Roger Zelazny discussion

I am in the midst of Creatures of Light and Darkness at the moment and just finished chapter 14, "The Thing That Cries in the Night".

There was enough material in that one chapter to fill an entire novel.

I never know what to make of this book. The first time I read it was in my mid-teens & I missed a lot of the allusions. I've picked up more since then, but the book is full of them & without understanding them, half the story is lost. I haven't re-read it in years, but should.

Madrack's (?) "The Agnostic's Prayer" makes its appearance here, early on in the book. I chuckle every time I read it.

That was rather amusing.

It just occurred to me that I've been thinking of the characters of Creatures of Light and Darkness in the same terms as those in Lord of Light - those of men who have achieved godlike powers - when nothing in Creatures actually gives any indication that these were ever humans rather than gods/angels, despite the presence of their incredible technology.

I certainly got the feeling that some of the characters were advanced 'men' while others were anything but. The Prince's family falls into the latter category, although he seemed more human than most.

I just found out that my son has never read this book. I really need to get a copy to him. It's one I'd love to discuss & really need to re-read. There are hints, clues & so many questions at the end of the book. More than most of his books.

Since the discussion of this book, both here & in the two Collected Works of Zelazny's, I've gotten a hankering to re-read this, so I will start it today at lunch.

I need a lunchtime book again since I will be starting To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts tonight. The only copy that I have is a new hardback signed to me by the author, so it's too precious to bump around in my lunchbox & truck.

What a weird book! It refuses to fit into any specific worldview that I can think up; SF, fantasy or myth. It's a blend of all three that jerked me from one POV & style to another.

I'm kind of frustrated because there are so many stories & threads left hanging. In some cases, I almost felt that I was getting a handle on things. In others, it was just a tantalizing glimpse. In either case, I wanted more & didn't get it.

There is so much going on here. Most authors if they had this many ideas would have used them to fill out a whole series of books, for good or ill.

I'm glad he didn't use it on a series of books. It could have gone the way of Amber - not a bad thing - but in this case it stands in a class of its own. An oddity that, no matter how often revisited, remains a mystery & is enjoyable because of that.

It's a mood book. Depending on my mood, the story can change.

There's an excellent write up on CoL&D in the Collected Works. Zelazny says it was a mood piece of his own. I agree that it is amazing it works & I'm not sure how it does. Every time I read it, I get this feeling that reality has warped around me.
;-)