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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I really did enjoy this book, but at times it was a little difficult to read. I like a book that builds & brings you on slowly, but this book takes that to the next level. The whole first chapter gives you no clue as to what is going on & I didn't really start to understand anything about the story or characters until I got to chapter 3. But once I started to understand the story and appreciate the characters, it was a great read. Definitely worth the wait of the build chapter. Something else to note is that I tend to read in small bursts whilst I travel of have a few free moments, I think this book would have been easier on me, if I had sat and given myself more time within each reading block.
Story telling - Intense. It's quite a descriptive text, with high imagination, so there is a lot to take in. It's a slow build story, but the many levels add to the whole story.
Characters - This is a story heavy book, the characters for me took a back seat for a lot of the writing. However what I did get to see of the characters I really appreciated. We're talking about gods and magnificent beings, but they felt pretty realistic with their flaws and personal opinions. Gives you a little more to connect with.
Writing Style - For me it was a highly imaginative text, with so much constantly going on. There were times where I would struggle to get through the block of text/descriptions of events. But then there were others where I really connected to the story which made the writing style easier for me to get through. The fact that you're thrown quite far in to the story in chapter one & have to collect the pieces together through the majority of the rest of the book, can also be difficult to get through, because you're not always understanding exactly what you're reading. But once you have collected enough & the pieces start to fall in to place, it is very rewarding. So long as you can work with a writing style that makes you work for it, then I think you'll thoroughly enjoy the book, as the story itself has a lot to offer.
Story telling - Intense. It's quite a descriptive text, with high imagination, so there is a lot to take in. It's a slow build story, but the many levels add to the whole story.
Characters - This is a story heavy book, the characters for me took a back seat for a lot of the writing. However what I did get to see of the characters I really appreciated. We're talking about gods and magnificent beings, but they felt pretty realistic with their flaws and personal opinions. Gives you a little more to connect with.
Writing Style - For me it was a highly imaginative text, with so much constantly going on. There were times where I would struggle to get through the block of text/descriptions of events. But then there were others where I really connected to the story which made the writing style easier for me to get through. The fact that you're thrown quite far in to the story in chapter one & have to collect the pieces together through the majority of the rest of the book, can also be difficult to get through, because you're not always understanding exactly what you're reading. But once you have collected enough & the pieces start to fall in to place, it is very rewarding. So long as you can work with a writing style that makes you work for it, then I think you'll thoroughly enjoy the book, as the story itself has a lot to offer.
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There were hints of the background to the First, Captains of yore reborn, that I was particularly interested in - during a handful of scenes, such as Hellwell - but the abuse of power to stifle development and exploit the lower classes was tedious and abstract.
This wasn't the best science fiction novel I've read, but it was passable.
I think it's interesting how Adam Roberts draws a comparison to Dune in the introduction to the version I read: "Indeed, the most pertinent point of comparison, it seems to me, is with Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) another Hugo-award-winning SF novel that artfully blends Fantasy and Science Fiction through a fascination with the 'east'..." He continues, "Academics have a technical term for western writers who appropriate the culture of the east like this: they call it 'orientalism' and they don't mean the word in a good way...But his novel is much more than this."
I would say yes, I agree...to an extent. The novel does blend science fiction and fantasy elements re: Clarke's Third Law (Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic) in an
interesting way. The use of language and narration evokes the more mythical language of fantasy, which itself is inspired by medieval literature. But that's where I think the comparisons end. The work doesn't delve any deeper into the abstractions and ideas of the Hindu mythological tradition beyond, woah, what if Agni had a death wand, and woah, what if Kali ate someone while in the form of a Tiger.
Quite frankly, Dune works so well because through it's orientalist views, there is something to be said about how the cultures (East/West, Arrakis/Imperium) interact in a way that by no means glorifies the non-native inhabitants. Lord of Light quite frankly doesn't add anything interesting to the discussion behind reskinning existing beings from Hindu lore and putting them in the story. To be clear, I do not like this book because I think it's being orientalist (although on some degree I think it is). I didn't like this book as much as I could because it missed reaching its full potential.
Thinking back on the story, you could replace all the names of the Hindu gods with any generic sci-fi name, human, alien, or otherwise, and the story would still work. Dune doesn't operate that way. Its fusion of culture is central to the story it's trying to tell.
"Dune is a spacious text, open-ended and inviting. Lord of Light is much denser, lush where Herbert's novel is sparse, narratively complex where Herbert's is linear and straightforward" remarks Adams. I mean first off he is just plain wrong when it comes to the actual structure of the story. But really that's entirely the problem. The prose is good, true, but it seems to interact with Indian culture at the aesthetic level only, not in the ideas or meanings or deeper levels of understanding. The book is not open to interpretation, it's just a Western retelling and reskinning.
Pretty meh if you ask me.
I think it's interesting how Adam Roberts draws a comparison to Dune in the introduction to the version I read: "Indeed, the most pertinent point of comparison, it seems to me, is with Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) another Hugo-award-winning SF novel that artfully blends Fantasy and Science Fiction through a fascination with the 'east'..." He continues, "Academics have a technical term for western writers who appropriate the culture of the east like this: they call it 'orientalism' and they don't mean the word in a good way...But his novel is much more than this."
I would say yes, I agree...to an extent. The novel does blend science fiction and fantasy elements re: Clarke's Third Law (Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic) in an
interesting way. The use of language and narration evokes the more mythical language of fantasy, which itself is inspired by medieval literature. But that's where I think the comparisons end. The work doesn't delve any deeper into the abstractions and ideas of the Hindu mythological tradition beyond, woah, what if Agni had a death wand, and woah, what if Kali ate someone while in the form of a Tiger.
Quite frankly, Dune works so well because through it's orientalist views, there is something to be said about how the cultures (East/West, Arrakis/Imperium) interact in a way that by no means glorifies the non-native inhabitants. Lord of Light quite frankly doesn't add anything interesting to the discussion behind reskinning existing beings from Hindu lore and putting them in the story. To be clear, I do not like this book because I think it's being orientalist (although on some degree I think it is). I didn't like this book as much as I could because it missed reaching its full potential.
Thinking back on the story, you could replace all the names of the Hindu gods with any generic sci-fi name, human, alien, or otherwise, and the story would still work. Dune doesn't operate that way. Its fusion of culture is central to the story it's trying to tell.
"Dune is a spacious text, open-ended and inviting. Lord of Light is much denser, lush where Herbert's novel is sparse, narratively complex where Herbert's is linear and straightforward" remarks Adams. I mean first off he is just plain wrong when it comes to the actual structure of the story. But really that's entirely the problem. The prose is good, true, but it seems to interact with Indian culture at the aesthetic level only, not in the ideas or meanings or deeper levels of understanding. The book is not open to interpretation, it's just a Western retelling and reskinning.
Pretty meh if you ask me.
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Brilliant, winding, staggeringly creative
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation
adventurous
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
There are a number of things I really like about this book, but at the end of it I'm feeling somewhat apathetic toward it.
In general I'm not a huge fan of putting the second to last chapter first. I didn't think it added to my enjoyment. It took a while for me to figure out how the society of men and gods worked and what Attributes and Aspects are. I had a hard time keeping track of which Hindu god was which... Just felt like a lot of work in the end.
In general I'm not a huge fan of putting the second to last chapter first. I didn't think it added to my enjoyment. It took a while for me to figure out how the society of men and gods worked and what Attributes and Aspects are. I had a hard time keeping track of which Hindu god was which... Just felt like a lot of work in the end.
While the story is not very complex, it's beatifully decorated with a blend of sci-fi, fantasy and mythology.
The ruling elite — as it usually happens — fears and resists potential creative destruction, thus preventing the population from technological advancements. The one called Siddhartha seeks to undermine this hegemony by becoming a spiritual teacher and starting an enlightenment campaign, sewing ideas among his followers.
The writing is good, I liked the style. First chapters did a nice job at telling the story without revealing everything about the world. The culmination was a bit of a letdown and didn't live up to the expectations set by a grandiose build-up. But it was a pleasure to read, 3.5 / 5 overall.
The ruling elite — as it usually happens — fears and resists potential creative destruction, thus preventing the population from technological advancements. The one called Siddhartha seeks to undermine this hegemony by becoming a spiritual teacher and starting an enlightenment campaign, sewing ideas among his followers.
The writing is good, I liked the style. First chapters did a nice job at telling the story without revealing everything about the world. The culmination was a bit of a letdown and didn't live up to the expectations set by a grandiose build-up. But it was a pleasure to read, 3.5 / 5 overall.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow. Zelazny is a true Storyteller.
The story is already solid, and very well-told. And then beyond that, the rhythm and structure and imagery of the writing is superb. The pacing and narrative are engaging throughout. The events are fun. The dialogue is a pleasure. The characters and settings are vividly described and satisfyingly animated.
I've only read one Zelazny book and already he's among my favorite authors.
The story is already solid, and very well-told. And then beyond that, the rhythm and structure and imagery of the writing is superb. The pacing and narrative are engaging throughout. The events are fun. The dialogue is a pleasure. The characters and settings are vividly described and satisfyingly animated.
I've only read one Zelazny book and already he's among my favorite authors.
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:
Complicated
I don't know how to give this one a rating, because I really don't know what to make of it. I enjoyed parts of it, but it was also tricky and a lot of work to get through, and most of my enjoyment comes from meta-knowledge about the author and his influence so I'm not sure I would have liked it as much if I hadn't already had a connection to his work. Roger Zelazny was a SFF writer from the 60s and 70s, I read some of his other books growing up (Nine Princes in Amber and A Night in the Lonesome October, both excellent). He was hugely influential to a lot of big-name SFF writers like Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, and Andrzej Sapkowski, and there's a lot in here that, having read and enjoyed their work, is kind of cool to see the preceding threads of. I think it's a coincidence, but this plot is actually weirdly similar to the backstory of The Locked Tomb trilogy, just written 50+ years earlier, and I'm curious if Tamsyn Muir has read this.
Taken on its own, however, this book is hard to connect with since it's vague and written from a removed third person omniscient POV (like you're reading a retold legend) rather than from a particular character's POV, unlike his other books. It's about a group of people from Earth who have figured out immortality via reincarnation, colonized another planet, deliberately withheld knowledge of technology from the masses to maintain power, and stylized themselves as Hindu gods. If you don't know that info going in (it's written on the back cover), it takes a remarkably long time to understand that's what's going on. I didn't realize until 50 pages from the end that the book was almost entirely a flashback after the first chapter, and that's not even supposed to be a twist. A lot of characters have multiple names and titles used interchangeably with little explanation. "Earth" is never mentioned (only ~3 times is there reference to an "Urath") and all tech is similarly referred to as if it is magic even though it isn't (transmitters, plumbing, radios, etc). The actual backstory behind the characters' relationships with each other is almost entirely unexplained. Many of the most interesting characters have only a couple pages of actual lines.
This amount of restraint in providing context (and trusting that the reader can figure it out) is not new to Zelazny's books, but I'd argue it works less well here than in his other stories. Characters like Corwin (an amnesiac, NPiA) and Snuff (a dog, ANitLO) have particular reasons for not understanding everything that is happening, and writing from their POVs makes you, as the reader, join them in the tension of figuring out what's going on--that tension is the plot. When there is a seemingly omniscient, reflective POV, like here, it gets frustrating because you feel like you should get what's going on but don't. His dialogue is still wonderfully deceptive--he is fantastic at making conversations feel like intense action--but any actions scenes are hard to follow, and there are a lot of them here. There are also a lot of themes that feel important but are discussed in such a removed/veiled sense (colonization, theocracy & technocracy, the way that rhetoric shapes political power), it feels like the thoughts Zelazny is trying to put forth get muddled.
Again, I still loved a lot of this book. There's gender fuckery. There's love triangles. There's really dry humor. There's a ton of Hindu mythology. There's a guy excitedly inventing the toilet. If you're up for a challenge and want to read a major predecessor to today's big SFF books, Lord of Light might be for you.
Taken on its own, however, this book is hard to connect with since it's vague and written from a removed third person omniscient POV (like you're reading a retold legend) rather than from a particular character's POV, unlike his other books. It's about a group of people from Earth who have figured out immortality via reincarnation, colonized another planet, deliberately withheld knowledge of technology from the masses to maintain power, and stylized themselves as Hindu gods. If you don't know that info going in (it's written on the back cover), it takes a remarkably long time to understand that's what's going on. I didn't realize until 50 pages from the end that the book was almost entirely a flashback after the first chapter, and that's not even supposed to be a twist. A lot of characters have multiple names and titles used interchangeably with little explanation. "Earth" is never mentioned (only ~3 times is there reference to an "Urath") and all tech is similarly referred to as if it is magic even though it isn't (transmitters, plumbing, radios, etc). The actual backstory behind the characters' relationships with each other is almost entirely unexplained. Many of the most interesting characters have only a couple pages of actual lines.
This amount of restraint in providing context (and trusting that the reader can figure it out) is not new to Zelazny's books, but I'd argue it works less well here than in his other stories. Characters like Corwin (an amnesiac, NPiA) and Snuff (a dog, ANitLO) have particular reasons for not understanding everything that is happening, and writing from their POVs makes you, as the reader, join them in the tension of figuring out what's going on--that tension is the plot. When there is a seemingly omniscient, reflective POV, like here, it gets frustrating because you feel like you should get what's going on but don't. His dialogue is still wonderfully deceptive--he is fantastic at making conversations feel like intense action--but any actions scenes are hard to follow, and there are a lot of them here. There are also a lot of themes that feel important but are discussed in such a removed/veiled sense (colonization, theocracy & technocracy, the way that rhetoric shapes political power), it feels like the thoughts Zelazny is trying to put forth get muddled.
Again, I still loved a lot of this book. There's gender fuckery. There's love triangles. There's really dry humor. There's a ton of Hindu mythology. There's a guy excitedly inventing the toilet. If you're up for a challenge and want to read a major predecessor to today's big SFF books, Lord of Light might be for you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Violence, Excrement, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War