within them, and modify the physical laws (e.g., changing the behavior of gravity) to create unusual or interesting phenomena within these universes. Instantaneous travel within and between these universes is achieved by the use of gates which seem to function as teleportation
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
devices, or as a means of creating wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
s between different regions of spacetime.
The overall series title comes from the main 'pocket universe
Pocket universe
-In science:A pocket universe is a concept in inflationary theory, proposed by Alan Guth. It defines a realm like the one that contains the observable universe as only one of many inflationary zones.-In fiction:...
' featured in the books. This consists of a single planet with a green sky, shaped in the form of a huge stepped pyramid on five stages, with each stage being a disk or squat cylinder. A small sun and a single moon orbit around this planet (thus, in this universe Geocentrism is a correct description of astronomical reality). There are no other stars or astronomical bodies. This world was created by a Lord named Jadawin.
The overall storyline of the series follows the adventures of two people from Earth who independently discover gates into the World of Tiers. The earlier books focus on the character of Robert Wolff as he explores this world and tries to discover its secrets. From the third book onwards the action shifts to Paul Janus Finnegan (known as Kickaha, along with many other aliases), who is drawn into a battle between an ancient enemy of the Thoans, and ultimately into the feuds between rival Thoans as they try
to take over each other's universes.
A French-language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
roleplaying game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
inspired by the World of Tiers has been released.
Novels
The novels in the series are:- The Maker of UniversesThe Maker of UniversesThe Maker of Universes is a fantasy novel by American science fiction author Philip José Farmer. It is the first in his World of Tiers series....
(1965) - The Gates of Creation (1966)
- A Private Cosmos (1968)
- Behind the Walls of Terra (1970)
- The Lavalite World (1977)
- More Than Fire (1993)
The novel Red Orc's Rage
Red Orc's Rage
Red Orc's Rage is a recursive science fiction novel and part of the "World of Tiers" series of novels by Philip José Farmer. The plot of the book was inspired by the work of American psychiatrist A.James Giannini, M.D, who used earlier books in Farmer's series as role-playing tools and aids to...
(1991) can be included in the series, but the connection is marginal rather than central. Although the main characters from the other books do not occur directly, this novel provides some background material on events and characters in the other novels.
Setting
The broad setting of the novels is a series of artificially-constructed universes. The majority of the stories take place on the world created by the Lord Jadawin. This planet consists of a series of cylindrical layers stacked one atop the other, to form an enormous, approximately conical tower (albeit much broader than it is tall). The top surfaces (levels or tiers) of each cylindrical monolith are densely inhabited, while the vertical sides of the monoliths act as enormous cliffs (30,000-100,000 feet high) which partially isolate the inhabitants of each tier from each other. These cliffs do provide some purchase for climbing, and many specialized creatures live on the cliff surfaces, so this isolation is not complete.There is no diminution of atmosphere from one level to the next, due to Jadawin's manipulation of the local gravitational fields. The various tiers are populated with plants and animals creating different environments. Some of these were abducted from Earth throughout history, while many were created in Jadawin's biolabs. Many creatures have bodies created by Jadawin to replicate mythological creatures (e.g. merpeople
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
, centaur
Centaur
In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
s) implanted with the minds of abducted humans. The various inhabitants are immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
as far as physical aging is concerned, though they can be killed by most other means.
Structure and scale
The pocket universe in which the world of tiers is located contains only three astronomical objects;- Alofmethbin (the Thoan name for the World of Tiers)
- a single moon orbiting Alofmethbin
- a single tiny star, also orbiting Alofmethbin
Alofmethbin
The World of Tiers consists of a series of flattened cylindrical layers, or monoliths, stacked one on top of the next, with
habitable environments on the upper surfaces (tiers) of each monolith. The tiers are, in order, from largest (bottom) to smallest (top):
- Okeanos - watery, Garden of Eden, populated by people abducted from ancient Greece.
- Amerind - prehistoric North America, populated by people abducted from North and Central America.
- Dracheland - medieval/Arthurian, populated by people from medieval Germany.
- Atlantis - was a major civilization, now ruins and jungle.
- Palace of Jadawin.
and the monoliths on top of which the tiers are located are:
- Thayaphaeawoed (surmounted by the Amerind tier)
- Abharhploonta (surmounted by the Dracheland tier)
- Doozvillnavava (surmounted by the Atlantis tier)
- Idaquizzoorhruz (surmounted by the Palace of Jadawin)
The exact dimensions of the monoliths are not stated, and so they must be inferred from hints in the novels, such as the quote above. Unfortunately the various statements in the books seem to be inconsistent. For instance, the distance from the
outer edge of the Amerind tier to the base of the monolith Abharhploonta is quoted as being 1500 miles (approximately 2400 km), while the surface area of the Amerind tier is quoted as being equal to that of North and South America combined (approximately 42 million square kilometers). From this information it can be inferred that the outer radius of the Amerind tier (and hence the radius of the monolith Thayaphaeawoed) is approximately 4000 km. The next tier down (Okeanos) consists of a circular ocean girdling the monolith Thayaphaeawoed, approximately 480 kilometers wide, and a circular beach and forest. The edge of the Okeanos tier is easily reached by foot from the beach in less than a day. It follows that the outer radius of the lowest (largest) tier of the planet is approximately 4500 km. This disagrees with the quote above, since, in order to have a surface area equal to that of the water surface of Earth, the world of tiers would require a radius of approximately 10,700 km.
Furthermore, the heights of the various monoliths are not consistent between novels. As one example, in the first novel of the series the monolith Idaquizzoorhruz is quoted as being 30,000 feet (approximately 10 km) tall, while in the third novel it is stated as being 100,000 feet (approximately 33 km) tall. These discrepancies may be explained by saying that the various characters initial estimates of the height of the monoliths are inaccurate, and become more accurate as they learn
more about Alofmethbin.
In any case, while the overall shape of the planet is a conical stepped pyramid, it is clearly much broader (several thousand kilometers) than it is tall (around 100 km).
Moon
The single moon orbiting Alofmethbin is quoted as being approximately the same size as the planet Mars. The moon as seen from Alofmethbin is described as appearing two-and-a-half times bigger than Earth's moon. If this refers to the moon's angular width, we can infer that the moon orbits Alofmethbin at a distance of approximately 300,000 km.Robert Wolff/Jadawin
Robert Wolff is a retired linguistics professor, aged in his sixties. While inspecting a house to purchase and live in during retirement with his wife, a gate to the World of Tiers opens before him. He passes through this gate, arriving on the Okeanos level. There he regains his youth and health, due to theeffects of drugs in the water supply provided by the Lord Jadawin. He meets and falls in love with Chryseis, and when she is kidnapped, he sets out to rescue her, ascending the various levels of the planet. Most of this journey is undertaken in the company of Paul Janus Finnegan, aka Kickaha.
Paul Janus Finnegan/Kickaha
Paul Janus Finnegan was born in Indiana in 1918, and served in the American army during the Second World War, driving a tank. In the ruins of a museum in a small German town, he discovered a metal crescent made of an apparently indestructible metal, and kept it as a souvenir. This crescent proved to be one half of a gate to the World of Tiers, the other half belonging to a displaced Thoan who attempted to buy (and later, steal) the crescent from him. Finnegan interrupted the Thoan in the middle of entering the gate and accidentally activated the completed gate himself, ending up transported to the World of Tiers.At the start of the first novel in the series, Finnegan has lived on the World of Tiers for approximately twenty-four years. In that time, he has learned many of the local languages, become extremely skilled at knife-throwing, archery, and other combat and outdoors survival skills, and lived under many assumed names and identities. In Dracheland, his identity is "Baron Horst von Horstman", whose coat of arms is a red jackass' head surmounting a fist with the middle finger extended. His favourite identity is that of Kickaha (meaning "trickster"), which he uses on the Amerind level.
Paul Janus Finnegan shares the initials of the author (PJF). This is also true of one of the main characters in the Riverworld
Riverworld
Riverworld is a fictional planet and the setting for a series of science fiction books written by Philip José Farmer . Riverworld is an artificial environment where all humans are reconstructed. The books explore interactions of individuals from many different cultures and time periods...
series, Peter Jairus Frigate
Peter Jairus Frigate
Peter Jairus Frigate is a fictionalized version of the science fiction author Philip José Farmer, which appeared in his Riverworld series of novels....
.
In The Lavalite World, Philip José Farmer strongly implies that Finnegan is the great grandson of Phileas Fogg, the hero of Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days".
Chryseis
Chryseis is a woman abducted from Earth by Jadawin, who has had her mind implanted into a new bodycreated in Jadawin's biolabs. She claims to be the same Chryseis
Chryseis
In Greek mythology, Chryseis was a Trojan woman, the daughter of Chryses. Chryseis, her apparent name in the Iliad, means simply "Chryses' daughter"; later writers give her real name as Astynome ....
, daughter of Chryses
Chryses
In Greek mythology, Chryses was a priest of Apollo at Chryse, near the city of Troy.According to a tradition mentioned by Eustathius of Thessalonica, Chryses and Briseus were brothers, sons of a man named Ardys .During the Trojan War ,...
portrayed in the tale of the Trojan war
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
. The body created for her by Jadawin is essentially human, except that her eyes are exceptionally large in proportion to her face (like a cat's eyes), her legs are exceptionally long, and her hair is tiger-striped.
Anana
Anana is a Thoan, sister of Jadawin. She is driven out of her own universe by an ancient enemy which threatens to destroy all the Thoans, and takes refuge in the World of Tiers where she meets Kickaha. She is initially arrogant and cruel, as most Thoans are, but is impressed by Kickaha's resourcefulness, and gradually becomes sympathetic and humane as she falls in love with him.Storyline
The first book in the series opens with Robert Wolff finding a gate into the World of Tiers, which Kickahaopens in order to escape from creatures sent by the Lord of that world. Wolff enters the World of Tiers, arriving on the Okeanos level, and over the space of a few months regains his youth thanks to chemicals in the water and food. He meets Chryseis and falls in love with her, but she is captured by the same creatures who captured Kickaha. Wolff sets out to pursue them, climbing the monolith towards the second (Amerind) level of the planet. On the way he meets Kickaha again, and the two join forces to rescue Chryseis. Eventually they
ascend all the levels of the planet and launch an attack on the Lord's palace. It is revealed that Wolff was actually the Lord, Jadawin, who created the World of Tiers, but that he was attacked by another Lord and marooned on Earth, where the shock of being in such primitive surroundings caused him to suffer amnesia.
In the second book, Wolff, now reinstalled as the Lord of the World of Tiers (but more humane and compassionate, after his amnesia erased the original Jadawin personality), enters a Universe constructed by
his father Urizen. Urizen has kidnapped Chryseis, and Wolff finds himself reunited with his brothers, sisters and cousins, all of whom must travel from one dangerous planet to another to escape.
The third book chronicles Kickaha's adventures while the events of the second book are occurring. He meets three dispossessed Lords (one of whom is Anana) who are fleeing an army led by the Black Bellers - artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
s capable of taking over the bodies of human hosts. It is revealed that the civilization of the Thoans, including their understanding of the scientific principles behind their advanced technology, was destroyed during the war with the Black Bellers ten thousand years before. Since then the few remaining Black Bellers have been in hiding, waiting for an opportunity to rebuild their ranks and attempt to take over again. Kickaha and Anana are pursued across the Amerind level, as they attempt to escape and simultaneously counterattack the Black Bellers. Eventually they enter the Lord's palace and manage to kill all but one of the Bellers, who flees to Earth.
It is revealed that Earth is itself an artificial world constructed to be an exact replica of the Thoan's home world during the stone age, and allowed to develop as a social experiment. Earth's "pocket universe" extends only to the edges of the solar system; the rest of the visible universe is effectively a 3-D Trompe-l'œil on the walls of the pocket universe. It is strongly implied that this is all an exact copy of the Thoans' homeworld universe and that Thoa is itself artificial, but this question is not explored in the later novels.
The remaining books in the series follow Kickaha and Anana as they travel to Earth to kill the final Black Beller. The secret Lord of Earth, Red Orc, attempts to kill Kickaha and Anana despite their informing him that they simply want to kill the last Black Beller and will then leave peacefully. Eventually they manage to kill the Black Beller, but wind up in a battle between Red Orc and another Lord called Urthona. They are all gated to the Lavalite world, a planet that changes shape periodically like the wax in a lava lamp
Lava lamp
A lava lamp is a decorative novelty item that contains blobs of colored wax inside a glass vessel filled with clear liquid; the wax rises and falls as its density changes due to heating from a incandescent light bulb underneath the vessel. The appearance of the wax is suggestive of pāhoehoe lava,...
, and which was created by Urthona. The only gate out of this world is located in Urthona's palace, which floats over the surface of the planet. Finally they manage to return to the World of Tiers and go searching for Wolff and Chryseis who have disappeared.
The final book of the series takes place fifteen years later, Anana and Kickaha having been directed into a trap universe by Red Orc. They escape, but Kickaha is forced by Red Orc to go in search of an entrance to a universe he found ten thousand years earlier but has been unable to return to. Red Orc wants Kickaha to bring a fresh approach to the problem. This universe contains the last remaining databanks that preserve the technology of the Thoans and Red Orc plans to use this technology to conquer all the artificial universes. The story culminates with Kickaha defeating Red Orc in hand-to-hand combat, and returning to the World of Tiers to resume his adventuring trickster lifestyle.
Literary references
The Jadawin family (or at least their names) are taken from William Blake's mythologyWilliam Blake's mythology
The prophetic books of the English poet and artist William Blake contain a rich invented mythology , in which Blake worked to encode his revolutionary spiritual and political ideas into a prophecy for a new age. This desire to recreate the cosmos is the heart of his work and his psychology...
. This mythology is referred to by the characters in the stories (mainly in The Gates of Creation, Red Orc's Rage, and More than Fire).
Many features of the world of tiers appear to be drawn from early cosmological ideas and mythologies. The structure of the world of tiers, with a central mountain or tower which the sun passes behind at night is equivalent to early Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
n and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian cosmological
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
theories. The placement of the Lord's palace at the highest level of the world is reminiscent of the home of the gods atop Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
. The lord Jadawin uses
intelligent ravens that roam across the world, observing, carrying messages, and reporting back to him,
much like Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
in Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
(See Hugin and Munin
Hugin and Munin
In Norse mythology, Huginn and Muninn are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring the god Odin information...
. Notice also the similarity in the names Odin and Jadawin).
The moon of the world of tiers is modelled after Barsoom
Barsoom
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote close to 100 action adventure stories in various genres in the first half of the 20th century, and is now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan...
, from Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
' novels, a homage which Farmer openly admits in the third book of the series.
The novels are at least in part a vehicle to represent mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
character archetypes. Robert Wolff is a hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
ic character who primarily overcomes obstacles by using strength (physical and mental) to confront the Thoans. By contrast, the character of Kickaha is a trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
, who avoids the affairs of the god-like Thoans wherever possible, and who survives and defeats his enemies by cunning, trickery and skill.
The central concept of the series is the existence of arrogant beings who possess awesome powers (as a result of technology) and use these powers to play the role of gods. They are able to travel from place to place almost instantaneously by using gates to teleport from one location or universe to another. This is extremely similar to several central concepts in the fictitious Stargate
Stargate
Stargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...
universe, although there is currently no suggestion that Stargate copied these ideas from the World of Tiers stories.
The overall setting: a family of feuding dimension hopping immortal lords, as well as the specific plot of the first book: wherein an amnesiac immortal lord must travel from Earth to another dimension to regain his powers, bears striking similarities to Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
's Amber series. Indeed, Zelazny himself has acknowledged that in writing Nine Princes in Amber
Nine Princes in Amber
Nine Princes in Amber is a new wave fantasy novel and the first in the Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny. It was first published in 1970. The book has also spawned a computer game of the same name...
he drew inspiration from the World of Tiers.