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44th out of 52 books
—
75 voters
Changeling (The Changeling Saga #1)
People suffered under Det Morson's power. When the wizard Mor joined the fight, Det & his infamous Rondoval castle were destroyed. But the victory was not complete, for the conquerors found a baby amidst the rubble: Det's son, Pol. Unwilling to kill the child, Mor took him to a world where the ways of magic were considered mere legends--a world called Earth.
Young Mar...more
Young Mar...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
April 1st 1981
by Penguin Putnam (NY)
(first published 1980)
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Upon the death of Det Morson, the wizard Mor takes Det's son Pol to a world dominated by technology and switches him with baby Daniel Chain. Pol is raised as Daniel Chain and Chain becomes Mark Marakson, a youth with an extraordinary aptitude for technology. When villages kill Mark's father and attempt to kill him, Mark vows revenge and begins building an army of war machines. Who can stop him? None other than Pol Detson, the boy raised in his place...
While a fantasy story, Changeling is more ab...more
While a fantasy story, Changeling is more ab...more
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This is the first of two books Zelazny wrote in this series. I'm sorry he didn't complete any more. From the dedications, at least one more was planned (one to each kid). Again, he's mixed Fantasy with SF into a very interesting tapestry that's a quick, fun & interesting read. He's put a somewhat unique spin on well worn subjects & brought them into conflict & out again.
A world chooses magic over technology & then circumstances lead a well meaning sorcerer to exchange babies betw...more
A world chooses magic over technology & then circumstances lead a well meaning sorcerer to exchange babies betw...more
Nov 12, 2009
Chris
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Zelazny fans
Recommended to Chris by:
Jim
Shelves:
zelazny-group
This was a great quick read. It was done in a simple style, yet was very layered as a story. In this book you have the two switched at birth, now grown up young men finding their places in their alien worlds. They are both outcasts of a sort.
A great tragedy causes the wizard Mor to realize it was an error to switch the babies at birth, and to try to rectify the situation, brings back the one from the modern world into the wizard world. The two meet, and at first seem like they might be friends....more
A great tragedy causes the wizard Mor to realize it was an error to switch the babies at birth, and to try to rectify the situation, brings back the one from the modern world into the wizard world. The two meet, and at first seem like they might be friends....more
What can I say about Zelazny that hasn't already been said? Even at his worst--and this isn't--I love him.
This novel deals with a pair of sons that are switched shortly after they're born. One is the son of a powerful dark sorcerer in a magic world and the other of a talented engineer/technician in a technological world. The magical child (Pol) grows up ill at ease around technology and his innate magic always causes 'jinxes'. The technological child (Mark) grows up in the medieval magical world...more
This novel deals with a pair of sons that are switched shortly after they're born. One is the son of a powerful dark sorcerer in a magic world and the other of a talented engineer/technician in a technological world. The magical child (Pol) grows up ill at ease around technology and his innate magic always causes 'jinxes'. The technological child (Mark) grows up in the medieval magical world...more
Picture your favorite sandwich. Think about the ultimate bread, the tastiest meat, the vegetables that aren’t present because vegetables are for sissies. Now, keep the ultimate bread so that the beginning and end stages of your bite are still exquisite, but swap out that tasty meat with something less appetizing, like bologna or a handful of thumb tacks.
You now have Roger Zelazny’s Changeling: delicious at the beginning and end, less so in the middle.
Okay, to be fair, the thumb-tack thing is a m...more
You now have Roger Zelazny’s Changeling: delicious at the beginning and end, less so in the middle.
Okay, to be fair, the thumb-tack thing is a m...more
Saying that Changeling isn't Roger Zelazny's best effort is like saying the Arctic can be a bit nippy. The characters are paper thin and forgettable, the writing stilted and amateurish, and the plot something that clearly fell out of the editing process during the writing of one of his far superior Amber novels. Being unfamiliar with the series, I started reading the much better Madwand before I realized that this book preceded it. A happy accident, it turns out; if I had started with Changeling...more
This one took me longer to read than I planned to, mostly only to time constraints. However, it still took me a few chapters to get the feel of the story and try to understand what was going on in addition to the main characters.
I was glad that the "main" character was the one that grew up in our reality. The mixture of Fantasy and Science Fiction into one book was really well done, especially by still keeping it grounded in reality.
I love that the weapon and important instrument of the story w...more
I was glad that the "main" character was the one that grew up in our reality. The mixture of Fantasy and Science Fiction into one book was really well done, especially by still keeping it grounded in reality.
I love that the weapon and important instrument of the story w...more
This is one of Zelazny's openly comic efforts, poking some fun at fantasy novel cliches but also showing a number of more serious themes that will be familiar to readers who have read Zelazny more widely than just the Amber series. For example, opposites seperated and in tension (magic and technology, as in Jack of Shadows) and arch-villians who don't start off intrinsically evil. The latter is perhaps the more interesting in this case; the development from mis-understood well-meaning kid genius...more
An ok fantasy book about dual worlds of magic and technology. The book was somewhat engaging, but there didn't seem to be much complexity behind it. There was a small introduction to the realm with back story, but it almost seems as if the first half of the book was a back story. Second half: A simple fetch powerful item quest, then use your own internal power to beat another enemy. It does foreshadow more, but is relatively light as a novel. I probably would have enjoyed it more as a teenager.
A mediocre effort from Zelazny. Even though there's plenty of story, it moves along very quickly and feels underdeveloped and sketchy. I'm not sure if this book would have held my attention even as a younger reader. The one truly positive element in the book are the illustrations by Esteban Maroto, reminding me of Heavy Metal and Moebius. I loved the art's distinctive 70's sci-fi/fantasy feel, and Maroto's renderings are excellent.
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I liked Zelazny's Amber series, so I picked up this book to see what his other books might be like. This was a simple sci-fi book that didn't have enough depth to the plot and I found it a bit boring. Characters make major life changes and take drastic measures for reasons which do not seem significant. Don't bother.
Pol Detson is only a baby when his (possibly evil) father is destroyed in a magical battle, and Pol is taken to another world to keep him safe from angry villagers bent on revenge. In his place, another baby is brought back to Pol's world and is adopted by villagers, who name him Mark. Mark grows up to be very technologically inclined, which is considered to be evil dark magic in Pol's world which is full of enchantment but short on machines.
The time comes when the wizard who stole Pol away as...more
The time comes when the wizard who stole Pol away as...more
I loved this book and it's sequel. The idea of magic vs. tech. has been done before but this is a good ride and you'll like the characters. i even felt sorry for the "villian" for a while. My only regret is that Zelazny never got the third book written.
A swift, fast-paced combination of sci-fi and fantasy; the fantasy aspect is more prevalent, most of the story takes place in a magical world and technology used is quite indistinguishable from magic. Ideal for a two, three hour long train ride.
An easy read with a well known theme of good vs evil. I did like the idea of magic being visible to those who could use it, like threads in our everyday lives.
I picked this book up as it was one that was suggested by the author of Among Others.
I picked this book up as it was one that was suggested by the author of Among Others.
I read this when I was quite young... and always yearned for the final book... still to this day, I imagine what would have happened next - the author has left his mark on me!
I remember reading this in high school and really liking it. I could never remember it. Now that I have I need to go back and reread it.
Interesting blind of scifi and fantasy. Seems a bit 'pulpy', but there's nothing wrong with a bit of that once in a while.
This is a classic that I just reread. One of my favorites and a very short read.
I think Zelazny really wanted to write a rock opera.
Great book! So sad he died before finishing the series!!!
good fun read. magic meets technology which will win?
The infant son of a wizard is swapped with a baby from our world. The later brings technology to the fantasy world, while the former finds his way home through magic. Naturally the two go to war over a woman. Some fantastic scenes including the invention of a paddle wheel, the awakening of a dragon, and the reassembly of a broken magic staff. A unique magic concept is used in which magic is visualized as linking strands of various colors visible only to the wizard and with different properties b...more
Dec 04, 2009
Joy H.
marked it as read-partially
RE: _Changeling_ by Roger Zelazny
I read to page 172 (out of 251 pages).
I decided not to finish the book because I didn't find it compelling enough, especially because of Zelazny's obscure writing style. I wasn't enjoying the book enough. However, I wish I knew how it ended.
I read to page 172 (out of 251 pages).
I decided not to finish the book because I didn't find it compelling enough, especially because of Zelazny's obscure writing style. I wasn't enjoying the book enough. However, I wish I knew how it ended.
Great premise - a mix of cliche and originality.
It just never goes anywhere. You keep expecting more and never get it.
I was hoping for a great book after the first chapter or two, and ended up disappointed.
It just never goes anywhere. You keep expecting more and never get it.
I was hoping for a great book after the first chapter or two, and ended up disappointed.
story about the balance of a world and a fight between a magic user and a technologic brain. if the two cant solve their problems the world will be divided again, and another parralel universe will form.
i really enjoyed this book. it has both fantasy and technologic concepts.
i really enjoyed this book. it has both fantasy and technologic concepts.
Plain ol' 80's fantasy. Predictable with stereotypical characters, telly narration and forced motives, but it's well written and I like where it went with the magic versus technology idea. Illustrations are some nice eye candy, too.
Feb 05, 2013
Hope
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-with-friends,
specfic
Good action story with deep characters and very engagingly written. It was hard to put down.
The rather mechanistic approach to magic really appealed to the teenage sci-fi geek in me. And it had enough of Zelazny's lyricism to flow nicely. It really struck a chord.
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Roger Zelazny made his name with a group of novellas which demonstrated just how intense an emotional charge could be generated by the stock imagery of sf; the most famous of these is 'A Rose for Ecclesiastes' in which a poet struggles to convince dying and sterile Martians that life is worth continuing. Zelazny continued to write excellent short stories throughout his career, which share the inve...more
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