Quasit's Book Recommendations: "Lord of Light" (1967) by Roger Zelazny
This is simply one of my very favorite books. Apart from being quite possibly the greatest work ever produced by one of the two finest craftsmen of prose in science fiction, "Lord of Light" is one of the rare books which I find deeply moving. I can never read the ending without getting a lump in my throat.
Winner of the 1968 Hugo award for science fiction, the novel could easily be mistaken for fantasy. On a distant planet in the far future, human colonists have created a culture based on Indian mythology—except that in that world magic is made real by highly advanced technology.
Some of the ship's crew have assumed the roles of Hindu gods, using both technology and paranormal abilities. The colonists and their descendants live as mortals beneath the rule of the gods, with limited technology and enforced subservience. But technology has made reincarnation possible, so those who obey the gods have a chance at another life when they die.
Not everyone is happy with this arrangement, and the inevitable result is, of course, revolution.
At 257 pages it's a remarkably slender book compared to most modern genre novels. Yet it contains more poetry, emotion, humor, and sheer •imagination• than any HUNDRED science fiction novels published in the last twenty years.
One point: After the first chapter the bulk of the novel is an extended flashback. Zelazny didn't try to hide that, but he didn't make it obvious either. The sheer length of the flashback confuses some readers, so please don't forget.
Another bit of trivia: There were once plans to film "Lord of Light" and turn the sets into a permanent theme park. Jack Kirby (yes, THE Jack Kirby) made sketches for the sets. Sadly the movie never came to be, but the CIA obtained the sketches and used them to help convince the Iranian government that they were looking to film the movie in Iran. This was during the hostage crisis, and was the means by which some diplomats were smuggled out of the country. A movie was made of THAT story, "Argo" starring Ben Affleck. You can see the sketches and more information here.
https://web.archive.org/web/20110724150727/http://lordoflight.com/
Every time I read "Lord of Light" I end up wishing there was more. And yet...how could more be anything but a diminishment?
The book is very much worth owning; I've re-read it many times, and I'll read it many more. But you can borrow it for free from the Internet Archive, too:
https://archive.org/details/lordoflight0000roge
Again: this is one of the greatest classics in the field of science fiction, a true work of art. If you haven't read it, you have a wonderful experience ahead of you.
#Books #Bookstodon #ScienceFiction #ScienceFantasy #SF #Classics #QuasitBookRecs
Quasit
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2026-05-09 01:36:38 UTC
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"content": "Quasit's Book Recommendations: \"Lord of Light\" (1967) by Roger Zelazny\n\nThis is simply one of my very favorite books. Apart from being quite possibly the greatest work ever produced by one of the two finest craftsmen of prose in science fiction, \"Lord of Light\" is one of the rare books which I find deeply moving. I can never read the ending without getting a lump in my throat.\n\nWinner of the 1968 Hugo award for science fiction, the novel could easily be mistaken for fantasy. On a distant planet in the far future, human colonists have created a culture based on Indian mythology—except that in that world magic is made real by highly advanced technology.\n\nSome of the ship's crew have assumed the roles of Hindu gods, using both technology and paranormal abilities. The colonists and their descendants live as mortals beneath the rule of the gods, with limited technology and enforced subservience. But technology has made reincarnation possible, so those who obey the gods have a chance at another life when they die.\n\nNot everyone is happy with this arrangement, and the inevitable result is, of course, revolution.\n\nAt 257 pages it's a remarkably slender book compared to most modern genre novels. Yet it contains more poetry, emotion, humor, and sheer •imagination• than any HUNDRED science fiction novels published in the last twenty years.\n\nOne point: After the first chapter the bulk of the novel is an extended flashback. Zelazny didn't try to hide that, but he didn't make it obvious either. The sheer length of the flashback confuses some readers, so please don't forget. \n\nAnother bit of trivia: There were once plans to film \"Lord of Light\" and turn the sets into a permanent theme park. Jack Kirby (yes, THE Jack Kirby) made sketches for the sets. Sadly the movie never came to be, but the CIA obtained the sketches and used them to help convince the Iranian government that they were looking to film the movie in Iran. This was during the hostage crisis, and was the means by which some diplomats were smuggled out of the country. A movie was made of THAT story, \"Argo\" starring Ben Affleck. You can see the sketches and more information here.\n\nhttps://web.archive.org/web/20110724150727/http://lordoflight.com/\n\nEvery time I read \"Lord of Light\" I end up wishing there was more. And yet...how could more be anything but a diminishment?\n\nThe book is very much worth owning; I've re-read it many times, and I'll read it many more. But you can borrow it for free from the Internet Archive, too:\n\nhttps://archive.org/details/lordoflight0000roge\n\nAgain: this is one of the greatest classics in the field of science fiction, a true work of art. If you haven't read it, you have a wonderful experience ahead of you.\n\n#Books #Bookstodon #ScienceFiction #ScienceFantasy #SF #Classics #QuasitBookRecs",
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