Well, I've just read through the scene depicted on the pulpy cover of my edition of The Changing Land. The one where Dilvish and his metal horse Black are depicted riding over a multitude of grasping violet hands. It was definitely as epic as the cover suggests.
But what's more enthralling about this section of the book is its character development. We see Dilvish and Black working together and get a strong sense of their history as partners. By chapter's end, it feels like they've been through countless adventures and seen many wondrous things before they even came to challenge Castle Timeless and the sorcerer Jelerak. Giving readers that sense of such a strong bond definitely shows Zelazny's skill.
Doing so also makes the chapter's end a real nail-biter.
In fact, though Zelazny litters Dilvish and Black's path with a host of obstacles that would be right at home in a fiendish D&D campaign, it's that character building that's much more enduring.
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