This book was simply amazing: although it is almost incomprehensible at the start, and although the organization of its chapters serves only to confuse, I finished it deeply satisfied.

The best part of Lord of Light is the setting that Zelazny creates. (The following could be considered spoilers for purists who want to read the book fresh, but I think the next paragraph will help new readers. Still, a warning.)

***SPOILERS*** Lord of Light takes place on a world that was colonized long ago by humans. Since then the humans have discovered the science of transmigrating minds from one body to the next, in effect achieving immortality. Moreover, several humans have trained their own minds and bodies to such a degree that they have almost god-like powers. These superhumans have established rule over the "normal" humans in a manner that almost perfectly replicates the mythology of Hinduism: the superhumans take on the names and roles of various Hindu gods, the process of transmigrating minds is portrayed as reincarnation, and there is a Heaven (albeit a mechanical one) where the gods live. ***END SPOILERS***

What Zelazny has created is a richly textured and internally consistent world that is endlessly fascinating if not entirely comprehensible (the same thing Gene Wolfe did in The Book of the New Sun). A large part of the joy of reading this book is in figuring out what constitutes reality in this world, where the science is that underlies the appearance of fantasy.

Zelazny also writes extremely well for a science-fiction author. Throughout the novel he maintains an epic style that fits the narrative well. However, he has occasional and bizarre lapses--sometimes he falls back on a jarring colloquialism, and sometimes he writes too ornately. But overall the book reads well (unlike, say, Zelazny's The Chronicles of Amber).

And the book is not just pure entertainment: somehow, despite the craziness of the world Zelazny portrays, he manages to make important points about religion, power, and human weakness. For instance, an entire subplot focusing on an assassin seems, at least to me, to be exploring whether religion is valuable even if its foundations are known to be false.

There are, as always, some weaknesses. The organization of the chapters in this book is overly confusing. The first chapter is, chronologically, almost the end of the book; the second chapter and the ones following it take place at least 50 years before the first chapter, with hardly any warning. I had to reread the first fifth of the book after finishing it the first time to actually understand what was going on there.

Also, many of Zelazny's characters are fairly shallow--Brahma, Kali, and the various demons never seemed fully real to me. On the other hand, Zelazny does an excellent job with a key cast of characters, including Sam and Yama (the final scene with Yama is quiet, understated, and ultimately heartbreaking).

I would highly recommend this novel to any science-fiction or fantasy fan.

Copyright © 2001 Steven Wu