What if the Gods were alien invaders on another planet? What if they jealously guarded treasures of the advanced technological variety from the non-Gods? And, what if one day, someone decided to open up those treasure vaults to the rest of the world? That’s the theme of L by Roger Zelazny.
is a 1967 science fiction book and is my first book for the Vintage Science Fiction Month (not a reading challenge) of January 2021.
If I had to describe the book in one word, it would be techno-mythology. What are the “miraculous” magical powers of Gods if not advanced technology? Immortality, travel at the sound of speed or light, invincibility, disease-resistance, instant lie-detection, quick healing abilities, database of the entire history of the Universe. And yes, even a careful accounting of good and bad deeds to decide your spot in “Heaven”.
The Plot
The Gods are not united. The majority wants to limit “Godhood” (i.e. the access to cool technology) to a select few only. The selection would depend on strict testing for good deeds, and would be reserved for the truly “deserving” and meritorious. But the “Accelerationists” think otherwise.
Accelerationists think that the Gods are corrupt and nepotistic and that’s why their Godhood tests are a joke. Therefore, even without testing, technology should be freely available to all humans to improve their lives. The leader of these Accelerationists is a revolutionary named Sam, the .
What I Liked
Kudos to Zelazny for handling such a dry, technical subject matter in a very entertaining manner. Sam has the gift of the gab, and his mystic metaphysics is delightful and very wise. He is such a smooth operator that he even comes across as a charlatan several times.
Sam’s motley gang is equally fascinating. The no-nonsense Death God (also a brilliant inventor), the shadow-demon who feels guilty for his hedonism, and the empathetic human-turned-ape — they all have some very interesting quirks of their own.
But the most interesting sub-plot is the “re-incarnation” of Sam. There is a machine which allows a new body to be generated through tissue bio-engineering. And Sam has used that machine to acquire new bodies for himself through the ages. That’s what the Gods do, to stay “immortal”. You see? Viewed from that medical technology lens, reincarnations, rising up from the dead, and the rebirth of Voldemort — all of that seems possible.
What I Did Not Like
If this book had been released today, I feel it could have been interpreted as “cultural (mis)appropriation“. Essentially, the book uses Hindu-Buddhist mythologies for its world-building and its characters. Even the names are rip-offs, as are the costumes, the gear, and the appearance.
There is so much mirroring here that it could give offense. It’s difficult enough to depict older pantheons like Hellenistic and Norse Mythologies. But Hinduism and Buddhism are living religions, and taking too much artistic liberty with their motifs is problematic. There is a fine line of balance here, and YMMV, but I think Zelazny does skirt it a few times.
There is also very little female agency in here. The only powerful female in the book is given a hateful villainous slant, and is even “fridged” (sort of) towards the end. And there are all those ellipsis marks and chapter introductions and Capitalized Words, which I feel are hallmarks of the older sci-fi works.
Rating: 7 out of 10
I would have liked to give Lord of Light a higher rating as it was an entertaining book and it did win the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
10 replies on “Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny: #VintageSciFiMonth”
‘Lord of Light’ sounds interesting, but I’ve never read it. Did all of the “gods” depicted in the story originate as humans or were some of them aliens from other planets besides Earth?
The book hints they all originated as humans from the vanished Urath (Earth). And on the new planet, they found an indigenous race (whom they dubbed as demons), with whom the feud is ongoing. Zelazny seems to be drawing a parallel to actual history, but it’s all very subtle. He hints, and leaves the reader to draw his own inferences.
I read Lord of Light last year (or maybe the year before?) and LOVED it. I enjoyed how the gods fight with each other, and how they tried to keep their technology a secret. And Zelazny did make the entire thing very entertaining!
Great review! And thanks for joining Vintage Month!
It is definitely entertaining. Things just whizz by, never a dull moment. Thanks for hosting Vintage Month! 🙂
Ooh I’ve read a little Zelazny but never this one! I love the premise, but I can totally see the issues too. I was just reading some stuff yesterday at Tor.com re: another older SF writer- Andre Norton- and they were talking about some of the problematic cultural stuff in the older SF. It really is a mixed bag sometimes, but it sounds like this was entertaining in spite of those issues.
Andre Norton! I read Norton when I was starting off with SFF and probably skimmed and fast forwarded, but I do remember the gryphons. Well said, the mixed bag metaphor. But despite it all, I did like Lord of Light. Full of twists and turns and sly hints.
I know nothing of sci-fi and especially not vintage sci-fi! I really have respect for you guys who follow it.
So glad to see that Greg commented on your post! I just wanted to ask if you know Greg and you need to talk to him! LOL!!!
Hope you are having a good week.
Elza Reads
Trust me, I too don’t read much scifi, esp. vintage scifi. But the meme looked really cool and Lord of Light made it easier. And Greg’s the one who told me about the meme. 😉
Thanks for reviewing this Zelazny novel. He’s another writer I need to know about, though your comments on misappropriation and female agency give me pause. It’s hard to find a good novel from the 60s and earlier (hell, 2000 and earlier) that holds up under current awareness. For so long, even fine writers accepted all sorts of abusive and condescending language and ideas, even when they thought of themselves as new wave.
“Even when they thought of themselves as new wave”: Very, very well said. Lots of condescending stereotypes, with great confidence too. Because it’s new and thought-provoking, so it makes everything else less important. And not just in SFF, sadly.
All said and done, I did like Zelazny’s work, it read like a long witty fable. But I wouldn’t recommend this work as a starting point for him. He’s better known for his Chronicles of Amber, I think. I wonder how that one holds up.