A Night in the Lonesome October

By: Roger Zelazny

Narrated by: Matt Godfrey

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Loyally accompanying a mysterious knife-wielding gentleman named Jack on his midnight rounds through the murky streets of London, good dog Snuff is busy helping his master collect the grisly ingredients needed for an unearthly rite that will take place not long after the death of the moon. But Snuff and his master are not alone. All manner of participants, both human and not, are gathering with their ancient tools and their animal familiars in preparation for the dread night. It is brave, devoted Snuff who must calculate the patterns of the Game and keep track of the Players—the witch, the mad monk, the vengeful vicar, the Count who sleeps by day, the Good Doctor and the hulking Experiment Man he fashioned from human body parts, and a wild-card American named Larry Talbot—all the while keeping Things at bay and staying a leap ahead of the Great Detective, who knows quite a bit more than he lets on.

Boldly original and wildly entertaining, A Night in the Lonesome October is a darkly sparkling gem, an amalgam of horror, humor, mystery, and fantasy. First published in 1993, it was Zelazny’s last book prior to his untimely death. Many consider it the best of the fantasy master’s novels. It has inspired many fans to read it every year in October, a chapter a day, and served as inspiration for Neil Gaiman’s brilliant story “Only the End of the World Again.”

©2022 Roger Zelazny (P)2022 Recorded Books

Excellent

Zelazny’s horror mystery Halloween masterpiece. The voice acting is great too. A long time favorite of mine.

Extremely cleaver and entertaining

A rare literary gem.
A book that has meaning among so many mediocre genre novels.
Recommend.

Seemed a little predictable

This story was entertaining in a low key kind of way, but it was a little predictable and anticlimactic. The interaction of the various animal characters was very conversational. However, the end was heavily foreshadowed and frankly not that exciting. There was a lot of being vague who the various characters in the story were based on, but it fairly rapidly became pretty apparent. The reader was excellent, though, and gave very characteristic voices to the individual animals.

Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!

His last book was his best for sure! The ending had me laughing hysterically. I recommend this book entirely. The narrator was enjoyable to listen to, also.

Fun

Cute Halloween story with a fun ending. I was confused most of the way but I think that is intentional to let the mystery build and gradually be revealed. Overall, a lot of fun.

Magnificent.

I love this book...and Matt Godfrey is perfect. A masterful performance! Do not hesitate. Listen.

Canine capers in the run-up to Halloween

Roger Zelany’s A Night in the Lonesome October is a whimsical tale perfect for the season. The story is related by a dog who works with ‘Jack’ who may or may not be Jack the Ripper. The place and timeframe appear to be England in the late 19th century as a ‘great’ detective (presumably Sherlock Holmes) is on the case. Jack and his dog are collecting necessary items for an activity that takes place on Halloween. There are two sides, one trying to open a door and the other trying to close it. Along the way they encounter a variety of obstacles, while the dog meets some interesting characters.

Zelazny seems to be having fun with targeted references while avoiding coming out and naming names. The dog and the other creatures (cat, bat, wolf, pack rat, etc.) steal the show and even help getting rid of bodies.

The narration is superb with excellent character and creature distinction. Pacing is brisk.

Good performance of a great book.

Excellent performance but no one reads Zelazny like Zelazny. Audible should licence the read by the author versions that already existed rather than making inferior copies.

As excellent a Zelazny story that I have ever read

Not only a great whodunit but a wonderful who will do it. With incredible personalities expertly portrayed seemingly effortlessly.

Strange and wonderful…

Macabre and inventive and with a command of both Holmsian and Lovecraftian mythos But surely it wasn’t all designed to end with that pun!