Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Rereading the Lord of Light I found it as weird and wonderful as I remembered.
In a distant world colonists from Earth have engineered themselves into immortality, taking the appearance of gods from the Induist pantheon and blocking access to technology among the population. Sam, a first-generation colonist, fight them by recreating the Buddist religion to fight their control over the population.
While technically science fiction, it reads like an epic from mythology. Because of the style in which is written and the incredible sense of history of the world it describes, it feels closer to the Silmarillion than any science fiction I've read.
In a distant world colonists from Earth have engineered themselves into immortality, taking the appearance of gods from the Induist pantheon and blocking access to technology among the population. Sam, a first-generation colonist, fight them by recreating the Buddist religion to fight their control over the population.
While technically science fiction, it reads like an epic from mythology. Because of the style in which is written and the incredible sense of history of the world it describes, it feels closer to the Silmarillion than any science fiction I've read.
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Love this, obvi. Thrilling, and thoughtful, and not altogether common in science fiction, very well written. Best sci-fi book I've read in a good long while.
Roger Zelazny's 1968 Hugo winning Lord of Light is a tough one to rate for me. It was not an easy read, with the many allusions to Buddhist and Hindi mythology and ancient texts often times left me befuddled. Not to mention the plot spans quite a long period, with many aspects of the planets culture and history left unexplained for the reader to discern based on clues left throughout the novel.
There is no question in my mind that this is a brilliant novel though, but it felt like a novel that needs to be studied instead of idly consumed. I do love the concept, of technologically advanced colonists masking themselves in the guise of ancient deities, as it takes Arthur C. Clarke's third law (Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic) and runs with it. I will have to reread Lord of Light one day, as my first reading left me a little overwhelmed, but nevertheless impressed. I would rate it 3.5/5 but closer to a 4.
There is no question in my mind that this is a brilliant novel though, but it felt like a novel that needs to be studied instead of idly consumed. I do love the concept, of technologically advanced colonists masking themselves in the guise of ancient deities, as it takes Arthur C. Clarke's third law (Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic) and runs with it. I will have to reread Lord of Light one day, as my first reading left me a little overwhelmed, but nevertheless impressed. I would rate it 3.5/5 but closer to a 4.
Fantastic classic SF/ fantasy. Enjoyed it more first time around, and I found all the battles at the end a bit tedious,. Still enjoyed it, can't wait to re read some of his other stuff.
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Awesome... super intense and spanning generations. This is a good one to revisit many times as each time new things will come to light.
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
It’s not often that one could get more from reading this book a second, third, or fourth time but this short book desires to be read between the lines. Fast changing perspectives and multiple lives and names for each character speak to the complexity of gods and humans alike. I can understand why this is a classic in the sci-fi community.