Tuesday, October 1, 2013

October 1: A Night in the Lonesome October-fest



We open with Snuff making his rounds.

     Made the circuits.  The thing in the Circle changed shapes, finally making itself look like a lady dog of attractive person and very friendly disposition.  But I was not fooled into breaking the Circle.  It didn't have the smell part down yet.

     "Nice try," I told it.

     "You'll get yours, mutt," it said.


The first chapters are short. October first simply shows Snuff checking on the Things and then retiring.

 I went back downstairs, then passed through the library, smelling its musty volumes and incense, spices, herbs, and other interesting matters, on my way to the parlor, whence I stared out the window at the day.  Watching, of course.  That is my job.

No special insights about this chapter. I like the slow build of background and atmosphere, introducing the Things long before explaining their meaning. Snuff, as always comes across as a canine intelligence, and not merely a man in a dog suit. Zelazny really spent some effort thinking about how a dog would see the world. Snuff, be he uplifted dog or dogform demon, still has the instincts that come with that shape, and I think it's Snuff's unique perspective that contributes so much to the enduring appeal of the book.

2 comments:

  1. Boy, these first few days are gonna be rough . . . it is NOT easy to read only two pages before putting that book down.

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  2. It's interesting that you like Snuff so much when you are ambivalent about dogs in general. I think Snuff is a fantastic character, and I always thought that maybe how much I liked Snuff was influenced by the fact that I love dogs and would love to be able to speak with them.

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