A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book Info: Genre: Lovecraftian fiction
Reading Level: 18+
Recommended for: Fans of Lovecraftian/Cthulhuian tales, monster mash-ups
Disclosure: I purchased this book after hearing about it in the Lovecraft eZine. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Snuff, a guard dog who performs thaumaturgical calculations, accompanies his master, Jack, on collecting expeditions into the Whitechapel slums of nineteenth-century London.
Zelazny manages to cleverly combine Jack (the Ripper), Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Frankenstein, and Dracula together with witches, werewolves, druids and many others in this amusing tale of an approaching confrontation that, on the Halloween of a full-moon, will change the cosmic balance of power between good and evil. Told through the eyes of Snuff, Jack's guard dog, who performs magical calculations in addition to accompanying his master on collecting expeditions into 19th century London. Twists and turns of magical espionage and adventure unfold as this unforgettable tale plays out over the course of 31 lonesome nights in October.
My Thoughts: This is a classic piece of Lovecraftian Literature; if you enjoy Lovecraft, Lovecraftian or Cthulhuian stories, be sure to sign up for the Lovecraft eZine (link where links are permitted), where each month an edition is released containing a number of new stories. Recently an issue was released that related directly to this book, so be sure to check out this link (where links are permitted) if you’re interested in reading that.
There are a lot of great bits of dialogue, clever and funny, through this book. Snuff and Larry Talbot, upon witnessing what appears to be a church service, notice that the cross is upside down. Larry says, “Do you know what this means?, to which Snuff replies, “Religious distress signal?” The scene in the graveyard on the night of the 17th October where everyone was trading body parts made me snort with laughter. And, of course, my favorite quote: “Cats are never around when you really need one.”
Zelazny very cleverly includes all sorts of different characters and legends in this book and does so in a way that is highly readable and enjoyable. There are a number of illustrations in the book done by Gahan Wilson, of which I was not terribly fond as I don’t care for the caricature-like style, but I did love the front cover illustration.
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Hi Katy!
ReplyDeleteYou left a comment on my blog about the book "Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage" by the Brown Family. Thanks! Interesting what you had to say!
Thought I would return the favor and come visit YOUR blog, too! Wow! You ARE a voracious reader! Wow!!! 402 books read this YEAR ALONE! WOW!!!! I see you are disabled, as I am, too! It's WONDERFUL to have a book blog when we are disabled, isn't it! I don't get out much because of the disability. I can't drive, and riding in a car HURTS! I battle ferocious full body muscle spasms from a disease called Stiff Person Syndrome. It does exactly that. Makes your body go completely rigid/stiff, then the muscles spasm out of control because they are NOT supposed to be like that. Only 1 in 1 million people get this, they don't know what causes it, and there is NO cure. I am not able to read as MUCH as YOU do!! I would LOVE to, though! When these spasms hit me, I am down for the count! I cannot move, or else I risk having the spasms get worse. I cannot concentrate when they are going on, either, so . . . I'm under 100 books! I expect to go over last year's numbers, which was 86 or 87? I have it set at 90, if I remember correctly?
I LOVE Contemporary Fiction! Women's, Chick-Lit, Amish (but not Christian because there are TOO many different religions! They ALL have differing opinions, etc., so I don't review them!) and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a GREAT Mystery/Suspense/Psychological Thriller! I love something that really messes with my mind! One of my favorite TV shows is Criminal Minds because they get into the behavior aspect of the crime!
Nice blog! LOTS of books!
Hey! CONGRATULATIONS on YOUR book!!!! Wow!!!! I'm SO happy for you!!! You know, I think it's a matter of time before us bloggers DO start to venture out into writing! I have a few things I've started writing, too. Nothing anywhere NEAR what you have, but I'm working on it!
I just made a GREAT discovery over this past weekend! I've read how authors allow their characters tell the story. I never understood that until this weekend! It happened to me! FINALLY! I was writing along, not giving much thought to it, but still focused. As I was writing the characters DID take over the story as the story went along! Wow! I think I've made a HUGE milestone with that!
Well, I wish you nothing but the BEST with your book! Congrats, again!
Laurie Carlson
http://www.lauriehere.blogspot.com (You'll have to let me know how your book does!)
Hey, Laurie - thanks for stopping by! I'll hop back to your blog to leave a more detailed comment, 'cause I've no idea if you're following this thread... :-)
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