'Wizard World' (411 pp) was published by Baen Books in October 1989. The cover art is by David Mattingly.
This is an omnibus edition, compiling two novels by Zelazny: 1980's Changeling and its sequel, 1981's Madwand.
These novels are set in an un-named Fantasy World, parallel to our own, where magic (rather than technology) holds sway.
It's difficult to provide a synopsis of a two-volume omnibus such as this, without giving away spoilers. So I'll say that the first volume introduces the reader to one Pol Detson, the Changeling of the novel's title. Pol is the son of Det Morson, one of the most powerful wizards of the un-named fantasy world serving as a counterpart to Earth, a fantasy world where most of the action takes place.
To save him from his father's enemies, Pol is raised by an unwitting family on 'our' Earth. As a young man, Pol takes for granted his unusual, 'magical' abilities, and makes a name for himself as a folk guitarist.
However, the elderly wizard Mor travels between the worlds to meet Pol, and send him back to his place of origin.....there to battle a usurper. A usurper from 'our' Earth, who is using technology to impose his will on a land and people who have no experience of machines.
The winner of the battle will control the fate of the world...........
'Changeling' works well as a straightforward adventure novel that mixes both sci-fi and fantasy elements.
'Madwand' is that rarity, a sequel that is better than its predecessor. 'Madwand' delves into the rationale and practice of magic, and how an apprentice can gain mastery. There is an underlying drama that, somewhat surprisingly, contains a quasi-Lovecraftian atmosphere, an atmosphere that drives conspiracies and hidden motives among its wizards and warlocks. This gives 'Madwand' a darker tone that 'Changeling'.
Perhaps indicating a desire on Zelazny's part to move away from the prose styles he employed in the New Wave Era to a style more 'commercial' in nature, both volumes of 'Wizard World' have relatively clear language and avoid the overwritten, phantasmagorical passages that were commonplace in the 'Amber' novels.
The verdict ? If you're looking for fantasy novels that are very readable and don't require a Glossary to be understandable, then either 'Changeling', Madwand' or the 'Wizard World' compilation are worth picking up.
***While I confess to being a card carrying Chronicles fan*** I must admit the sheer readability and straight forward nature of Changeling makes for a vastly different (and more ultimately maybe more enjoyable) experience than the eternal travels through Shadow that plague Amber. Zelanzy wields a Tolkein like ability to get me to skip entire paragraphs.
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