Creatures of Light and Darkness

The most cogent criticism of Roger Zelazny's Creatures of Light and Darkness is that it has a very similar premise to Lord of Light, published two years previous. (In Zelazny's defense, he had not planned on publishing this novel, creating it as a writing exercise, and only publishing it after a friend of his had told the publishing house to request the manuscript). Creatures of Light and Darkness has a slightly greater scope than Lord of Light -- rather than people styling themselves after Hindu deities controlling a planet, people styling themselves after Egyptian deities control the known universe. Like the previous book, this is accomplished with both the means of technology (robotics/genetic manipulation), and possible supernatural abilities.

Perhaps the second biggest criticism one can make of this novel is that due to its birth as a writing exercise, the characters are not as fleshed out as in Lord of Light, with their motivations, origins, and histories often reduced to a few line explanation immediately prior to their introduction. As an example, the protagonist (the Prince Who Was a Thousand) reads much like a two-dimensional version of Sam.

Despite its weaknesses, Creatures of Light and Darkness is an engaging novel, featuring at least one memorable character -- Typhon, who despite originating in Greek mythology, is associated with Set. Appearing as a massive shadow of a horse, he inspires abject terror in all the other characters, as none can stand against him. (He's speculated as drawing his power from a black hole, although around the time Zelazny wrote the novel, the term was not in common use). Additionally, despite the plot of the novel not being quite as compelling as its predecessor, the action moves along at a quick pace.

Although it's not Lord of Light, this is by no means a bad novel -- it's fast-paced, engaging, written in a relatively accessible style, featuring memorable characters, a new martial art, and an evocative ending. Recommended to fans of Zelazny, as well as anyone interested in Egyptian mythology, or quirky sci-fi/fantasy. (Zelazny not at his best is still better than most authors in the genre)