Book Thoughts 06: Roger Zelazny, A Night in the Lonesome October
P. Korda
A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER
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 (at
least that I've read, and I've read most of his work). But, it's
not 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.
--
Pam Korda
kor2 @ midway.uchicago.edu
Morgan Lewis
>
> ROGER ZELAZNY
> A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER
>
> Let there be no doubt about it: I love this book. I reread it often,
> usually around this time of year. Definite comfort reading.
>
Yes, it's very good; like a lot of a.b.r-z'ers, I read it one chapter
per day for the entire month each year. It's fantastic.
> 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
> (at least that I've read, and I've read most of his work).
It's a toss-up between 'October' and Doorways in the Sand. Overall, I'd
say 'Doorways' is lighter, but not by much.
> But, it's not 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?
>
Rastov is derived from Rasputin, the mad monk. On a.b.r-z, discussions
tend to come up this time of year about who the others are supposed to
be. The last discussion turned up the possibility that Morris & McCab
were derived from a pair of serial killers in Victorian England; I can't
recall specifics, though. The others are harder to pin down, and may
just be general references ("the witch","the druid", etc.)
One interesting thing to note is that the witch's cat's name is
Graymalk; a grimalkin is an old cat, and the name is also mentioned by
one of the witches in MacBeth, if I recall correctly.
[snip]
> 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.
>
And this is one of the finer points of the characterisation. The
familiars are all perfectly in character -- Snuff has apparently human
intelligence, but is still very much a dog. Gray is as capricious as
one would expect a cat to be. But not only do their characters fit with
their species, but they also fit with their position -- each takes on
some of the characteristics of their owner and the situation.
[snip]
> _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.
>
> --
> Pam Korda
> kor2 @ midway.uchicago.edu
I fully agree; this is a book I recommend to anybody looking for a good
in-season read.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan Lewis m...@efn.org mle...@cs.uoregon.edu
The Eclectic Quotes Page: http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~mlewis/
Robert Carnegie
> "P. Korda" wrote:
> >
> > ROGER ZELAZNY
> > A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER
> >
> > Let there be no doubt about it: I love this book. I reread it often,
> > usually around this time of year. Definite comfort reading.
> >
>
> Yes, it's very good; like a lot of a.b.r-z'ers, I read it one chapter
> per day for the entire month each year. It's fantastic.
Wouldn't you agree that a scorecard is needed to keep the players,
their familiars, tools, and objectives straight in your head?
Not a complaint, just a comment.
Making a pastiche of Jack the Ripper be the hero might be difficult
to swallow for some. But it's been done before.
The title is presumably Edgar Allan Poe's "Ulalume", thank you Google -
but what the heck is Poe on about in that one? Needs footnotes.
Or Cliff Notes.
David Tate
> On a.b.r-z, discussions
> tend to come up this time of year about who the others are supposed to
> be. The last discussion turned up the possibility that Morris & McCab
> were derived from a pair of serial killers in Victorian England; I can't
> recall specifics, though.
I had assumed they were a take on Burke and Hare, the Edinburgh
body-snatchers. But I could be wrong.
> I fully agree; this is a book I recommend to anybody looking for a good
> in-season read.
Or out, for that matter. It's a wonderful cure for a muggy day in
July.
David Tate
Ian Sutherland
> 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?
Owen the druid == Owen Glendower (sp. probably wrong)? I'm thinking
of the guy who claims to be able to "call spirits from the vasty deep"
in Shakespeare (followed by a nice comeback from Hotspur). If this is
who he's meant to be, clearly "the druid" wouldn't have been enough to
identify him.
Bruce Hollebone
> 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.
I'd love to see Mr. Wilson do it as an animated version.
Also, I reccommend looking for the Graham Wilson collection "The
Cleft", with more of his wonderful illos and original shivery
tales. He's not Zelazny, but the collection is nothing to be
ashamed of.
--
Kind Regards,
Bruce.
P. Korda
Robert Carnegie <rja.ca...@excite.com> wrote:
>Wouldn't you agree that a scorecard is needed to keep the players,
>their familiars, tools, and objectives straight in your head?
Not really. It's not _supposed_ to be all clear and obvious from the
get-go; things are revealed as the story progresses. Although, I've
read the book several times, so it certainly doesn't seem confusing to
me.
>Making a pastiche of Jack the Ripper be the hero might be difficult
>to swallow for some. But it's been done before.
Well, one of the premises of the story is that Jack is not the only
"Ripper" running around in London at that time...
>The title is presumably Edgar Allan Poe's "Ulalume", thank you Google -
>but what the heck is Poe on about in that one? Needs footnotes.
I believe it is about the death of his wife. I could be wrong, though.
-pam
David Given
rja.ca...@excite.com (Robert Carnegie) writes:
[...]
>> Yes, it's very good; like a lot of a.b.r-z'ers, I read it one chapter
>> per day for the entire month each year. It's fantastic.
>
> Wouldn't you agree that a scorecard is needed to keep the players,
> their familiars, tools, and objectives straight in your head?
> Not a complaint, just a comment.
Remember that one of the many things it's a pastiche of is games like
Magic: The Gathering. ("I attack you with the X!" "But I have the Y.
Blocked.")
Hmm.
Am getting this weird urge to reread... someone must have a wand focused
on me...
--
+- David Given --------McQ-+ "We must go out and utterly crush every other
| Work: d...@tao-group.com | worldview that does not believe in tolerance and
| Play: d...@cowlark.com | free speech!" --- David Brin, paraphrased
+- http://www.cowlark.com -+
Ori N.Shifrin
wrote:
>In article <f3f18bc0.01101...@posting.google.com>,
> rja.ca...@excite.com (Robert Carnegie) writes:
>[...]
>>> Yes, it's very good; like a lot of a.b.r-z'ers, I read it one chapter
>>> per day for the entire month each year. It's fantastic.
>>
>> Wouldn't you agree that a scorecard is needed to keep the players,
>> their familiars, tools, and objectives straight in your head?
>> Not a complaint, just a comment.
>
>Remember that one of the many things it's a pastiche of is games like
>Magic: The Gathering. ("I attack you with the X!" "But I have the Y.
>Blocked.")
Hi
Ah...No.
ANITLO came out in August 1993,the same MONTH that Magic:the Gathering
was first sold.As Magic was the very first Collectible card
game(CCG),I think it`s safe to say that RZ wrote ANITLO completely
uninfluenced by a game that nobody(bar some playtesters)had heard of
at that time.
Ori