tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2872943129821842308.post4594341863044455824..comments2024-01-23T12:58:44.852-06:00Comments on In Medias Res: Happy Halloween! with "A Night in the Lonesome October"Michelle Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776446691671444755noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2872943129821842308.post-41559496332819031652014-11-03T21:33:24.312-06:002014-11-03T21:33:24.312-06:00That's true, it didn't serve any plot poin...That's true, it didn't serve any plot point, but it was very creepy!Michelle Woodshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15776446691671444755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2872943129821842308.post-39092009622464051602014-11-03T07:50:22.283-06:002014-11-03T07:50:22.283-06:00It's because it serves no plot point that I pu...It's because it serves no plot point that I put the resurrection down to oversight. If you read the two Amber series, you'll run into a few instances where he appears to have forgotten what he's already written, but he gets slack there, since the books were written over a long course of years and he was busy dying when he did the last one. It's particularly glaring in Lonesome October because it happens over such a short period of text. If Roger didn't catch it, why didn.t the editor? malthaussennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2872943129821842308.post-54224598195276264042014-11-02T12:29:49.212-06:002014-11-02T12:29:49.212-06:00I did notice the resurrection, too...I was trying ...I did notice the resurrection, too...I was trying to defend it as part of whatever spell made them all change form. But you're likely right, it was probably an oversight. I'm glad you wanted to reread it immediately, too! I will take your advice and read straight through. Thanks for your comments!Michelle Woodshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15776446691671444755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2872943129821842308.post-15242079622007671402014-11-01T17:46:03.598-05:002014-11-01T17:46:03.598-05:00Also, this is one of very few books that, after I ...Also, this is one of very few books that, after I finished reading the first time, I turned right around and started it again. No higher praise is possible.malthaussennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2872943129821842308.post-45495918788562771792014-11-01T17:44:10.375-05:002014-11-01T17:44:10.375-05:00Possibly Zelazny's best single novel (others m...Possibly Zelazny's best single novel (others may prefer Lord of Light, which is rather different). The two adjectives that best characterize it for me are "charming" and 'lyrical." Sweet little love story (albeit unconventional), with five major plot twists in the last ten pages. Roger is at the top of his form, here.<br />The novel also gives an example of Zelazny's biggest flaw as a novelist: he's sloppy. (As an editor-in-potentia, this should interest you) In the last chapter, we find Morris and McCab slain by the Count, gratuitously resurrected barely a page later, and then dead again a few lines later. This is obviously an error, since their resurrection serves no plot purpose. I am a great fan of Zelazny's, but stuff like this makes me moan "Oh, Roger, will you please pay attention to what you're doing?" It slightly interferes with the flow of what is otherwise a terrific ending, IMO.<br />I'd recommend reading it in one or two goes, next time. The Chapter a Day routine ruins the flow.malthaussennoreply@blogger.com