New Eldritch Tomes and A Night in Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

When I heard Roger Zelazny's last book was intended to be read one day at a time during October culminating with Halloween, I had to get me one. I am a huge Zelazny fan, not for the Amber series which seems to get a lot of press, but for works like, "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" (Hugo), This Immortal (Hugo), "The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth" (Nebula), Lord of Light (Hugo) etc. At the time I ordered it I did not realize it was a mythos tale. (Zelazny's "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai " is also a great mythos short story.) 

A Night in Lonesome October is told by a watchdog named Snuff. Snuff watches things including creatures interred in mirrors, wardrobes or steamer trunks for his master Jack. Jack is magician who also has a magic knife and a bad attitude if anyone bothers his dog. Jack and a number of other characters like The Count, or the Good Doctor, who seems to collect body parts with the help of a misshapen assistant will be quite familiar to the reader. There are also witches werewolves, Russian priests and mad vicars. All of them have converged in the countryside outside London. Most have animal companions, The witch Mad Jill has a cat called Graymalk, and there is a squirrel named Cheeter, a blacksnake named Quicklime, a rat named Bubo. All these characters are divided into two groups openers and closers although who belongs to which group is not evident at the beginning of the book. There are also other characters like a great detective whose role is not clear. I have to admit I forgot to start on the first of Oct. so I read about a third of the book in one sitting until I caught up. Then I read a day at a time, it was quite hard to wait. Most of the interactions in the book are between Snuff and the other animals, who often compare notes when they meet. Each is seeking some advantage for their side. Snuff spends a great deal of his time mentally mapping the locations of the other participants to determine one particular spot in the landscape. I loved this. As the story unfold the characters of Snuff and the other animals are fleshed out. Also some unlikely friendship are formed. I have always felt Zelazny was an autumnal writer and he captures it beautifully here. The story here is sometimes charming and whimsical, sometimes more horrific as one might expect. We even have a short trip to Lovecraft's Dreamland. Elements of the mythos increasingly seem to appear within steampunk or vice versa and while there are no dirigibles here the Victorian era, with all of it's most beloved characters including the "experiment man" are in fine form for yet another turn on the Halloween stage. I will be reading this every Oct. how could I not. 

A couple of acquisitions from PS Publishing, Mountains of Madness Revealed edited by Darrell Schweitzer 2019. I have a number of anthologies edited by Schweitzer and they have been among my favourites so I ordered his latest right away.

https://www.pspublishing.co.uk/mountains-of-madness-revealed-hardcover-edited-by-darrell-schweitzer-4895-p.asp

I have read a number of works by T.E.D. Klein, "Black Man with a Horn" and "The Events at Poroth Farm" so when Caitlin R. Kiernan mentioned this book in the introduction to her latest book, I thought I should try it

https://www.pspublishing.co.uk/the-ceremonies-trade-paperback-by-ted-klein-4424-p.asp