Роджер Желязны: A Night in the Lonesome October

After years of unprepossessing folderol—the wearisome Nine Princes in Amber retreads are depressingly typical—Zelazny bursts forth with, well, «Victorian light supernatural fantasy just about covers it. Narrator Snuff, a guard dog who performs complex thaumaturgical calculations in his head, has many duties: to keep various Things firmly trapped in mirrors, wardrobes, and steamer trunks, to accompany his master, Jack—he of the magical blade—on weird collecting expeditions into the graveyards and slums of Victorian London, and—for a single hour each night—discuss the day s goings-on in human speech. Snuff s neighbors include: Jill the witch and her familiar, Graymalk the cat, with whom Snuff forms a friendly alliance, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Frankenstein, Dracula, a werewolf, and a satanic vicar. The witches, detectives, doctors, vampires, etc., along with their equally industrious familiars, trade information and scheme for advantage as the full moon of Halloween approaches, at that time, a magical showdown to decide the fate of the Earth will occur. Some of the characters are «openers, determined to open a magical doorway allowing the Old Gods to reoccupy the Earth, others are «closers, equally resolved to keep the magical door nailed shut, and a few are involved yet stand outside the Game altogether. Snuff s problem is to discover who is which. Sparkling, witty, delightful: Zelazny s best for ages, perhaps his best ever.