The book that helped to inspire Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix was okay. I liked it, it was an interesting read. It did hook me with that opening of the main character pursuing a human face being blown by the wind down a street on an alien world. However, some of the first third of Night of Light seemed very much like the dreamscape psychodrama nonsense that pretty much only fills time in a lousy movie (also in some good movies but it does get tiring).
The story revolves around a living god and a special once-every-seven-years solar phenomenon that allows dreams, thoughts, and nightmares (especially those bubbling up from the subconscious) to become reality. During this night the "good" living god Yess and his "evil" twin Algul can be born when the former living god ages out or is killed. Tradition has it that only one or the other is ever alive at any one time in history but in the second part of the book, this does change. This book has no chapters but is told in two parts. The first concerns the first Night of Light that the main character, a criminal and murderer, experiences. The second part concerning the second night the protagonist goes through after being changed by the first.
The main drive of the story is the main character's subconscious desire for redemption and plots against the religion of Yess by the Christian faith of Earth. There is a lot of exposition concerning the nature of the living God and the comparisons between the tenants of both faiths. The ending falls more on the philosophical side and a crisis of faith.
Overall, I guess I would recommend it as there is quite a bit in this book to talk about. I enjoyed the near Weird Tales type of atmosphere conjured by the alien temple and the description of an alien religion. There is more going on here than just a purple haze on the horizon that may cause mutations. ( )

Great author, bad book. Farmer is a good writer and can really tell a story. This book is a case of good writing looking for a story worth reading. Did not Finish. ( )

After fleeing Earth to the planet Kareen, thief and murderer John Carmody is taken in by two Catholic missionaries who order him on a covert fact-finding mission to the Temple of Boonta on the eve of an annual ritual known as the Night of Light.

Most Kareenans take sedatives to ensure that they sleep during the chaotic and savage Night. To remain awake is to be subjected to torturous hallucinations, to lose one’s sanity, and potentially, to be murdered or commit suicide.

Fearless and irreverent, Carmody mocks all religions, until he defies regulations and remains awake during the Night in an attempt to assassinate a god incarnate named Yess. According to Kareenan beliefs, the goddess Boonta has two sons, the benevolent Yess and the evil Algul, each of whom are reborn through the ages and take turns ruling Kareen.

As me makes his way through the streets to the temple where Yess has concealed himself for the Night, Carmody is confronted by bizarre, disturbing visions that eventually compel him to renounce his old life and convert to Catholicism.

Years later, after returning to Earth and undergoing rehabilitation, Carmody enters the priesthood and is ordered by the Church to return to Kareen and dissuade the latest incarnation of Yess from sending missionaries to spread Boontism to other worlds. However, vestiges of Carmody’s old life reemerge as the Night of Light is once again nearly upon Kareen…

Strong in both plot and character arc, Night of Light was yet another captivating, original, and wildly imaginative example of Philip Jose Farmer’s propensity for using science fiction as a milieu to explore and question long-established religious beliefs. This is also evidenced by some of his other works, such as Inside Outside and the Riverworld series. ( )

The first part of the book is an effective spiritual melodrama in the usual Farmer style. However I didn't enjoy it quite so much that I wanted to return with the protagonist in Part Two for a second helping. ( )

Two breath-taking action sequences in a Farmerian grand metaphysical and moral setting. Leaves a lot open before, in between, and after. Nice read. ( )