Dilvish, the Damned
#5333.81 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 1981–1982 Reading commitment Low Roger Zelazny Last reviewed 2026-09-05
Overview
Dilvish, the Damned follows Dilvish, a part-elf warrior cursed by the sorcerer Jelerak and sent to wander a demon-haunted otherworld before returning to seek revenge. The eleven short stories that make up the character's early adventures were originally published across various magazines from 1965 onward before being gathered into the 1982 collection Dilvish, the Damned; the direct sequel novel, The Changing Land, appeared in 1981.
Sword & sorcery · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Dilvish, the Damned Roger Zelazny
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dilvish, the Damned | 1982 | 1 | core | 3.81 (2,258 ratings) |
 | The Changing Land | 1981 | 2 | core | 3.81 (1,413 ratings) |
A sword-and-sorcery series about Dilvish, part-elf survivor of a curse laid by the sorcerer Jelerak. The eleven short stories collected as Dilvish, the Damned (1982) were originally published across various magazines from 1965 onward; the novel The Changing Land (1981) is the direct narrative sequel and was published in book form a year before its own predecessor stories were gathered into a collection, so publication year and story order diverge here (per this project's established handling of pulp-era serialized publication histories). A secondary claim that the collection was nominated for a 1982 Locus Award could not be corroborated against the award's own record in this session and is omitted rather than recorded unverified.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Dilvish, the Damned? Dilvish, the Damned's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Dilvish, the Damned? Publication order, starting with Dilvish, the Damned. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Dilvish, the Damned finished? Complete (1981–1982).
- How much reading does Dilvish, the Damned take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~460 pages).
- How is Dilvish, the Damned ranked? #533 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 3,671 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #533?
Ranked #533 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.81 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (3,671 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books share the same 3.81 reader rating.
- Less than 0.01 behind #532, The Ghost Bride (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 2 books · Complete · 4k ratings · Ranks #533 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment sword-and-sorcery universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- The Changing Land (1981)
- Dilvish, the Damned (1982)
Documented internal/story order
- Dilvish, the Damned (1982)
- The Changing Land (1981)
Awards (verified)
- No verified awards on record for this series.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.81 across 3,671 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Dilvish, the Damned (Roger Zelazny) accepted 2026-09-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05
Rule: Core Canon is both the 1982 story collection and its 1981 sequel novel, The Changing Land, the two book-form releases that carry the character's complete story to date.