Philip José Farmer

Born in North Terre Haute, Indiana, on January 26, 1918, Philip José Farmer grew into one of the most distinctive voices in American science fiction and fantasy. He is best known for the Riverworld and World of Tiers series, along with many short stories and standalone novels that happily mixed adventure, mythology, and big speculative ideas.

Farmer earned early attention with "The Lovers" in 1952, a work often noted for pushing science fiction into more open treatment of sex and religion. Over the years he built a reputation for fearless, playful fiction that reworked classic characters and challenged the usual boundaries of genre storytelling.

He died on February 25, 2009, in Peoria, Illinois, at age 91. His work remains memorable for its energy, audacity, and willingness to take science fiction somewhere unexpected.