Lord of Light

This book continues my saga of reading every Hugo Award-winning novel: it's the 1968 winner, and the 40th Hugo I've read so far! I went into the book knowing the general premise, and I enjoyed it even more than I expected to! Here are my thoughts: *BRIEF SYNOPSIS: After arriving on a far-flung planet and subduing its various native beings, a starship's human crew sets itself up as the new ruling class by assuming the identities and mystique of the Hindu Pantheon (Vishnu, Krishna, etc.). They are aided in this ongoing illusion by two supernatural abilities: 1- Each of the starship's passengers boasted a unique genetic mutation that allowed them to manipulate energy and/or others' thoughts--they honed these powers (called "Aspects" and "Attributes") to perfection, allowing them to cast disorienting illusions and/or devastate their enemies; and 2- The humans developed a technology to transplant peoples' consciousnesses (and their accompanying powers) into new bodies, effectively making reincarnation a reality--they use this ability to implement a Karma rewards system in which they advance those who toe the party line and to keep the masses in fear of reincarnation in a lesser state. After centuries under this system Sam, one of the "gods" who is known by many other names, becomes disillusioned with the gods' unwillingness to allow humanity to develop and sets up an "Accelerationist" movement bent on overthrowing "Heaven" and freeing the planet's peoples. Sam undermines the Gods' teachings by establishing the Buddhist faith while also collecting support among his colleagues in the Celestial City. Eventually, and after many close shaves and would-be executions, Sam pits his fearsome army of allies (including the God of Death, the Goddess of the Night, the God of the Underworld, and an accompanying hoard of zombies and fire demons who are among the planet's original inhabitants) against his enemies (most notably including the God and Goddess of Destruction, the God of Creation, and the God of Fire). *Sci-Fi as Fantasy: One of the best parts of this book is that it's both fantastic sci-fi and excellent fantasy! For obvious reasons, the "Gods" want their scientific/genetic powers to awe the populace so they wrap them in enigmatic, magical terms that inspire worship and fear. This makes for a story in which characters wield death rays and ESP against each other but use religious terms for them like "the gaze of death" or "the Trident of Shiva." One of the coolest carry-overs are the Rikasha, denizens of the planet before the humans' arrival who exist as body-stealing fire demons. Sam trapped them centuries before the plot of the story, and his descent to the forbidden mountain prison of Hellwell to free them is one of the best fantasy-esque scenes I've read in a long time. I also have to say that the whole concept of "science as magic" and assuming a godly identity to curb resistance reminded me a lot of the Golds' enslavement of the Obsidians in the Red Rising trilogy--that's a plot element of those stories that I've always liked, and I bet I now know where Pierce Brown got it from! *Superb Characters: Each main character is centuries old, coming to the table with intense mutant powers and a lifetime of loyalties and scores to settle; Zelazny does a fantastic job throwing their stories together, weaving and breaking their alliances a surprising number of times for such a short book! My personal favorite characters included Yama (the God of Death who invents the most impressive tech), Nirriti (the former Christian chaplin of the original starship and the God who marshalls an army of zombies), Taraka (the leader of the Rikasha who thirsts to prove himself the most powerful being on the planet), and Sam himself. Sam's wit, goodness, and "Machiavellian scheming" make the whole story work! *The book delivers some AWESOME fight scenes. The "final" battle at Keenset (between Sam's forces and those of Heaven) stands up to most other literary large-scale conflicts, and the Rild/Yama duel is one of the best I've ever read (better, for example, than Inigo and the Man in Black or even Dumbledore vs. Voldemort)! *My One Quibble: I didn't think that Zelazny's choice to make Chapter 1 the moment when Sam is "resurrected" prior to the final final battle (Chapter 7) played out the way he hoped. While I understand the artistic value of creating a first chapter that fits later in the actual chronological turn of events, this one came across as mostly confusing, and I only really decisively figured out the proper timeline in Chapter 4 or 5, which I felt was too late. I would have preferred for the whole thing to be chronological, though it was kind of fun to see Sam's allies from the first chapter fall into place in later chapters. Not a huge deal. I'm all in on this book, and I'll recommend it to my friends who enjoy sci fi and/or fantasy, as this is a great example of both! It's a fully worthy Hugo winner. 2024 Re-Read: I recommended this to my Book Club, so I enjoyed a chance to return and re-read it! I loved it again. I particularly like the literary/scriptural language throughout; Zelazny put some real artistry into this book. I enjoyed the way he uses brief scenes based almost exclusively on dialogue to advance the plot, which are light on setting descriptions but still manage to convey emotions quite well, including scenes where you can read between the lines and see characters seducing or betraying one another. The prose is sparse but/and super effective. I also loved returning to the book to explore its premise. I love how the demons and the gods are what they claim to be in all ways except being supernatural, for example. It's the religious themes and prose, though, that make this book sing. "What man who has lived for more than a score of years desires justice? For my part I find mercy infinitely more attractive. Give me a forgiving deity any day." ... "With a certain horror he know that within himself, as within every man, there lies a demon capable of responding to his own kind." I love the interplay between Hinduism and Buddhism (including and especially when pretenders make true believers out of their followers) and the introduction of Christianity in the final chapter. I find the book beautifully-written and compelling from start (well, at least from Chapter 2) to finish. I'll re-read it again.

Few times in our lifetime do we get a chance to experience the depth of a book's utter visionary perimeter; few times are we allowed to actually get a glimpse a living work of art which has altered the consciousness of an entire generation. Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny, is such a work. When I first read this book around 1969 -- an avowed SF fan of hundreds of authors -- I couldn't place why this novel had left me with such a void of expression and literal mouth gaping mezmerized astonishment. It led me to research ancient Hinduism and discover socio-political religious movements -- and even later practice Buddhist meditation itself. Yet, most of all it gave me a personal sense of caring for the Truth in organizations of men, where freedoms of action and speech are paramount; it gave me an impetus of speaking out, which stands with me today. It gave a young man a vision and articulation of what was right about the world around me and what was wrong -- and the courage to speak up against wrongs -- and the vision of poetic harmony in a work of art no less than that of a Modigliani painting or the greatest of love stories or poems. All from a science fiction novel? Such is Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light! This novel is a masterpiece of masterpieces; it has survived 43 years of printings simply because of the massive Jungian archetypical truths it evokes in us all -- and engenders in each of us as a herald, a new vision of life and living. Of acceptance. Of dealing with those aspects of life which appear to be dominating, but in fact we can turn into advantage, if we are desirous. With this novel Roger Zelazny took Science Fiction into a new era with the exploration of myth and history as it would culminate itself into the present. SF was never the same thereafter. The Novel's love story is the crux of its internal action. It is a three way power play lover story between two powerful men and a most powerful woman, all of whom are pridefully larger than life. Its backdrop is nothing less than the creation of a new planet's civilization and future. The power of this story, placed into the Past-which-will-become-the-future-of-Earth traces a path tread by the Lion in Winter merged with the full epic story of Dune series. Yet, it could very well be about you and me. The novel takes us to the epiphany of our inner-selves, our hopes and dreams and, our failures and success but, in the end, the good news is: Love faileth never. Read this book. You will be enlightened.

I read this book based upon several recommendations that it was a futuristic study of Eastern concepts. Make no mistake, it's not. In fact, one of the characters says there's nothing particularly regional about the events which take place; Christianity and Protestantism could have easily (though I doubt less controversially) taken the place of Hinduism and Buddhism. Rather, this book is a thought-provoking engagement of that which operates behind social revolutions, both peaceful and otherwise, both secular and religious. This is not to call it a dry read by any means. The story itself is action-packed with enough laser battles and sufficiently-advanced "magicked" science to satisfy any fan of science fiction or space opera. The characters are quite deep, but draw the only major criticism I found for the book. Factions change with barely-credible ease. Bitter enemies turn into staunch allies in mere moments. This does not only occur with the good characterizations, where individuals are noticeably conflicted towards each other from the get go. Rather in several notable instances, including the climax, the reader is led to emotional support for one side of the conflict which suddenly embraces the other side with very little explanation or satisfaction of outstanding plot threads. Highly recommended, with the aforementioned warnings.

Zelazny opened my mind to the possibilities of science fantasy. Lord of Light was written in a day before supercomputers and the internet were even a concept. Zelazny vision transcend it all.

Written in 1967, "Lord of Light" reads today as well as it did when it won the Hugo and Nebula awards. The thing that Zelazny has done is to take his time, infusing his book with contemplative moments and a purposely fake Hindu gloss, but without losing pace. He is willing to sacrifice a bit of reading ease for art, and it pays off handsomely. The very alien-ness of the situation, and of the attitudes of the characters, makes for a very engrossing, if somewhat hard to follow, read. The underlying conflict is simple, but the attitude that the essentially immortal characters bring to it is, while very different, still essentially human. Man's inhumanity to ... well ... everybody and everything is very much on display here. The book highlights small, all too human and overwhelmed, minds, and large, all too human, egos, in a game of celestial thrones. And, underlying it all is a believability of action and response. The situation is utterly alien, but we know people who react the way these people do. We're afraid that we too would react as badly in the same situations, or maybe we hope we would do as well. It's all a matter of perspective.

This excellent science fiction story has all the memorable characters, far out ideas, and thought provoking philosophies that Roger Zelazny won Hugo awards and is justifiably famous for! A more character driven author than either Clarke or Asimov, his characters (like Heinlein's) are worth the price of the book all by themselves! As with any of his books, this one is most highly recommended! You will not be disappointed!

Ah, Lord Zelazny, dreamer of dreams, teller of tales, each word--a feather, a songbird, a jewel. Reader, the book before you was birthed by one who fought the good fight against demons and naysayers. See there, upon the far wall, where the trophies from Uarth are hung? The Nebulas and the Hugos. Talent, I feel, is a difficult thing to deny–and the name of Zelazny will reverberate through the corridors of time. Let us not forget what once he was. I would be willing to pay anything if I had anything with which to pay. But we cannot recall his spirit to Urath. For all eternity, Lord Zelazny dwells on the far side of Heaven and we are the poorer for it. The shape-shifters drift across the fields of white, and the sky-walkers fall down like leaves; trumpets sound over the wastes and the chariots of the snows thunder forward, light leaping like spears from their burnished sides. And yet... The plot within is long and meandering. I do not need such abundance of words, but clarity of vision and certainty of purpose. I fear I must extinguish two stars from the firmament above. And yet it is a worthy tale most elegantly told.

I read some reviewer here say that he wasn't into Buddhism or Hindu beliefs at all and so the book wasn't for him. I am a Christian, and believe me that truly isn't the point of the book which ultimately is not exactly supportive of religion in general. A spoiler here, but the main actors in the book are the crew of a colony ship that crashed. They developed a method of growing bodies and then transferring their bodies into them to essentially "reincarnate" mechanically. Over time, inborn mental characteristics grow into real psychic powers. The Hindu flavor of the book comes from the fact that their passengers were Hindus being relocated to their own planet. The crew adopt the Hindu mythology and enhance their growing powers with technology, and become the Hindu gods. One of the crewmen begins to believe that they are holding the colonists back technologically, and that he need to make war on "Heaven". This is one of the few true classics of science fiction. If you begin in say 1970 there's this book, The Forever War, The Anubis gates, (if you ARE Christian "Inferno" by Niven and Pournelle)(usually out of print because of it's overt Christian topic), Vance's Planet of Adventure, and Dying Earth series, Gene Wolfe's Earth of the New Sun" series. And then high up on the list of fantasy series is Jack Vance's Lyonesse 4 book series. Vance had a dry humor, a way with words, and won awards in various genres. He remains unique as a fantasy writer as he remains true to the laws of folklore and the Fairy Tale. This alone makes his fantasy writing unique and departs from the more common "quest" books a la Tolkien. I read about 200 books a year and have been doing so since 1965. There are a lot more to add, but this is where you start.

This book deserves the reputation it has. It is not just a great sci fi book. It is great literature in its own right. It is an example of how sci fi can produce literary masterpieces equal to classic or mainstream fiction. This story will even appeal to readers outside of sci fi/fantasy fans, especially anyone interested in Hinduism, Buddhism or eastern mythology, or indeed history and socialism. It is allegorical, ironic, humorous and sublimely philosophical. It is difficult to grasp at first, which is part of its reward. During the first two chapters I worried this book would be a flop for me, I wasn't loving it. But then things clicked into place, and the poetry of the prose, the philosophy of the characters took over. Then suddenly my confusion became excitement as plot puzzles of earlier chapters resolved. The action sequences are thrilling, better than Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber. The book has a truly epic feel, essentially a series of myths about Sam and how he became Lord of Light, and his revolution. Yet all this fits into just 284 pages. For that reason, I found myself re-reading chapters again, as layers revealed later in the book put a new nuance on earlier events and conversations. Indeed, this is one of those rare books that get better each time you read it, even though you know the plot. Like all great myths, the story and characters are so fascinating that knowing the plot can't detract from the enjoyment. There is something for everyone here, wrapped in an utterly unique New Wave sci-fi experience.

Der originale Text erschien auf der Website des Webmagazins "Comicgate" in der Kategorie "Währenddessen." Roger Zelaznys Lord of Light erschien 1967 und gewann den Hugo und den Nebula Award. Bis heute bezeichnen Fans von Zelazny den Roman als sein bestes Buch und ja, es stimmt. Lord of Light legt eine interessante Mischung aus Science-Fiction und Fantasy vor. Die Menschheit hat einen fernen Planeten unter ihre Kontrolle gebracht und der Großteil der Bevölkerung lebt in vergleichsweise mittelalterlichen Zuständen. Die Elite dagegen residiert in einer hochtechnisierten Wolkenstadt und lässt sich als Mitglieder des hinduistischen Götterpantheons verehren, vor allem da sie die Kunst, den eigenen Geist in einen neuen Körper zu transportieren, perfektioniert haben. Einer von ihnen wehrt sich jedoch dagegen und startet eine Rebellion. Er ist der Buddha, aber ihm gefällt es besser, wenn man ihn Sam nennt. Lord of Light ist einer der anspruchsvollsten Romane des Fantasy- und des Science-Fiction-Genres. Das liegt nicht nur an Zelaznys doppeldeutigen und poetischen Einsatz von Sprache, sondern auch daran, dass die Geschichte größtenteils nicht linear erzählt wird. Auch Erzähler*innen und Erzählzeit wechselte Zelazny gerne mal. Vor allem gegen Ende passiert es schnell, dass zwischen der abgeklärten Perspektive Sams zu einer sehr blumig überlieferten Legende gesprungen wird, die die Geschichte in einem ganz anderen Kontext verpackt. Diese stilistischen Spielereien bereichern Lord of Light ungemein, da Zelazny so auch zeigt, wie letztendlich alle Geschichte endet: erst kommt das was passiert, dann das was aufgezeichnet wird und am Ende ist alles so legendär, dass größtenteils nicht mehr auseinandergehalten werden kann, wo Fakt oder Fiktion beginnen. Die Menschen interessiert auch nicht, was wirklich geschah. Sie interessiert nur das, von dem sie glauben, dass es geschah. Aus diesem Grund funktioniert auch Sam als Hauptfigur so gut, da Manipulieren und Betrügen bereits in seiner Natur liegt und er mit wenig Mühe die Leute glauben lässt, dass sie von sich aus gegen die falschen Götter rebellieren wollen. Wie jeder gute Lügner gibt er nur zu gerne zu, einer zu sein. Er widerspricht nicht einmal, dass die Grundlagen seiner Religion aus historischen Archiven der alten Erde gestohlen wurden. Solange die Leute glauben, dass er der Buddha ist und er so sein Ziel erreicht, ist ihm alles recht. Damit wird auch thematisiert, dass er sich hierbei den Glauben und die Ideen einer anderen Kultur aneignet und für seine Zwecke missbraucht, womit Zelazny auf einer Metaebene die Leser*innen darauf anspricht, dass er eigentlich auch nichts anderes gemacht hat. Er hält die Mythologie und Charaktere allerdings so vage, dass die Geschichte nicht darin mündet, andere Kulturen und Religionen nur der Exotik wegen auszunutzen. Bei einer Szene bin ich jedoch bis heute unsicher. Es handelt sich dabei um den Umgang mit einem der wenigen Charaktere, die man heute als nonbinär oder Trans bezeichnet würde. Diese Figur wird von Sam gehässig provoziert und verspottet, eben weil sie nicht den Normen der 1960er entspricht. Einerseits muss man im Kontext der Handlung sehen, dass die betreffende Figur ein richtiges Ekel ist, dennoch fand ich Sams Bemerkungen bereits 2011, als ich den Roman das erste Mal las, gemein. Davon abgesehen tritt ein weiterer nonbinärer Charakter auf, der als sympathisch und faszinierend dargestellt wird. Zu schade, dass er nur eine geringe Rolle in der Handlung spielt. Lord of Light hat sich erstaunlich gut gehalten. Das liegt abseits des Stilistischen vor allem am zeitlosen Setting, spannenden Kampfszenen und faszinierenden Charakteren. Die Themen sind ebenfalls zeitlos. Es geht um die Rebellion gegen ein ungerechtes System sowie die Ausnutzung von Symbolen, um Ausbeutung zu rechtfertigen. Es geht aber auch darum, dass am Ende nur Handlungen im Jetzt zählen; alles andere wird Teil von Legenden, von denen die Menschen nur die behalten werden, die sie behalten, während alle anderen schon vor langer Zeit zu Staub verfallen sind.

I am a hindu and I loved the book - blasphemous as it might sound for some today. The story is about gods being essentially humans with a lot of technology, and one amongst the 'gods' chooses to level the playing field by giving the non-gods, gods' toys. So far, a pretty straight forward build on Arthur C. Clarke's “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". But what Zelazny does beautifully is to take this concept of super caste of technologically advanced humans; mixes the actual history of Buddha's rise as a protest against the caste-based, god worshipping Hindu religion, and adds fantasy elements of how Buddha waged war on the gods in their Celestial city. The politics, the strategy and wars were on-point as well as being immensely enjoyable. For those with a bit more philosophical bent will see the section of Ridl and Sam's body takeover by Taraka, are based on Buddha's teachings about what it means to be divine, and the teaching to bridle our base emotions that can make even the best go depraved. Some will notice the irony of god of death fighting because of a broken heart (death being un-affected by emotions, not really!); and the zombies of Renfrew was a hilarious unsubtle take on Christianity's proselytisation. And finally, I must mention that the battles - they are done really well. There is energy, rapid changes of perspective and most importantly the action feels visceral. The battle of Keenset being a particular highlight.

Harika bir eser, kargolama harika. Türkçesi yerine İngilizce okumak istedim o yüzden aldım herkese tavsiye ederim.

This is a Hugo award winner from the 1960s. Written within the ideological context of the Cold War, and the collateral damage to civilians in war zones. There are many themes. Personally, there is the quest for immortality and power. Socially, people need a belief system that binds them together. The godly pantheon use Hinduism as the basis for their legitimacy. Ruthlessly destroying cities that show technological progress. They are opposed by the protagonist (Sam) who was the captain of the ship that brought the first interstellar colonists. Knowledgeable and capable, Sam is the kind of leader who would build empires if he was so inclined. Ideologically, the rebel protagonist revives Buddhism as a rival to the hierarchical formal Hinduism. Not surprisingly, the pragmatic protagonist makes a deal with 'demons' to fight the 'gods'. It's easy to empathize with Sam. Zelany had managed to cover a wide range of topics in a novel of modest size. Letting the actions and history of the players speak to their character and inner musings. Written in an irreverent manner with a tone of levity. No long brooding introspection in this narrative. Periodically, I reread the novel. To enjoy this demonstration of how a serious novel should be written for pleasurable reading.