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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was a GoodReads Book club pick for Sci-fi. Sci-fi it is not. More like anti-science.
Still a cool book but the question I ask is this: If there were a part 2, would I buy it. And no, I wouldn't.
Still a cool book but the question I ask is this: If there were a part 2, would I buy it. And no, I wouldn't.
definitely a product of it's time. Reminiscent of Kim Stanley Robinson is style though. but that isn't a point in it's favor. The Hinduism as the main source if inspiration was interesting, but I don't know enough about the religion to comment how accurate he kept to it.
It's funny when you read a book and it immediately sends you scurrying to read another book. In this case, finishing Lord of Light made me pause and wonder whether or not I was right that there's a one-line reference to Rild as a personal electronic assistant in Spider Robinson's Starmind. I was pretty sure I was right, and that I knew which character had named their AI Rild, and why that was important in the story, because I've read Starmind only about 20 or 30 times. Of course this meant that I had to pick it up off the shelf and read it again because that's just the way my brain works.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
I have no idea why or how I read this?!!
These impulsive reads will someday haunt me for not doing them justice.
These impulsive reads will someday haunt me for not doing them justice.
Considering when it was written, it was remarkable. Highly imaginative and very influential.
The concept and a lot of the execution is really interesting, although there are more parts that grated on a second reading than the first time I read this
The years have worn heavily on this gem, yet it remains a gem. It’s been over thirty years since my first reading, which I still recall as influential. Today I find the sexism uncomfortable (though not overbearingly so) and the dei ex machina over the top, but even so I loved it again. The themes are timeless: how can mortals resist the temptations of power? What is the nature of a Buddha suffering from Impostor Syndrome? Are we enough? Religion, snobbery, kindness, respect, imperfection, impossible decisions. When I read it as a teen I had little understanding of these questions; today I’m no closer to answers—except for kindness, which looms large as an approach, if not necessarily answer, to everything—but I’ve now spent much of my life facing those questions and I like how Zelazny addresses them. Consider this as a gift for a YA in your life.
Really enjoyed the Yama parts, but otherwise this one didn't grab me.