Reading Zelazny is like going on a drinking binge and waking in the gutter. But among the messy people in a sad, depressing world is existential philosophy cocooned in beautiful writing. Zelazny has a knack for turning phrases—not just on the page, but in your mind.

Along with despair, there is humor: “To Perry he looked like a kid who’d been picked on in school, which over time had given him the options of suicide, junkie, criminal, or law enforcement.” Priceless.

In the end, there is satisfaction. And thankfully, some hope. All while the butterfly watches.

Available in paperback and for e-readers. On Goodreads at: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13613311-butterfly-potion.