2018/47: Lord of Light -- Roger Zelazny

2018/47: Lord of Light -- Roger Zelazny

Time like an ocean, space like its water, Sam in the middle, standing, decided. [loc 4237]

From the blurb of the 1973 UK paperback: "A Brilliant Novel of Men Like Gods Long After the Death of Earth". (Why, yes, there are women too. Please file under 'period-typical sexism', of which more below.)
( mild spoilers: super-long review )

Three final points:
- there is no legitimate English-language ebook edition. If your French is up to it, you can purchase Seigneur de Lumière.
- there was going to be a film; Jack Kirby was involved; and this was used as a cover to rescue US officials from Iran: see How Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light transformed into the CIA's Argo covert op and The book that Argo forgot: SF Classic Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light. (The latter also gives a good overview of the novel.)
- no review of this novel would be complete with a nod to one of the most egregious puns in SF, painstakingly built up when Sam is considering reincarnation and sends the Shan of Irabek to test the waters.

I still think it's one of Zelazny's best: and having reread it, I found myself rereading it again, for sheer enjoyment.