Creatures of Light and Darkness

Written by Roger Zelazny

Narrated by Matt Godfrey

The author of more than 50 books and winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, the incomparable Roger Zelazny remains one of the most revered names in SF and fantasy. Set on a faraway world, the seminal tale of a battle between
Ancient Egyptian gods, Creatures of Light and Darkness is a grand display of the imagination, wit, and audacious genius that has placed Zelazny eternally alongside Heinlein, Asimov, Phillip K. Dick, and other legendary genre masters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705045060

Roger Zelazny

Roger Zelazny burst onto the SF scene in the early 1960s with a series of dazzling and groundbreaking short stories. He is the winner of six Hugo Awards, including for the novels This Immortal and the classic Lord of Light; he is also the author of the enormously popular Amber series, starting with Nine Princes in Amber. In addition to his Hugos, he went on to win three Nebula Awards over the course of a long and distinguished career. He died on June 14, 1995.

Reviews for Creatures of Light and Darkness

[al9g · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Of all the Zelazny books I have read - and they are quite a few - this one was probably my least favorite. I would qualify that by saying it is probably more my taste than anything else. Building perhaps on "Jack of Shadows" and perhaps also laying the groundwork for his Amber series, the concept is interesting as he combines some classical gods with a multiworld scenario as the representatives life and death battle across worlds and dimensions. It is imaginative and his characters are, as always, good. But note that I didn't say that I didn't like it - only that it was my least favorite of his. I think what bothered me about this one is that it didn't read as quickly as many of his do - I felt like the narrative got bogged down in spots. Still overall, it is a good story and has a lot to recommend it. If you are a Zelazny fan, and can find this, it is definitely worth the read.

[wayneborean · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Where to start.OK. I liked this book. A lot. It's on my regular re-read list.It features a universe where death and life are controlled by two poles, the House of the Dead, run by Anubis, and the House of Life, run Osiris. Anubis and Osiris cooperate and compete at the same time. Anubis has gotten ready an emissary, who he has been training for a thousand years, to kill his greatest enemy.Without getting into spoilers, let's just say that things do not go as planned :)Roger Zelazny wrote this book with an amazing stylistic touch. Many of the concepts he included were later picked up by other writers, like the various prayers spoken by Madrak, one of the major characters, of which 'The Possibly Proper Death Litany' is a fantastic example:Insofar as I may be heard by anything, which may or may not care what I say, I ask, if it matters, that you be forgiven for anything you may have done or failed to do which requires forgiveness. Conversely, if not forgiveness but something else may be required to ensure any possible benefit for which you may be eligible after the destruction of your body, I ask that this, whatever it may be, be granted or withheld, as the case may be, in such a manner as to insure your receiving said benefit. I ask this in my capacity as your elected intermediary between yourself and that which may not be yourself, but which may have an interest in the matter of your receiving as much as it is possible for you to receive of this thing, and which may in some way be influenced by this ceremony. Amen.It can be argued that this is one of the most influential Science Fiction books ever written. It certainly is one of the most beautifully written.

[lyndatrue · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's a lesser work. Lord of Light sold huge numbers of books, and I think Zelazny was looking for lightening to strike twice. This time out, it's the Egyptian mythos instead of the world of Hindu and Buddha. It's fun, and well done, but not as involving as the first.

[randystafford · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My reaction to reading this novel in 1998. Spoiler follow.As with his Roadmarks, the plot of this Zelazny novel faded from my mind quickly, but I found both books very entertaining while reading them. This may be the most lyrical Zelazny I’ve read to date with rich poetic language, and it’s dedicated to Samuel Delany who also dedicated books to Zelazny. A plot combining science fiction and fantasy is not unique to this novel. There are elements of it in Zelazny’s Amber books and his Jack of Shadows both written, I believe, after this novel. Zelazny does very little rationalization of the figures of Egyptian mythology he uses here: Osiris, Anubis, Set, Typhon, Thoth, Nephytha, and Isis. As far as I can tell from my limited research, Zelazny doesn’t use many of the traditional relationships or stories from Egyptian mythology. Anubis as lord of the dead is about it. But Egyptian mythology, evolving over time and from the collision between, and assimilation of, various cults, isn’t very consistent, and Zelazny may have been using stories I’m not familiar with. Zelazny seems to want a Manichean-like conflict mixed with the familial conflicts and the suppressed (or forgotten) memories found in his Amber series by using the more familiar Egyptian deities instead of Babylonian or Zorasterian ones. Osiris is life, Anubis is death. They control the Midworlds, and it’s not desirable either one prevail. For awhile, it seemed Zelazny would be doing a riff on themes of overpopulation (a favorite of late sixties and early seventies sf writers. The planet Blis is vividly overpopulated, Osiris triumphant, but Zelazny drops all pretense of writing even a metaphorical book on the dangers of overpopulation. The novel’s second half is devoted to family conflicts and the familiar quest motif from fantasy, here for a magical wand, shoes, and glove. Zelazny throws in a lot of sf machinery from the first gripping part of the novel where Wakim (an amnesiac Set) is a subject of Anubis in the underworld and tortured in various ways. The House of the Dead contains five races of aliens and numerous cyborgs. Osiris and Anubis practice life and death control on the Middle Worlds. Why they should do this (self-motivation or administering for some other entity or entities) is unsaid. Their instrumentalities are so vaguely described or not rationalized at all that the Egyptian deities of this story are magical figures. Oh, there is some vague references to hyperdimensional space travel and time travel (Set and the Prince of a Thousand Names aka Thoth are both each others' father and son and the deities and other “angels” sometimes practice the art of tactical fugue (a retreat to the past to alter the former present/future), but the predominant tone of this book is as a fantasy. Zelazny does throw in some elements from other mythologies. There is an explicit reference to the Minotaur and a figure that seems to be an unnamed Cerebus. The artisan Norns almost seem like they’re out of Norse mythology though I’ve never heard anywhere else of strange creatures demanding to be painfully mutilated so that they can see their work as the price of their services. Their sight is temporary since they’re democratic peers rip their eyes out. Zelazny created the Steel General, unkillable symbol of rebellion and struggle for the underdog, out of whole cloth. There is one bit of interesting sf speculation in the “Pleasure Comp” aka a “Dearabbey Machine”, a machine-human combination, human from the waist down. An intelligent computer, it will answer questions so long as it is sexually stimulated. This nifty bit of invention along with prostitutes who have brain implants so their bodies can make the proper moves after coins are inserted in a vending machine for sex, is covered in a two page chapter along with the wonderfully heretical religion of Saint Jakes the Mechanophile which posits man as “the sexual organ of the machine that created him”. Man exists to initiate mechanical evolution. When perfection is achieved, Man will undergo the “Great Castration”. However, Zelanzy doesn’t do anymore with this notion than have a chapter where Horus has sex with such a machine to gain information. The novel has several witty philosophical discussions. Anubis and his servant Wakim debate the qualities defining life. Madiak the priest gives some hilarious prayers and benedictions carefully designed to cover all theistic positions. Typhon aka “the Abyss that is Skagganauk” almost seems to be a black hole at times, but he is clearly sentient and the story may be too early to use the concept. I found the book exciting, very poetic (there are entire pages of verse) and fun, but, as a novel, it is pretty incoherent, even for the fixup novel it is.

[jlparent · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Zelazny takes on Egyptian mythology and wields it as only he can; much like he did with the Hindu pantheon in 'Lord of Light'. The writing is often humorous, often poetic, and nearly always kept me hooked. Glad I tracked this title down!

[jimmaclachlan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I re-read this in Sep09, armed with some extra knowledge gleaned from two of the 6 book collected works of his. In them, he explains that he wrote this novel as an exercise for himself & never expected to publish it. He was asked for it & was surprised that it did so well.He said he threw everything he had at this novel, in no particular order. It is an amalgamation of styles, mythologies, SF & Fantasy. Somehow, it really works. That's as amazing as is my fascination for the book, re-reading it for the tenth time or so in 30 years. It was every bit as entertaining. I still completely agree with my original review.------------- Original Review --------- Zelazny is well known for the long, strange trips he takes you through in his stories. This book may well be one of his strangest. There are parts of this book I love, others I dislike & most are somewhat bewildering, especially on the first read. The world is an interesting mix of SF & Fantasy, without any definitive lines. Human nature has remained the same & it has been exaggerated by the power that some wield, but it's done with a light, often humorous touch - e.g. The Agnostics Prayer. (Google it & you'll find it quickly. It's infamous.)This is a heroic fantasy filled with flawed heroes, noble villains & many who are both. There certainly are maidens to be rescued & wicked witches to fight. Both heroes & villains are in such impossible situations that it is tough to decide who to root for at times. Some characters are both or neither, but I originally felt they should be one or the other. Other characters are so alien that mere human morality doesn't apply. It's difficult to tell who those are at times, too. You'll have to decide for yourself when you reach the end of the novel. Warning: you may change your mind on a re-read - I have.I found this book very difficult to put down. At times, it was as irritating as a bit lip - I had to read it the same way I poke at a sore spot. Other times, I just HAD to find out what happened next. Whatever the reason, once started, I've always wanted to continue reading. That's possibly the highest praise I can give to a novel. It's too intriguing to put down.

[caragen87 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Strange otherworldly. This story follows no rules. A world where the ancient Egyptians Gods are still alive in a distant future and still fighting their battles. The difference is in the way the story is told.

[mramos_710291 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In this book the gods of ancient Egypt are and have always been. And we can assume that the gods of our ancient Egypt were echoes of these beings. Our story begins in the House of the Dead where Anubis wakes a seemingly undefeatable man whose memory was taken and is to be his emissary. Anubis and Osiris each send an emmissary to a Middle World bent on destroying the only remaining threat to their power. The story is not told in a smooth narrative, but in a series of short and often disjointed episodes. But continue reading, for the story will fall into place. The writting is excellent though, as would be expected from this author. What stood out for me in this book was Madrak, the all-bases-covered agnostic preacher. His prayer still stands out in my memory.

[paulfaustin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

beautifully written early Zelazny, includes the famous Agnostic's Prayer.