Book Review/Podcast: This Immortal by Roger Zelazny

This Immortal by Roger Zelazny

Paperback, 216 pages Published 1989 by Baen (NY) (first published 1966)

I don't know what took me so long to read Zelazny, but it was the Dickheads podcast series on the Hugo winners of the 60's that got me to finally do this. You see this book shared the 1966 Hugo award for best science fiction novel. I will have more detailed thoughts when we record the podcast. When that is released I will add it to this review.

Thanks to the shared award with Dune it is impossible not to compare the two. That is really too bad because no science fiction novel should have to be compared to one of the greatest masterpieces of the genre. I don't know what voters were thinking about this year but This Immortal does not hold a candle to Dune not then or ever. Is it better than some of the others that won that decade? Sure This Immortal is sneaky weird, and I think some of the merits of the novel are easy to miss. I mean this novel is certainly better than Fritz Lieber's The Wanderer but it came out the same year as Dune.

I mean Shawshank Redemption didn't win shit at the Oscars thanks to Forrest Gump coming out the same year, it happens.

I was not a huge fan of this book, to be honest, but that could've been that I just re-read Dune for this same series. There is a lot of cool stuff in this story. Taking place decades after a three-day war and decades-long occupation by aliens that came from Vega. That sets up all kinds of unintentional humor as the aliens are referred to as Vegans. In one sense it is cool that RZ had them coming from a real star you can see on any clear night but why would their species go by the name we have for their star?

The story is about a Vegan who wants a tour of the earth ruins so he can write a history of our species. Spies from many different worlds, assassins, mutants, genetically engineered monsters, and plenty of action. I think there are lots of classical references that went straight over my head. Some of my favorite moments came when you saw RZ stretch his imagination some of the descriptions the vegans or the alien landscapes.

This is short read so I think it is important for completionists and serious students of the genre but I am not sure I would recommend it for general readers. More thoughts coming on the podcast.