.jpg) First edition (hardcover) | |
| Author | Roger Zelazny |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Gahan Wilson |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | William Morrow and Company |
Publication date | 1993 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 280 |
| ISBN | 0-688-12508-5 |
| OCLC | 27640649 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3576.E43 N5 1993 |
A Night in the Lonesome October is a novel by American writerRoger Zelazny published in 1993, near the end of his life. It was his final book, and one of his five personal favorites.[1]
The book is divided into 32 chapters, each representing one "night" in the month of October (plus an "introductory" chapter). The story is told in the first person, like journal entries. Throughout the book, 33 full-page illustrations byGahan Wilson punctuate a story that is heavily influenced byH. P. Lovecraft. (There is one illustration per chapter, in addition to one on the inside back cover.) The title is a line fromEdgar Allan Poe's poem "Ulalume", and Zelazny thanks him as well as other writers—Mary Shelley,Bram Stoker, SirArthur Conan Doyle,Robert Bloch andAlbert Payson Terhune—whose most famous characters appear in the book.
A Night in the Lonesome October was nominated for theNebula Award for Best Novel in 1994.[2] A similar theme, conflict around the opening of a gate to another world, appears in Zelazny's 1981 novelMadwand.
A Night in the Lonesome October is narrated from thepoint-of-view of Snuff, a dog who isJack the Ripper's companion. The bulk of the story takes place inLondon and its environments, though at one point the story detours through the dream-world described by Lovecraft inThe Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Though never explicitly stated, various contextual clues within the story (the most obvious of which is the appearance ofSherlock Holmes or "The Great Detective") imply that it takes place during the late Victorian period.
The story reveals that once every few decades when the moon is full on the night of Halloween (a very rare "Blue Moon", meaning the second full moon in that month), the fabric of reality thins, and doors may be opened between this world and the realm of theGreat Old Ones. When these conditions are right, men and women with occult knowledge may gather at a specific ritual site to hold the doors closed, or to help fling them open. Should the Closers win, then the world will remain as it is until the next turning, but should the Openers succeed, then the Great Old Ones will come to Earth, to remake the world in their own image, enslaving or slaughtering the human race in the process. The Openers have never yet won. These meetings are often referred to as "The Game" or "The Great Game" by the participants, who try to keep the goings-on secret from the mundane population.
The various "Players" during the Game depicted in the book are archetypal characters from the Victorian Eragothic fiction – Jack the Ripper (only ever referred to as "Jack"),Dracula ("The Count"), and the Wolf Man (known as "Larry Talbot", the film character's name) all make appearances. In addition, there is aWitch ("Crazy Jill"), aClergyman (Vicar Roberts), aDruid ("Owen"),Victor Frankenstein ("The Good Doctor"),Sherlock Holmes ("The Great Detective"), a "Mad Monk" ("Rastov" – apparently modeled afterRasputin), and grave robbers orHermetic occultists ("Morris and McCab" – based either on real-lifegrave robbers Burke and Hare[3] or a reference to a real hermetic of the time,MacGregor Mathers).[citation needed]
Each Player has afamiliar – an animal companion with near-human intelligence that helps complete the numerous preparations for the ritual. The majority of the story describes the interactions and discussions of these familiars, all from Snuff's point of view.
Throughout the book, the Players slowly take sides, form alliances, make deals, oppose one another, and even kill off their enemies. The plot accelerates until the night of October 31, when the rite takes place and the fate of the world is decided.
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