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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
This book has an extraordinarily clever premise, maybe the cleverest of any book ever written. (Maybe.) It's basically impossible for the execution to live up to it, however. Overall, it's very good, but there's a feeling of distance and abstraction that I can't quite get over.
This one of the best sci fi books out there. If you like good fiction this is a excellent book to pick up. Light and imaginative when it needs to be but still has a emotional punch. This book defiantly holds its own against Wolfe's New Sun books, Herbert's Dune or Besler's Stars my Destination.
Really 3.5 but rounding down because of the circuitous nature that the novel takes. A great exploration of Eastern religion and sci-fi.
Almost perfect blend of scifi and fantasy but with the cloak of mythology. Easily top 10-20 alltime. Technically superior to Amber, but due to the archaic style of wording, probably not as fun.
I REALLY wanted to like this book, especially the buddhist/spiritual elements, but the over-wrought fantasy writing style just totally put me off. Plus I don't think the jumps in the timeline are handled particularly well.
I know it's a classic and all... but 1 star from me.
I know it's a classic and all... but 1 star from me.
Don't let this slim volume fool you: this is an incredibly dense novel. Each of its seven chapters could easily have been expanded into a novel. It is absolutely packed with ideas, and I imagine would reward rereading.
Occasionally a science-fiction book is written that reminds everyone why the genre is so important. A book so extraordinary, so inventive, so full of wit, imagination and intriguing possibility that it just shines out of every page.
Lord of Light is such a book.
Here in the UK, it has recently been one of the first books to be re-released in the 'SF Masterworks' series. Not only does it fully derve this title, it stands head and shoulders above most of the other titles on this list and indeed all of Zelazny's extensive back-catalogue.
Put as simply as possible, the story is one of the way in which ideological factions diverge and conflict over the human colonization of a distant planet,how over a long time the differences within the human society - and between humans and the indigenous inhabitants - become fossilized and reconstructed into a parody or recreation of Hindu myths, and finally how this decadent parody is challenged from within by one of the original colonists - Mahasamatman, or Sam, the Lord of Light - who takes on the form of the Buddha.
Around this central tale, Zelazny manages to weave so many themes. It is a sensitive and compassionate re-imagining of Hindu mytholology, yet aware of the shortcomings and the challenge posed to traditional Hinduism by Buddhist teachings. It is a tale of technologically-facilitated decadence and moral decline, of the way in which technical abilities can become more important than the purposes for which they were developed. It is a fable about how inequality and class division emerge, are structured, fossilized and challenged. It is story of memory and forgetting, of how history can be constantly rewritten -consciously and unconsciously - by the powerful, and lost to the weak. It is a classic tragedy, the oldest story of all: hubris, nemesis and catharsis.
Zelazny not only manages all these themes with seemingly effortless structural ability, but also produces lush and stylish prose entirely appropriate to the parodic Hindu world, which is a joy to read.
Everyone should read this whether you think you like sf or not. Lord of Light is a unique and extraordinary creation and I don't think I am exaggerating in describing it as one of the greatest and most original achievements in Twentieth Century literature.
Lord of Light is such a book.
Here in the UK, it has recently been one of the first books to be re-released in the 'SF Masterworks' series. Not only does it fully derve this title, it stands head and shoulders above most of the other titles on this list and indeed all of Zelazny's extensive back-catalogue.
Put as simply as possible, the story is one of the way in which ideological factions diverge and conflict over the human colonization of a distant planet,how over a long time the differences within the human society - and between humans and the indigenous inhabitants - become fossilized and reconstructed into a parody or recreation of Hindu myths, and finally how this decadent parody is challenged from within by one of the original colonists - Mahasamatman, or Sam, the Lord of Light - who takes on the form of the Buddha.
Around this central tale, Zelazny manages to weave so many themes. It is a sensitive and compassionate re-imagining of Hindu mytholology, yet aware of the shortcomings and the challenge posed to traditional Hinduism by Buddhist teachings. It is a tale of technologically-facilitated decadence and moral decline, of the way in which technical abilities can become more important than the purposes for which they were developed. It is a fable about how inequality and class division emerge, are structured, fossilized and challenged. It is story of memory and forgetting, of how history can be constantly rewritten -consciously and unconsciously - by the powerful, and lost to the weak. It is a classic tragedy, the oldest story of all: hubris, nemesis and catharsis.
Zelazny not only manages all these themes with seemingly effortless structural ability, but also produces lush and stylish prose entirely appropriate to the parodic Hindu world, which is a joy to read.
Everyone should read this whether you think you like sf or not. Lord of Light is a unique and extraordinary creation and I don't think I am exaggerating in describing it as one of the greatest and most original achievements in Twentieth Century literature.
'Yama poured more tea. Ratri ate another sweetmeat.'
I struggled for weeks with this book, but could not get into it. I acknowledge the quality of the writing, but find myself wanting to scream, 'GET TO THE POINT ALREADY!'
The quote above, taken directly from the book, sums up my experience of it perfectly.
I struggled for weeks with this book, but could not get into it. I acknowledge the quality of the writing, but find myself wanting to scream, 'GET TO THE POINT ALREADY!'
The quote above, taken directly from the book, sums up my experience of it perfectly.
3.5 stars
I've read books and stories before where the conceit is to present a fantasy trope and then show that it's actually technology that has implemented the apparent supernatural or magic. And whilst that is technically the case here it doesn't feel the same because for 90% of the novel the story simply follows the characters as if they were Gods, demigods, demons etc. It never really delves into the technology except to say it exists.
Also a key part of world is the ability to transfer one's consciousness to a new body, which is how we get re-incarnation and immortality. But it's also how certain characters escape death or get resurrected. Add to this a lot of bloodthirsty battles where lots of ordinary humans die but the focus is on the God characters we've been following, and I felt emotionally uninvolved. The characters felt like people wearing super-hero costumes who occasionally pull down the mask and wink at the audience.
The structure of the book is interesting. There are seven sections. These are too long to be called chapters and they each encapsulate a continuous set of events, but between them there are gaps of time. So it's like we see a series of discrete stories, vignettes showing parts of the overall narrative.
I think it probably helps if you are familiar with Hindu mythology, especially the names. Most of the Gods have several names, and then there's the parts where one takes over another's identity, so it can be confusing and Zelazny, to his credit I suppose, expects you to just keep up.
I don't know the original myths and so I don't know if this is a version of existing stories, and if so how close it follows the source. I was going to say that you could just tell the mythic story parts and dispense with the its-really-tech part, but there is a theme of the Gods declining and the rise of human knowledge and ability, science and tech, and it feeds into that I suppose, though it's not developed very deeply.
All this comes with the caveat that in its day, it would have been quite innovative I suppose. But for better or worse I read it in 2018, and my score reflects only my impressions and reactions, which is all it can do really.
I've read books and stories before where the conceit is to present a fantasy trope and then show that it's actually technology that has implemented the apparent supernatural or magic. And whilst that is technically the case here it doesn't feel the same because for 90% of the novel the story simply follows the characters as if they were Gods, demigods, demons etc. It never really delves into the technology except to say it exists.
Also a key part of world is the ability to transfer one's consciousness to a new body, which is how we get re-incarnation and immortality. But it's also how certain characters escape death or get resurrected. Add to this a lot of bloodthirsty battles where lots of ordinary humans die but the focus is on the God characters we've been following, and I felt emotionally uninvolved. The characters felt like people wearing super-hero costumes who occasionally pull down the mask and wink at the audience.
The structure of the book is interesting. There are seven sections. These are too long to be called chapters and they each encapsulate a continuous set of events, but between them there are gaps of time. So it's like we see a series of discrete stories, vignettes showing parts of the overall narrative.
I think it probably helps if you are familiar with Hindu mythology, especially the names. Most of the Gods have several names, and then there's the parts where one takes over another's identity, so it can be confusing and Zelazny, to his credit I suppose, expects you to just keep up.
I don't know the original myths and so I don't know if this is a version of existing stories, and if so how close it follows the source. I was going to say that you could just tell the mythic story parts and dispense with the its-really-tech part, but there is a theme of the Gods declining and the rise of human knowledge and ability, science and tech, and it feeds into that I suppose, though it's not developed very deeply.
All this comes with the caveat that in its day, it would have been quite innovative I suppose. But for better or worse I read it in 2018, and my score reflects only my impressions and reactions, which is all it can do really.