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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I'm just amazed by this book. Really amazed. It's in my top 3 of favorite scifi books. Probably in my top 10 books ever, but I need to let it sink in a little before I can make a statement like that. I had no expectations and no knowledge of the story before I started. It's entirely different from other scifi books I've read so it's difficult to compare; it's not action-packed like Enders game, it's not a space opera like Hyperion, but it's.. mythical.. This book could actually be the bible story of a future civilization. I was curious to see what other people thought of it, and stumbled onto a review that describes exactly how I feel about it, way better than I ever could, so I'm just gonna link you there:
Aerin's review of Lord of Light
And quote my favorite part of it:
Aerin's review of Lord of Light
And quote my favorite part of it:
On page one of Lord of Light, Zelazny drops the reader smack into the middle of an epic and eternal struggle, taking place on a distant planet in the distant future. It's an incredibly disorienting way to enter a story, especially one as bizarre and complicated as this one is. The structure of the novel is no help, either - it's divided into seven long and loosely-connected chapters, presented out of chronological order with no way for the reader to know, at first, that this is the case. The prose is grandiloquent and old-fashioned, which matches the book's mythic themes, but does nothing for clarity. And the overall premise of the novel is revealed only gradually, in broken bits and pieces throughout the narrative. As such, I spent the first half of this book having no idea what was going on.
So it's fair to say that overall, this is a dense, confusing, and difficult book. It is also, in retrospect, an extraordinary book, and I look forward to reading it again now that I know what it's all about. I can't think of any other book I've read recently that so demands to be reread.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
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:
Complicated
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lord of Light is 'my sort of madness' too. Fun, funny, fantastic, smart and smart-ass. I'm not familiar with Hindu mythology nor Buddhism, so Lord of Light was a new adventure but with Roger Zelazny's hand, I was not nonplussed. His humor, humanity, story and structure had me hooked Even openly tackling a taboo topic like the power politics of religion, his ability to amuse but not attack, takes talent and tenacity. I was invested every step of the way. As @Chris said, a "stone cold classic." I want to return to Zelazny (Lord of Light again, Amber and more) like a river from the sea that's not full.
• A 'supernatural' demon? Yama, "It is the difference between the unknown and the unknowable, between science and fantasy, it is a matter of essence. The four points of the compass be logic, knowledge, wisdom and the unknown. Some do bow in that final direction. Others advance upon it. To bow before the one is to lose sight of the three. I may submit to the unknown, but never to the unknowable. The man who bows in that final direction is either a saint or a fool. I have no use for either."
• "Sam laughed. "I'm very gullible when it comes to my own words. I believe everything I say, though I know I'm a liar.""
• The Prince (Siddhartha) "smelled the smells of commerce and listened to the cursing of the sailors, both of which he admired: the former, as it reeked of wealth, and the latter because it combined his two other chief preoccupations, these being theology and anatomy."
• Jan Olvegg, ""The definition of bad karma is anything our friends the gods don't like.""
• disport- 1 divert, amuse 2 frolic 3 display
• Fire has to be seen to be understood, words alone won't suffice.
• Tak, Sam's son, "for the best way to destroy faith or hope is to let it be realized"
I caught a couple religious references but certainly missed most. Sam's son is an ape. Accelerationism and religon. Scientific enlightenment/elevation versus staying stagnant/servile under supreme suppression. The printing press and toilets (or else Shan shall see the sham) shouldn't be flushed/forgetten down into a Helwel cell next to the natives.
• Helba and Sam, "Oh. You came to Heaven without a fortune?" "Yes." "Unfortunate."
• "Lord of Karma made an ancient and mystical sign behind his back."
• The wedding of Death and Destruction/Yama and Kali.
• Dancing to a "fascist banjo"
• Sam, "Taraka! How did you find me, recognize me?".
"I look upon the flames, which are your true being, not the flesh which masks them. You know that."
Aspect and attributes/flesh and flames.
• "Others say that he took upon him a new identity, and that he walks among mankind still, to guard and guide in the days of strife, to prevent the exploitation of the lower classes by those who come into power."
• "Of this, we cannot be certain, any more than we can know the real end of the Lord of Light. But look around you ... Death and Light are everywhere"
• Refrew/Nirriti, "the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. Unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again."
"Then (Sam, Maitreya, Lord of Light) covered the (Biblical) Black One with his cloak of white, for he had died."
• Last paragraph, "As the wearers of the saffron robe still meditate upon the Way of Light, and the girl who is named Murga visits the Temple daily, to place before her dark one in his shrine the only devotion he receives, of flowers."
• "Sam laughed. "I'm very gullible when it comes to my own words. I believe everything I say, though I know I'm a liar.""
• The Prince (Siddhartha) "smelled the smells of commerce and listened to the cursing of the sailors, both of which he admired: the former, as it reeked of wealth, and the latter because it combined his two other chief preoccupations, these being theology and anatomy."
• Jan Olvegg, ""The definition of bad karma is anything our friends the gods don't like.""
• disport- 1 divert, amuse 2 frolic 3 display
• Fire has to be seen to be understood, words alone won't suffice.
• Tak, Sam's son, "for the best way to destroy faith or hope is to let it be realized"
I caught a couple religious references but certainly missed most. Sam's son is an ape. Accelerationism and religon. Scientific enlightenment/elevation versus staying stagnant/servile under supreme suppression. The printing press and toilets (or else Shan shall see the sham) shouldn't be flushed/forgetten down into a Helwel cell next to the natives.
• Helba and Sam, "Oh. You came to Heaven without a fortune?" "Yes." "Unfortunate."
• "Lord of Karma made an ancient and mystical sign behind his back."
• The wedding of Death and Destruction/Yama and Kali.
• Dancing to a "fascist banjo"
• Sam, "Taraka! How did you find me, recognize me?".
"I look upon the flames, which are your true being, not the flesh which masks them. You know that."
Aspect and attributes/flesh and flames.
• "Others say that he took upon him a new identity, and that he walks among mankind still, to guard and guide in the days of strife, to prevent the exploitation of the lower classes by those who come into power."
• "Of this, we cannot be certain, any more than we can know the real end of the Lord of Light. But look around you ... Death and Light are everywhere"
• Refrew/Nirriti, "the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. Unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again."
"Then (Sam, Maitreya, Lord of Light) covered the (Biblical) Black One with his cloak of white, for he had died."
• Last paragraph, "As the wearers of the saffron robe still meditate upon the Way of Light, and the girl who is named Murga visits the Temple daily, to place before her dark one in his shrine the only devotion he receives, of flowers."
This is probably the hardest book I've read all year. I throughly enjoyed and will need to reread it. This book is truly a masterful blend of science fiction and fantasy. It's was pretty hard to follow in the beginning as the story has a lot of references to Hinduism and Buddhism which I don't have a lot of knowledge of. I want to familiarize myself with both and then read this book again as I felt like I miss a lot of the nuances of this story. I definitely look forward to tackling this book again and examining it from a more academic lense.
I had an ex-boyfriend who was enchanted with the world of Amber but this is the only Zelazny book i've ever read. I think it is better appreciated if you have some understanding of Hindu gods and religion and/or if you've read Hess's Sidhartha. I really did like this book and enjoyed the humor
I‘d read Roger Zelany‘s The Chronicles of Amber. And I quite liked those. The books in that series are highly intense, with one adventure chasing another, sudden plot twists, a myriad of characters, highly colourful descriptions (literally), wit, a morally ambiguous protagonist, not so magical yet fantastic fiction in combo with elements of science fiction.
So when I detected Lord of Light in a bookstore, I grabbed it without a second thought. Yet, the book itself somehow ended up sitting up there on my bookshelf. I would always find an excuse not to read it – it was described as science fiction, so why the talk of Hinduism and Buddhism?
Yet, my inner voice finally declared last week: “It’s time”. And so I opened the book and… just couldn’t let it go. Whatever I expected, it was something else. In a good way.
There are some similarities with The Chronicles of Amber. The plot revolves around disproportionately powerful characters whose powers balance on the line separating some inconceivable technologies and magic (frequently weighing to the latter) and who play around with human lives. There’s also a pantheon of bitchy and selfish gods. The protagonist again is a morally ambiguous manipulator; however, this time he’s acting for the greater cause rather than his own.
His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god. But then, he never claimed not to be a god.
What does it actually mean to be a god in a world conquered with some higher technologies? What should the ethical limits there be? Can one exploit religion as a tool of social engineering and if so, to what end and to what extent? Lord of Light questions this frequently, while different views held by the characters fuel the plot.
‘<…>Being a god is the quality of being able to be yourself to such an extent that your passions correspond with the forces of the universe, so that those who look upon you know this without hearing your name spoken. <…> One rules through one‘s ruling passions. Those who look upon gods then say, without even knowing their names, „He is Fire. She is Dance. He is Destruction. She is Love.“ So, to reply to your statement, they do not call themselves gods. Everyone else does, though, everyone who beholds them.‘
‘So they play that on their fascist banjos, eh?’
‘You choose the wrong adjective.’
‘You’ve already used up all the others.’
Speaking of powers of gods, what I really like about Lord of Light was that the limit separating technology and magic is very, very narrow. The temples can commune with gods via videophones. Some even host the equipment for reincarnation. And the powers of gods are defined by both their mental/spiritual powers and the artefacts provided by an engineer of Death, which is a perfect blend of fantasy and science fiction.
The language within Lord of Light is incredible. Lively and so visual. In some chapters Zelazny throws some playful Amberite-style dialogues, elsewhere he smartly imitates mythical language and tone, fluently switching from one to the other whenever the story requires.
Vishnu Vishnu Vishnu regarded regarded regarded Brahma Brahma Brahma...
They sat in the Hall of Mirrors.
I don’t know if one is going to like this book if they are interested in Hinduism or Buddhism for professional or religious reasons. But I think that Zelazny did his homework diligently and exploited elements of Hinduism and Buddhism very successfully not just as a model for social engineering but as a literature device, too (consider the prayers or imitations and citations of religious texts).
To sum up, to me it was an absolute pleasure to read this book because it combines the adventures, ethics issues and a text written in a very skilful, artsy manner.
So when I detected Lord of Light in a bookstore, I grabbed it without a second thought. Yet, the book itself somehow ended up sitting up there on my bookshelf. I would always find an excuse not to read it – it was described as science fiction, so why the talk of Hinduism and Buddhism?
Yet, my inner voice finally declared last week: “It’s time”. And so I opened the book and… just couldn’t let it go. Whatever I expected, it was something else. In a good way.
There are some similarities with The Chronicles of Amber. The plot revolves around disproportionately powerful characters whose powers balance on the line separating some inconceivable technologies and magic (frequently weighing to the latter) and who play around with human lives. There’s also a pantheon of bitchy and selfish gods. The protagonist again is a morally ambiguous manipulator; however, this time he’s acting for the greater cause rather than his own.
His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god. But then, he never claimed not to be a god.
What does it actually mean to be a god in a world conquered with some higher technologies? What should the ethical limits there be? Can one exploit religion as a tool of social engineering and if so, to what end and to what extent? Lord of Light questions this frequently, while different views held by the characters fuel the plot.
‘<…>Being a god is the quality of being able to be yourself to such an extent that your passions correspond with the forces of the universe, so that those who look upon you know this without hearing your name spoken. <…> One rules through one‘s ruling passions. Those who look upon gods then say, without even knowing their names, „He is Fire. She is Dance. He is Destruction. She is Love.“ So, to reply to your statement, they do not call themselves gods. Everyone else does, though, everyone who beholds them.‘
‘So they play that on their fascist banjos, eh?’
‘You choose the wrong adjective.’
‘You’ve already used up all the others.’
Speaking of powers of gods, what I really like about Lord of Light was that the limit separating technology and magic is very, very narrow. The temples can commune with gods via videophones. Some even host the equipment for reincarnation. And the powers of gods are defined by both their mental/spiritual powers and the artefacts provided by an engineer of Death, which is a perfect blend of fantasy and science fiction.
The language within Lord of Light is incredible. Lively and so visual. In some chapters Zelazny throws some playful Amberite-style dialogues, elsewhere he smartly imitates mythical language and tone, fluently switching from one to the other whenever the story requires.
Vishnu Vishnu Vishnu regarded regarded regarded Brahma Brahma Brahma...
They sat in the Hall of Mirrors.
I don’t know if one is going to like this book if they are interested in Hinduism or Buddhism for professional or religious reasons. But I think that Zelazny did his homework diligently and exploited elements of Hinduism and Buddhism very successfully not just as a model for social engineering but as a literature device, too (consider the prayers or imitations and citations of religious texts).
To sum up, to me it was an absolute pleasure to read this book because it combines the adventures, ethics issues and a text written in a very skilful, artsy manner.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a really interesting book, and not what I expected. A natural progression of Arthur C Clarke's magical science maxim, this book clearly had a lot of influence on Gaiman, and maybe on Sanderson too?
Interesting stuff, but a product of its time in appropriation and writing style.
Interesting stuff, but a product of its time in appropriation and writing style.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Rape
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
slow-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