Roger Zelazny discussion

Anyone else who is interested is welcome to join me in my yearly read of A Night in the Lonesome October. I'm going to read it day by day through the month & try to find all the clues & allusions that Zelazny put into it.

I broke my copy open early this morning, as I'm in the Pacific NW, where it is currently (and characteristically) dark, cold and rainy, so it feels right even in the early hours.

I've never been a re-reader. This is one of a very few books I've ever chosen to read more than once, and it's probably one of only one or two rereads I've actually loved as much each time. I'm enjoying this October tradition.

So, although I don't know if there's much I can add to the detailed and thorough discussions you've led around the site in past years, I'm along for the ride. :)

It's October 1st already! I'll have to break mine out tonight. I'll post the notes for today tomorrow. You never know Candiss, you might notice something else this year. Hopefully others will join us.

The notes I'll be posting are distilled from several years & groups. The bulk comes from this group, though.

Where the title of the book comes from:

ULALUME
by Edgar Allan Poe
1847

The skies they were ashen and sober;
The leaves they were crisped and sere--
The leaves they were withering and sere;
It was night in the lonesome October
Of my most immemorial year;
It was hard by the dim lake of Auber,
In the misty mid region of Weir--
It was down by the dank tarn of Auber,
In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.

Here once, through an alley Titanic.
Of cypress, I roamed with my Soul--
Of cypress, with Psyche, my Soul.
These were days when my heart was volcanic
As the scoriac rivers that roll--
As the lavas that restlessly roll
Their sulphurous currents down Yaanek
In the ultimate climes of the pole--
That groan as they roll down Mount Yaanek
In the realms of the boreal pole.

Our talk had been serious and sober,
But our thoughts they were palsied and sere--
Our memories were treacherous and sere--
For we knew not the month was October,
And we marked not the night of the year--
(Ah, night of all nights in the year!)
We noted not the dim lake of Auber--
(Though once we had journeyed down here)--
Remembered not the dank tarn of Auber,
Nor the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.

And now as the night was senescent
And star-dials pointed to morn--
As the sun-dials hinted of morn--
At the end of our path a liquescent
And nebulous lustre was born,
Out of which a miraculous crescent
Arose with a duplicate horn--
Astarte's bediamonded crescent
Distinct with its duplicate horn.

And I said--"She is warmer than Dian:
She rolls through an ether of sighs--
She revels in a region of sighs:
She has seen that the tears are not dry on
These cheeks, where the worm never dies,
And has come past the stars of the Lion
To point us the path to the skies--
To the Lethean peace of the skies--
Come up, in despite of the Lion,
To shine on us with her bright eyes--
Come up through the lair of the Lion,
With love in her luminous eyes."

But Psyche, uplifting her finger,
Said--"Sadly this star I mistrust--
Her pallor I strangely mistrust:--
Oh, hasten!--oh, let us not linger!
Oh, fly!--let us fly!--for we must."
In terror she spoke, letting sink her
Wings till they trailed in the dust--
In agony sobbed, letting sink her
Plumes till they trailed in the dust--
Till they sorrowfully trailed in the dust.

I replied--"This is nothing but dreaming:
Let us on by this tremulous light!
Let us bathe in this crystalline light!
Its Sibyllic splendor is beaming
With Hope and in Beauty to-night:--
See!--it flickers up the sky through the night!
Ah, we safely may trust to its gleaming,
And be sure it will lead us aright--
We safely may trust to a gleaming
That cannot but guide us aright,
Since it flickers up to Heaven through the night."

Thus I pacified Psyche and kissed her,
And tempted her out of her gloom--
And conquered her scruples and gloom;
And we passed to the end of a vista,
But were stopped by the door of a tomb--
By the door of a legended tomb;
And I said--"What is written, sweet sister,
On the door of this legended tomb?"
She replied--"Ulalume--Ulalume--
'Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume!"

Then my heart it grew ashen and sober
As the leaves that were crisped and sere--
As the leaves that were withering and sere;
And I cried--"It was surely October
On _this_ very night of last year
That I journeyed--I journeyed down here--
That I brought a dread burden down here!
On this night of all nights in the year,
Ah, what demon has tempted me here?
Well I know, now, this dim lake of Auber--
This misty mid region of Weir--
Well I know, now, this dank tarn of Auber,--
This ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir."

Wow, Jim! It's impressive how you keep doing this!

I opted to memorize "Ulalume" once, way back in the day, for a class. I didn't realize how long it was when I chose it, but I always liked that "lonesome October" line.

Here's an interesting bit about the front cover:
It is also worth mentioning the front cover illustration, a painting by James Warhola. It shows a relaxed get-together of all the characters in the book: a cocktail party, perhaps, or a cast party after closing night. This is not a scene that ever happened, or even one that could have happened, and yet there is no question that it completely catches the spirit of the novel. They sit or chat in little groups.(view spoiler)[Mad Rastov delivers an impassioned speech to an amused Jill. The Experiment Man looks doubtfully at a tiny hors d'oeuvre, while the Vicar's teenaged daughter hangs adoringly on his arm. Front and foremost, the Count and Jack (it must be Jack, because the Great Detective is present in obvious disguise) engage in conversation. Unhappy Larry Talbot sits alone. Snuff and the animal companions are all present too, with the exception of Needle, who is unfortunately obscured by the lettering of the title. (I have had occasion to see this painting without the title block.) (hide spoiler)]
http://www.lyonsmorris.com/morris/rev...

If you haven't read the book, the above link contains spoilers.

James Warhola is Andy Warhol's nephew. I've asked him (bugged him) for several years to find his notes on this painting, but he hasn't been able to unearth them yet. He's always been polite, but was off teaching in other towns for a couple of years & he painted this some time ago, so we might never know.

Here is a link to the full cover without the title or anything messing it up. I've put numbers on all the characters.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/10...

I'll be curious to see what the character list is this year. We've never been able to decide on a few characters - the main reason I've been harassing the poor man. James says he isn't sure if he actually tried to make each figure a character or if some were just fillers. What do you think?

Every part of this book is steeped in clues, even the dedication.

Warning: This may contain some slight spoilers


It is dedicated to:

Mary Shelley – Dr. Frankenstein & his monster

Edgar Allan Poe – for the book's title found in his poem "Ulalume"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulalume

Bram Stoker – Count Dracula

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – the Great Detective, Sherlock Holmes & his familiar, Watson

H.P. Lovecraft - "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath", the "Book of the Dead" & the Alhazred Icon.

Ray Bradbury – (from Chris Kovacs )...lots and lots of stories about October and Halloween and spooky themes. He's also written about vampires.

Robert Bloch – (from Chris Kovacs)... "NIGHT OF THE RIPPER" and the short story "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" were inspirations for Zelazny to write the short story "Is There a Demon Lover in the House?" and the act of writing that story inspired him to consider Jack the Ripper as a good guy, in turn leading to an inspiration for A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER. Zelazny also did an audiobook reading of some Bloch stories before OCTOBER came out, and it included "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper."

(Me) Bloch also did a trilogy of short Jack the Ripper stories with Harlan Ellison in the first “Partners in Wonder”.

Albert Payson Terhune - wrote a lot of dog poems that Zelazny was fond of.

& the makers of a lot of old movies – The Wolfman, 1941, Larry Talbot played by Lon Chaney Jr.. Others?

(from Chris Kovacs ) ...acknowledges so many without being specific and probably includes (but is not limited to) Bela Lugosi's Dracula, all the Frankenstein movies, the werewolf movies, Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes, etc., etc. Zelazny loved B movies so there are probably many unnameable and forgettable films receiving a nod there. Zelazny's use of the character of Larry Talbot is a specific nod to one movie, but the setting and many of the characters were inspired by a lifetime of watching those movies....

---------------
Chris Kovacs is a member here & one of the editors of the Complete Works of Roger Zelazny, a 6 volume set published by NESFA. If you don't have a copy & are a Zelazny fan, you should buy one. It has a lot of explanatory notes.

I'm pulling this information from my notes which I didn't intend to publish. Hopefully, I didn't goof, put any words in or pull any out. I think I gave credit where I actually copied words, but can't guarantee it. Some conclusions or ideas were more of a group thing & these notes are distilled from several years of discussion in several different groups plus other sources. If I screw up or swiped your words without recognition, let me know.

Prologue:

The story is being told by Snuff (another word for sniff, but also means to extinguish – a fitting name), a watchdog who is currently living outside of London with his master, Jack, who is under a curse, has a wand & a knife with old writing on it. Snuff likes Soho, dark & misty, where he & Jack take long walks at night. Jack works then in secrecy to keep worse things from happening. Snuff watches over him as he works & howls a warning if anyone disturbs them. Sounds ominous – Jack with a big knife who does bad things at night in Soho... Jack the Ripper?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the...

Jack the Ripper operated in Whitechapel in 1888. That is east of Soho, I believe, but he was known for killing prostitutes & the Soho district was well known for its sex shops throughout most of the 20th century, so has that reputation in most people’s minds now.

They are the keepers of several curses. Snuff says he was summoned by Jack & given his job, so he’s not an ordinary dog. The various ‘things’ are all scared of him, too.

Thing in the Circle
Thing in the Wardrobe
Thing in the Steamer Trunk
Things in the Mirror

Jack is digging in a cemetery, but is not the first there. The competition was there ‘last month’. Last month was when? Snuff is glad they left without getting what they wanted because that means he & Jack are probably still ahead of them in the competition. Competing for what? The ‘big bit of business’ that’s coming soon? Seems likely, but what is it? Jack needs a lot of ingredients for it, whatever it is.

1Oct:

Snuff checks on the various curses. Circle & Wardrobe talk to him, Steamer Trunk just growls & the Things in the Mirrors gibber & slither. All quiet down when Snuff gets after them. I wonder what they are?

2Oct:

Jack & Snuff get a mandrake root from the ‘place of a killing by someone else’. IOW, they do kill people. Again, we’re told that Jack has a long list of ingredients. Snuff meets Graymalk, the cat of Crazy Jill who lives on the other side of the hill. They agree that ‘it’, the competition (?) has begun & they’re in it. How does Snuff know her name & she his?

A grimalkin (also called a greymalkin) is an old or evil-looking female cat. The term stems from "grey" (the color) plus "malkin", an archaic term for a cat, derived from a hypocoristic form of the female name Maud.[1] Scottish legend makes reference to the grimalkin as a faery cat that dwells in the highlands. The term/name may first come from Beware the Cat (published 1570) by William Baldwin.[2] The novel is a story of talking cats, and part of it relates the story of the Grimalkin's death. According to its editors, the story, and thus the name, originates with Baldwin in terms of being the earliest example known in print. It is also spelled Grimmalkin or Grimolochin.During the early modern period, the name grimalkin – and cats in general – became associated with the devil and witchcraft. Women tried as witches in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries were often accused of having a familiar, frequently a grimalkin

Their talk introduces us to several other competitors:
- The owl, Nightwind, consort of Morris and MacCab.
- The Mad Monk, Rastov, with a black snake named Quicklime coiled in his stomach.

It’s interesting the way Snuff is so quick to pay his debt, which Gray puts him in when she tells him of the feather coated with mummy dust that Nightwind left to bring he & Jack bad luck. She even says she’ll take care of it for him. So he tells her of the scales that Quicklime rubbed off on their porch corner post.

Nightwind is a solid name for an owl, nothing special though, unless I'm missing something. Night Winds (1978) was the name of one of the Kane novels by Karl Wagner which contains a short story of the same name. It is somewhat Lovecraftian, so there are interesting points of congruence to the story as a whole. I think that's a stretch, though.

Quicklime or burnt lime is a caustic agent that becomes less so the longer it is exposed to air where it bonds with C02 & turns into calcium carbide. Putting it back into the furnace, reheating it, changes is back though, I think.

Rastov, the Mad Monk: The name is suggestive of another who was sometimes called the Mad Monk, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasputin

If the Mad Monk, Rastov, is indeed Rasputin, that puts the timing sometime before his death in 1916 &, since he's an adult, no earlier than the late 1880's, although this is fantasy & a fictional figure, so no guarantees, but along with the possibility of Jack the Ripper. One of the many theories about Raputin's death was that a tape worm in his stomach kept him from succumbing to the poison they gave him. Snuff describes Quicklime as a black snake that lives in the belly of the Mad Monk, so that does have certain parallels, although I thought tapeworms were white.

The first attempt on Rasputin's life was a knifing by a prostitute that left him with his entrails hanging out, but he lived through it. In the final attempt, they tried to poison, shoot, beat, & drown him, but he almost pulled a Houdini by coming out of the freezing river.

Rostov is an ecclesiastical town in Russia, but I can't find any specifics on the name's meaning, and I don't find references to the word as a personal name. Wikipedia says Ivan the Terrible "favored" the monastery at Rostov, for whatever that's worth.

Jim wrote: "Chris Kovacs is a member here & one of the editors of the Complete Works of Roger Zelazny, a 6 volume set published by NESFA. If you don't have a copy & are a Zelazny fan, you should buy one. It has a lot of explanatory notes"

Jim, don't forget there's also the expanded essay I wrote which attempts to identify all the characters. Of course it is full of spoilers and so shouldn't be read until after someone has read the book. The most recent version can be read for free in Lovecraft eZine at this link:

http://lovecraftzine.com/issues/2012-...

Chris

Chris, great essay! Thanks for providing the link and moreover for having done the research and shared it during the October A Night in the Lonesome October re-read!

Chris, make sure to mention it on the 31st, too. It's an excellent article.

3Oct:

Jack took his big knife out to get more ingredients & was pursued at the end. Snuff bit the leg of the pursuer (we don't know even the sex) to slow them down & Jack got away.

I'm always tickled how Snuff knew that Crazy Jill had been out & returned - her broom was still warm. That means she’s likely a witch. Who else travels around on a broom?.

Graymalkin is the name of the familiar of the witches in MacBeth - the Weird Sisters; Darkness, Chaos, & Conflict.

Needle is introduced, although we don't know what it is, just that it works for The Count, has such a high pitched voice that Snuff has trouble hearing it, & can fly. There's only one 'The Count' that I know of & he would have a familiar that fit the above description, probably a bat. Given the dedication to Bram Stoker & old movies, I think Count Dracula is pretty much a given.

Needle tells Snuff that the Count joined the Game 2 nights before & that Jill is still abreast of them, a way of wording that is used when folks are opposed in competition. I go the impression that Jack & Snuff had been at it longer, though. I'm not really sure when they were in the graveyard, but their competition had been 'last month' & that was mentioned in the prolog, before the 1Oct entry.


It's interesting how they share information. They trade that Morris, MacCab & Jill have found their ingredients, but don't ask directly about their own success. I guess that they have time to check on the others means they did OK.


They don't know how many players are in the Game, but now we know what the competition is – The Game. The players are either Openers or Closers, but we’re not sure which team who is on & it doesn’t seem as if they’re real sure themselves. What are they trying to open or close? Good or Bad?

4Oct:

The Thing in the Circle is still trying to tempt Snuff. Must be a demon since it wants him to break the circle that binds it. Collies are red heads? Snuff certainly is an SOB.

A large paw print near the house & a howl that says, "Lost". Not only does Snuff not know who howled, but he wasn't sure it was a dog & it put his hackles up. What could it be?

Cheeter, the squirrel, is with an old man using a scythe to harvest mistletoe. Who does this? Cheeter admits they're in the Game & it's a last minute thing. They're fairly new to the Game, but not new enough to admit which side they're on, so apparently that should be kept secret. Confusing – 2 teams, but no one knows who is allied with whom.

“The dour detective and his rotund companion were about, the latter limping from his adventure of the other night.” So Snuff bit the leg of one of their pursuers the night before. Who would pursue them? Along with the description & the dedication to Sir Arthur, I'd guess this is The Detective, Sherlock Holmes & Watson. They too came about it the late 1800's, so that fits with the other two characters, Jack the Ripper & Rasputin (aka Rastov).

Wikipedia says, "Holmes, who first appeared in publication in 1887, was featured in four novels and 56 short stories. The first story, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887 and the second, The Sign of the Four, in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two novels published in serial form appeared between then and 1927. The stories cover a period from around 1880 up to 1914." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock...

5Oct: This day starts early, rather than late. Graymalk & Snuff meet up with Nightwind & they list the players – adding some details we didn’t know – plus add another. They all seem to get along well. Still no idea who is on which side.
There has been a killing in town, as if a big, vicious dog killed the man. Graymalk though it was Snuff, but he says not. At the end of the chapter, Snuff finds another big paw print near his house, too. Graymalk says there must be ‘more of these’ meaning killings & notes that it will make people more wary before the big event – the goal they’re preparing for. She & Snuff seem to think that’s a shame. I guess because it will make their lives more difficult.
Jack the Ripper & Snuff (dog) – a notorious serial killer & his dog. While the real Springheeled Jack operated in Whitechapel in 1888, this one is operating in Soho. The former was a notorious sex district of the 19th century, the latter the same in the 20th century, so I think the discrepancy is allowable since both are in London.
(Crazy) Jill & Graymalk (cat) – A witch & her familiar. Graymalkin is the name of the familiar in MacBeth (1057). She does have a broom.
Morris & MacCab with Nightwind (owl) – who are they? Wikipedia says they’re Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, a very influential occultist who started the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He lived from 1854 to 1918, so the timing fits, as does the magic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGrego...
Personally, I think Zelazny added a big dose of Burke & Hare, the infamous West Port Murders. They operated decades earlier, around 1828, though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Por... They’re known for supplying bodies to a doctor for research. The money was good & digging them up was hard, so they just started killing off travelers who stayed at the rooming house they lived in. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “The Body Snatcher” based on this pair.
Rastov (the Mad Monk) & Quicklime (snake) – Rasputin & his tapeworm, is my guess.
Owen & Cheeter (squirrel) - we find out today that Owen is a druid according to Snuff because of the way he harvested mistletoe. A druid named Owen? Owen Glendower (his name in Shakespeare’s Henry IV part 1) was a real person, the last prince of Wales who tried to keep it free in about 1400. Shakespeare turned the historical figure into a druid & hero, sort of along the lines of Merlin, who can “call spirits from the vasty deep”.
The Good Doctor is introduced. He has a small hunchbacked assistant (Shades of Marty Feldman!) who raids cemeteries for parts & lives in a mansion that has lots of lightening rods & the odor of death around. He also laughs manically. With the dedication to Shelley & old movies, I have to conclude that this is Victor Frankenstein & Igor making the Monster. I wonder which is familiar, Igor or the Monster? Could he have more than one, just as Nightwind has 2 masters?
It was nice to get all our characters in order. I notice the dour detective & his rotund companion weren't considered as players, even though we've seen them twice.
Snuff is trying to find where everyone lives & draw lines between these places. Why? It seems to take a lot of concentration, so it must mean something.

6Oct:

The slitherers, aka Things in the Mirror, cracked their mirror, but Snuff set up a racket until Jack fetched his mundane (?) wand & transferred them to another mirror. (What’s a ‘mundane’ wand? Can a magic wand be mundane?) Apparently the old one was a Yellow Emperor mirror. That might be a reference to the "The King in Yellow", or Hastur, which is not really of the Cthulhu Mythos (at least not originally), since it is Robert W. Chambers who wrote this book (in 1895). Lovecraft, however, was very inspired by Chambers work, as were other writers of that circle, and the King in Yellow has since been used by some writers writing in the Cthulhu genre.

"Yellow Emperor" has pretty much got to be a reference to [Huangdi , but specifically to him as the main character of Jorge Luis Borges' story "The Fauna of the Mirror" (which China Mieville used as the basis for "The Tain", which is also excellent creepy Halloween reading...) [Dev, BR 2012]

Snuff is apparently seeking where the main event will take place by drawing a pattern between all the players. It’s not a simple intersection because apparently most can’t do it. The site that he & Nightwind have figured out so far doesn’t seem to be correct, but that could be because they don’t know where the Count is or if there are other players.

I love Nightwind’s comment about Graymalk, "Never trust a cat, anyway. All they're good for is stringing tennis racquets." Also the Thing in the Circle giving Snuff the ‘paw’.

6Oct:

The slitherers, aka Things in the Mirror, cracked their mirror, but Snuff set up a racket until Jack fetched his mundane (?) wand & transferred them to another mirror. (What’s a ‘mundane’ wand? Can a magic wand be mundane?) Apparently the old one was a Yellow Emperor mirror. That might be a reference to the "The King in Yellow", or Hastur, which is not really of the Cthulhu Mythos (at least not originally), since it is Robert W. Chambers who wrote this book (in 1895). Lovecraft, however, was very inspired by Chambers work, as were other writers of that circle, and the King in Yellow has since been used by some writers writing in the Cthulhu genre.

Snuff is apparently seeking where the main event will take place by drawing a pattern between all the players. It’s not a simple intersection because apparently most can’t do it. The site that he & Nightwind have figured out so far doesn’t seem to be correct, but that could be because they don’t know where the Count is or if there are other players.

I love Nightwind’s comment about Graymalk, "Never trust a cat, anyway. All they're good for is stringing tennis racquets." Also the Thing in the Circle giving Snuff the ‘paw’.

7Oct:

A lot happens tonight. As Graymalk predicted, the watch is becoming a problem. The event is referred to as the Great Work & Snuff says, “Magical rotas sometimes strike me as instructions for lunatic scavenger hunts.” I didn’t know what a ‘rota’ was, but I love the description of the lunatic scavenger hunt.

Rota (n): 1. A roll call or roster of names.
2. A round or rotation of duties.

Jack is in action as ‘The Ripper’ & the dour detective is now the ‘Great Detective’, which confirms him as Sherlock Holmes. I love Snuff’s comment, “...I inadvertently tripped his companion, whose limp had lessened his ability to avoid onrushing canines.”

Bubo, the Good Doctor's rat (The G.D. seems to have a lot of companions.), gets his name from a Greek word meaning groin. A Bubo is a swelling of the lymph nodes, found in an infection such as bubonic plague. Great name for a rat. He also tells Snuff that Nightwind keeps his, “...pinions to himself.” (Zelazny loved puns & always put at least one in every book he wrote.) Bubo shows Snuff where the Count’s home is.

Snuff says, “With midnight's chimes speech comes to me.” & proceeds to have a regular conversation with Jack. The conversation confirms they are trusted companions with Jack in charge. There is some interesting speculation about the other players’ “persuasions”, but that’s still unknown – possibly a good thing according to Snuff’s feelings. (We still don’t know which persuasion Jack & Snuff are or what they are beyond the names; Opener or Closer.) Then Snuff settles down to visit someone or something named Growler for lessons in advanced stalking, apparently psychically. He’s a dog of many talents.

I enjoyed this so much last year that I'm in for the reread. Snuff's name has me wondering this time, all I can think of is snuff the tobacco and snuff when you die, as in snuff it. Does Jill refer to anything?

Helen, all I'll say is Zelazny put at least one pun into each of his novels.

I'm glad you're joining in the read!

8Oct:

Larry Talbot, a big guy, visits Jack & Snuff. The name seems familiar, but I couldn’t place it the first time I read the book, although later I figured it out. Larry Talbot is the name of the Wolfman in the 1941 movie of that name. “Talbot glanced several times at the palm of his hand.” Why does someone do that? According to the legends, werewolves, like boys who masturbate, grow hair on the palms of their hands. That's one explanation, but in the movie, Larry saw a pentagram in his next victim’s palm. Snuff wouldn’t let Larry touch him, although he seemed to like him well enough, but he thought Larry smelled of wildness & that he knew Snuff followed him all the way home. He thinks Larry is in the Game, but doesn’t seem to have a companion. Quicklime said Larry might be his own companion, another clue since it hints at a dual nature.

Larry offers to help Jack in the Game & says he thinks he knows which side he’s on. He looks at Snuff, says he’s a good dog & "Knows how to close a door." We know the Game is composed of Openers & Closers. Are Jack, Snuff & Larry Closers? If so, what are they closing?

The Thing in the Wardrobe breaking out was exciting. I wonder how it got free & why at this particular time. Jack came armed with his knife, which he was careful not to let Larry see, not with a wand like he used on the Slitherers.

The Druid, Owen, tries to poison Snuff with a piece of meat that “reeked of exotic additives”. Quicklime tells Snuff that Graymalk was thrown in her own well by MacCab, “full of sin”. (Has ‘sin’ been mentioned before this? Considering the players we know of so far, it seems like an odd observation. All of them seem pretty evil.) Quicklime mentions this because he’s played before, although again he & Snuff don’t seem to have known each other, & he says that killing off the opposition shouldn’t start until after the ‘death of the moon’. Why not until then? How does MacCab know Jill & Graymalk are the opposition? Does that mean Jill & Graymalk are allies of Jack & Snuff? That would seem likely but, except for Larry’s comment, no one seems to know anyone’s side in the Game yet.

Snuff rescues Graymalk & they plan to check out the Count’s lair that evening. It’s only just as Snuff as leaving that Graymalk thanks him for saving her. Typical cat.

Considering my cats, who generously employ me, is say thanking anyone at all is polite for a cat. I didn't spot the significance of closing the door. I do enjoy this ritual, albeit it's only my second go.

Yeah, I saw a cartoon the other day that summed it up perfectly. Basically, a cat finds her owner left a box on the floor. It falls in love & says to its owner, "You did well, knave. I'll let you pet me later."

9Oct:

The Great Detective, his companion, Jack & Snuff all prowl the night & meet. Jack, after finishing his business of another murder, lends the Great Detective a light from his matches called vestas. The picture in the third page of the chapter is one of Sherlock Holmes. Jack is cool as can be & Snuff is intrigued by the detective’s attention to detail, which Jack passes without a problem.

Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth & home. She's symbolized by the sacred fire that burns at her temple. That would make a good brand name for matches.

Jack & Snuff meet Larry & become acquainted on a first name basis. We find out that Larry is an American. He glanced at his palm again & is a confirmed moon watcher, something Jack guessed about him. Larry has run across the Count before – can always tell when he’s around, in fact – & believes him to be an Opener type.

Snuff & Graymaulk investigated the Count's lair in the afternoon. They saw his coffin, some personal effects, & Needle hanging from the ceiling. Bubo didn't steer them wrong, but Graymalk still doesn’t trust him, probably because he’s a rat.

Snuff let Graymaulk check out the Things in the Mirror. We find out they change color when excited, are sticky – their use – & were found in a village in India, deserted due to the plague. Any ideas what they are?

Graymaulk could not return the invitation to her house. Nightwind is spying on Jack & Snuff’s house. Apparently that’s what the Players do when they have nothing better to do. That or dog/cat napery. Snuff practices the former while Jack deals with his 'ingredients'. :shudder:

How is it that I like Jack & was hoping the Great Detective didn't spot anything? That's just wrong, isn't it? Must be Snuff's way of putting things. Our dogs love us unconditionally, only see the best in us.

Jim wrote: "Yeah, I saw a cartoon the other day that summed it up perfectly. Basically, a cat finds her owner left a box on the floor. It falls in love & says to its owner, "You did well, knave. I'll let you..."

Lol. Swan Vesta matches are my favourite brand. I keep rooting for people that I shouldn't in different books. How many times have you read the book?

I've never seen Vesta matches. If I ever got some, I'd probably put them with Zelazny's books.
;-)

I have no idea how many times I've read this book. I'm kind of just skimming this year. I've read it very closely 3 years running.

This is kind of odd. I know the book was published in 1993, but if I think about it as being turned into a movie, I see it with 1960ish production values and music. Weird, eh?

10Oct:

It's a rainy day & the thing in the circle almost got out due to a leak.

Snuff returns Owen’s meat & finds that he is making 8 large baskets & 7 smaller ones. Any significance to that? We don’t really know what he looks like. For some reason, I had the picture of a tall, long haired, robust, old man, but Snuff says he is frail here. Earlier he was described as old & when he spoke, his voice was ancient.

Snuff is drawing lines as he spies on the other Players. The Good Doctor is playing with lightning from his pet storm. The Leydens probably refer to an old type of capacitor, the Leyden Jar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyden_jar
It scared the crap out of Snuff who felt he’d done enough spying in that particular place & time.

Larry has the same big paw print in his gazebo that Snuff noticed around his house. He was also talking to a plant with a huge blossom. Could this be a mariphasa plant, which is a temporary antidote to being a werewolf?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariphas...

At the Count’s place, Snuff sees a really big bat swoop in & then encounters the Count himself, who thinks Snuff is a good dog.

Yes, I could see it as kind of a retro movie. B&W mostly, like "Young Frankenstein".

The idea of Snuff, to all intents and purposes a dog, playing at being a dog made me laugh.

The matches are commonly called Swan now, re-imaging I guess.

Sorry, busy weekend. We got a puppy & have some other doggy issues.

11Oct: The Great Detective & his companion try to get Snuff to take them to his home, but he takes them to Morris & McCab's instead. I'll bet they didn't expect such sneakiness out of a dog.

Snuff runs from there to some of the others & finds their positions interesting for the pattern he is attempting to draw in his head.

12Oct: Slow day today with a very short entry, but it was amusing for all that. Nightwind dumped Quicklime in the Thames, but he survives, although has a long slither home.

The neighbors are getting anemia & Snuff is grateful that the Count doesn't do dogs.

The players & play seems to be getting rowdier.
I took Jack his slippers this evening and lay at his feet before a roaring fire while he smoked his pipe, sipped sherry, and read the newspaper. He read aloud everything involving killings, arsons, mutilations, grave robberies, church desecrations, and unusual thefts. It is very pleasant just being domestic sometimes.

I love the understatement in the entire day's log. 'pleasant being domestic', indeed! LOL!

13Oct: The Great Detective checked out Owen's place where his companion fell from a tree & injured his wrist. This investigation is not going well for Watson. Why was he checking the strength of the limbs?

Needle takes refuge with Snuff & Jack after being chased by the Vicar who is shooting crossbow bolts at him. Jack won't let the Vicar in, regardless of his moral warrant. Needle & Snuff decide that the Vicar & his posse are an obstruction & intend to warn the other players about them, with the exception of Larry.

Vicar Roberts has more description of him than most characters, “a fat little man, dundrearied, and wearingold-fashioned, square-lensed, gold-framed spectacles.”

Dundrearied: long, flowing sideburns. The drawing doesn't show that, although the cover picture does, especially if it is #4, the one I picked as Watson. But both #4 & the one with the white raven on his shoulder are pretty good sized. Could he be #8? He doesn’t look fat & I can’t see his sideburns, but he is short. What color is the vicar’s hair?

I appreciated Snuff's comment about domestic bliss too. Is the new puppy named Snuff?

No, I think we're settled on 'Pip', short for 'Pipsqueak'. He's a little Jack Russell. There's a picture here:
https://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/...

He's only about 7 weeks old but has had a tough life so far. The place he was born was a horror. I'm not sure if the boxer that carried him 1/4 mile to where the neighbor 'rescued' him was going to eat him or was saving him. She seemed like a nice enough dog & I can't say that he was in any worse straits. After a week of kicking around in 2 more homes (Getting fed once a day at one!) he came to our attention. I'm taking off work to take him to the vet's tomorrow for shots & worming, but likely he can look forward to a pretty good life from now on.

Our other dogs might tell a different story. They'd probably tell you how they have to fight for bed space & how we don't do enough with them. Lily was quite upset that I only worked in the backyard tonight (it's a mere 1/2 acre) with Pip & didn't take her for a run around the property while riding my pony, Chip.

Yeah, I'm heartless.
;-)

14Oct:
A very interesting conversation between Snuff & Graymaulk. A London police officer is dead in a field too close by for comfort, so they decide that Snuff should drag it to the river. He is unnamed, but he stopped by to see Constable Terence.

1920 was a rough year in Ireland. I’m probably going too far afield here, but I found:
Const Terence Flood, 35
Const Edward A. Noonan, 26
Died 29 September 1920
Shot dead when their police patrol was ambushed.
http://www.policememorial.org.uk/Forc...

The Vicar & his flock are making life very difficult for everyone.

In their conversation, Snuff & Graymalk list some of the players & their magical items.
- Jack - ritual knife
- Owen - sickle
- Rastov - amazing icon drawn by a mad Arab who gave up on Islam
- Jill - broom
- The Count - probably has 'the ring'
- The Good Doctor - probably has 'the bowl'
I wonder what each of these items are?

I was upset last night as the end of the chapter came too quickly. Interesting that Snuff needs to pop home to check on his rounds whilst moving the body. So who killed him...

Pip sounds lovely and what a hard start to life. I'm always surprised at how cruel our species can be. Well done you for the rescue.

Not unexpectedly, I'm having a hard time only reading one night at a time :)

Neil wrote: "Not unexpectedly, I'm having a hard time only reading one night at a time :)"

It is tough. Have you read the book before, Neil? I couldn't have done it the first or even second time.

15Oct:

A gray day, the first time we are told both about the early morning & the evening hours, I think.

Snuff makes a reference to an old wound from the zombie affair. One of the things I love about Zelazny's characters is they always have a past & usually a future well beyond the scope of the story. He drops hints like this that make me wish for other volumes.

Snuff is busy dragging the dead inspector toward the river. It's slow, tough going. He’s sore & still has a long way to go. The inspector lost a few pieces, but nothing important, according to Snuff. Yuck!

All of the characters get mentioned in this entry.
- Jack has to go out 'shopping' again. Larry anticipates his needs. The creep factor rises as Jack’s package begins to drip, but Larry just offers a towel.
- Morris is in drag on McCab's arm. bewigged, dressed like a woman, heavily rouged.
- Rastov is drinking vodka & Snuff wonders what Quicklime does at such moments, if he’s ‘internal’.
- Owen went staggering past with a pair of fellows, faces streaked with coal dust, singing something incomprehensible in Welsh. The language lends weight to him being Glendower.
- Crazy Jill & Graymaulk swoop about a couple of times.
- The Vicar is still running around with his crossbow crew.
- The Great Detective is selling pencils & looking around. He’s an eyepatched man with shaggy hair, a terrible limp, and a withered hand. Could he be the serving man, #1 in the picture?
- The Good Doctor & the Count only get brief mentions, although both of their familiars get more attention. The rat that ran by with a finger in its mouth isn’t positively Bubo, though.

Owen made 8 large baskets & 7 smaller ones. Assuming he’s making one for each player & their familiar, save for himself, the count is off. I’m not really sure how to count the Good Doctor, either. There’s 4 in that group. Larry would only have one basket, wouldn’t he? Could that be throwing Owen’s calculations off? Or is he not counting Larry or the Good Doctor? Maybe the baskets don’t have anything to do with the players, but are something else entirely?

Larry notes that everyone seems to be out & about. Jack remarks that it is about that time. Earlier he said it was, "Party time, before things start to get serious." This must be the eve of the ‘death of the moon’ we heard about on the 8th.

Jim wrote: "Neil wrote: "Not unexpectedly, I'm having a hard time only reading one night at a time :)"

It is tough. Have you read the book before, Neil? I couldn't have done it the first or even second time."

I think this is at least my fourth or fifth time through. I've convinced a couple first-time readers to join me though, and we're discussing it as we go along in parallel. Always enjoyable :)

I've found that if I do enough re-reading for the day & spend time following the clues, reading one day at a time is easier.

16Oct:

Snuff is having an awful time dragging the body. A bat, not Needle, just a ‘civilian’, was nailed to a tree by a quarrel. Quicklime is nursing the devil's own hangover from being in Rastov's stomach during his drinking binge & the slitherers are collecting in a corner & turning blue – a mystery to Snuff.

Jack & Larry have come to a better understanding. Larry seems to be a wild card since he isn't collecting defensive equipment. ‘Anticipation’ is his forte. In this case, that seems almost like precognition with his talk about influencing future events. An interesting way to put it.

Horses don’t make pies. Cows do. Horses make apples.

Crazy Jill earns her name during the police interview.

Snuff said to Graymaulk "Tomorrow it dies. No hard feelings however it turns out." I guess the moon dies & then something happens, but I'm not sure what. Could it be the declaration of opener or closer?

I'd forgotten how much of a mystery Larry was. So, the things are blue???

Does that suggest something, Helen? I've never understood what the things were or why they were kept around.

17Oct:

The first paragraph lays out a lot of important information. It's the day of the New Moon (our full moon this year) & the power will rise from this point on. This will separate the players, exposing them for what they are; openers or closers. Snuff says it may be the last night of cooperation.

What cooperation though! Jack visits a distant, isolated cemetery & it seems to be the favored spot for them all. The old watch dog is overwhelmed by the activity & grisly trading for body parts takes place. While some voices are identified, we’re left to figure out others by nationality. The Great Detective stands watch at the gate while livers, eyes, finger bones & more are tossed between the players.

Afterward, Snuff has rounds to make & more dragging to do.

I thought it seemed quite cheery in the graveyard. Visually horrific though! I have no idea what the things are but they were blue!

Oh, and the full moon here last night was beautiful.

While I'm 100% convinced it's not intentionally related, whenever the different coloured slitherers are mentioned, I think back to the "blue" cover of the The Courts of Chaos with the different coloured long-necked dragons on the cover. I imagine the slithering things more like snakes, but the image always creeps in.

My first Amber read was on with the black covers from our school library (whoever was stocking an elementary school library with Zelazny novels should be cannonized by the way!), but the first copy I ever bought in a used bookstore was this version.

I never thought to look into Zelazny's own books for the slithers, Neil! Excellent thought. I'll see if I have that cover. It might be worth flipping through the bibliography of Zelazny's Collected Works, too. That's a 7th book for the collection with color thumbnails in it.

18Oct:

Snuff gets a paw from Larry & the inspector makes it to the river. 'Wulfsark' is the term Larry uses to describe his berserk behavior when he changes involuntarily during the full moon. He's attempting better living through biology, though. Anyone know this term? It's derivation?

Larry & Snuff spy on a midnight Mass given by the Vicar. The Vicar calls on Nyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyarlath...

Google Nyarlathotep for some awesomely gross images. Looks like a bunch of tentacles with teeth.
It seems the Vicar is batting for the other team religiously with his upside down cross, black alter & disrobing parishioners. I wonder what that means as far as the Game goes, considering who our other players are. Are good & evil relevant or relative? Larry & Jack seem like pretty nice guys, but that’s from Snuff’s point of view.

The Vicar's & Larry's status as players, along with Larry's mental state are giving Snuff a fit trying to figure out where the center will be; Dog's Nest or a dark mansion, depending. He discusses this briefly & obscurely with Graymaulk, but tighter rules now apply, so they’re careful about trading information.