Changeling (novel)

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Changeling is a 1980 fantasy novel by Roger Zelazny. It tells about a world where magic and technology clash, and introduces two young men whose lives are tied to that clash.

Plot in simple terms:
In a long-ago war, a wizard named Mor helps defeat the tyrant Det Morson, but their victory creates an unstable balance between magic and technology. Mor uses a plan to move Det Morson’s baby into the world of technology and swaps babies so both worlds feel things are as they should. The result is two versions of one family: Pol, who grows up in the magical world as a poet and singer with a white streak in his hair, and Mark Marakson, who grows up in the technology world as a clever inventor.

As Mor sees trouble coming from this imbalance, he returns Pol to the magical world and stays behind in the technology world to keep the balance. Mor dies in a park where everything around him—trees, birds, even insects—are artificial. With Mor gone, Pol must find a way to restore balance by gathering three pieces of his father’s magical staff, which Mor scattered around the world.

Pol is joined by a thief who has awoken from a sleeping spell and by the dragons once kept in Det Morson’s dungeons. He travels across Rondoval and beyond, recovers the staff pieces, and faces various magical traps and guardians. Along the way, he forms a romance with the man who loved Mark’s childhood sweetheart, creating a love triangle.

In the end, Pol defeats Mark Marakson and restores balance to his world, but loses the woman’s love. He stays in Rondoval to learn more about the old magic left by his father. The rest of his story continues in the novel Madwand.