8 October, 2001
A Night in the Lonesome October
Roger Zelazny
Gahan Wildon (Illustrator)
1993
280 pp (HC)
This review was posted to the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.written. You can read the discussion here.
Let there be no doubt about it: I love this book. I reread it often, usually around this time of year. Definite comfort reading.
What's it about? It's the story of how Jack the Ripper saves the world from the Elder Gods, as related by his dog familiar. I kid you not.
This book is certainly lighter in tone than any other of Zelazny's novels (at least that I've read, and I've read most of his work). But, it's not really a comedy. It is a spectacular romp through a landscape populated by famous characters from literature and film. These include Jack himself, Count Dracula (referred to as simply "the Count"), Doctor Frankenstein ("The Good Doctor"), his monster, Sherlock Holmes ("The Great Detective") and Doctor Watson ("his companion"), and the Wolfman (a.k.a. Larry Talbot).
There are a number of other prominant characters, who I don't recognise from other sources: Rastov the monk, Owen the druid, Vicar Roberts, a couple guys named Morris and McCab, and Crazy Jill the witch. I'm inclined to belive that these are entirely Zelazny's creations, due to the fact that they're referred to by names, rather than titles. Does anybody know of antecedents for those characters?
Zelazny was a master of style, and this book is a fine example of his genius. The subject matter is dark and grim-- grave robbing, ritual slayings, demons, the works. And yet, I call it a "light" book. Zelazny accomplishes this juxtaposition through his choice of narrator: the dog. Each of the participants in the contest to bring back or prevent the return of the Great Old Ones has a familiar, and these animals are the focus of the story. Dog Snuff associates with cat Graymalk, snake Quicklime, bat Needle, rat Bubo, owl Nightwind, squirrel Cheeter, and raven Tekela. All the events of the novel are presented from the viewpoints of the animals. Fear not, however-- the dark plot material, as well as Zelazny's sharp writing, prevent the book from getting anywhere near "cute fuzzy animal" territory.
Rereading this book for the umpteenth time, it struck me how well-plotted the book is. For example, there's a detail on page 54 (paperback) that reveals the answer to a key mystery in the plot (how many actual players there are in "the Game") long before the characters figure it out.
Granted, there is a lengthy, gratuitous Lovecraft pastiche in the middle of the book, but given the subject matter, it's appropriate.
And, as a bonus, the book contains 33 illustrations by Gahan Wilson, which perfectly convey the story's mix of horror and whimsy (although they don't really reflect my mind's-eye view of what the characters look like).
A Night in the Lonesome October was Zelazny's last novel, and it's one of his best. It certainly demonstrates that he still had it, in spite of the less-than-stellar quality of the second Amber series. Highly recommended.