It was definitely out by the late '80s. It was about a guy who goes to this planet where a very few people somehow gain incredible psychic powers. He eventually gets more powerful than all the rest, and becomes one of the gods of the planet, including being able to go into the past, thus being one of the original gods.
Some of the odd specifics I remember are that he always wore black, which was considered bad luck on the planet because it was associated with the viewed-as-evil god that he eventually became. And one of his godlike adversaries was modeled on Thor, including hammer and goat-drawn flying chariot. Also, something about a nuclear-type crater that eventually became a lake with swan boats on it or something. And I want to say that “Hammer” was in the title, but that I’m not sure about.
I just looked up Mansfield Park, and the description of the plot doesn’t look even remotely similar to what FlyingDragonFan is describing. Am I missing something?
I’m sorry aobut the tone of my previous post. However, there’s no inside joke here, just an outside joke. FlyingDragon gave a description of a very far-fetched science fiction plot, and Jane Austen is known for staid, proper stories.
Well, at least I didn’t get appointed to head up some committee.
When I read Fiver’s post I thought, “Gee, did Austen write something outside of genre, as so many authors have done?” Forgetting that this was Cafe Society rather than GQ, I ran off to look it up. sigh