Conference noted::sf

    _Creatures_of_Light_and_Darkness_ is NOT a sequal or based on that
    particular world. The only similarity is that LoL is a science fiction
    story based on the Hindu pantheon, and CoLaD is a science fiction
    story based on the Egyptian Pantheon.
    So other than the fact that both are based on exotic pantheons,
    the two are totally different. 
    
    BTW I agree that LoL is one of THE BEST SF novels in existence.
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

    Also, "Creatures of Light and Darkness" isn't as good.  It gets
    needlessly obscure in places and just generally isn't as well stuck
    together and motivated.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    re:.0
    
    No, there aren't any other novels connected with LORD OF LIGHT.
    Your friend is probably mistaking it for the Amber series.
    
    --- jerry

    Judging books by their covers would lead one to believe that these
    books are all of a series. The paperback versions were all done
    in the same style, a small colored picture on a glossy black
    background. Looks like they were all done by the same artist.
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

    re:.4
    
    They were. The artist was Ron Walotsky. The Amber series also
    came out with the same cover format for a number of years, as
    did a couple of other Zelazny books.
    
    --- jerry

    re .2:  I'd like to qualify 'not as good'.  CoLaD was a good read,
            despite its shortcomings.  LoL was so much better.  One
            can only hope he has another one like it in him.
    
    					Don ICEMAN::Rudman

    
    One of Zelazny's books did have a sequal besides Amber.  Its was
    The Changing Land, I believe.  Unfortunately, I do not remember
    the name of the sequel right now.  Typical Zelazny style.  Fun
    reading.  Anyone ever read 'Roadmarks'? 
    
    /Dan
    

    I believe the sequel to "The Changing Land" is "Dilvish the Damned,"
    only I think "Dilvish" came first and "Changing Land" was the sequel.
    Cleverly written, rather light-weight sword-and-sorcery, with the
    accent on the sorcery.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    re Zelazny sequels:
    
    Wasn't _Isle_of_the_Dead_ a sequel to _My_Name_is_Legion_ (or
    vica-versa)? (I hope I have those titles right)
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

Don't think so.  "Isle of the Dead" was about the 98th richest man in 
the galaxy, who was also a worldbuilder and a god.  "My Name is 
Legion" concerned the hacker-troubleshooter who managed to get his ID 
removed from the world-wide data base.  All of Zelazny's protagonists 
are the same, though.  They're all immortals with curious powers, an 
ironic outlook, and a cigarette in hand.  In later novels they've 
stopped smoking, I suppose because RZ has too.

/jlr

    re .10:
    
    excuse my poor memory, it's been a while...
    
    The protagonist of _Isle_of_the_Dead_ I recall seeing elsewhere,
    either a novel or novella, novelette, short story, etc. Anybody
    know what I'm trying to remember? jayembee?
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

Re: Sequels

Zelazny did write a sequel to his book, _The_Changeling_. It's called
_Madwand_.  The series is about a world which co-exists in two
universes.  In one, magic rules and in the other, technology.  Magic
and science operate in both universes, but one predominates.  

The changeling is the only son of the most powerful sorcerer in the
magical world.  When his father was killed, he was exchanged with a
baby from the science world so that he would no longer be a menace to
those in his home world.  (The reason for the exchange had something
to do with maintaining the balance between the magic world and the
science world.)  Eventually, he returns to claim his heritage.

_Madwand_ is a continuation of the characters in the first book, but
where the first book is complete story onto itself, _Madwand_ leaves
you hanging a bit in the end and is a blatant lead in for a third
book.  The term, madwand, refers to any untrained sorcerer, but
particularly those with a lot of potential power.  I still enjoyed it,
as I do most of his books.

Wook 

    Re .11
    
    Zelazny wrote a short story narrated by the son of the worldbuilder
    from "Isle of the Dead."  The title escapes me.  The worldbuilder
    himself makes a cameo appearance at the very end.  I believe the
    worldbuilder and some fellow worldbuilders were demolishing a planet
    for some good reason.
    
    Re .10
    
    Oh, you noticed that too?  Zelazny protagonists are particularly
    interchangable if the story is narrated in first person.  I think
    this rule applies more to his novels than to his short stories;
    the short-story heroes are similar, of course, but seem to have
    a little more differentiation.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    The sequel to ISLE OF THE DEAD is TO DIE IN ITALBAR.
    
    As for the Dilvish series, THE CHANGING LAND was published
    before DILVISH THE DAMNED, but the latter was a collection
    of stories that stretched back to the 60's.
    
    There is also a short story, the title of which I forget, in
    one of his collections (I think THE LAST DEFENDER OF CAMELOT)
    that features Shadowjack. It was originally done as a graphic
    story in THE ILLUSTRATED ROGER ZELAZNY.
    
    --- jerry

    re .11; while the title of the short story escapes me, it exists
    in RZ's wonderful collection, _Unicorn_Variations_ (READ THE TITLE
    STORY, TOO!).  And I, too, believe that there was another Francis
    Szandor novel...

    I don't believe "Isle of the dead" and "To die in Italibar" are
    at all related, unless I missed a major allusion. IoD is about a
    world builder, as mentioned in another reply. TDiI is about a disease
    carrier who can cure by catching your disease and forming anti-bodies.
    He later gets beat up by a bunch of vigilantes who blame him for
    a plague and turns evil and kills everyone.
    
    I liked TDiI because I thought it was a really different concept
    for a protagonist, I mean what a strange power to have. As usual,
    Z's protagonist does a lot of traveling, on foot. 
    	I see a lot of similiarity between his heroes and Larry Niven's. 
    I think both Z and Niven can blow your mind with a good story, 
    but when they use the first person it limits the plot to a single
    stream. Z often uses his protagonist's realizations to expose a more 
    complex plot. 
    
    In spite of his repetition of motif, Zelzny is still the finest
    SF author in the civilized universe.
    
    	Amr
    
    
    

    Do you mean a major allusion as, say, references in both novels
    to the Pei'an Empire. Or perhaps that the protagonist of ISLE
    OF THE DEAD, Francis Sandow, shows up in TO DIE IN ITALBAR?
    
    No, ITALBAR isn't a sequel per se, but the two are definitely
    connected.
    
    --- jerry

    Like A PRIVATE COSMOS is a sequel to THE MAKER OF UNIVERSES; same
    setting, different main character.
    
    Most references link ISLE & ITALBAR and the word "sequel" is sometimes
    used.  But then I never read ITALBAR 'cause I couldn't wade through
    ISLE, so what the heck?
    
    							Don

    Back to the original subject, sort of.  I agree on LoL.  I found
    Creatures of Light and Darkness to be one of Z's most interesting
    books.  I've read it 3 times and it was better the 2nd and 3rd
    time.  You miss so much the first time.  His other character I
    enjoyed was 'Jack of Shadows.'  I can't remember which books he
    was in, but good stuff.  Read Creatures again before you decide
    if you like it.

    re:.19
    
    Jack of Shadows was in one novel, appropriately titled JACK OF
    SHADOWS and a short story in THE LAST DEFENDER OF CAMELOT, equally
    appropriately titled "Shadowjack".
    
    --- jerry

Back to the original topic...

I recently read LORD OF LIGHT, thanks to this note, and I thought it was great!
It was my first Zelazny, but I've got CofLaD queued up to be read, and I'm
thinking seriously about the Amber series as well.  I noticed people describing
LoL as SF; I thought LoL felt more like Fantasy than SF.

Jim

    
    The pinnacle of technology reached in the LoL setting would definately
    "feel" fantastic. I think the book is one of the few to be both
    at the same time. 
    
    It's great work , eh?   
    
    Paul
    

    I agree with Paul. It's pretty much a judgement call.
    
    Or, as Arthur Clarke said:
    
    "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
    magic."
    
    I consider LoL to be sf, but I'm certainly not adamant about it.
    
    --- jerry

    I always thought that "Lord of Light" resembled a super-hero comic in
    its background.  The "gods" all derive their powers from a mixture of
    Buck-Rogers-like technology and quirky psychic talents.  This covers a
    substantial fraction of the population of superheroes.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    I just read the first two chapters of the book, and find it difficult
    to continue.  I get all confused by what is going on.  Also there are
    the long lectures that are boring.  Does the story get any better?
    
    Eugene

    Well, I don't know if *you* will think it gets better, but LORD
    OF LIGHT is on by Best SF Novels of All Time list, so I'd say
    "Yes."
    
    --- jerry

    Also -- it doesn't hurt if you have some rudimentary knowledge
    of the Hindu pantheon, and the beginnings of Buddhism.
    
    					andrew

    re .27,                   
    
    As a Chinese, I know a lot about Buddhism.  I guess that is why I found
    the "lectures" in the book a bit ridiculous..., no not ridiculous, but
    somewhat shallow in the context.
    
    Eugene

    Re .28
    
    The shallowness is deliberate on Zelazny's part.  As you continue the
    book, you will see more clearly what is going on behind the facades of
    Hinduism and Buddhism.  A large chunk of the book is flashback, which
    you should hit in a chapter or so.  It will have the effect of slowly
    making clear what was going on in the first few chapters.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

I also enjoyed _Lord of Light_.  My advice is to keep a close watch for the
anachronisms.  Pay attention to them and don't dismiss them as sloppy writing.
Once I started, I couldn't put it down.

Wook

    Lord of Light is definitely on my list of all time favorite reads.
    The flashback nature of the book (middle to beginning to end)
    combined with the various body switchings left me very confused
    during my first time through the book.  I had to read it a second
    time once I figured things out.
    
    Z seems to like doing this time twist to his storytelling.
    I'm not sure if I like it, but it hasn't kept me from finding
    Roger Zelazny to be my favorite author.
    
    Otto

    
    	Has this book ever been made into a film?

I hope not.

    	Why is that? If they get good producers and a good director it
    would make a pretty good movie.

    Because they'd probably screw it up -- big time.
    
    					andrew

    Some people might mistake it for a religious documentary if they
    did.  Knowing quite a bit about the various deities involved,
    I must admit to being somewhat baffled with the book initially,
    it started making sense only well into it.  Gotta give it to Zelazny
    for getting off the beaten track anbd producing something
    this good..

    Now where did I hear, some years ago, that someone WAS 
    interested in making this a movie?
    I am skeptical as to the success of any Zelazny piece being 
    put into film after the Damnation Alley episode........
    (and I think, so is Zelazny......)
    
    Monica