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The Essential Ellison: A 50 Year Retrospective
Harlan Ellison is probably best known as a script writer for sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV series such as the original Outer Limits, The Hunger, Logan's Run, and Babylon Five. But his range is much broader than that, encompassing stories, novels, essays, reviews, reminiscences, plays, even fake autobiographies. The Essential Ellison, a special limited edition personally signed and numbered by Ellison, contains 74 unabridged works, including such classics as "A Boy and His Dog," "Xenogenesis," and "Mefisto in Onyx."
1249 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
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1351 people want to read
About the author
Harlan Ellison
1,075 books2,790 followersHarlan Jay Ellison (1934-2018) was a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays, essays, and criticism.
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
September 9, 2010
5.5 stars. Harlan Ellison is a National Treasure and I think his short ficiton should be required reading. I have not read all of the stories in this massive 1250 page tome but I have read a fair selection of Harlan's work collected here including both his very early work written wehn he was a teenager ("The Sword of Parmagon", "The Gloconda", "The Wilder One" and "The Saga of Machine Gun Joe") to some of the greatest short stories ever written ("I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream", "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" (inspired by the Kitty Genovese murder), "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin", "Paingod", "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman")....and many more.
This is a must have for any fan of Harlan's work and for anyone who is a fan of brilliant, emotional short ficiton. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
This is a must have for any fan of Harlan's work and for anyone who is a fan of brilliant, emotional short ficiton. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
February 25, 2009
As one of the deckhands who worked on the original edition of this Titanic of a collection, I can't be objective about its contents. I do know that I lobbied for some of the stories to be included, I wrote some of the introductions, and my several copies of this weigh down a number of bookshelves in my house.
There's great stuff here, and some lesser things, but it almost never stops being entertaining. As an introduction to Harlan's work, it more than succeeds.
There's great stuff here, and some lesser things, but it almost never stops being entertaining. As an introduction to Harlan's work, it more than succeeds.
October 16, 2017
This is a revised and expanded version of the 35-Year Retrospective, and contains stories and nonfiction pieces both familiar and a little obscure. I enjoyed re-reading the original pieces and savoring the newly included ones when this volume first appeared, and still take it out occasionally and read a piece or two. It's still the definitive one-volume introduction to (and summary of) his work.
February 18, 2012
great primer (and must have) for new Ellison fans. Old ones too. You'll find stories you haven't read (or re-read) in years. Get a friend a copy of your fave Ellison book, then suggest this one for more amazing stories. Better yet... he/she will either vlove or hate their first read of Harlan. You know how that goes. One is never enough!
The man has written everything from Star-trek episodes, ironic pieces, laugh out loud essays and everything in between.
He has a dark mind covering death, life, humor, biographical pieces, sci-fi, horror and general rants. You'll be engrossed, bemused and occasionally appalled by his wit, fine writing, hurt, observations, fiction, non fiction and knowledge of so many subjects.
So a warning to louis l'amour, Dan Brown, Judith Krantz readers. Also if you LOVED the Horse Whisper or Bridges of Madison County; first book I've ever> thrown against a wall upon reading the final insipid page. you may detest Ellison.
Literature: READ IT LEARN IT LIVE IT (High Five to Bradley -grin-)
A fine recommendation don't you think?
The man has written everything from Star-trek episodes, ironic pieces, laugh out loud essays and everything in between.
He has a dark mind covering death, life, humor, biographical pieces, sci-fi, horror and general rants. You'll be engrossed, bemused and occasionally appalled by his wit, fine writing, hurt, observations, fiction, non fiction and knowledge of so many subjects.
So a warning to louis l'amour, Dan Brown, Judith Krantz readers. Also if you LOVED the Horse Whisper or Bridges of Madison County; first book I've ever> thrown against a wall upon reading the final insipid page. you may detest Ellison.
Literature: READ IT LEARN IT LIVE IT (High Five to Bradley -grin-)
A fine recommendation don't you think?
July 27, 2016
Harlan Ellison is an absolute giant in the world of speculative fiction, as most people are aware. His short fiction is among the most often cited examples of how to “do it right” and, quite honestly, should be studied by all who endeavor to write well themselves. This massive collection includes over 80 pieces of his work including science fiction, horror, humor, main-stream fiction, and several rather pointed essays. That sounds like a lot of material, but with Ellison’s output of over 1700+ stories (as of 1999), it barely scratches the surface.
So how to select the proper mix of stories for such a “50 Year retrospective?” I have no idea but the editors have done a fine job in my opinion. Included are stories from Ellison’s youth, the first of which is dated 1949, as well as major classics of speculative fiction such as “I have No Mouth and I Must Scream,” “A Boy and His Dog,” “’Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” and “The Deathbird.” You’ll find the classic Ellison stories in anthologies everywhere but this volume digs deeper and allows us to take a sort of journey along his career (at least up until 2001 when this was published). We are also exposed to several essays which shed an honest light on Ellison’s rather notorious ‘mean-spiritedness.’ It’s refreshing to read his side of the story and while it’s evident that he is not a person to be bullied, his masterful ability with the written word, even in a letter to a publisher, is fascinating.
I read this collection over many months but I’ve read every bit of it now. I’ve come away with a deep appreciation for Ellison’s work as well as his approach to life. If I had to pick one piece within this collection that was most inspiring, it would not be a story at all but rather his “Introduction to ‘Tired Old Man’ “, written in 1975. It describes what Ellison, himself, considers among his favorites of his own work and describes how it came to be written, based on an apparent supernatural experience of the author’s.
A truly great collection. Highly recommended.
So how to select the proper mix of stories for such a “50 Year retrospective?” I have no idea but the editors have done a fine job in my opinion. Included are stories from Ellison’s youth, the first of which is dated 1949, as well as major classics of speculative fiction such as “I have No Mouth and I Must Scream,” “A Boy and His Dog,” “’Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” and “The Deathbird.” You’ll find the classic Ellison stories in anthologies everywhere but this volume digs deeper and allows us to take a sort of journey along his career (at least up until 2001 when this was published). We are also exposed to several essays which shed an honest light on Ellison’s rather notorious ‘mean-spiritedness.’ It’s refreshing to read his side of the story and while it’s evident that he is not a person to be bullied, his masterful ability with the written word, even in a letter to a publisher, is fascinating.
I read this collection over many months but I’ve read every bit of it now. I’ve come away with a deep appreciation for Ellison’s work as well as his approach to life. If I had to pick one piece within this collection that was most inspiring, it would not be a story at all but rather his “Introduction to ‘Tired Old Man’ “, written in 1975. It describes what Ellison, himself, considers among his favorites of his own work and describes how it came to be written, based on an apparent supernatural experience of the author’s.
A truly great collection. Highly recommended.
October 19, 2008
I am a bit biased as Ellison is one of my favorite fiction authors. There just aren't that many writers with the sheer breadth and stupefying imagination that Ellison possesses. This massive collection of his short works is nearly beyond description. It contains such a staggering number of profoundly rich stories that it absolutely blows the mind. Some of the works included, such as "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" are so disturbing they leave permanent marks. Others, like "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" draw you in so completely and really make you think.
All in all, a little something for everyone in this tome and it's a great book to have on the shelf to pull down from time to time to re-immerse yourself in his hyperimaginative bizarro worlds.
All in all, a little something for everyone in this tome and it's a great book to have on the shelf to pull down from time to time to re-immerse yourself in his hyperimaginative bizarro worlds.
Read
July 22, 2020I have become as enchanted with the person behind the words as I have been with the words themselves. I found myself learning as much about the craft and art of storytelling as I was entertained by it, and by the enigma of the wizard behind the curtain. It seems that Ellison’s personality bleeds through the words and the reader alternately recoils in horror, laughs self-consciously, feels empathy and even sympathy and then sits back wondering when the hell the cavalry is going to arrive and the battle will begin in the epic battle of Ellison against the world. In the end, though, I have nothing for respect for the man. Dude has some seriously huge cajones and I can only aspire to speak as plainly as he does without fear…or while pretending not to fear, at least.
September 14, 2007
Harlan Ellison is like an unknown precious treasure that you find in your grandmother's attic after it has been gathering dust in unbroken silence with no one to admire any of its virtues for longer than you've been alive. The Deathbird is worth the purchase price alone. It's a marvel. There are plenty of other stories that are also extraordinary, such as A Boy and His Dog and Along the Scenic Route, as well as deeply personal essays about his life experiences that are like crumbled up mint creme oreos on top of Dreyer's Heath Bar Ice Cream.
June 29, 2018
"Croatoan" was the first short story by Ellison I ever read. It burned itself on my soul and I have no regrets. Many stories rival "Croatoan" in this book: "I Have No Mouth," "The Prowler in the City," "Jeffty is Five," "The Deathbird," "'Repent, Harlequin'" and too many more to name. This book is nothing short of a treasure chest.
August 23, 2016
The first 8 stories, in the Beginnings section, were written starting when Ellison was 15. And that's all I'm saying for now because I'm only on the 3rd story and come on, he was just a kid. The progression is what's important, right :)
December 25, 2014
VIDEO VERSION:
The Essential Ellison by Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison is one of my favorite authors of all time. You like him too, you just might not know it. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has written novels and short stories and Twilight Zone episodes and Outer Limits episodes and worked on Babylon 5 and been published in magazines and newspapers composing everything from fiction to sports essays. My introduction to his writing came by way of the new Twilight Zone episodes in the 1980's and his wonderful rants and essays and commentaries in various interviews on the SciFi Channel. After that, I saw him doing promotional work on Tom Snyder for his wonderful book Mindfields and the writing in that book really solidified things for me. Since then, I've been trying to go back and read all of his previous works. Well, not all of it. The man has published over 1700 stories, most of which are out-of-print, so I'll never read all of them.
Harlan prides himself on being a writer. Not an author. Not a novelist. A writer. Plain and simple. And if you try to pigeonhole his writing into a particular genre, he'll punch you in the mouth harder than I will when you try to stick my writing into a genre. He loathes the idea of being categorized into a particular style or type of writing and his varied career of more than five decades has proven his immense diversity and worthiness of being acknowledged to writing not genres, but Harlan Ellison stories. From speculative fiction to memoirs to journalistic essays and commentaries, Harlan defies categorizing at every turn.
The best compendium of his commentaries and short stories is a massive 1200-page volume called The Essential Ellison, published by Morpheus International. Note there are two versions of The Essential Ellison. One with a yellow cover, which is a 35 year retrospective and another with a maroon cover, which is a 50 year retrospective. I obviously suggest you get the 50 year version, since it has more content.
His writing is so glorious that a majority of the more than 75 stories are quite memorable. I don't want this review to take an hour of your time, so I'll just focus on a small handful of stories that stood out the most to me. The stories which, when you read them before bed, continue to haunt you into the next afternoon.
"The Resurgence Of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie" is an exceptionally long short story. In fact, I think it may be the longest piece in the book. The story is about an old movie starlet who gets a second chance in Hollywood. I have to tell you, based on that description, this isn't the kind of story I'd ever be interested in reading. However, it's truly one of the best stories I've ever read. Not just the best Harlan Ellison story, but the best story. Period. Again, it goes back to what I tell people all the time - storytelling isn't about the story, it's about the telling. The idea for the story is boring. An old Hollywood starlet comes back to do a movie? Who cares? Who wants to read that? But Harlan tells the story so beautifully, so poetically, it has become one of my favorite stories of all time. As a writer, it's the kind of story that makes me throw the book across the bed and go, "Oh, man. Fuck this. I suck. I totally suck."
Normally, I'm very confident in my writing. I often read stories and think I could have written that just as well. For most authors, I think I could do better than that. But when a writer like Harlan is in peak form, I just think, "Damnit, I couldn't have come close to this." That's how "The Resurgence Of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie" made me feel. I couldn't have come close to writing something that beautiful and eloquent.
I don't want to give away any of the plot, but I will say, the story has a rather unexpected ending. It's certainly not a happy ending. But it isn't tragic either. Let's call it, bittersweet. That's why I love the story so much. Like life itself, it's often not sunshine and rainbows, but it's not darkness and despair either. Frequently, it's just enough to keep us afloat. We can sail blissfully along and savor the beautiful blue skies, and there may not be a hurricane on the horizon, but it does look like rain.
"The Deathbird" is a story I am horribly depressed to have discovered at this time of my life. The story was published before I was born and I wish I had read "The Deathbird" when I was 10 years old. If only the ideas in that tale could have influenced me from a gradeschool age. The story revolves around a character having to confront God at the end of the world and discovering that God has always been the war-mongering bad guy of the universe and the Devil is the benevolent creator. I'm going to admit it right now, I'm going to use that idea. A mad god. The lord of light is actually the good guy. That floored me. That idea was such a gutpunch, I'm going to have to use it in a future story of my own. I'm not some asshole plagiarizer. I'll give full credit to Harlan for the inspiration. But "The Deathbird" story really changed my life. It was an extra cog in the gears of my destiny that went - CLICK! - and slightly altered my course and I went, "Oh, wow! That was unexpected!" What if the "bad guy" of the universe had tricked all of humanity into thinking he was the good guy and he caused wars and strife and animosity to pit man against man? Such a simple idea. Such a disturbing idea. And one that utterly changes the entire course of Abrahamic religious history. Still can't believe I didn't find it when I was 10 years old. That would have been great.
One of the most disturbing stories I have ever read is "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream". For years, I have heard the title of this famous Harlan Ellison story, but I had no idea why it was so famous. People all call it a classic work of science fiction. That's a load of crap! This is a horror story! Just because it has computers in it doesn't make it science fiction. This story is straight up ghastly. I don't like horror stories. I like Twilight Zone creepy stuff. I don't like dark and terrifying. "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is dark and terrifying. So, that's just my public service announcement to people. Don't go reading this thinking it's science fiction. No. It's not. You've been lied to. This isn't science fiction. It's a total nightmare. Harlan has claimed that he wrote the story in about 6 hours and I have to give him credit. As much as I disliked the story for being unsettling and horrifying, he managed to create something in 6 hours that will be burned into my brain for the rest of my life. This is a story you will never forget. These days, many movies and books and even television shows have greatly pushed the boundaries of shock and terror. Movies especially are becoming tastelessly violent. Even by today's standards in 2014, "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is gruesome and brutal. I can't imagine the reception it must have gotten when it was originally written in 1967. When you finish the story, you will want to look at pictures of puppydogs and kittens or get laid on a tropical beach. Just something to wake you up out of the dread so you can say, "Ah, okay. Life is still beautiful. The world is a wonderful place. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts!"
I do have one criticism of "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" and since the story has been around for over 40 years, I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this, but... the story revolves around an artificial intelligence named AM torturing the last five human beings in existence, out of his hate for being confined to a prison of circuitry. So, why didn't they just give AM some legs? Right? If he was so pissed off about being entombed in circuit boards, just stick him in an android body. Problem solved!
Those three stories probably stood out for me the most. Nevertheless, there were many other stories that lingered in the mind long after I read them.
"The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" is very unsettling and has a wonderful sinister poetry to it, about a person witnessing a murder in a New York apartment complex. Perhaps the real horror of the story is how real it feels. A frightening commentary on the apathy and complacency of our culture. Humanity is truly nothing more than a pack of vicious demons parading around in clothing.
I love "Valerie: A True Memoir" because, goodness knows, I've known my share of Valerie viper ladies. Thankfully, I've never been stung so sharply as Harlan was in this real-life essay, but I could still relate.
"The Tombs" is a sobering account of his time spent in the New York City prison system. His descriptions are enough to make any law abiding citizen remain steadfast on the straight and narrow. You know those television programs where they take troubled kids and make them spend a day in prison, in order to scare them into straightening out their lives? You don't need to do all of that. Just spend an evening reading "The Tombs" and you'll achieve the same effect.
"From Alabamy, With Hate" is a true account of Harlan joining a Selma to Montgomery civil rights march in the south in 1965. The simple fact he made it out alive is worthy of this real-life essay.
"Jeffty is Five" is a story about a little boy who never ages and feels like a Twilight Zone episode I've seen, even though I know, no such episode exists. Something about the story makes it so easy to visualize, you can almost see a fuzzy 1985 copy on VHS and watch credits roll on the screen as it plays in your head.
"Neither Your Jenny Nor Mine" follows characters to Mexico for a cheap illegal abortion and was something that I'm grateful I can't relate to in any way, but the haunting quality of that tale was something you can't shake for an hour or so.
I found "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes", a story about a strangely enchanted slot machine in Vegas, to be a little predictable. But Harlan makes up for a predictable plot with gorgeous prose. As I've said many times, it's not the "story", it's the "telling", and he does tell this one so bewitchingly well.
"A Boy And His Dog" was Mad Max before Mad Max. There is a reason that "A Boy And His Dog" is considered a classic. Of course, in order to consider it a classic, you have to know what love is.
"The Museum on Cyclops Avenue" was a story I adored simply for the descriptions and the concepts of love and loss. Once again, Harlan manages to present a story idea I never imagined before. What happens when you finally meet the perfect woman, but you're not good enough for her?
"Xenogenesis" is another real-life essay, the final story in the book, and the final story I'll mention in this review. Of all the tales, this one is the most horrifying of all, because it recounts stories not only from the experiences of Harlan Ellison, but from that of other famous authors, about strange and inappropriate confrontations with psychotic fans. In all honesty, it's enough to make aspiring authors cease their aspirations. Anyone who dreams of being famous need only read "Xenogenesis" and they may begin to reconsider the price of fame. People out there are fucking lunatics!
Harlan Ellison is one of those polarizing writers. Very few people are indifferent to him; you either love him or you hate him. As with many great authors, the readers opinions of Harlan also go far in measuring the intellect of the reader in question. If you're a fucking idiot, you hate Harlan's writing. If you're reasonably intelligent, you love Harlan's writing. Certainly there remain idiot douchebags among his fans and liking Harlan is not a failsafe barometer of determining brain capacity, but it's a good yardstick to begin your investigation.
Joking aside, if you are unfamiliar with Harlan Ellison, The Essential Ellison is a fantastic introduction. This book showcases a vast diversity of his writing and among it's 1200 pages, you're treated to an excellent cross section of his prolific body of work. I love this book so much, I actually converted a copy into an ebook so I could have a backup on my Kindle. This is one I truly can't recommend enough. This is a must-have title from one of the most influential authors of our time. At the time of this review, The Essential Ellison was out-of-print. So, it may be a little difficult to find a copy. I was lucky enough to acquire one of the last new copies, direct from the publisher, for a fee slightly higher than the cover price. I now polish it with a diaper. This is the 1961 Ferrari 250GT California of books. I therefore leave you with the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."
The Essential Ellison by Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison is one of my favorite authors of all time. You like him too, you just might not know it. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has written novels and short stories and Twilight Zone episodes and Outer Limits episodes and worked on Babylon 5 and been published in magazines and newspapers composing everything from fiction to sports essays. My introduction to his writing came by way of the new Twilight Zone episodes in the 1980's and his wonderful rants and essays and commentaries in various interviews on the SciFi Channel. After that, I saw him doing promotional work on Tom Snyder for his wonderful book Mindfields and the writing in that book really solidified things for me. Since then, I've been trying to go back and read all of his previous works. Well, not all of it. The man has published over 1700 stories, most of which are out-of-print, so I'll never read all of them.
Harlan prides himself on being a writer. Not an author. Not a novelist. A writer. Plain and simple. And if you try to pigeonhole his writing into a particular genre, he'll punch you in the mouth harder than I will when you try to stick my writing into a genre. He loathes the idea of being categorized into a particular style or type of writing and his varied career of more than five decades has proven his immense diversity and worthiness of being acknowledged to writing not genres, but Harlan Ellison stories. From speculative fiction to memoirs to journalistic essays and commentaries, Harlan defies categorizing at every turn.
The best compendium of his commentaries and short stories is a massive 1200-page volume called The Essential Ellison, published by Morpheus International. Note there are two versions of The Essential Ellison. One with a yellow cover, which is a 35 year retrospective and another with a maroon cover, which is a 50 year retrospective. I obviously suggest you get the 50 year version, since it has more content.
His writing is so glorious that a majority of the more than 75 stories are quite memorable. I don't want this review to take an hour of your time, so I'll just focus on a small handful of stories that stood out the most to me. The stories which, when you read them before bed, continue to haunt you into the next afternoon.
"The Resurgence Of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie" is an exceptionally long short story. In fact, I think it may be the longest piece in the book. The story is about an old movie starlet who gets a second chance in Hollywood. I have to tell you, based on that description, this isn't the kind of story I'd ever be interested in reading. However, it's truly one of the best stories I've ever read. Not just the best Harlan Ellison story, but the best story. Period. Again, it goes back to what I tell people all the time - storytelling isn't about the story, it's about the telling. The idea for the story is boring. An old Hollywood starlet comes back to do a movie? Who cares? Who wants to read that? But Harlan tells the story so beautifully, so poetically, it has become one of my favorite stories of all time. As a writer, it's the kind of story that makes me throw the book across the bed and go, "Oh, man. Fuck this. I suck. I totally suck."
Normally, I'm very confident in my writing. I often read stories and think I could have written that just as well. For most authors, I think I could do better than that. But when a writer like Harlan is in peak form, I just think, "Damnit, I couldn't have come close to this." That's how "The Resurgence Of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie" made me feel. I couldn't have come close to writing something that beautiful and eloquent.
I don't want to give away any of the plot, but I will say, the story has a rather unexpected ending. It's certainly not a happy ending. But it isn't tragic either. Let's call it, bittersweet. That's why I love the story so much. Like life itself, it's often not sunshine and rainbows, but it's not darkness and despair either. Frequently, it's just enough to keep us afloat. We can sail blissfully along and savor the beautiful blue skies, and there may not be a hurricane on the horizon, but it does look like rain.
"The Deathbird" is a story I am horribly depressed to have discovered at this time of my life. The story was published before I was born and I wish I had read "The Deathbird" when I was 10 years old. If only the ideas in that tale could have influenced me from a gradeschool age. The story revolves around a character having to confront God at the end of the world and discovering that God has always been the war-mongering bad guy of the universe and the Devil is the benevolent creator. I'm going to admit it right now, I'm going to use that idea. A mad god. The lord of light is actually the good guy. That floored me. That idea was such a gutpunch, I'm going to have to use it in a future story of my own. I'm not some asshole plagiarizer. I'll give full credit to Harlan for the inspiration. But "The Deathbird" story really changed my life. It was an extra cog in the gears of my destiny that went - CLICK! - and slightly altered my course and I went, "Oh, wow! That was unexpected!" What if the "bad guy" of the universe had tricked all of humanity into thinking he was the good guy and he caused wars and strife and animosity to pit man against man? Such a simple idea. Such a disturbing idea. And one that utterly changes the entire course of Abrahamic religious history. Still can't believe I didn't find it when I was 10 years old. That would have been great.
One of the most disturbing stories I have ever read is "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream". For years, I have heard the title of this famous Harlan Ellison story, but I had no idea why it was so famous. People all call it a classic work of science fiction. That's a load of crap! This is a horror story! Just because it has computers in it doesn't make it science fiction. This story is straight up ghastly. I don't like horror stories. I like Twilight Zone creepy stuff. I don't like dark and terrifying. "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is dark and terrifying. So, that's just my public service announcement to people. Don't go reading this thinking it's science fiction. No. It's not. You've been lied to. This isn't science fiction. It's a total nightmare. Harlan has claimed that he wrote the story in about 6 hours and I have to give him credit. As much as I disliked the story for being unsettling and horrifying, he managed to create something in 6 hours that will be burned into my brain for the rest of my life. This is a story you will never forget. These days, many movies and books and even television shows have greatly pushed the boundaries of shock and terror. Movies especially are becoming tastelessly violent. Even by today's standards in 2014, "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is gruesome and brutal. I can't imagine the reception it must have gotten when it was originally written in 1967. When you finish the story, you will want to look at pictures of puppydogs and kittens or get laid on a tropical beach. Just something to wake you up out of the dread so you can say, "Ah, okay. Life is still beautiful. The world is a wonderful place. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts!"
I do have one criticism of "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" and since the story has been around for over 40 years, I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this, but... the story revolves around an artificial intelligence named AM torturing the last five human beings in existence, out of his hate for being confined to a prison of circuitry. So, why didn't they just give AM some legs? Right? If he was so pissed off about being entombed in circuit boards, just stick him in an android body. Problem solved!
Those three stories probably stood out for me the most. Nevertheless, there were many other stories that lingered in the mind long after I read them.
"The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" is very unsettling and has a wonderful sinister poetry to it, about a person witnessing a murder in a New York apartment complex. Perhaps the real horror of the story is how real it feels. A frightening commentary on the apathy and complacency of our culture. Humanity is truly nothing more than a pack of vicious demons parading around in clothing.
I love "Valerie: A True Memoir" because, goodness knows, I've known my share of Valerie viper ladies. Thankfully, I've never been stung so sharply as Harlan was in this real-life essay, but I could still relate.
"The Tombs" is a sobering account of his time spent in the New York City prison system. His descriptions are enough to make any law abiding citizen remain steadfast on the straight and narrow. You know those television programs where they take troubled kids and make them spend a day in prison, in order to scare them into straightening out their lives? You don't need to do all of that. Just spend an evening reading "The Tombs" and you'll achieve the same effect.
"From Alabamy, With Hate" is a true account of Harlan joining a Selma to Montgomery civil rights march in the south in 1965. The simple fact he made it out alive is worthy of this real-life essay.
"Jeffty is Five" is a story about a little boy who never ages and feels like a Twilight Zone episode I've seen, even though I know, no such episode exists. Something about the story makes it so easy to visualize, you can almost see a fuzzy 1985 copy on VHS and watch credits roll on the screen as it plays in your head.
"Neither Your Jenny Nor Mine" follows characters to Mexico for a cheap illegal abortion and was something that I'm grateful I can't relate to in any way, but the haunting quality of that tale was something you can't shake for an hour or so.
I found "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes", a story about a strangely enchanted slot machine in Vegas, to be a little predictable. But Harlan makes up for a predictable plot with gorgeous prose. As I've said many times, it's not the "story", it's the "telling", and he does tell this one so bewitchingly well.
"A Boy And His Dog" was Mad Max before Mad Max. There is a reason that "A Boy And His Dog" is considered a classic. Of course, in order to consider it a classic, you have to know what love is.
"The Museum on Cyclops Avenue" was a story I adored simply for the descriptions and the concepts of love and loss. Once again, Harlan manages to present a story idea I never imagined before. What happens when you finally meet the perfect woman, but you're not good enough for her?
"Xenogenesis" is another real-life essay, the final story in the book, and the final story I'll mention in this review. Of all the tales, this one is the most horrifying of all, because it recounts stories not only from the experiences of Harlan Ellison, but from that of other famous authors, about strange and inappropriate confrontations with psychotic fans. In all honesty, it's enough to make aspiring authors cease their aspirations. Anyone who dreams of being famous need only read "Xenogenesis" and they may begin to reconsider the price of fame. People out there are fucking lunatics!
Harlan Ellison is one of those polarizing writers. Very few people are indifferent to him; you either love him or you hate him. As with many great authors, the readers opinions of Harlan also go far in measuring the intellect of the reader in question. If you're a fucking idiot, you hate Harlan's writing. If you're reasonably intelligent, you love Harlan's writing. Certainly there remain idiot douchebags among his fans and liking Harlan is not a failsafe barometer of determining brain capacity, but it's a good yardstick to begin your investigation.
Joking aside, if you are unfamiliar with Harlan Ellison, The Essential Ellison is a fantastic introduction. This book showcases a vast diversity of his writing and among it's 1200 pages, you're treated to an excellent cross section of his prolific body of work. I love this book so much, I actually converted a copy into an ebook so I could have a backup on my Kindle. This is one I truly can't recommend enough. This is a must-have title from one of the most influential authors of our time. At the time of this review, The Essential Ellison was out-of-print. So, it may be a little difficult to find a copy. I was lucky enough to acquire one of the last new copies, direct from the publisher, for a fee slightly higher than the cover price. I now polish it with a diaper. This is the 1961 Ferrari 250GT California of books. I therefore leave you with the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."
Read
March 30, 2009Read the STOP SMILING article about Harlan Ellison:
Bless the Knowledge, Curse the Lesson: Harlan Ellison and Counsel Fight the Good Fight
By Michael Helke
When the band Metallica filed suit against Napster for providing its subscribers with access to copyright-protected music, everybody scoffed. When Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield rolled onto Napster property like a couple Caesars crossing the Rubicon, clutching a stack of names of users who downloaded the band's music, the collective yawn their action elicited could be heard from a space shuttle. Upon reflection, one understands the argument the group was making: it's hard enough for most musicians to make a living without worrying about the distribution and sale of their work being taken out of their hands. Then again, Metallica wasn't the sort of band that was idealistically placed to be making such proclamations. Considering the money they've charged their fans over the years for such items as tickets, CDs, and T-shirts (the counter-argument held), these mooks have the audacity to pick on some kid who put music on the Internet that only those with a high-speed connection can get? The public's reaction to this ham-fisted assertion of ownership rights was, "Lighten up." Apparently the only thing Caesar crossed that day was the street...
Read the STOP SMILING article...
Bless the Knowledge, Curse the Lesson: Harlan Ellison and Counsel Fight the Good Fight
By Michael Helke
When the band Metallica filed suit against Napster for providing its subscribers with access to copyright-protected music, everybody scoffed. When Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield rolled onto Napster property like a couple Caesars crossing the Rubicon, clutching a stack of names of users who downloaded the band's music, the collective yawn their action elicited could be heard from a space shuttle. Upon reflection, one understands the argument the group was making: it's hard enough for most musicians to make a living without worrying about the distribution and sale of their work being taken out of their hands. Then again, Metallica wasn't the sort of band that was idealistically placed to be making such proclamations. Considering the money they've charged their fans over the years for such items as tickets, CDs, and T-shirts (the counter-argument held), these mooks have the audacity to pick on some kid who put music on the Internet that only those with a high-speed connection can get? The public's reaction to this ham-fisted assertion of ownership rights was, "Lighten up." Apparently the only thing Caesar crossed that day was the street...
Read the STOP SMILING article...
May 7, 2020
There are many interesting things that can be said about Harlan Ellison, many of them fantastical, like the time he saved the life of a woman who was getting scammed by an internet crazy person with multiple identities, or nearly got into a spat with a video game web cartoonist. But a mouse capable of human speech once told me not to reveal the most interesting thing I know about him, at least as far as I'm involved, so I won't.
May 25, 2008
Harlan Ellison is one of my favorite writers of all time, and this collection is some of his best work. No words I can write will do the man and his work justice, but he's an American treasure, and one of the best writers of the 20th Century.
August 21, 2008
The only short stories I reread.
December 5, 2010
Amazing.
March 8, 2015
Best writer in the English language; none can compare to his voice, intelligence, and imagination. This would be the "stranded on a deserted island" book.
March 26, 2018
A mighty behemoth pleasantly slaughtered after a three-month battle.
My forearms are now larger and stronger for the effort.
My forearms are now larger and stronger for the effort.
November 13, 2025
I borrowed this enormous (3.75 lb) tome via interlibrary loan specifically so I could have a hard copy of "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" prior to playing the 90s adventure game it inspired at a Rat friend's insistence. Why? Because I didn't want to give money to the estate of the author that exhibited this behaviour while receiving a special recognition at the 2006 Hugos (among other behaviours). With the book in my hands, however, and with all the praise I'd heard for him around the 2024 posthumous publication of (the massively overdue, expected in 1979) Last Dangerous Visions anthology.
Prior to this, I had read only one of Harlan's shorts, "Jeffty is Five", on the occasion of his death after I learned that he was the scriptwriter for the classic Trek episode "City on the Edge of Forever". I was, as a youth, a big Star Trek fan and had fond memories of that episode. Apparently, Harlan did not. He wanted to distance himself from the version of the script for the episode that made it to air, the version that won the 1967 Hugo award. He is one crusty dude.
I did not care for the vast majority of his work - and virtually none of his so-called classics. His cynicism and misogyny are entirely off-putting. I found his non-fiction very interesting, however, since it gave me insight into what happened in his life that made him write this way. We learn, that he was bullied often as a child, that a neighbour had his dog killed when he was at camp, that he witnessed his father's collapse and death of a massive coronary, that he ran away and joined the circus soon after at 13, that his mother died a slow horrible death that reconnected them after years of estrangement and hard feelings. He revisits many of these experiences multiple times, and even includes thinly veiled fictional versions of them in this volume. This, for me, was the meat of this anthology.
I will praise two of the shorts found here that I've never previously heard mentioned: "The Resurgence of Miss Andle Strap Wedgie", the story based on his Hollywood experience of a fictionalized early talkie actress who is pressed out of retirement in a diner by men who remembered her sexy, vapid early years - this ends badly and I sourced my only two quotes from the 1237 pages of this volume from this story including this one, from her agent at the end:
The second, "The Song the Zombie Sang", is about a woman, an aspiring musician, who is offended by the dead music of a music made by the reanimated corpse of one of her musical heroes and has a heart to heart with him. It made me cry. But I'm a sucker for stories like this.
It was interesting to see his progress from young, derivative beginnings in the first chapter, to excellent prose, imagination and skill as he aged. It was also interesting to see him demonstrate, by publishing originals that were "unfairly" dismissed or "ruined" by publishers, why he held his grudges. The unused script - I hated it. The mangled baseball book review, I understand both his frustration, and also the paper's unwillingness to publish it unedited.
I have more to say, but little time or desire to go further in writing. Peace.
Prior to this, I had read only one of Harlan's shorts, "Jeffty is Five", on the occasion of his death after I learned that he was the scriptwriter for the classic Trek episode "City on the Edge of Forever". I was, as a youth, a big Star Trek fan and had fond memories of that episode. Apparently, Harlan did not. He wanted to distance himself from the version of the script for the episode that made it to air, the version that won the 1967 Hugo award. He is one crusty dude.
I did not care for the vast majority of his work - and virtually none of his so-called classics. His cynicism and misogyny are entirely off-putting. I found his non-fiction very interesting, however, since it gave me insight into what happened in his life that made him write this way. We learn, that he was bullied often as a child, that a neighbour had his dog killed when he was at camp, that he witnessed his father's collapse and death of a massive coronary, that he ran away and joined the circus soon after at 13, that his mother died a slow horrible death that reconnected them after years of estrangement and hard feelings. He revisits many of these experiences multiple times, and even includes thinly veiled fictional versions of them in this volume. This, for me, was the meat of this anthology.
I will praise two of the shorts found here that I've never previously heard mentioned: "The Resurgence of Miss Andle Strap Wedgie", the story based on his Hollywood experience of a fictionalized early talkie actress who is pressed out of retirement in a diner by men who remembered her sexy, vapid early years - this ends badly and I sourced my only two quotes from the 1237 pages of this volume from this story including this one, from her agent at the end:
She just sat there staring at me.
She didn't want excuses, or escape clauses, or anything I had to give. She knew I was helpless, that I was no better or worse than any of them. That I had helped kill her in the name of love.
And that the worst crimes are committed in the name of love, not hate.
The second, "The Song the Zombie Sang", is about a woman, an aspiring musician, who is offended by the dead music of a music made by the reanimated corpse of one of her musical heroes and has a heart to heart with him. It made me cry. But I'm a sucker for stories like this.
It was interesting to see his progress from young, derivative beginnings in the first chapter, to excellent prose, imagination and skill as he aged. It was also interesting to see him demonstrate, by publishing originals that were "unfairly" dismissed or "ruined" by publishers, why he held his grudges. The unused script - I hated it. The mangled baseball book review, I understand both his frustration, and also the paper's unwillingness to publish it unedited.
I have more to say, but little time or desire to go further in writing. Peace.
January 21, 2024
If you got ten people who deeply admire Ellison's work in a room, they would each come up with their own "Essential Ellison", and yet likely after some anger and banter they would come to accept this "Essential Ellison" as a pretty strong compilation of the author's best work. I'd add a couple stories and chuck a couple, but that's more an issue of taste than conviction. As for the general reader, they may or may not like what Ellison is selling here, but they would have a hard time arguing that many of these stories aren't pretty terrific as short stories go.
More than most writers of the short forms (short story, novella, novelette) Ellison herein has a singular testament to his intelligence, skill, and passion. Taken all for all, we are unlikely to look upon his like again. The day of the "star" short form writer is no more.
More than most writers of the short forms (short story, novella, novelette) Ellison herein has a singular testament to his intelligence, skill, and passion. Taken all for all, we are unlikely to look upon his like again. The day of the "star" short form writer is no more.
April 11, 2021
Although Harlan Ellison was a beautiful writer, I found it difficult at times to suspend my disbelief (a crucial step when reading anything remotely surreal). I found this sensation intriguing and pushed through the entirety of the book, but when I got to the end, I still didn't feel as though I had learned anything other than just how angry this man was at the world. Don't get me wrong, the writing is flawless, the imagery quite stimulating, but aren't we all a little tired of hearing an angry man's perspective?
To sum this book up in a nutshell, it is eclecticism, it is pain, and it is honest. I just didn't care too much for what his honesty actually had to say. A matter of perspective I suppose.
To sum this book up in a nutshell, it is eclecticism, it is pain, and it is honest. I just didn't care too much for what his honesty actually had to say. A matter of perspective I suppose.
Read
January 5, 2022Pretty good intro to Ellison: It covers fiction, media essays, and screenplays - all areas in which Ellison was a master. Important addition to the libraries of curmudgeons, misanthropes, and those who march to the distant beats of their own ocarina players.
March 29, 2025
An excellent collection of fifty years of short stories written by harlan ellison. Quite a few are from his past 35th edition but it's still a great selection for any reader to start their harlan journey.
June 24, 2023
Read:
From A to Z, in the Chocolate Alphabet - 2/5
Hour 25 - 3/5
On the Slab - 3/5
From A to Z, in the Chocolate Alphabet - 2/5
Hour 25 - 3/5
On the Slab - 3/5
November 24, 2024
A perfect collection of Harlans work.
May 30, 2025
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (1967): 4* [2025-05-29]
December 27, 2014
An absolutely essential collection for anyone who's a fan of Harlan Ellison, and more importantly for anyone who hasn't taken the chance on reading Ellison so far. One of my all-time favorite story collections! EXPANDED REVIEW: Speaking of Harlan Ellison...this collection is, quite simply, one of my favorite story collections of all time. Harlan Ellison is most frequently associated with the science fiction and fantasy genres, despite his desire to be considered a mainstream writer. In the real world, Ellison has a reputation for being feisty and acerbic and for taking "nothing from nobody". That "angry" attitude frequently comes through in his short fiction. Some of the stories in this collection pack the emotional punch of a pile driver, while others are merely whimsical or wry in nature. Ellison can, at times, be something of an acquired taste. But if you've never sampled his works before, I highly recommend that you give this collection your undivided attention. I dare any reader not to be touched in some way by "One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty" or "Paladin of the Last Hour". In addition to many of his most classic short stories or novellas, several of of Ellison's essays and/or columns also appear in this volume, and are excellent examples of his work in those formats. This expanded review was done for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts...
August 7, 2012
Harlan Ellison is one of the most engaging authors I have had a chance to read. While not all his works hit me the same way and in the same level of depth and raw emotional response, his stories always generate some feeling, some emotion. This collection, a massive 50 year retrospective, runs the gambit of the responses it generates. Ellison is one part specualtive fiction author, one part social commentator, and one part entropy generator, but all that combines into one heck of a showman of the English language. From the relationship humor of "Prince Myshkin, and Hold the Relish" in which he details how some people just aren't good in any relationships to the unique tale presented in "Soft Monkey" to the classic "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream", this collection should be seen as the corner stone of works science fiction dreamers should read. While Ellison's works are not for everyone, I can guarantee that this collection, massive and vital as it is, will have something for everyone... humor, heart, agony, and a host of other conditions of the human spirit are chronicled in detail in Ellison's retrospective, and we are all the better for this collection existing.
April 28, 2012
Okay, so maybe I could do without the interviews or the stuff from early in his career (including his first published work at 14 during the pulp era). But all the masterpieces that make him the top American short story writer ever are here. If you haven't read "Repent Harlequin, said the Ticktockman" or "A Boy and His Dog," you are not sufficiently educated in literature. Many other gems here. Hysterical humor, chilling horror, wild fantasy, cool speculation, great social commentary--not always in the same story, but certainly as a collection. Read this.
May 8, 2007
This man has (had?) a fascinating eye vis a vis storytelling. I can picture sitting round the campfire in a deep black forest no sky in sight only the heightened red and yellow flickering pulling the darkness through the upper branches of the trees teasing it out while the leaves flutter in the air and Ellison is telling me a story and I can't figure out when to feel scared or if to be scared, hypnotized...
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