OT - Trying to Hunt Down an Old Book Series

maraich

One of the guys I work with is trying to find a book series he started to read back in the 60's. Of course, he doesn't know the title(s) or the author. All he can remember is a group of people walk down alongside a river, the trees produce "mana" for them to eat, and they have adventures. I know that's very thin info to go on, but if someone happens to know what the devil it is he's looking for, it would be fun to solve the mystery for him.

Ostadan

Philip Jose Farmer's 'Riverworld' series? 'To Your Scattered Bodies Go' (featuring Sir Richard Burton seeking the source of the river), 'The Fabulous Riverboat' (Samuel Clemens doing the same), and some inferior sequels. Farmer was well known for inferior sequels...

maraich

Thank you - I suspected it was that series, but could not remember the title(s)/author. I started to read the description to him and he's thrilled now and busily ordering them on Amazon.

pwiecek

There is no "Mana" in the Riverworld series. The food comes from a very obviously high tech source. The source looks like a giant mushroom. Each person has a cylinder keyed so that only they can open it. They place these cylinders in the mushroom device at the proper time and a jold of electricity transfers the food.

maraich

His memory from that far back was hazy, to say the least. He called it mana for lack of a better word. He was thinking trees, but must have misremembered.

pwiecek

Cool, just making sure he got the right books.

Ostadan

Manna, as in manna from heaven? Not mentioned in Riverworld by that name, but the right concept at least.

Morpheon

Philip Jose Farmer, "To Your Scattered Bodies Go". I only ever read the first book (and to be honest, I didn't know it was a series). Very interesting premise, but still, I'm not really a fan of Farmer's work (nothing bad, it's just not to my taste).