Changeling Earth by Fred Saberhagen

BDUBS on his UMBROS AD&D Campaign Discord server requires an Appendix N book report for players to level their characters. So here is my first try at this:

Changeling Earth by Fred Saberhagen (1973) is a readable science-fantasy adventure. I know what you're thinking—that's not exactly high praise. It is the only one of Saberhagen's referenced by name in Gary Gygax’s AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide Appendix N. The edition I have presents the book as a complete standalone novel with no mention of its place in the Empire of the East trilogy. This approach works but leaves the revelation of what is really going on in the world feeling somewhat unearned; I expect it would be a significantly bigger payoff after reading the preceding books.

The novel opens from the perspective of the tyrannical Empire of the East, presenting readers with the grand scale of a world–very different to ours, but clearly related–at war, through the eyes of Emperor John Ominor. Gygax highlighted Ominor in The Dragon #28 as an example of a Lawful Evil ruler and his domain. From here, the narrative suddenly descends to seemingly smaller, more personal concerns among the Western resistance fighters. But this side thread gradually reveals itself as the true turning point of the larger conflict. 

The final battle and its resolution are dampened by a sense of its inevitability once the situation and stakes have been revealed, and the protagonists are reduced to plugging in electric cords and trying to get it on in the face of a nasty curse.

Overall I found this to be an engaging story, but at times I was more interested in some of the aspects that are relevant to AD&D than the fates of the protagonists. 

 

In Changeling Earth, wizards function much like D&D Magic-Users: they study arcane lore intensively, prepare invocations in advance, and summon or command otherworldly entities for specific purposes. Elementals are frequently called forth to serve as powerful forces in combat, predominantly on the side of the West (the good guys). I particularly liked the elemental powers that went beyond combat, with the prairie elemental able to slow down pursuit by creating the illusion that the plains extended greater distances than they appeared. This magic is portrayed as dangerous to the enemy only, whereas in D&D elementals can be very dangerous to the summoner as well.

More dramatic is demonic summoning: wizards bind greater demons while commanding lesser demons to fight, spy, or attack enemies directly. The Empire's sorcerers treat these magics as strategic tools to be employed strictly as escalation demands, as they carry real risk—the demons are ever-vigilant for weakness, and rituals demand exact precision or invite disaster.

The Emperor’s most powerful servant, the wizard Wood, exemplifies this style and is the most interesting character as well. As an imperial sorcerer second only to Ominor, Wood handles the most dangerous bindings and works directly with demonic forces, including imprisoning the mighty Orcus. Yes, that is the name of the most powerful demon in this world, and this portrayal might have been an influence on Gygax. Orcus first appeared in Eldritch Wizardry (1976) and then the Monster Manual (1977). Wood's calculated, authoritative approach to summoning—treating otherworldly beings as controllable resources within a system he himself has fashioned—is in line with high-level AD&D Magic-Users summoning spells and it's possible to imagine his story influencing Gygax's design. The passages from Wood’s point of view are some of the most interesting in the book, he is very much in command, even considering regicide—until he isn't.

Gygax included Changeling Earth in Appendix N-like lists as early as The Dragon #4 (December 1976), later ranking Saberhagen among his top ten most influential authors. As Jeffro points out in his review, Saberhagen's fusion of lost technology, sorcery, and large-scale warfare makes the book more of a match for Gamma World. Though elements such as demon lords meddling in mortal affairs, powerful artifacts, and fallen civilizations are common tropes in D&D campaigns it is still hard to see why Gary saw fit to rate this specific book so highly in the DMG; but I guess he gets the benefit of the doubt.