Ever wonder how a famous and/or historical person would deal with the afterlife? John Kendrick Bangs – an 19th Century American author - wrote many books and short stories with just that premise. Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth, Methusaleh, Gangus Kahn, Napolean – you name the historical icon – most likely they can be found within the adventures of a Bangsian novel.
Bangs also became the editor of Life, Harper’s Magazine, and most famously – Puck. These fantasies have been reflected in the writings of Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, among others.
As I researched which books fell under this fantasy subgenre, I looked for various formats – e-books, trade paperbacks, traditional paperbacks, hardcover, and even a few are illustrated. The following are by John Kendrick Bangs:
Here is a list of contemporary Bangsian Speculative Fiction:
Riverworld
by Philip Jose Farmer
• Series: Riverworld (Book 1)
• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (March 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765326523
• ISBN-13: 978-0765326522

Escape from Hell (Inferno, #2)
by Larry Niven
• Series: Tor Science Fiction
• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction; Reprint edition (March 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076535540X
• ISBN-13: 978-0765355409

The Lovely Bones
By Alice Sebold
• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (July 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316666343
• ISBN-13: 978-0316666343

Seven Archangels: Annihilation (Paperback)
by Jane Lebak
• File Size: 2456 KB
• Print Length: 316 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1942133006
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Philangelus Press (September 5, 2014)
• Publication Date: September 5, 2014
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00NCKEMFY

The Book of Joby (Hardcover)
by Mark J. Ferrari
• File Size: 1803 KB
• Print Length: 640 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (August 21, 2007)
• Publication Date: August 21, 2007
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000V761X2

Barlowe's Inferno (Hardcover)
by Wayne Barlowe
• Hardcover: 72 pages
• Publisher: Morpheus International; 1 edition (December 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883398363
• ISBN-13: 978-1883398361

To Reign in Hell (Paperback)
by Steven Brust
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Orb Books; 1st edition (July 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312870493
• ISBN-13: 978-0312870492

Inferno (Inferno, #1)
by Larry Niven
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Orb Books; First Edition of Reissued Work edition (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765316765
• ISBN-13: 978-0765316769

God's Demon (Hardcover)
by Wayne Barlowe
• Publisher: Tor Books; Reprint edition (December 30, 2008)
• Publication Date: December 30, 2008
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004N635WM

The Day After Judgment (After Such Knowledge, #3)
by James Blish
• Hardcover: 166 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (1971)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0006CF9XU

Mercury Falls (Paperback)
by Robert Kroese
• Series: Mercury Series (Book 1)
• Publisher: 47North (October 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935597159
• ISBN-13: 978-1935597155

City Infernal (City Infernal, #1)
by Edward Lee
• Publisher: Necro Publications (January 21, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889186996
• ISBN-13: 978-1889186993