Lord of Light (1967) is an epic science fiction/fantasy novel by American author Roger Zelazny. It was awarded the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and nominated for a Nebula Award in the same category. Two chapters from the novel were published as novelettes in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1967. Zelazny's close friend (and fellow science fiction/fantasy author) George R. R. Martin describes in his afterword to Lord of Light how ...
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Lord of Light (1967) is an epic science fiction/fantasy novel by American author Roger Zelazny. It was awarded the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and nominated for a Nebula Award in the same category. Two chapters from the novel were published as novelettes in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1967. Zelazny's close friend (and fellow science fiction/fantasy author) George R. R. Martin describes in his afterword to Lord of Light how Zelazny once told him that the whole novel came from a single pun.
The context of the novel – modern western characters in a Hindu-Buddhist-infused world – is reflected in the book's opening lines:
His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be a god.
The novel is structured as a series of long semi-independent chapters; each a distinct story within a long campaign by the protagonist...
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