psc@lzwi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (05/01/85)
< Smokey the Bar says, "Stamp out software pirates" [squish!]
Roger Zelazny (from the foreword):
"When I realized where he was going with this story, my first reaction
was, 'He isn't going to be able to pull this off.' Not without getting trite
or cute or moralistic--or falling into any number of pitfalls I foresaw with
regard to this material. I was wrong. He not only avoided them all, he
told a fantastically engaging story with consummate grace and genuine
artistry."
Brust himself has invited comparison between this book and Zelazny's
Lord of Light. Brust has also said Lord of Light is the best English-
language novel written (so far) in the Twentieth Century. (In his opinion.)
Alas, this seems to be one of those books everyone raves about but me.
I'm not off hand sure why I don't like it a lot. This is the tale of a
group of . . . well, beings, who were created out of Chaos. One, the second
oldest and one of the most powerful, disagrees with another, the oldest, and
the most powerful if any is. Their names are Satan and Yaweh. This is the
story of their disagreement, and what comes of it.
So what didn't I like? I was sometimes grated and sometimes impressed
by the childlike behavior of the characters: yes, they are powerful
creatures, and yes, they are newborn innocents all. I was often annoyed by
the triteness of the characters, and by the lack of importance in their
motivations. I was particularly annoyed by one Abdiel, not just by his
actions but by his place in the story and the extent to which it effected
everything else. And I was caught off guard by the humor--this is a
*lighter* book than the previous two!
*sigh* If everyone but me liked it, maybe you will too. Don't expect
Genesis, don't expect Faust, don't even expect Lord of Light. But I'm not
going to scare you away from it.
--
-Paul S. R. Chisholm
...!{pegasus,vax135}!lzwi!psc The above opinions are my own,
...!{hocsj,ihnp4}!lznv!psc not necessarily anyone else's,
...!{pegasus,cbosgd}!lzmi!psc including my employer's.