John M. Pinch, 83, of 2005 Barclay St., Maplewood, Minn., formerly of Dubuque and Epworth, Iowa, died Friday, Jan. 9, 2004, at Pillars Hospice Home, Maplewood.- Riverworld (Wikipedia)
The Riverworld is a fictional planet and the setting for a series of five science fiction novels (1971–1983) by American author Philip José Farmer (1918–2009). The Riverworld is an artificial, or heavily terraformed, planet where all humans (and pre-humans) who ever lived throughout history have been restored to life. The novels (and a few shorter works) explore interactions of resurrected individuals from many different cultures and time periods. The underlying theme is quasi-religious. The motivations and ethics of the unknown intelligences that created the Riverworld and its inhabitants are explored.