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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
A re-read. To be fair, I just read this book my mistake. By book group picked This Immortal and somehow I convinced myself this was the book instead. I had both on the shelf and it had been awhile since I read Zelazny. And I do want to post reviews for all Hugo/Nebula Winners/Nominees (almost all of which are re-reads).
This was a tough read. Without the summary description on goodreads, it would have been even tougher. I gave this more of a go once I had some idea what it was about.
This was not a book with an introduction or an info dump. You got dropped in with no real hints of what is going on.
This is a book from the Gods' point of view. Technology is just hinted at - which makes it somewhat ageless.
This is a book set in a culture and mythos which I am only slightly familiar.
It was cool and weird and hard to read. I read this chapter by chapter with a pause in between - but with only 7 chapters, this was still doable.
I could imagine re-reading this - perhaps after reading more of the source material.
This was a tough read. Without the summary description on goodreads, it would have been even tougher. I gave this more of a go once I had some idea what it was about.
This was not a book with an introduction or an info dump. You got dropped in with no real hints of what is going on.
This is a book from the Gods' point of view. Technology is just hinted at - which makes it somewhat ageless.
This is a book set in a culture and mythos which I am only slightly familiar.
It was cool and weird and hard to read. I read this chapter by chapter with a pause in between - but with only 7 chapters, this was still doable.
I could imagine re-reading this - perhaps after reading more of the source material.
Strange book. Space travels take the form of Hindu gods and Buddha to keep the people of a planet under their thumb. I listened to this as an audiobook, but I think it really should be read to get a better understanding. There were plenty of parts where I wanted to go back and reread sections to get a better understanding.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Alright, as an atheist who used to be a Hindu and is rather well-acquainted with Hindu mythology, this was somewhat disappointing. It's one of those books that showed a lot of potential at the beginning, then fizzled out eventually by the end, excluding some flashes of brilliance that ultimately went nowhere. If you are a devout Hindu, chances are you won't like this book due to the inclusion of religion and the way it's used, but with that being said, lemme express my personal gripes which will include marked spoilers.
So this is not exactly a retelling of myths from Hinduism,it's about a group of colonists conquering a planet and living there, establishing a caste system and adopting personas of Hindu gods, which is never directly expressed, just hinted. Most of it may seem pretty creative and it's definitely well-written, and the author has certainly done some good research on his part, including some obscure gods and art forms and such which might seem completely alien and unique to someone who's not a Hindu. I personally have no qualms about religion being used this way and I was rather excited at the beginning to read it, as I thought I would get most of the references. The first chapter starts rather strong as well with the resurrection of Sam/Buddha and him slowly acclimatizing to everything that was happening, preparing himself for the war against Heaven.
However, then the author decided to proceed withexplaining events that happened prior to the resurrection of Buddha, his actions and their consequences which led to the present, for 5 out of 7 total chapters implicitly. Now don't get me wrong, the chapters themselves weren't exactly bad per se, some of them had rather intriguing, even epic moments. However, regardless of the author's research and attention to detail and such, ultimately the whole use of religion is just window-dressing, with bare-bones characters ( excluding the protagonist and another major character ) that could have been so much more, besides the basic attributes mentioned about them which may appear as novelty to most people, but not to those who already know their origin. When that's over, it all comes down to one chapter to wrap-up everything, which was painfully rushed and ends in such an unsatisfying manner as well, especially considering the fate of characters. When I look at the story as a whole, it's nothing special, just needlessly bemusing for the most part. I feel like me being aware of mythologies was only detrimental to my experience as well unfortunately, not an enhancement.
Don't let my review discourage you from picking it up however, especially if you are a 'journey over destination' kind of person and want to try something different. It definitely gets weird and trippy in a good way during certain chapters and I can see why this book received so much acclaim, it just wasn't a satisfying experience for me personally is all.
So this is not exactly a retelling of myths from Hinduism,
However, then the author decided to proceed with
Don't let my review discourage you from picking it up however, especially if you are a 'journey over destination' kind of person and want to try something different. It definitely gets weird and trippy in a good way during certain chapters and I can see why this book received so much acclaim, it just wasn't a satisfying experience for me personally is all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Sexism, Cultural appropriation
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -Arthur C. Clarke
Lord of Light is a wonderfully dense book about a group of humans with seemingly godlike powers. Not all is what it seems however and as the book advances the mystery slowly unravels to reveal the truth hidden behind the myths.
The story follows Sam, one of the foremost members of this group as he turns against his former comrades and tries to create a better world for everyone. He is the driving force of the entire story, however Zelazny manages to create a character which is supremely powerful but at the same time vulnerable and fallible.
The big theme of the book however is religion, the nature of divinity and the right of so called "higher beings" to decide the fate of others. The book is very critical, presenting religions as simply methods of mass manipulation which could annoy more religious readers but for me it was a very honest exploration of the way religion can be exploited by those in power.
It has to be said that the book starts rather slow and heavy and it takes a couple of chapters for story to really gather momentum but once it gets going it never really slows until the very end. There are some quieter moments, but overall the pacing is very good. Also worth mentioning is the quality of the writing which is head and shoulders above the prose typically found in SF books.
In conclusion, a wonderful read slightly held back by a demanding beginning.
Lord of Light is a wonderfully dense book about a group of humans with seemingly godlike powers. Not all is what it seems however and as the book advances the mystery slowly unravels to reveal the truth hidden behind the myths.
The story follows Sam, one of the foremost members of this group as he turns against his former comrades and tries to create a better world for everyone. He is the driving force of the entire story, however Zelazny manages to create a character which is supremely powerful but at the same time vulnerable and fallible.
The big theme of the book however is religion, the nature of divinity and the right of so called "higher beings" to decide the fate of others. The book is very critical, presenting religions as simply methods of mass manipulation which could annoy more religious readers but for me it was a very honest exploration of the way religion can be exploited by those in power.
It has to be said that the book starts rather slow and heavy and it takes a couple of chapters for story to really gather momentum but once it gets going it never really slows until the very end. There are some quieter moments, but overall the pacing is very good. Also worth mentioning is the quality of the writing which is head and shoulders above the prose typically found in SF books.
In conclusion, a wonderful read slightly held back by a demanding beginning.
Let me be straight right off the bat. This book is not for me. I understand that this is a genius work of science fiction but much of it is over my head. I am assuming that if I had a more intense knowledge of eastern religion I would have been blown away by this. I probably would not have finished this book if not for the reason I did. This was the 11th and final book I read for the Dickheads podcast series on the Hugo award-winning novels of the 1960s. So the deal was I had to finish the book, no choice. Eventually, we will be doing an episode about both Zelazny Winners this one and This Immortal which shared the award with Dune.
Lord of Light is the second book in series maybe, I have read conflicting reports. The plot of the novel was really hard for me to follow. The Earth has died and refugees have made it to a colony world, only a few have the technology and they use it to impersonate classic eastern goods, following Buddhist and Hindu traditions. This is a method they use to hold people back from Progressing since they fear a repeat of the disasters that killed the earth. Thematically, of course, this means the novel is like a reverse of A Canticle for Lebowitz.
Unlike that novel, this story didn't work for me. I was bored and confused for most of the pages since I was really lost trying to figure out what was going on. If I knew more about Siddhartha and Mashasamatman and the mythologies I am sure I would be more impressed by what was happening. My problem was that most of this novel relies on parallels with these mythologies and honestly, this stuff bores me. In the small moments when the novel touches on more traditional SF elements, I would get excited but those were very few and far between.
In the last pages when the gods talk about the colony getting a printing press was one of my favorite scenes. I wish the book was more direct like in those moments. I understand that this is probably a masterpiece but it is not for me. I will take A Canticle for Lebowitz any day.
Lord of Light is the second book in series maybe, I have read conflicting reports. The plot of the novel was really hard for me to follow. The Earth has died and refugees have made it to a colony world, only a few have the technology and they use it to impersonate classic eastern goods, following Buddhist and Hindu traditions. This is a method they use to hold people back from Progressing since they fear a repeat of the disasters that killed the earth. Thematically, of course, this means the novel is like a reverse of A Canticle for Lebowitz.
Unlike that novel, this story didn't work for me. I was bored and confused for most of the pages since I was really lost trying to figure out what was going on. If I knew more about Siddhartha and Mashasamatman and the mythologies I am sure I would be more impressed by what was happening. My problem was that most of this novel relies on parallels with these mythologies and honestly, this stuff bores me. In the small moments when the novel touches on more traditional SF elements, I would get excited but those were very few and far between.
In the last pages when the gods talk about the colony getting a printing press was one of my favorite scenes. I wish the book was more direct like in those moments. I understand that this is probably a masterpiece but it is not for me. I will take A Canticle for Lebowitz any day.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced