1967 novel by Roger Zelazny
Lord of Light (1967) is a science 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" – "Dawn" in April 1967, and "Death and the Executioner" in June 1967.
Zelazny noted that "Lord of Light" was written so that it could be taken as a science fiction or a fantasy novel. The context of the novel is modern western characters in a Hindu-Buddhist-influenced world.
Plot summary.
"Lord of Light" is set on a planet colonized by remnants of Earth from a spaceship called the "Star of India". To increase their chances of survival, the crew has used chemical treatments, biofeedback and electronics to mutate their minds and create enhanced self-images, or "Aspects", that let them channel their powers. The crew has also developed a technology to transfer a person's "atman", or soul, electronically to a new body. This reincarnation by mind transfer has created a race of potential immortals and allowed the former crew members to institute the Hindu caste system, with themselves at the top.
The crew has used their now-great powers to control the native non-human races (whom they characterize as demons) while setting themselves up as gods in the eyes of the many generations of colonist progeny. Taking on the powers and names of Hindu deities, these "gods" maintain respect and control of the masses by maintaining a stranglehold on the access to reincarnation and by suppressing any technological advancements beyond a medieval level. The gods fear that any enlightenment or advancement might lead to a technological renaissance that would eventually weaken their power.
The protagonist, Sam, who has developed the ability to manipulate electromagnetic forces, is a renegade crewman who has rejected godhood, taking for himself the role of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Sam is the last "Accelerationist": He believes that technology should be available to the masses, and that reincarnation should not be controlled by the elite. Sam introduces Buddhism to defeat the power of the gods with this "new" religion. His carefully planned revolt against the gods takes place in stages: "An army, great in space, may offer opposition in a brief span of time. One man, brief in space, must spread his opposition across a period of many years if he is to have a chance of succeeding."
Characters.
The novel has a range of major and minor characters. The gods live in Heaven, an artificial plateau in the polar regions "where only the mighty might make their home". It is covered by a giant dome for defense and weather control. Heaven is divided into the Celestial City and the Forest of Kaniburrha.
Film version.
In 1979 it was announced that "Lord of Light" would be made into a 50 million dollar film. It was planned that the sets for the movie would be made permanent and become the core of a science fiction theme park to be built in Aurora, Colorado. Comic book artist Jack Kirby was contracted to produce artwork for set design. Due to legal problems the project was never completed.
Parts of the unmade film project—the script and Kirby's set designs—were subsequently acquired by the CIA as cover for the "Canadian Caper": the exfiltration of six US diplomatic staff trapped by the Iranian hostage crisis (in Tehran but outside the embassy compound). The rescue team pretended to be scouting a location in Iran for shooting a Hollywood film from the script, which they had renamed "Argo". The story of the rescue effort was later adapted into the 2012 film "Argo".
TV version.
In 2017, it was announced by Universal Cable Productions that "Lord of Light" would be made into a television series.
References.
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