Roger Zelazny
1967
Awards: Hugo
Nominations: Nebula
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
This book is a work of art.
On
one level it is a beautifully written and - dare I say - spiritual
story (which I don’t usually have the patience for). At the same time,
behind all the beauty, it is funny and sarcastic. And hard science lies
under everything the characters do.
A small group of
humans on a colony planet somewhere has figured out how to keep
themselves alive indefinitely by changing into new bodies as their old
ones wear out. This and their other pieces of superior technology allow
them to set themselves up as gods – specifically, Hindu gods. Each god
has his or her own Aspect (an aura or presence) and Attribute (the
specific power they wield). Yama (the deathgod) and Kali (goddess of
destruction) are particularly charismatic and intimidating.
These
gods keep the rest of the planet’s inhabitants in abeyance by
destroying any human who seems like they're about to re-develop any
advanced technology such as a bicycle or a flush toilet.
Mahasamatman
(or "Sam"), who was one of the first colonists on the planet and now is
one of the gods – or maybe he is the Buddha? Or maybe he is just a
human? – thinks this is unfair and has spent many lives trying to bring
down the gods to let the masses develop in freedom.
Zelazny’s
characters usually use excellent, dramatic language: "Let them come
against me now and the heavens will weep upon their bodies and the Vedra
run the color of blood!" But then they'll also occasionally slip out
something about neutrino emissions. The imagery really is lovely and
heavenly and colorful – which makes the lapses into modern content that
much more funny.
This review originally appeared on Cheeze Blog
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