Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club

LORD OF LIGHT
by
ROGER ZELAZNY
Lord of Light new USA Lord of Light (1967)

1968 Hugo Award Winner
Avon Eos USA paperback 
279 pages (left)

SF Masterworks series
UK Gollancz paperback
272 pages (right)		 Lord of Light UK
From the back cover of the 2000 edition book:
       Earth is long since dead. On a colony planet, a band of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, and now rule their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon.  Only one dares oppose them: he who was once Siddhartha and is now Mahasamatman.  Binder of Demons.  Lord of Light.

From the back cover of the 1969 edition book:
       His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god.  He preferred to drop the Maha- and -atman, however, and called himself Sam.  He never claimed to be a god.  But then, he never claimed not to be . . .
       It is long after the death of Earth.  A band of men on a colony planet have gained control of technology.  With it, they have given themselves immortality and godlike powers, and the rule their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon.
       Kali, Goddess of Destruction; Yama, Lord of Death; Krishna, God of Lust; all are opposed by him who was Siddhartha, who is now Mahasamatman, Binder of Demons, Lord of Light.

Read for group discussion on February 11, 2004
Lord of Light 1969 paperback Another cover - Lord of Light

Avon 1969 paperback
cover art by Ron Walotsky
319 pages (left)
  
RATINGS:
How we each rated this book
Dan 6 Amy 7 stack of books 10   Wow! Don't miss it
8-9  Highly recommended
7    Recommended
5-6  Mild recommendation
3-4  Take your chances
1-2  Below average; skip it
0    Get out the flamethrower!
U    Unfinishable or unreadable
-    Skipped or no rating given
Cheri 9 Barb -
Aaron 8 Cynthia -
Jackie - Ron 8
Christine 8 Mitch -
Christopher 7 Steve 8.5
Our book group has also selected the following books by Roger Zelazny:
-- A Night in the Lonesome October   in May 1995
-- Nine Princes in Amber   in December 1995
Bibliography:
Roger Zelazny (1937-1995) was a US writer of science fiction and fantasy. He was a leading US figure of the SF New Wave in the 1960s.

Awards
1966 Hugo Award for novel This Immortal
1966 Nebula Award for novelette "The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth"
1966 Nebula Award for novella "He Who Shapes"
1968 Hugo Award for novel Lord of Light
1976 Hugo Award for novella "Home Is the Hangman"
1976 Nebula Award for novella "Home Is the Hangman"
1982 Hugo Award for novelette "Unicorn Variation"
1986 Hugo Award for novella "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai"
1987 Hugo Award for novelette "Permafrost"

Fantasy Books
Amber Series
--1st Amber series - featuring Corwin
Nine Princes in Amber (1970)
The Guns of Avalon (1972)
Sign of the Unicorn (1975)
The Hand of Oberon (1976)
The Courts of Chaos (1978)

--2nd Amber series - featuring Corwin's son Merlin
Trumps of Doom (1985)
Blood of Amber (1986)
Sign of Chaos (1987)
Knight of Shadows (1989)
Prince of Chaos (1991)

The Great Book of Amber: The Amber Chronicles 1-10 (1999) is an omnibus of the first 10 novels in the "Amber" series.

--The Dawn of Amber series
Roger Zelazny's Dawn of Amber are authorized prequels written by John Gregory Betancourt
The Dawn of Amber (2002)
Chaos and Amber (2003)
To Rule in Amber (forthcoming in 2004)

Roger Zelazny's Visual Guide to Castle Amber (with Neil Randall (1988) is a non-fiction book of floor plans, drawings, etc., by Todd Hamilton, plus background information and maps by James Clouse

Dilvish series
The Changing Land (1981)
Dilvish, the Damned (1982) collection of linked stories

Other fantasy books
Jack of Shadows (1971)
Changeling (1980)
Madwand (1981)
Wizard World (1989) omnibus of Changeling and Madwand
A Night in the Lonesome October (1993) humorous Victorian Gothic fantasy featuring Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, Dracula, the Frankenstein monster

Science fiction books
The Dream Master (1966) novel of dream control, (version of "He Who Shapes")
This Immortal (1966) (1965 F&F as "...And Call Me Conrad") Hugo award winning novel
Lord of Light (1967) Hugo award winning novel
Creatures of Light and Darkness (1969) future conflict between gods
Damnation Alley (1969) post apocalypse novel
Isle of the Dead (1969)
To Die in Italbar (1973) sequel to Isle of the Dead
Today We Choose Faces (1973) time travel novel with gangsters
Bridge of Ashes (1976)
Doorways in the Sand (1976) a chase tale
Roadmarks (1979) about turnings off a metaphysical freeway
Eye of Cat (1982) features native American Shamanism
A Dark Traveling (1987) young-adult parallel-world novel

Collaborations
Deus Irae (with Philip K. Dick) (1976)
Coils (with Fred Saberhagen) (1982) about an intelligent computer
Flare (with Thomas T. Thomas (1992) SF disaster novel
The Mask of Loki (with Thomas T. Thomas (1990) fantasy about conflict between gods
The Black Throne (with Fred Saberhagen (1990) fantasy about Edgar Allan Poe
Wilderness (with Gerald Hausman) (1994) associational historical Western novel
Donnerjack (with Jane M. Lindskold) (1997) SF virtual reality novel
Lord Demon (with Jane M. Lindskold) (1999) Fantasy novel with a Chinese flavor
Psychoshop (with Alfred Bester (1998) SF novel about a bizarre bazaar, begun by Bester and finished by Zelazny

Humorous fantasies written with Robert Sheckley
Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming (1991)
If at Faust You Don't Succeed (1993)
A Farce to Be Reckoned With (1995)

Story collections
Four for Tomorrow (1967)
The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth (1971)
My Name Is Legion (1976)
The Last Defender of Camelot (1980)
When Pussywillows Last in the Catyard Bloomed (1980, poetry)
To Spin is Miracle Cat (1981, poetry)
Dilvish, the Damned (1982)
Unicorn Variations (1983)
Frost & Fire (1989)
Author's Choice Monthly Issue 27: Gone To Earth (1992)

Books edited by Zelazny
Nebula Awards Three (1967)
Forever After (1995) shared-world anthology, created by Zelazny
Warriors of Blood and Dream (with Martin H. Greenberg) (1995) original anthology about martial artists
Wheel of Fortune (with Martin H. Greenberg (1995) original anthology about gambling, includes "Amber" story
The Williamson Effect (1996) original anthology about or inspired by Jack Williamson

Links:
Roger Zelazny - Wikipedia
The SF Site Featured Review: Lord of Light
Steven Wu's Book Reviews: Lord of Light (Roger  Zelazny)
dragonsworn Book Review - Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
Science Fiction Inventions from Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

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 This page was last updated October 21, 2008