Partners in Wonder: Stories

by Harlan Ellison

Robert Bloch, Ben Bova, Algis Budrys, Avram Davidson, Samuel R. Delany, Joe L. Hensley, Keith Laumer, William Rotsler, Robert Sheckley, Robert Silverberg, Henry Slesar, Theodore Sturgeon, A. E. Van Vogt, Roger Zelazny, and Harlan Ellison, unassisted. If you mix Ellison with wild talents like those names listed above, you have got a book as unique as the Abominable Snowperson. Here is the first collection of collaborative stories ever created, each deranged vision complete with introduction (in the patented Ellison manner) explaining how the story was written and who gets the blame. The lunatic mind of Harlan Ellison strikes again.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, Anthologies, Science Fiction Fantasy

311 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Harlan 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".

Reviews

[Craig Childs · Rating 1 out of 5]

This collection includes fourteen collaborations between Harlan Ellison and the biggest names in science fiction, both old school (Ben Bova, Robert Bloch) and New Wave (Silverberg, Zelazny, etc.) Partners in Wonder should have been a can’t-miss book. In 1971, Harlan Ellison was at the height of his popularity. He had published 20 books including a collection of groundbreaking pop culture essays (The Glass Teat) and the hugely influential award-winning Dangerous Visions anthology.

How could such a unique promising effort produce such a string of bland retread stories?

Maybe these stories played better in 1971 than they do today in 2015. Was “Brillo” considered new and cutting edge, an early progenitor of the concept that eventually led to a string of awful RoboCop movies? (Doubtful, since Asimov had already pioneered the robot detective story 15 years earlier with Caves of Steel.)

“The Song the Zombie Sang” rehashes the same thematic ground (convergence of art and technology) that Lloyd Biggle Jr had already mined with “Tunesmith”, a theme that would be dealt with again in Orson Scott Card’s much better 1979 effort “Unaccompanied Sonata”.

It is hard to imagine any era when “Street Scene” or “Up Christopher to Madness” would be considered funny, or when “Come to Me Not in Winter’s White” would not be derided as maudlin and mildly offensive.

The Ellison-Bloch collaborations-- “A Toy for Juliette” and “Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World”—together form a disjointed sequel to Bloch’s famous “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” short story. How many times can you go to the Jack-the-Ripper-is-immortal well? Bloch’s half of the story is just a throwaway fluff piece that relies on coincidence; Ellison’s half is ambitious, experimental, and overly melodramatic.

It wasn’t all bad: there were two bright spots:

“The Human Operators” – An exciting, well-crafted man vs. technology story with strong characters. Especially striking was the multiple split personalities of the evil sentient Ship. When I first read it, I thought “Wow, this is great!” but upon further reflection it was hard to ignore some of the gaping plot holes. How was it so easy for the protagonist to disable the ships? Who (or what) killed the alien in the multi-legged diving suit that was discovered on a distant planet? This story was the basis for an award-winning teleplay for The Outer Limits; the teleplay changed the ending, which was probably an improvement.

“I See a Man Sitting on a Chair, and the Chair is Biting His Leg” -- Interesting in its own right as a story of survival, but also a biting satire. It contains a great rendition of an overly-debauched futuristic Las Vegas that feels spot on. The narrative fizzles out towards the end, but this is worth the read.

Ellison has produced some great collections of short stories in his career; this is not one of them.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories that Ellison wrote over a quarter-century span in collaboration with other writers, many of them the stars of the field at the time. Though they're not what I would consider the very best of his work there are some very good ones, and it's fascinating to see the way his style blends with others. There are some very funny ones, such as the Laumer (to which both authors contributed an ending), the Rotsler (King Kong Kartoons!), and the Sheckley (which has the coolest title ever.) There are also some very good serious stories, such as the Robert Silverberg, the A.E. Van Vogt, and the Ben Bova. I believe my favorite are stories by Robert Bloch and Ellison that are not collaborative, but are sequels to Bloch's famous Jack the Ripper story, which also says something about the collaborative process. There were a few that I didn't think were very good at all, particularly the Zelazny and Delany stories, which is surprising since I had expected to enjoy them the most; perhaps their visions were too strong to mesh easily. It's a very interesting collection, though it would have been nice if the authors he close to work with had been a bit more diverse.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would consider this story collection to be but a set of historical artifacts, or perhaps an exercise in nostalgia. The science fiction owes Harlan Ellison a great debt, as he really was influential in changing the shape of the genre. However, reading these stories (primarily from the 60s or earlier) emphasizes just how much sf has evolved--ironically, in the wake of Ellison's influence.

Several of these collaborations with other giants of the genre are--as Ellison himself more-or-less admits--hardly much more than stunts. They were written essentially as challenges to see whether they could be done. Such stories suffer because they had no overriding authorial vision. A couple strain at humor; unfortunately, in a couple of cases, done by poking fun at various ethnicities. I'm sure curmudgeonly Mr. Ellison would deem that judgement too "p.c.," but a couple of characterizations--esp, in a collaboration with Keith Laumer--were downright painful. In many ways, such stories were products of their time (I could see even myself perpetrating such "youthful indiscretions"--but I'd be embarrassed by them now. I'd bury them rather than publish them to be read by a new generation.

[David Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not prime Ellison, or prime work by his collaborators either, and sometimes the introductions are more memorable than the stories. Yet even at their most larkish, the stories generally work, and Ellison's love and respect for his fellow writers is almost palpable. A curiosity, but very readable.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books by Harlan Ellison are a trip. You never know if it's a trip through Wonderland or a trip through the darkest regions of human nature, but it's a trip. Partners in Wonder (1971) takes the unpredictable Ellison and teams him up with some of the biggest names in science fiction at the time--including Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Sheckley, Ben Bova and more to produce an even more out-of-this-world trip than usual.

It was interesting to see how Ellison's style would mesh with other equally strong (and sometimes head-strong) writers. As one might expect, sometimes it worked really well and sometimes...not so much. Ellison is quite proud of all the stories (naturally), though even he admits that some of the match-ups work better than others. For instance, he tells us in the intro to "The Power of the Nail" that neither he nor Samuel R. Delaney felt that particular story was successful. (I find myself in agreement with the authors). He also tells us that a collaboration with Isaac Asimov was supposed to happen, but never quite came to fruition. Now, there's a match-up I would have liked to have read.★★★ and 3/4 for the whole collection.

My favorites are the two stories he and Robert Bloch wrote as follow-ups to Bloch's famous "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" which aren't really a collaboration so much as conversation through story. Also in the favorites:

"Runesmith" by Ellison & Theodor Sturgeon: about a man who uses his dark arts to inadvertently bring about the destruction of civilization--only to find that he's been the tool of darker forces than he realizes.

"The Human Operators" by Ellison & A. E. Van Vogt (easily the best of the stories): In which just enough men and women are kept alive by their Ships to keep the machines in repair. And as soon as they get old enough to be dangerous, they are killed off. Will humans find a way to take back control?

"The Song the Zombie Sang" by Ellison & Robert Silverbeg: In which a concert musician really outlasts his reputation.

"Come to Me Not in Winter's White" by Ellison & Roger Zelazny: A physicist who is the world's leading expert on time uses all his knowledge and resources to bend time to his will in order to save the love of his life. But will he lose her in the process?

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Bedazzlebub · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having never read Harlan Ellison before (shame on me,) this was admittedly not the best place to start. But man, what a trip.
The stories in this collection are fantastically strange and scratched my itch for weird/horror fiction while giving me a taste of science fiction from one of its masters. While a bit outdated now, they make it easy to see why Ellison was such an influence to the genre.
I will definitely be reading more of Ellison's work in the future... and Robert Sheckley, Samuel R. Delany and Robert Bloch, too.

[Phil Giunta · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an avid admirer of Harlan Ellison, I was excited to find a cache of his books in fine to excellent condition at a used bookstore late last year. It was a rare and wonderful discovery, as I hardly ever find Harlan’s backlist in such a quantity in any single location.

Partners in Wonder was one of the books I found that day. It is an anthology of collaborative stories between Harlan and some of the most famous SF and speculative fiction writers of that Golden Age such as Ben Bova, Robert Silverberg, A.E. Van Vogt, Robert Bloch, and others.

While these may not be considered the best works from Harlan or his co-conspirators—which Harlan himself admits in one instance during his brief introduction to “The Power of the Nail”—there is a wide variety of tales that demonstrate the depth and breadth of these august scribes. All told, it is an entertaining collection.

Speaking of Harlan’s introductions, each story has one and I enjoyed being regaled by his recollections of how each collaboration was born as much, if not more in some cases, than the stories themselves.

My favorites yarns in the bunch include:

I See a Man Sitting on a Chair, and the Chair is Biting His Leg - written with Robert Sheckley

Up Christopher to Madness - written with Avram Davidson

The Human Operators - written with A.E. Van Vogt

Wonderbird - written with Algis Budrys

The Song the Zombie Sang - written with Robert Silverberg

Street Scene - written with Keith Laumer

[L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What could be better than Harlan Ellison writing his sometimes dark, sometimes funny but always engaging work? Only Harlan Ellison working with other authors, equally gifted but perhaps with different takes on the world, society and fiction. Instead of nullifying each other's thoughts, the result is a fantastic synergy which takes you on a wild ride from cover to cover. The story introductions by themselves could have been published as a standalone work as they give an insight to Ellison's work, his work with other and the creative mind that has kept us all making room on our bookshelves and merrily tracking down ever more of Mr. Ellison's writings.

[solitaryfossil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of stories by Ellison in collaboration with other leading writers of the day. I enjoyed it, and even Ellison’s preface to each story was interesting. Some funny, some weird, some more space travel themed, but only one of the stories was a sort of clunker story. A good find. My favorite stories were:

The Song the Zombie Sang
The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World
Human Operators

Recommended.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this in a used bookstore around 1980 and it was my first introduction to Ellison. Some of the stories I liked very much -- "The Human Operators", "The Song The Zombie Sang", and "Brillo". A few did nothing for me at all - "Street Scene". But since my typical experience with an anthology is to like maybe one or two stories at most, I was well satisfied. Not the best of any of these authors, and dated now, but certainly worth a read.

[Ernest Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of what happens when writers get together for fun and profit. Includes the collaboration with Robert Sheckley, "I See a Man Sitting in a Chair, and the Chair is Biting his Leg," an early example of gonzo spec fic, and one of my all-time favorites. Harlan's introductions provide a tantalizing look inot the writing life that made me want to become a writer.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some awesome pairings here with Ellison working with the greats/masters of the SF genre. Most effective are the stories where he marries his sensibilities to authors more known for "Hard SF". You get he perfect blend of emotional connection to big concepts. Probably influenced Grant Morrison.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is often the case with short story collections, some were very good, some were good, and some were so/so. As is often the case with a Harlan Ellison collection, half the fun is in his commentaries about the stories.

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is usual with Ellison collections, his introductions are at least as interesting as the stories they follow. Sometimes, as in the case of “Up Christopher to Madness” with Avram Davidson the story is practically just a continuation of the intro. (It’s also one of the better stories.)

Two of the stories, “A Toy for Juliette” (Robert Bloch) and “The Prowler at the End of the World” (Ellison) are collaborations in the sense that they’re connected. Both appeared earlier in Dangerous Visions.

“Street Scene” with Keith Laumer is interesting mainly because the collaborators couldn’t agree on the ending. So they each wrote an ending and both are included. Originally, they each submitted to different publications and both versions were accepted.

My favorite of the stories, “The Song the Zombies Sang” with Robert Silverberg, is also included in The Essential Ellison.

Of the others, “Brillo” with Ben Bova is memorable because it starts with a premise similar to one of the most memorable forgotten television series of my youth, Holmes and Yoyo. A not-quite-ready-for-primetime robot is forced on an experienced cop as partner to test whether it would be useful. In both cases, albeit for very different reasons, the human cop becomes sympathetic to the robot cop’s problems. In Bova and Ellison’s story, it’s not because of any human aspects of the robot but because the robot is treated much like police officers by the city administrators, as interchangeable parts that can be turned off at will.

“Runesmith” with Theodore Sturgeon and after the manner of Cordwainer Smith postulates an end of the world caused by a would-be magician’s mistake. Somehow people have found out it was his fault, and he is constantly on the run, using his magic—probably making things worse every time—to escape, sometimes with deadly effect.

There appears to be a code in the table of contents that I don’t get. Some of the titles are listed in bold, some in all-capitals, and some in both bold and all-capitals.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a collection of collaborative stories that Harlan Ellison did with a whole swathe of sf authors (unfortunately all men, by his own admission), from Golden Age godfathers like A. E. Van Vogt to fellow alleged "New Wave"-ers like Samuel Delany. The quality varies and some of the stories just aren't sf (these are collaborations first, not bound to any particular genre).

Of particular note and worth are the collaborations with Sheckley, Bova, Bloch, Sturgeon, and Van Vogt. The ones less worthy also tend to be the ones more probably written in a druggy haze, I think.

Unfortunately, a printing error in my copy made the final two stories, including the collaboration of with Roger Zelazny, impossible to get a sense of (whole pages smeared out!), so the overall score might be lower as a result.

Worth checking out from a library, or cross referencing the stories if they appear in other collections.

[Neal Umphred · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of Harlan Ellison's collections are worth reading but each may have a story or two that will leave you cold.

[Kølin Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good, some mediocre, none that are outright awful. An easy to read collection, with some funny anecdotes about collaborative writing.

[Florence Salmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

HARLAN ELLISON, INVENTOR OF LESBIANISM. OH, WHAT A BOON YOU HAVE BESTOWED UPON THIS WRETCHED, PARTCHED LAND! REJOICE!

[bluetyson]

Partners in Wonder by Harlan Ellison (1983)

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent collection of science fiction stories written by Harlan Ellison in collaboration with fourteen prominent colleagues.

[Don Massi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Harlan Ellison, no matter who he teams with, he tells terrific stories.

[Noah Rozov · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've got my eyes on Harlan Ellison's and Theodore Sturgeon's "Runesmith" of 1970 and I've got to say that it was.. ok.