The Isle of the Dead is a
science fiction novel with strong
fantasy elements and
themes, written by
Roger Zelazny and published by
Ace in
1969.
The novel is set in a far future, with
interstellar travel,
alien races: the whole
kaboodle, but it's, by far, not your average science fiction
novel. Then again, nothing by
Roger Zelazny is
average.
Zelazny's
literary skill knew no bounds. This book, as well as most of his others, deserves
merit not only for the
fantastic,
imaginitive ideas but for the pure
excellence of the writing
itself. The
prose is extremely
diverse, shifting from
stark to
florid, from
chaotic and utterly
abstract to
concise clarity.
The
protagonist, Francis Sandow, is one of 100 richest people in the
galaxy,
possessed of the
power to
shape the very
fabric of
worlds. He is the only
human ever to unlock this hidden potential which the
Pei'ans, an
alien race, have utilized for millennia.
Zelazny had a love for
mystery and this novel is no different. When
Francis begins receiving pictures from an unknown source, pictures of dead friends and
enemies who should be long
forgotten to anyone but himself, accompanied by
portentious messages, he decides to seek answers...
Tokyo Bay, on any given day, is likely to wash anything ashore.