Lord of Light

This is a classic that even inspired art from the great Jack Kirby (New Gods, Fantastic 4). It’s written in such way that works both as a SF or a Fantasy novel, but I say that it’s one of the best examples of science fantasy.

Take a mythological/religious tale like the Rig Veda and the quest of Buddha for illumination and use it as the backbone for a story about a lost colony, deities of human origin, oppressive rulers vs. a rebel group and the original inhabitants of a faraway planet, and a generational struggle between immortal beings that affect… show more.

This one may not be as obscure as the others. I had heard the name Roger Zelazny but I never picked any of his books up. I don’t know why. Eventually Lord of Light was recommended so many times, that I had to go get it. And it’s fantastic. Imagine if all the myths of Hinduism are retold as science fiction. The gods aren’t magical, but gifted with terrifying technology that appears magical to us mere humans. (For bonus crossover points: I also recently found a book that Zelazny and Fred Saberhagen wrote together about a world where every Edgar… show more.

Again, a work labeled science fiction (it won the top science fiction prizes of its day)—that takes place in the far future, on a presumably distant planet. This one features a war between “deities” that are basically superheroes, but this thrilling and poetic work draws far more on Hindu (and Buddhist) mythology than on traditional SF tropes. Written with Zelazny’s usual nimble touch, Lord of Light instructs while it entertains: the main characters, once astronauts, have become gods ruling over their new planet, and the only people who can fight tyrannical gods are... other gods. 

Like Dune, this book revolves to a degree around a holy war. But instead of an Islamic-based culture carried to another world, this one is Hindi and Buddhist. I love a book with great world-building, and this one certainly qualifies. It not only invoked my sense of wonder, but was, at times, spiced with both humor and wisdom. It's full of complex characters, but ones you immediately empathize with.

Lord of Light came out of the 1960s, a time when the youth of the world were examining the assumptions of their parents and rebelling against "the establishment." Into that world, Zelazny introduced a society ruled by a technologically advanced elite so far above their subjects that they appeared as gods. They embraced that role, taking on the aspects of the Hindu pantheon, with Kali, Goddess of Destruction, Yama, Lord of Death, Brahma, the Creator, etc. Then there's Mahasamatman, known as Sam, Lord of Light, who leads the way to a renaissance among the downtrodden. Re-read this one for the… show more.

Conflating myth and futuristic technology, Lord of Light builds a science fantasy world in the cleft between heaven and hell. Starship travelers colonize a planet. Assuming the guise of Hindu and Buddhist deities, they battle each other with astonishing weapons. Their conflict profoundly plumbs the depths of belief, ideology, and reality. This novel packs all the science-fictional weirdness of Calvino’s Cosmicomics into a conventional story structure. The deftness with which the author accomplishes this deeply impressed me as a young reader – and still inspires pangs of awe.