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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
(14/63+) In my Hugo Read-Through
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny won the Hugo Award for best novel in 1968. This is his second Hugo Novel win, his first being “… And Call me Conrad” in 1966. It took me two tries to finally get into this book, and I couldn’t be happier I finally read it.
When I initially started this book I was turned off by how much more religion there was than science. It was reading as a fantasy book and less like a science fiction one. While I understand the Hugo’s are open to fantasy, at this point in the read there hasn’t been one yet so I was honestly thrown off and had to prep myself for it. When I finally got back to restarting, it became clear that in my unfair initially judgement I almost missed out on a truly unique book. After the first chapter or so the fantasy aspect is all but gone and is replaced with a story of men and women playing gods. Literally. After the colonization of a new planet, the initial crew abuse their knowledge and power to elevate themselves to place of reverence and power in the eyes of the future generations. It is a thoroughly interesting, fun, and well written read.
The story starts in the present, where a bunch of “fallen gods” named from the Hindu pantheon resurrect a man named Sam. They believe this man to be the actual Buddha, reincarnated in their fake god society. They have brought him back from his banishment to aid them in their fight against “heaven”, the over the top society the other gods have made for themselves above the planet. After this initial chapter the book then returns to the past, to tell the story of Sam, his fight against the gods (some of which are now asking his aid) and his initial banishment.
What this book heavily succeeds in is balancing its very fantastical concept with a heavy science fiction backbone. The world/planet the story takes place on is a planet colonized by humans. The initial crew of the ship discovers a way to prolong their lives by transferring their consciousness into new bodies, and thus harness “immortality”. They keep their previous technology secret from future generations of this developing world and keep it for themselves. Arguing the human’s must develop naturally and figure things out themselves or they will destroy themselves with the power. But in reality it’s rather clear that they are using it to elevate themselves into a revered status, one where the humans think they’re gods and worship them. They live a life a plenty and luxury while the new human race struggles to develop. They control the resurrection machine, and only allow certain people to advance through the ranks and become demi-gods and gods while keeping the rest of the world in a dark ages. In addition to all this, the original crew have switched bodies so many times that they barely know whose who anymore.
The majority of the gods are happy with this setup, as it provides them with power, wealth and much more. However, there are the “accelerationists” who believe that technology should be given to the people and they should be allowed to modernize. This is the major issue in the story and what pits people against each other. We follow Same as he spends his time thwarting the ant-accelerationist. Not because he’s an accelerationist (which is a grey area) but mainly cause the crew turned god annoys him, as he’s one of the original crew too.
The author successfully pieces the current story together while hinting at the original crew that colonized the planet so many generations ago. For every touch of fantasy he throws in machines and technology to explain it, or to bring you back to the reality of the situation. That these are just men in a far flung future.
Sam is an amusing, butthead of a character. He’s sassy and not what you’d expect of the “Buddha” and he was fun to read. I really enjoyed his interactions with other people, especially with his ex-crewmates. His character reminded me of Conrad in Zelazny’s other Hugo winner. The two characters are handled very similarly and are both apathetic about their immortality and the accidental myths that are formed when someone lives for so long. They both remember that they are men (well Conrad thinks of himself as a man). They see nothing special in their immortality. Zelazny really seems to enjoy the idea that over time anything can become a myth and how someone can be around long enough to see their simple memories turned into myths of other people. Both characters go by many names and these names become interchangeable depending on who they’re talking to.
I feel that Zelazny improved greatly on Conrad with Sam. The experiences and people that help flesh Sam are better expressed than with Conrad. There are a lot of characters in this book, but I never felt lost or confused, for the most part all characters had purpose and furthered the story.
My biggest let down is that the end felt rushed. There was such great story telling and build up, but the actually finale was rushed and short. The rest is so strongly written that I got over the slightly botched ending pretty quickly. Though it’d be nice to have an ending on par with the rest of the book.
TLDR
I loved this book, the balance of Science Fiction with Fantastical elements was perfectly balanced. The idea of a crew making themselves gods by keeping technology from the new human race was unique and made for a great story.
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny won the Hugo Award for best novel in 1968. This is his second Hugo Novel win, his first being “… And Call me Conrad” in 1966. It took me two tries to finally get into this book, and I couldn’t be happier I finally read it.
When I initially started this book I was turned off by how much more religion there was than science. It was reading as a fantasy book and less like a science fiction one. While I understand the Hugo’s are open to fantasy, at this point in the read there hasn’t been one yet so I was honestly thrown off and had to prep myself for it. When I finally got back to restarting, it became clear that in my unfair initially judgement I almost missed out on a truly unique book. After the first chapter or so the fantasy aspect is all but gone and is replaced with a story of men and women playing gods. Literally. After the colonization of a new planet, the initial crew abuse their knowledge and power to elevate themselves to place of reverence and power in the eyes of the future generations. It is a thoroughly interesting, fun, and well written read.
The story starts in the present, where a bunch of “fallen gods” named from the Hindu pantheon resurrect a man named Sam. They believe this man to be the actual Buddha, reincarnated in their fake god society. They have brought him back from his banishment to aid them in their fight against “heaven”, the over the top society the other gods have made for themselves above the planet. After this initial chapter the book then returns to the past, to tell the story of Sam, his fight against the gods (some of which are now asking his aid) and his initial banishment.
What this book heavily succeeds in is balancing its very fantastical concept with a heavy science fiction backbone. The world/planet the story takes place on is a planet colonized by humans. The initial crew of the ship discovers a way to prolong their lives by transferring their consciousness into new bodies, and thus harness “immortality”. They keep their previous technology secret from future generations of this developing world and keep it for themselves. Arguing the human’s must develop naturally and figure things out themselves or they will destroy themselves with the power. But in reality it’s rather clear that they are using it to elevate themselves into a revered status, one where the humans think they’re gods and worship them. They live a life a plenty and luxury while the new human race struggles to develop. They control the resurrection machine, and only allow certain people to advance through the ranks and become demi-gods and gods while keeping the rest of the world in a dark ages. In addition to all this, the original crew have switched bodies so many times that they barely know whose who anymore.
The majority of the gods are happy with this setup, as it provides them with power, wealth and much more. However, there are the “accelerationists” who believe that technology should be given to the people and they should be allowed to modernize. This is the major issue in the story and what pits people against each other. We follow Same as he spends his time thwarting the ant-accelerationist. Not because he’s an accelerationist (which is a grey area) but mainly cause the crew turned god annoys him, as he’s one of the original crew too.
The author successfully pieces the current story together while hinting at the original crew that colonized the planet so many generations ago. For every touch of fantasy he throws in machines and technology to explain it, or to bring you back to the reality of the situation. That these are just men in a far flung future.
Sam is an amusing, butthead of a character. He’s sassy and not what you’d expect of the “Buddha” and he was fun to read. I really enjoyed his interactions with other people, especially with his ex-crewmates. His character reminded me of Conrad in Zelazny’s other Hugo winner. The two characters are handled very similarly and are both apathetic about their immortality and the accidental myths that are formed when someone lives for so long. They both remember that they are men (well Conrad thinks of himself as a man). They see nothing special in their immortality. Zelazny really seems to enjoy the idea that over time anything can become a myth and how someone can be around long enough to see their simple memories turned into myths of other people. Both characters go by many names and these names become interchangeable depending on who they’re talking to.
I feel that Zelazny improved greatly on Conrad with Sam. The experiences and people that help flesh Sam are better expressed than with Conrad. There are a lot of characters in this book, but I never felt lost or confused, for the most part all characters had purpose and furthered the story.
My biggest let down is that the end felt rushed. There was such great story telling and build up, but the actually finale was rushed and short. The rest is so strongly written that I got over the slightly botched ending pretty quickly. Though it’d be nice to have an ending on par with the rest of the book.
TLDR
I loved this book, the balance of Science Fiction with Fantastical elements was perfectly balanced. The idea of a crew making themselves gods by keeping technology from the new human race was unique and made for a great story.
"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.”"
Really enjoyed it. I will say my one fault with the story is that pacing is at break neck speed. The story could speed up as fast as paragraphs
Lord of Light is, to put it simply, one of the greatest Sci-fi books ever written. To describe the plot without spoiling is difficult however it contains a fantastically original merging of sci-fi tropes with Hindu and Buddhist mythology, has one of the greatest opening lines in fiction, and of course has one of the best puns.
challenging
informative
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
Zelazny has a way of plunging the reader into a world which is confusingly familiar and unfamiliar. This book is no exception. The plot of this book is fairly straight forward. However, this book is not really about the plot. It is a novel whose meaning shifts like a kaleidoscope depending on what you currently believe the motivations and true beliefs of the characters to be. I suspect that I could read this book multiple times and each time come to slightly different conclusions about who Sam, Yama, and others really are and what they really are not.
I also appreciate how this novel ages better than many from the same period. Largely, this is because the technology that undergirds the world is intentionally only presented at the level of magic. Thus, you don't have any moments of "They anticipated galaxy travelling spaceships but not smartphones?"
In this day and age, it is worth addressing the fact that if this novel were written today, it would almost certainly be decried as a massive cultural appropriation because of its use of Hinduism and Buddhism. I think that it escapes that accusation because the book makes clear that it is the characters within the book who are appropriating religion to their own selfish ends. Whether or not it was Zelazny's intent--and he was writing in the late 60s, so I could see it going either way--this reads more as a commentary on abusive cultural appropriation.
I also appreciate how this novel ages better than many from the same period. Largely, this is because the technology that undergirds the world is intentionally only presented at the level of magic. Thus, you don't have any moments of "They anticipated galaxy travelling spaceships but not smartphones?"
In this day and age, it is worth addressing the fact that if this novel were written today, it would almost certainly be decried as a massive cultural appropriation because of its use of Hinduism and Buddhism. I think that it escapes that accusation because the book makes clear that it is the characters within the book who are appropriating religion to their own selfish ends. Whether or not it was Zelazny's intent--and he was writing in the late 60s, so I could see it going either way--this reads more as a commentary on abusive cultural appropriation.
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
My third Zelazny. He is yet to disappoint me. A wonderful science fiction/fantasy hybrid rollercoaster. Granted, it took me a while to get into this book, but once I was able to wrap my head around the mythology I was in for the ride. I don't really think I understood everything, so this is worth a re-read at some point in the future.
Well, unlike the first attempt at reading this when I was COMPLETELY lost and didn't have the faintest idea what was going on, this time I was able to follow the story (most of the time).
Overall I was confused with all the name changing, but that is normal for Indian inspired fiction. The plot was very interesting - the conflict between "gods" and the fact that poor people are just stuck in the middle. But the writing - the writing was really good. I wonder what his other works are like now. So, as always with books like this one - here is now another author I feel the need to add to my TBR. At this rate I will never finish my TBR and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Overall I was confused with all the name changing, but that is normal for Indian inspired fiction. The plot was very interesting - the conflict between "gods" and the fact that poor people are just stuck in the middle. But the writing - the writing was really good. I wonder what his other works are like now. So, as always with books like this one - here is now another author I feel the need to add to my TBR. At this rate I will never finish my TBR and I wouldn't have it any other way.