From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

Lord of Light

Roger Zelazny

Start date: October 1, 2017

Finish date: October 30, 2017

Discussion: Book Discussions

Discussion leader: Cat

Why we're reading this: Hugo Award 1968
Group Classic Novel Discussion October 2017
Group Classic Novel Discussion, May 2014

[close] Hugo Award 1968
Group Classic Novel Discussion October 2017
Group Classic Novel Discussion, May 2014

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What Members Thought

Nov 03, 2012 Fungus Gnat rated it it was ok

In the far future, an avatar of the Buddha seeks to better the lot of man in a world where the Hindu gods hold sway. This story is told in broad, bold strokes of fantasy—dazzling battles and transformations, an epic sweep of action through time and space, grandiloquent diction. What makes this an ingenious conceit, though, and what makes it science-fiction, is that it soon becomes apparent that the gods are not really gods, that deity and nirvana in this world are not metaphysical but materialis ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2020 GONZA rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: posseduto, abbandonato

I decided to stop trying to read this book, because I got to page 100 without being able to understand what it's about. I have only one character in mind, whose actions seem to me devoid of reason, whose background is incomprehensible to me and who is doing something, perhaps.
I understand that you have to be a science fiction lover and that this was a Hugo prize years ago, but I am not able to appreciate it anyway.

Ho deciso di smettere di continuare a sforzarmi di leggere questo libro, perché so ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2020 James rated it really liked it

Shelves: sf-top-100, hugo

Clearly a classic and must have absolutely blown minds in 1967 when it came out. Ideas about colonisation, manipulation of religion, body modification all set in a story about a being that wants a world to rediscover science through the vehicle of Buddhism? Whoa!

I love the way the world felt large and complex and the characters were slowly explored, it made every chapter a reveal. The characters themselves suffered from the third person omniscient viewpoint, and I never really connected with th ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 05, 2014 Karen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: would-read-more-from-author, sf-f-masterworks

Well...that was an experience! I was intrigued by the concept but thought this might have been one of those books that is written in language that is fancy just for the sake of being more "intellectual". That always annoys me. The language is very rich, and yes sometimes a tad difficult to follow, but I still enjoyed reading it. As for the story itself, I found it complex and completely enthralling. If I were really being picky, I might give this 4.5 stars, but I this is one instance I don't min ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 13, 2010 Jim Black marked it as to-read