Lord of Light (1967) is a science fiction/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 in 1967. Zelazny's close friend (and fellow science fiction/fantasy author) George R. R. Martin describes in his afterword to Lord of Light how Zelazny once told him that the entire novel sprang from a single pun: the fit hit the Shan.
The context of the novel – modern western characters in a Hindu-Buddhist-infused world – is reflected in the book's opening lines:
His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be a god.
Read more about Lord Of Light: Structure, Plot Summary, Characters, Film Version