Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny is probably my favourite author. A mix of fantasy and science fiction, his style and breadth of imagination has produced works which range from the Hugo Award-winning “Lord of Light” to the swashbuckling “Amber” series to really obscure stuff even I can’t figure out. When I heard that he had passed away (in 1995), it felt as if a hammer had fallen on my chest; the world would never see more of the wondrous images conjured up in his mind.
I came to know Roger Zelazny through the Amber novels, completely by accident. I must have been around 12, and wandering into a bookshop in Bangkok I saw these books with cool covers – the Sphere editions of the first five Amber novels. I bought them on a whim, read them, loved them, and thus began my affair with one of science fiction’s most imaginative authors.
What I like most about Roger Zelazny is his writing style – simple yet sophisticated, with vivid imagery brought to life in poetic nuance. At the same time, his themes which frequently portrayed characters who were greater than human, perhaps with the powers of gods or magic, resonate with my own interests as well.
Understand that his works, while skirting the realm of popular fiction at times, are far from pulpy. The Amber novels are easily accessible, but even then you are confronted by a whole new universe that challenges your ability to grasp (what was then) unprecedented ideas on the nature of reality. “Lord of Light”, my favourite full length novel, recreates a world and a people so alien, yet still human, that it takes several readings just to understand the setting. If you do put in the effort, though, the reward is a superbly crafted tale of the triumph of one man to rediscover himself.
Of his short stories, I like the compilations “The Last Defender of Camelot” and “Frost and Fire” the most, and within those “The Last Defender of Camelot” and “For a Breath I Tarry” are the stories I love. Perhaps what makes Roger Zelazny’s writing so appealing to me is his knack for portraying, in elegant, straightforward terms, the battle of good against (sometimes not-so-straightforward) evil, and the triumph of people more than human against the whole weight of worlds, or time – the ultimate story of those who overcome incredible odds to find human happiness.
I think, in the end, many of us long to be more than human and to experience far more than any person ever could, but what we really wish for is to touch and feel love, fulfilment and companion – those things that come only from being as human as we can be.
Goodbye Roger, I will always miss you dearly.
