Thursday, February 11, 2021
Web of the City
by Harlan Ellison
This one's a sad tale of a young man trying to escape. Rusty Santoro is a high school student nurturing a dream to become an industrial designer. He's also the former leader of the Cougars gang, having left both his position and the gang itself. Both actions violate the social norms of his world. It's not a pleasant tale, but Mr. Ellison makes the city and Rusty's dilemma come to life. In the process, he evoked memories of my own youth, my dreams, and my fear of mundanity. It's definitely a novel worth checking out.
Labels: CheckItOut, HarlanEllison
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Stalking the Nightmare
by Harlan Ellison
I mentioned the introduction to this collection of stories and essays when I reviewed The Benedict Option. Of course, that planted the seed to pull this one off the shelf to read again. When I first read it back in the 1980s, I thought Harlan Ellison was one of the greatest writers ever. Thirty years later, I still think he's good, but I've read much more great literature. The stories didn't quite measure up to my memory of them. To be honest, my tastes have also changed. I still love reading along as Mr. Ellison plays with words, but I no longer find the themes enjoyable. He paints a good picture of the dark side of humanity. He doesn't seem to find much light, however, either within or from above.
Well, that was introspective. For those of you aren't as interested in my internal musings, just go ahead and read it. It's not uplifting, but it's honest, witty, and gut-felt. Worth your time and musings.
LibraryThing link
I mentioned the introduction to this collection of stories and essays when I reviewed The Benedict Option. Of course, that planted the seed to pull this one off the shelf to read again. When I first read it back in the 1980s, I thought Harlan Ellison was one of the greatest writers ever. Thirty years later, I still think he's good, but I've read much more great literature. The stories didn't quite measure up to my memory of them. To be honest, my tastes have also changed. I still love reading along as Mr. Ellison plays with words, but I no longer find the themes enjoyable. He paints a good picture of the dark side of humanity. He doesn't seem to find much light, however, either within or from above.
Well, that was introspective. For those of you aren't as interested in my internal musings, just go ahead and read it. It's not uplifting, but it's honest, witty, and gut-felt. Worth your time and musings.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, HarlanEllison
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
Phoenix Without Ashes
by Edward Bryant & Harlan Ellison
Ads for the Syfy miniseries Ascension, about a generation ship launched into space in the early 1960s, reminded me of this book, the novelization of the pilot for the series The Starlost. Actually, it's a novelization with a rather lengthy introduction by Mr. Ellison who explains why the series sucked even though he had created it. Upon rereading it, I'd have to say that the introduction is the more entertaining part.
The main story is about a generation ship, the Ark, that had been sent from Earth to save a remnant of the human race from the destruction of Earth. The Ark is a collection of biospheres, separated from each other in an attempt to preserve Earth's cultural as well as genetic diversity. Unfortunately there was an accident that killed off the crew and the multitude of communities are now drifted blissfully unaware that anything is wrong, the earth pretty much forgotten. The hero of the tale is Devon, a young man from an Amish-like community. He's a bit of a rebel, and by accident discovers an access port out of his biosphere into the ship at large. It's an interesting set up for an ongoing series, but Devon's own community is somewhat two-dimensional. 'Tis all strictness and punishment, a trope that I've come to find a bit tired.
But I suppose it will keep you occupied in the waiting room.
LibraryThing link
Ads for the Syfy miniseries Ascension, about a generation ship launched into space in the early 1960s, reminded me of this book, the novelization of the pilot for the series The Starlost. Actually, it's a novelization with a rather lengthy introduction by Mr. Ellison who explains why the series sucked even though he had created it. Upon rereading it, I'd have to say that the introduction is the more entertaining part.
The main story is about a generation ship, the Ark, that had been sent from Earth to save a remnant of the human race from the destruction of Earth. The Ark is a collection of biospheres, separated from each other in an attempt to preserve Earth's cultural as well as genetic diversity. Unfortunately there was an accident that killed off the crew and the multitude of communities are now drifted blissfully unaware that anything is wrong, the earth pretty much forgotten. The hero of the tale is Devon, a young man from an Amish-like community. He's a bit of a rebel, and by accident discovers an access port out of his biosphere into the ship at large. It's an interesting set up for an ongoing series, but Devon's own community is somewhat two-dimensional. 'Tis all strictness and punishment, a trope that I've come to find a bit tired.
But I suppose it will keep you occupied in the waiting room.
LibraryThing link
Labels: HarlanEllison, WaitingRoomMaterial
Wednesday, May 23, 2001
Approaching Oblivion
by Harlan Ellison
If I had this book in front of me, I could tell you all about it. But I don't, so I really don't know what to tell you. That's how inspiring this book has been to me. I mean, it's Ellison, so it's guaranteed to be good waiting room material at the very least. (Unless you're a SF fan who hates Ellison's guts as well as everything he's ever written.) I can tell you that I truly enjoyed reading it -- I just couldn't tell you exactly why. No one story has lodged in my memory as a reason for you to read the book. (Unlike, say, "Grail" in Stalking the Nightmare or the excellent "Jeffty is Five" from Shatterday.) So I'll be honest and not try to overrate the book by bumping it up a rating. Mr. Ellison gets plenty of good press without me.
LibraryThing link
If I had this book in front of me, I could tell you all about it. But I don't, so I really don't know what to tell you. That's how inspiring this book has been to me. I mean, it's Ellison, so it's guaranteed to be good waiting room material at the very least. (Unless you're a SF fan who hates Ellison's guts as well as everything he's ever written.) I can tell you that I truly enjoyed reading it -- I just couldn't tell you exactly why. No one story has lodged in my memory as a reason for you to read the book. (Unlike, say, "Grail" in Stalking the Nightmare or the excellent "Jeffty is Five" from Shatterday.) So I'll be honest and not try to overrate the book by bumping it up a rating. Mr. Ellison gets plenty of good press without me.
LibraryThing link
Labels: HarlanEllison, WaitingRoomMaterial
Sunday, October 08, 2000
No Doors, No Windows
by Harlan Ellison
This is a collection of stories that somewhat fit under the mystery/suspense category. Actually, I would create a subheading for many of these tales as "macho" stories. (If nothing else, Harlan Ellison exposes the futility of attempting strict categorization.) Basically, these were originally published in men's magazines in the 50's and 60's and have requisite scenes of sex and/or violence. Even so, they're all rather good, the highlights being "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" and "Tired Old Man". There's not much else to say about it. I like Ellison enough that his works are almost always going to be recommended, but this particular volume is on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
This is a collection of stories that somewhat fit under the mystery/suspense category. Actually, I would create a subheading for many of these tales as "macho" stories. (If nothing else, Harlan Ellison exposes the futility of attempting strict categorization.) Basically, these were originally published in men's magazines in the 50's and 60's and have requisite scenes of sex and/or violence. Even so, they're all rather good, the highlights being "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" and "Tired Old Man". There's not much else to say about it. I like Ellison enough that his works are almost always going to be recommended, but this particular volume is on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: HarlanEllison, OnMyShelf
Thursday, September 28, 2000
An Edge in My Voice
by Harlan Ellison
When I was a young lad, in my second decade, I discovered the speculative fiction (science fiction is too confining a label) of Harlan Ellison. I was quite taken with the man and thought him the greatest author around. Now I'm older and not quite as awed by him. I still think he's a great writer, certainly, but I no longer see him as a literary demigod -- just a man with his own gifts and passions. A man who, like the rest of us, can be wrong. An Edge in My Voice is a collection of columns written in the early 80s for Future Life, The L.A. Weekly, and The Comics Journal. (Read the book if you want a timeline of when and where each installment appeared.) The topics all fall under the category of "life in these times", which runs the gamut from politics to cookies. Rereading this collection was enjoyable in two ways (besides the obvious pleasure of reading the words of a master craftsman): first as a nostalgic remembrance of the early Reagan era, second as a glimpse of life in Los Angeles. That's a bit surprising because I have no special fondness for either L.A. or Mr. Reagan. Maybe I just like seeing life through the eyes of another. Or maybe, as I've implied, Mr. Ellison is an excellent writer. You should definitely check this out. That being said, however, I have to confess that I'm not hanging on to this volume. I no longer agree enough with Harlan to take a steady diet of his opinions and while he speaks the truth as he believes it (an admirable trait), he does not often do it with love.
LibraryThing link
When I was a young lad, in my second decade, I discovered the speculative fiction (science fiction is too confining a label) of Harlan Ellison. I was quite taken with the man and thought him the greatest author around. Now I'm older and not quite as awed by him. I still think he's a great writer, certainly, but I no longer see him as a literary demigod -- just a man with his own gifts and passions. A man who, like the rest of us, can be wrong. An Edge in My Voice is a collection of columns written in the early 80s for Future Life, The L.A. Weekly, and The Comics Journal. (Read the book if you want a timeline of when and where each installment appeared.) The topics all fall under the category of "life in these times", which runs the gamut from politics to cookies. Rereading this collection was enjoyable in two ways (besides the obvious pleasure of reading the words of a master craftsman): first as a nostalgic remembrance of the early Reagan era, second as a glimpse of life in Los Angeles. That's a bit surprising because I have no special fondness for either L.A. or Mr. Reagan. Maybe I just like seeing life through the eyes of another. Or maybe, as I've implied, Mr. Ellison is an excellent writer. You should definitely check this out. That being said, however, I have to confess that I'm not hanging on to this volume. I no longer agree enough with Harlan to take a steady diet of his opinions and while he speaks the truth as he believes it (an admirable trait), he does not often do it with love.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, HarlanEllison
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