2023 Re-read
I was delighted to easily get this library book this year, as I have a notion to make it an annual event. I was musing about purchasing my own copy and came to realize that the edition with the wonderful James Warhola illustration is out of print. I am very disappointed, but I will make the rounds of book sales and second hand shops and cross my fingers. The cover of the more recent edition is very bland by contrast.
This year I actually checked how often the full moon falls on Halloween—every 18 or 19 years apparently. Trust Zelazny to get the details right. He includes aspects of many supernatural and occult traditions. The Count in his casket. The Good Doctor with his animated corpse stomping around. Crazy Jill with her witchery and the cat Graymalk. The Mad Monk and the Vengeful Vicar. Werewolves, potential human sacrifices, the midnight meeting around the banefire. The imaginative addition of the Great Detective and his sidekick. Not to mention the slithery Things held captive in the mirror, suggesting Lovecraft to the reader immediately without any direct reference.
I couldn't confine myself to the chapter-per-day schedule. For one thing, there's a growing list of people awaiting this library copy, but mostly because I just wanted to enjoy the story without the delay. A very enjoyable October tradition.
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