Books: A Night In the Lonesome October By Roger Zelazny (1993)

“Every few decades when the moon is full on the night of Halloween, the fabric of reality thins and doors may be opened between this world and the realm of the Great 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 events of A Night In the Lonesome October take place during the English Victorian Era and set primarily in London and is narrated by Snuff, a dog who is happens to be Jack the Ripper’s companion. Zelazny (admittedly) is heavily influenced by those writers of the time period, like H.P. Lovecraft, Mary Shelly, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allen Poe, and even modern era writer (during Zealanzy’s time) Robert Bloch. Each of the characters –or “players”- are from pages of gothic fiction of that era, including the after mentioned Jack the Ripper (only ever referred to as "Jack"), Dracula ("The Count"), Victor Frankenstein ("The Good Doctor"), and the Wolf Man (known as "Larry Talbot", the film character's name). Also we have others, like the Witch ("Crazy Jill"), a Clergyman (Vicar Roberts), a Druid ("Owen"), a "Mad Monk" ("Rastov" – apparently modeled after Rasputin), and a few others, including Sherlock Holmes (“The Great Detective”).

It’s an oddly paced novel, and there is a lot going on that Zelazny deliberately does not explain, but Snuff was a great character, a fun narrative device choice. It’s a fun read, creative, dark, and unusual.