Down in the Black Gang: And Others; A Story Collection

Pilip Jose Farmer was an author with the sort of imagination that at its worst could be pulpish and in bad taste-- but at its best could be original and boundary breaking. _Down in the Black Gang_ (1971) is a collection of nine Farmer stories from the sixties that (for the most part) represent Farmer at his best.
The stories are: "Down in the Black Gang" (_If_, 1969), "The Shadow of Space" (_If_, 1967), "A Bowl Bigger Than the Earth" (_If_ 1967), "Riverworld" (_Worlds of Tomorrow_,, 1966), "A Few Miles" (_Fantasy and Science Fiction_, 1960), "Prometheus" (_F&SF_, 1961), "The Blasphemers" (_Galaxy_, 1964), and "How Deep the Grooves" (_Amazing_, 1963). The title story was rewritten significantly from its original magazine form.
"A Few Miles" and "Prometheus" are sequels. They both feature ex-criminal, now lay monk John Carmody, who is sent by his superior on what seems to be a rather arbitrary mission to the planet Wildenwolly "because he is needed there". But trouble seems to attach itself to Brother Carmody like metal filings to a magnet wherever he goes. There is never anything routine about his adventures.