A review by lindsayb09
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This was my first time reading this book, and I chose to do the nightly October readalong. What a fun adventure! At first the chapters were short and it introduced so many characters that I had a hard time keeping everyone straight. It also doesn't dump any info on you, you have to work out all the mechanisms and rules of The Game as you go along.
Snuff and Graymalk were my favorites, of course. I love an odd couple, and enjoyed how much they came to genuinely care for each other. I loved all of the animal familiars and how they had their own relationships that didn't necessarily reflect their masters' alliances.
It was also fun to work out who all the different characters are. The obvious ones are Jack the Ripper, Count Dracula, Dr Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, Rasputin (or at least a heavily Rasputin-inspired character). I'm still not sure if Larry, McCab, Morris, Owen, or Jill are supposed to be references to any specific literary or historical characters. Obviously Larry is a werewolf, Jill is a witch, and Owen was a mage or pagan priest of some kind, but I couldn't match them to any specific stories. I'm also not sure if McCab and Morris had any distinguishing features or special skills, they felt the most generic by far and we never seem to learn much about them or their familiar.
Plot wise there are long stretches in the beginning where not a whole lot happens, and it mostly just introduces you to the characters and concepts. It picks up a bit towards the middle and then hurtles a bit towards the end, which I guess is fitting, given the rules of The Game, and how things are revealed only after the halfway point. The climax was good, though the ending feels slightly abrupt. I would like to know what they all go on to do now that the game has been decided and there may be decades or centuries till the next. Snuff hints about he and Jack travelling together through many of these cycles, I like to think that they teamed up with Jill and Graymalk to await the next cycle (on the same side this time). I love a supernatural family of choice 🥰
I think it will be fun to come back and read it again knowing the rules in advance (though I'll probably forget all the characters and their relationships by next year 😅). I can see why this one is a beloved classic.
Snuff and Graymalk were my favorites, of course. I love an odd couple, and enjoyed how much they came to genuinely care for each other. I loved all of the animal familiars and how they had their own relationships that didn't necessarily reflect their masters' alliances.
It was also fun to work out who all the different characters are. The obvious ones are Jack the Ripper, Count Dracula, Dr Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, Rasputin (or at least a heavily Rasputin-inspired character). I'm still not sure if Larry, McCab, Morris, Owen, or Jill are supposed to be references to any specific literary or historical characters. Obviously Larry is a werewolf, Jill is a witch, and Owen was a mage or pagan priest of some kind, but I couldn't match them to any specific stories. I'm also not sure if McCab and Morris had any distinguishing features or special skills, they felt the most generic by far and we never seem to learn much about them or their familiar.
Plot wise there are long stretches in the beginning where not a whole lot happens, and it mostly just introduces you to the characters and concepts. It picks up a bit towards the middle and then hurtles a bit towards the end, which I guess is fitting, given the rules of The Game, and how things are revealed only after the halfway point. The climax was good, though the ending feels slightly abrupt. I would like to know what they all go on to do now that the game has been decided and there may be decades or centuries till the next. Snuff hints about he and Jack travelling together through many of these cycles, I like to think that they teamed up with Jill and Graymalk to await the next cycle (on the same side this time). I love a supernatural family of choice 🥰
I think it will be fun to come back and read it again knowing the rules in advance (though I'll probably forget all the characters and their relationships by next year 😅). I can see why this one is a beloved classic.