by Roger Zelazny
This is Zelazny's first novel - and, unfortunately, it shows. There's enough plot for a taut novella but this is bulked up to twice that size by lengthy, dull conversations and superfluous or overly emphasized fight scenes. The characters are not particularly interesting and the plot, such as there ...
1966 Hugo Winner! Enjoyed every bit of it!
Totally engrossing novel set in a post-apocalyptic earth. As usual, Zelazny's characters offer depth and richness far beyond the few words used to describe them. Often set apart from society in some way, Zelazny's characters never disappoint. This Immortal draws heavily on Greek mythology, transform...
I wish that I could give this book a higher rating, I do. But as it is, I think that "It was OK" sums it up perfectly for me. This was my very first Zelazny, and it may not have been the best one to start with. But I just love post-apocalyptic books, and I had wanted to read this one since I heard t...
As you can tell from the title, This Immortal is about an immortal. The Earth is in bad shape after a three day nuclear exchange and most people have fled Earth for Vega where they are second class citizens. Conrad, the immortal of the title, is tasked with escorting a Vegan on a tour of various E...
Maybe it was just not for me. I tried to read this, skimmed parts that were not catching my attention, even tried to read the last 30 pages. I didn't "get" this one. I thought Conrad was very interesting but I didn't quite follow the intrigue surrounding the Vegan visitor.
It shared the Hugo with Dune the year it came out. While it was an entertaining book (I think it was Zelazny's first novel), it is NOT as good as Dune. Sorry.
What Roger Zelazny did best was short stories, but he certainly wrote a lot of novels too. There was a period in the late 60s when his formula was to take a classic set of myths, and rework them as SF. He did Hindu and Buddhist mythology in Lord of Light (very good), and the Egyptian gods in Creatur...
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