The Changing Land
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 Cover of first edition (paperback) |
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| Author | Roger Zelazny |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Michael Herring |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Del Rey |
| Released | 1981 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 245 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-345-25389-2 |
| Preceded by | Dilvish, the Damned |
The Changing Land is a fantasy novel written by Roger Zelazny, first published in 1981. The novel is a sequel to Dilvish, the Damned, despite being published one year earlier that Dilvish.
[edit] Plot summary
The novel picks up several months after the events in the last chapter of Dilvish, the Damned. The Castle Timeless, one of several fortresses belonging to Dilvish's arch-enemy, Jelerak, is currently inhabited by the "mad" demi-god Tualua. Tualua is undergoing one of the "changes" common to his kind, which in this case causes the land surrounding the castle to be subject to all sorts of chaotic, unpredictable, and often-deadly effects. A number of wizards, hoping to tap into Tualua's massive powers, attempt to pass through this maelstrom and reach the castle. Watching events from the outside are members of the Society of Magic.
Dilvish, determined to avenge himself against Jelerak, appears and attempts to breach the magical barriers, hoping to find his arch-enemy inside. Accompanied by his companion Black, a demon-like being in the shape of a black metal horse, they rescue a wizard, Weleand, from being drowned in an acid pit. Soon after they meet a young Elven girl, Arlata, frozen by one of magical winds. Weleand unfreezes her by transferring the condition to Black, and escapes. Dilvish is then captured by one of the caretakers of the castle, Baran of the Extra Hand, and thrown into the dungeon with several captured wizards.
Escaping the dungeon, Dilvish wanders the castle, eventually finding Semirama, a woman from long ago resurrected by Jelerak to be one of the caretakers (along with Baran). Semirama has managed to build a rapport with the demi-god Tualua. Black manages to sneak into the castle in his human form, and encounters Jelerak, who was disguised as Meleand, about to sacrifice an unconscious Arlata as a means to gain control of Tualua. Meanwhile the escaped wizards manage to disable the maintaining spell which keeps the castle anchored in normal time, causing everyone in the castle to become temporarily unconscious, and soon the entire castle and its inhabitants are rapidly accelerated into the far future, so far that they reach a point where the world is created anew.
During the denouement, Baran is killed by one of the wizards, and both Jelerak and Tualua are claimed by the gods of the far future/distant past as one of their own. Semirama, her resurrection canceled by the ascension of Jelerak, collapses into dust, her soul now inhabiting the alternate universe of mirrors in the castle, where she meets up with an ancestor of Dilvish's, Selar. Dilvish is initially enraged by the denial of his desire for vengeance, but then realizes that Jelerak will undergo a punishment (of a sort) at the hands of the gods, and decides to go back to his homeland with Arlata, who as it turns out is the granddaughter of one of Dilvish's former loves in that land.
With the help of a Society member, the survivors escape through a magical transport mirror.
[edit] Melbrinionsadsazzersteldregandishfeltselior
Melbrinionsadsazzersteldregandishfeltselior is the name of a demon in the novel. The long name of this demon was necessary in invocation and bounding ritual, and omission of even a single syllable had tragic consequences for a mage - instant and violent death. Demon was one of magic protectors of the castle of sorcerer Jelerak, enemy of the main hero Dilvish the Damned.
Melbrinionsadsazzersteldregandishfeltselior dies in the novel.
Slawomir Dzieniszewski, Melbrinionersteldregandiszfeltselior
[edit] References
- Levack, Daniel J. H. (1983). Amber Dreams: A Roger Zelazny Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller, 21-22. ISBN 0-934438-39-0.
