Book summary

In Roger Zelazny's Hugo-award winning masterpiece of speculative fantasy, a planet's population lives in utter subjugation to the ancient crew of the original colony ship, who have used a combination of advanced technology and genetic engineering to set themselves up as gods in the Hindu pantheon. Each "god" has his or her own genetically engineered superpowers, as well as access to technology that for all intents and purposes allows immortality. But Sam, once known as Siddhartha, and now called the Buddha, the Lord of Light, is attempting to break this age-old system of tyranny, fighting his fellow crewmembers on their own turf and introducing Buddhism as an alternate religion for the oppressed masses. The story veers between the magical and the technological with exhilarating ease, and Zelazny's signature talent for combining the ritualistic with the matter-of-fact has never been more apparent.