Today We Choose Faces

This is a gripping novel with an unusual scenario; as a piece of storytelling it impresses me. The mood is dark, murders are committed, there is a mysterious enemy. The protagonist has an interesting psychological journey to go through.

In some ways, I'm sufficiently impressed to give the book four stars, but I deduct a star because some of the details are less impressive. The setting feels rather like a stage set, it has a lack of substance. There are relatively few characters in play, and they feel old-fashioned, like characters from a 1950s novel, although the book was published in 1973.

There's only one substantial female character, Glenda, and her behaviour is odd and unexplained. She seems to act at the whim of the author, disregarding her own motivations. She's fond of Mr Black, who has functioned as her stepfather, but she helps and protects his enemy for no apparent reason, and reacts little when Mr Black is killed.

I read in Wikipedia that Zelazny originally placed the first part of the book at the end, as a flashback, but his editor insisted on chronological order. Of course, the story would be even more mysterious if told in reverse order, but I think I prefer it the way it is, which makes more sense.