A Night in the Lonesome October is a novel written by Roger Zelazny in 1993, near the end of his life. It is often a point of contention for those wishing to categorize his writings by quality - Zelazny's fans often disagree vehemently over whether the book is a sub-standard example of his work, or his last spark of genius. Indeed, the book seems to polarize opinion - most readers seem to either love it or hate it. Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 - June 14, 1995) was a United States writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels. ...

The book is divided in 32 chapters, each representing one "night" in the month of October (plus one "introduction" chapter). Moreover, the story is told in the first-person, akin to journal entries. Throughout, 33 full-page illustrations by Gahan Wilson (one per chapter, plus one on the inside back cover) punctuate a tale heavily influenced by H. P. Lovecraft. Gahan Wilson (born February 18, 1930) is an author, cartoonist, and illustrator in the United States. ... H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy and horror fiction, noted for giving horror stories a science fiction framework. ...

Plot

A Night in the Lonesome October is narrated from the present-tense point-of-view of Snuff - Jack the Ripper's pet dog. The bulk of the story takes place in London and its environs, though at one point the story detours through the dream-world described by Lovecraft in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Though never explicitly stated, various contextual clues within the story (the most obvious of which being the appearance of Sherlock Holmes (or "The Great Detective")) imply that it takes place during the late Victorian period (more specifically, the last 15 years of the 19th century, possibly even 1888 itself). Jack the Ripper is the pseudonym given to an unidentified serial killer active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area of London, England in the second half of 1888. ... The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. ... Statue of Sherlock Holmes at Meiringen, Switzerland Sherlock Holmes (born 1854, according to William S. Baring-Gould) is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who made his first published appearance in 1887. ...

It is revealed as the story progresses that once 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 either 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. A Great Old One is a type of fictional deity in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ...

The various "Players" during the Game depicted in the book are archetypal characters from Victorian Era gothic fiction - Jack the Ripper (only ever referred to as "Jack"), Dracula ("The Count"), Victor Frankenstein ("The Good Doctor"), and the Wolf Man (amusingly known as "Larry Talbot") all make appearances. In addition, there is a Witch ("Crazy Jill"), a Druid ("Owen"), a "Mad Monk" ("Rastov" - clearly modeled after Rasputin), and Hermetic occultists ("Morris and McCab" - often mentioned as a reference to real-life Hermetic of the time MacGregor Mathers). Bela Lugosi as Dracula; U.S. postage stamp first issued in 1997 as part of a series celebrating Famous Movie Monsters Dracula (1897) is a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, and the namesake of the worlds most famous vampire character. ... Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. ... The Wolf Man is a 1941 horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner, starring Lon Chaney Jr, Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Bellamy, Patrick Knowles, Bela Lugosi, and Maria Ouspenskaya. ... This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ... Arch-Druid in his full Judicial Costume (1845 etching) In Celtic polytheism the word Druid denotes the priestly class in ancient Celtic societies, which existed through much of Western Europe north of the Alps and in the British Isles. ... Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (Russian: Григо́рий Ефи́мович Распу́тин) (January 23, 1871 – December 16, 1916 (O.S.)) was a Russian mystic with an influence in the later days of Russias Romanov dynasty. ... Hermes Trismegistus depicted as Caucasian in a medieval rendering. ... Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers, in Egyptian costume, performs a ritual of Isis in the rites of the Golden Dawn. ...

The most unusual aspect of the story is that each Player has a "Familiar" - an animal companion with near-human intelligence which helps complete the numerous preparations required to be ready for the ritual on the final night. The vast majority of the story describes the interactions and discussions of these animals, from the point of view of Jack's dog. In witchcraft, a familiar spirit, commonly called familiar (from Middle English familiar, related to family) is a spirit who obeys a witch, conjurer, etc. ...

Throughout the book, the Players slowly take sides (Opener or Closer), form alliances, make deals, oppose one another, and even kill off those who are part of the enemy camp. Events, slow-moving at first, accelerate until the night of October 31st, when the ritual takes place and the fate of the world is decided.