The novel, which won the Hugo in 1968, is a kind of science-fictional reenactment of certain elements of Hindu and Buddhist myth. In the far future, colonists from Earth settle a distant planet, and the original settlers conquer the energy-based inhabitants (afterwards classified as "demons") and develop not-entirely-spelled out powers themselves, that seem to involve psionic/genetic mutation as well as technological enhancement. Personal immortality technology, mind transference, and these powers combine to make certain of the early humans literally godlike, and they adapt the Hindu pantheon as a mode of being, keeping most of the rest of the population at a low technological level.
"Lord of Light" follows Sam, AKA the Buddha, AKA a bunch of other names, as he foments a rebellion against the gods to allow a more egalitarian approach to technology.
We had a fun discussion, with many intriguing tangential pop-culture asides, most of them, alas, not recorded here.
