A Night in the Lonesome October

I had no idea this was a fantasy book, or what sort of book it was at all for that matter, when I picked up A Night in Lonesome October to read one evening when I was short of a good book before bed. It had stumbled onto my book shelf via my girlfriend who had picked it up from a charity book shop for me on a whim and incidentally, as I have just mentioned, I had no idea what to expect. However, what transpired was a perceptual rollercoaster ride which has stuck with me.

I most distinctly remember starting this book and thinking "well this is a rather realistic, funny and acute account of any dog's day-to-day nonsense." When all of a sudden I was confronted with the idea that the-thing-in-the-mirror was not in actuality a whimsical elaboration on a dog's habit to get caught up in conflict with his own reflection, but in fact a real and treacherous entity which the dog was required to guard for his master. Before long, and in the same twisting and unexpected fashion, I was spirited away into a world of talking animals, macabre plots, magic, suspense and deception. Each chapter brought with it new revelations which intricately bound the genres of fantasy, suspense and mystery with great story telling success, allowing the reader an experience of continual delight which will leave you welcoming the even more tantalisingly bizarre appearances of Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein and many more.

In conclusion my experience of this book is summed up by saying: Where I was, I don't know. But what I experienced there was tangible, exciting, totally unpredictable and all the more memorable for it. Highly rated and recommended.

- Dan