A Night in the Lonesome October

Rating:
Summary: One to read over and over!
Review: A Night in the Lonesome October is the perfect novel for those of you who love light, compelling fantasy. Zelazny, a master of simplicity, chooses a watchdog named Snuff to tell his macabre tale of a grizzly event which takes place when there is a full moon on Halloween. The rest of the characters are equally strange, but recognizable and intriguing. All leads, through amusing diversions, to a satisfying ending with plenty of surprises. All in all, it is a sample of vintage Zelazny; a novel to read once you've read all the Amber novels.

I have read this book at least 5 times, and it equally amusing each time. I catch refrences I might have missed previously, and lose myself in the world Zelazny creates. Don't write it off prematurely as typical fantasy. Roger Zelazny was always much more than that.

"And ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, they gave such a wonderful light. Hickory - Dickory - Dock!"

Rating:
Summary: The Thing of Perspective
Review: I'm on my third reading of this book in the last three days, and I don't know when I'll be able to put it down. It's all perspective: the perspective of this book is so fresh and vibrant that you see the world from a completely new angle, and a mighty strange and amusing one at that. Everything is somewhat familiar, and yet everything is completely new, and seen from the eyes of a dog. This dog lives with a very unusual person, but all the unusual activities that go on are completely normal to the dog, so they are described in much the same manner as most people would describe going out to their job and coming home again. I realize most of the other reviews have already given a lot away about the plot, which is very sad, because the joy is suddenly discovering things. So, even though those reviews tell you who owns the dog, what the dog's name is, and even who some of the other characters are, I'm not going to do that, and instead say that you should read this book for the joy and humor of the perspective. You can't miss out on it.

Rating:
Summary: A highly original, quirky, delightful novel
Review: Roger Zelazny is a fascinating, singularly unique writer. What other author gives you the likes of Jack the Ripper, Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and Sherlock Holmes in the same novel? How about Lovecraftian themes and allusions? And it's not even a horror novel. This is wildly romping fantasy at its best. Our narrator is a dog named Snuff; he's no ordinary dog, however. He is the companion of Saucy Jack, the watchdog of unfathomable trapped monsters, calculator of the lines of fate, and immensely important guardian against evil. In certain years, when the moon is right, on All Hallow's Eve, the Elder Gods seek entry back into our world. At those times, the proper individuals and agents instinctively come to the crucial area and seek to either open or close the eldritch gates. During such a lonesome October, these agents prepare their spells and minds for the challenge, while interacting with one another in attempts to learn from, thwart, and sometimes remove their fellow players from the Game. Each player has a companion animal, and it is Snuff's interaction with his cohorts that drives the story along. Snuff's greatest friend is the cat Graymalk, and their relationship and true friendship in the face of possible competition really won me over. The Game is confusing early on, which is at it should be. The reader must struggle to understand not only what the Game actually is but also figure out who and what is on which side of the coming conflict. I remained relatively clueless as to how the final drama would play out, and I am happy to say I did not find it disappointing.

It is interesting to consider the players in this Game. While we know Snuff serves Jack the Ripper, we see the man as a cheerful, utterly pleasant man with a grave responsibility, a veritable hero in fact; allusions are made to his trips to town for certain necessary items, and we do see him become deadly dangerous when Snuff is in danger, but largely the character is Jack and never the Ripper. The other characters are basically all portrayed in the same fashion, and it becomes particularly amusing for the Great Detective to continue running around in the guise of a woman, especially since Snuff is never fooled by the disguise the way the humans are.

Zelazny gives us a fun read with this novel. It's not particularly funny, yet I view it as a comedy in many ways. There is one section when the text changes completely, describing a transit among the lands Lovecraft fans regard with awe and wonder, but by and large it is a fast, engrossing read sure to delight all fans of well-crafted, lively fantasy. There is only one Roger Zelazny, and no fan of fantasy should deprive himself of the talents of this fantastic author. I should also mention the fact that this book is replete with illustrations by the renowned Gahan Wilson; the illustrations strike me as minimalist and simplistic, but they do seem to suit the story and its style of presentation quite well, adding a further touch of distinction to this uncommonly good novel.

Rating:
Summary: And you thought your friends had odd hobbies...
Review: This relatively recent effort of Zelazny's manages to convey a highly engrossing sense of fun through the narrative voice of Snuff, Jack the Ripper's faithful enchanted hound. With a plot borrowed from one of his own short stories, Zelazny pits two factions of famous historical madmen and freaks against each other. The prize is, of course, the fate of the world. During Snuff's search for the perfect eye of newt, the reader will encounter many other animal familiars, as well as a vampiric Count, a mad scientist, the Great Detective (replete with deerstalker cap) and the aforementioned Ripper, who turns out to be a rather quiet, likable fellow who only kills when the fate of the world is threatened or some upstart vivisectionists attempt to carve up his dog.

As the book's chapters are numbered to match the thirty-one days which make up October, I try to read this book once a year in real time. Anyone is welcome to attempt this, but may find it difficult not to read ahead, or they may not have the same perverse sense of literary propriety which I possess.