Red Orc's Rage (1991) is a recursive science fiction novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, part of his "World of Tiers" series.

By utilizing a structured fantasy world the subconscious can be directly accessed without confronting resistances of the conscious mind.

In this case the works of fiction are the previously published novels in the "World of Tiers" series.

[2] Jim Grimson is a troubled youth undergoing therapy in a psychiatric hospital who is encouraged to role-play Red Orc, a character in a science fiction novel.

Jim finds himself actually transported to the fictional World of Tiers, entering the mind and body of the character he role-played in the hospital.

In the World of Tiers Red Orc/Jim struggles with an abusive father, a situation mirroring his real-world problems.

The character has Oedipal issues with his father, an unemployed crane operator in the fictional "Belmont City", somewhere near Youngstown, Ohio.

In academics, athletics, and student society he is a non-achiever, recapitulating his father's position in the adult world.

His only outlets are science fiction, the fantasies invented by his grandfather and some bizarre hallucination which occasionally intrude into his world.

The conflict is resolved, in part, through insights Jim has gained while occupying the mind of Red Orc.

Like Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy Jim travels with a companion who is unable to complete the journey.

The protagonist must complete a journey of self and undergo loss to achieve adulthood, The Oedipal implications are quite obvious.

Finally, this science-fiction novel takes its inspiration from the works of the English poet William Blake.