Just as able, as in his Lord of Light, to conjure a new mythology out of old religion, to mingle future science with a primitive past in a context of magic, to narrate the battles of gods on a cosmic scale and single combat on a heroic scale, [in Creatures of Light and Darkness Zelazny] takes the religion of ancient Egypt as his raw material. But whereas, in Lord of Light, we thought on the whole we could identify with Sam, a kind of Christ-Buddha, in this second novel we are often not sure where our sympat...

Lord of Light is a weird allegorical fantasy which sets out to demonstrate how self-destructive is the human compulsion to create gods and demons. In a mistily realized future world, heaven and earth are ruled over by Hindu gods…. It sounds, and is, far-fetched. Much of the writing is reminiscent of those awful jokes, mercifully no longer fashionable, where scato-Buddy Mayslogical content was meant to provide comic contrast with a mock biblical style....

Only a lover of fantasy who also had more than a passing acquaintance with the Buddhist religion could comment adequately on [Lord of Light]. But, without suggesting other common ground than fantasy itself, it might be hazarded that those who enjoy the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and Mervyn Peake will enjoy this book also…. The spell increases steadily as one reads on. I enjoyed it immensely. (pp. 199-200) Norman Culpan, "Book Reviews: 'Lord of Light'," in The Scho...