The Changing Land

by Roger Zelazny

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345253892
• ISBN13: 9780345253897
• Release Date: March 1981
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Dilvish is back and ready to fight!

The Changing Land is a fun read ending the stories of Dilvish collected in "Dilvish the Damned". Having finally tracked down his mortal enemy, the sorcerer who sent him to Hell, Dilvish and his comrade Black must cross a land best described as a dark magic hurricane. Reality there is not fixed and nothing is what it seems. Fire demons, roaming spells and even a field of maniacal giant hands stand between Dilvish and his vengence. My only complaint is the end is a bit anti-climactic but the adventures woven by Zelazny here are still enough for me to rate this one 4 stars. Read "Dilvish the Damned" first and then this one right after and you won't be disappointed.

Mad gods and Dilvish man

This book has the grandest theme, longest sentence, and the most strangely-named demon in all of fantasy. Actually I'm not positive about the longest sentence, because I haven't read the complete works of H. P. Lovecraft, but Zelazny must come close. The demon's name is Melbriniononsadsazzersteldregandishfeltselior. The author includes a touching love story between Queen Semirama and a tentacled semi-elder-god who lives in a cesspit at the bottom of Castle Timeless. The Queen is a hard character to like since she is indifferent to prisoners chained in the castle dungeon, and only talks to her slave when she has to work in her back-story. She had been raised from the dust by the evil sorcerer Jelerak in order to communicate with the ancient denizen of the cesspit, who is a source of tremendous occult power even if he does resemble a gigantic, smelly octopus. The theme of "The Changing Land" is the death and rebirth of the Universe, and the meddling of the Elder Gods in human, elvish, and demonic affairs. Some of the characters, such as Dilvish the Damned and his hell-horse, Black spring fully-formed onto the pages. They were actually born in this author's earlier short stories, collected in the book, "Dilvish, the Damned." It might be easier to read "Dilvish, the Damned" before you dive into "The Changing Land" because the latter fantasy has lots and lots of characters who act as though we should know them. There are gods, demi-gods, semi-demi-gods, black and white magicians, heroes, elves, mechanical horses, demons, and at least one Queen who you'll have to sort out and remember. A couple of them change bodies at least once, which doesn't make it any easier on the reader. Castle Timeless is the center of the action, and the goal of every power-hungry sorcerer who has a staff to quaver at its numerous demons. Its corridors are a constantly changing maze, and the land surrounding it is a mad god's dream, exploding volcanoes of mud, hedged with flame, and alive with winged monkeys--- Oops, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. Zelazny had completed his fifth Amber novel by the time he wrote "The Changing Land" and there is a definite Amberish glow to the mutating landscape and castle of this book. Once you have the characters straight in your mind, it is a wonderful read. I can't think of another author who has the chutzpah to take his readers on a trip through the Death of the Universe, and back out again through the next Big Bang.

Toto, I don't think that we are in Amber any more.

Reading this page and other reviews has been illuminating. I had no idea that this book was even sort of a sequel to anything and that goes a long way towards explaining why I felt like I was missing so much backstory. Although, to be fair, one often feels that way in Zelazny novels. One of the things that he was so good at as a writer was dropping the reader into the middle of the action and helping them swim instead of letting them sink. It isn't my favorite Zelazny. I am giving it four stars because I do not really believe that the man could write a bad book. There were some hackneyed bits but there were also some really lovely moments-- Black is a classic character and I really enjoyed him. So. Pick this up if you have read the first book which I have not read-- I guess I would look for Dilvish the Damned first, since this may make more sense. There are probably better places to start with RZ if you are new to his work.

Horrific Landscapes, Shimmering Mirrors, & Slithering Demons

I recommend that you read this book after Dilvish the Damned. It gives it more meaning that way. I really love this book! As a D & D player, it is hard to read Zelazny without thinking of D & D because his stories are so filled with the fantastic elements that make that game fun. I couldn't help but feel at the end that the "gods playing with dice" were actually Gamers dicing over the fate of their characters. In any case, this is a splendid book with lots of heavy metaphysics to chew on: The timeless castle that ends up speeding through time and back around again, the various rooms and mirrors out of time, and the various moral leanings of all the characters?including the castle itself. The various fantasy elements seemed cobbled from everywhere, but overwhelmingly Lovecraftian: Living walls of a sentient house, a tentacled Old One kept in a pit by mortals, horrific landscapes, shimmering mirrors, and slithering demons. It is a wonderful book. Dilvish is back, the same as ever. Black gets slighted a bit, to throw the spotlight more on Dilvish, I think. The various other mages that make up the cast are all interesting.Highly recommended!

Changing is the Key Word Here

The Changing Land is not so much a sequel to Dilvish the Damned. The book is less like Eye of Cat and more like Changeling and Madwand. The writing style is more story-based and less of a poetic narrative. I particularly enjoyed the character "Black", a demon in the form of an armored horse that Dilvish made a pact with. I found the depth and breadth of characters refreshing. This is a great read, but don't expect a seamless continuation of Dilvish the Damned.