A long standing tradition in the fantasy field is the quest story. Often, it involves a hero or heroine who has lost something. Either a loved one is taken from them, they are taken from their home, or their kingdom is lost to an enemy. Many stories have been written with a variation of this theme. One of my favorite authors, Roger Zelazny, has been known to explore these themes in many of his works. Among my favorites are the Amber series (in which the hero looses his memory and kingdom), "Jack of Shadows", the Changling series, and too many others to list here. This time, I will take a look at the beginning of another one of his quest stories, "Dilvish the Damned"...
Short Story Quest #5:
Passage to Dilfar by Roger Zelazny
First Publication: Fantastic Stories of Imagination, February 1965
"Passage to Difar" introduces us to Dilvish the Damned. It would be followed up by a second story in June of 1965.
As I have stated many times, I am a big Roger Zelazny fan. That being said, I found this to be one of his slighter works. It was mainly a short travelogue of Dilvish crossing a landscape. The ride was broken up by different people he meets along the way. I am sure it will pick up in as the additional stories are read.
I would only recommend this if you are reading the Dilvish series of adventures.