Lord of Light

Posted Mon Aug 22, 2011 in Books

One of my goals for this year (2011) is to read more than I did lasts year. However, I have only been partly successful in that. When my world fell apart the beginning of April, much of what I planned for this year fell aside as I dealt with Wife’s cancer.

Certainly she had plenty to deal with, being the one sick. But something I know about myself is that I find it hard to watch those I care about suffer. Suffering is something my Wife understands. After months of feeling poorly and not knowing why, she was finally able to name the beast. A doctor finally acknowledged her illness and a treatment plan was developed and executed. That process ends the end of September, followed by another round of waiting.

In the meantime, I watch as they poison Wife intentionally, to kill the cells that would kill her if left unchecked. It’s not an easy thing to go through or to watch. So, we each suffer in our own way — Wife physically; me emotionally. Enough of that, though. There be monsters there.

I began reading again a month or two ago. I decided I wanted to spend some time with words. I gave up World of Warcraft months ago and need something to spend some of that time on. My dog requires some time and attention (a very good thing) and my mind needs some stimulation other than playing around on the ‘net.

Each week a Barnes & Noble e-newsletter arrives. In each one there is an interview with a person-of-note who lists a few books they consider influential. One of them mentioned Roger Zelazny, a blast from the past. In particular, the book was Lord of Light. That was a title I don’t think I’ve read.

I found a copy at the Douglas County Library, checked it out, and got started. It’s based on a Hindu mythos, which is not familiar to me. The first part of the book was a challenge to slog through, but I maintained my stamina and about a third of the way through the story things began to make sense. There are a couple of flashbacks that lost me for a bit, but I figured out what was going on and it was a clever technique to brings parts of the story together.

I finished the book yesterday and am glad I read it. It’s some of science fiction’s best from one of the elder gods of the genre’s writers. Zelazny had wit and skill with words. I’m glad I stuck through the tough parts and read the book. I could stand to read more of his work, and I just might.

I need to read more to replenish my own well of words. I am writing a lot these days, but the words are going into my journals and not here. It seems like the right thing to do for the moment.

But, I want to put some words here. So, I might have to discipline myself to write something substantive at least once each week. I know I can tell lots of dog stories, because my dog is a very funny girl. She’s sleeping by my feet as I write and will soon pester me to go to bed.

Maybe there are some other words rattling around in my head as well. We’ll see…

1. The picture looks like Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation, though I don’t know which myth the writer based his story on.

   — Ajay    24 August 2011, 15:03    #