Harlan Ellison : The Edge of Forever

by Ellen Weil, Gary K. Wolfe

Harlan The Edge of Forever is the first book-length critical study of the short stories, novels, and TV and movie scripts of Harlan Ellison, a widely honored contemporary fantasist who has attained near legendary status in the science fiction and fantasy communities. Although Ellison has published over 1,100 short stories and several volumes of criticism and commentary since his career began in the 1950s, and is among the most widely anthologized of living writers (including Best American Short Stories ), critical attention to his work has been surprisingly sparse. This study explores all aspects of Ellison's career, examining his various stories and screenplays in the context or their times and of the genres in which he worked, from his early crime stories and gang fiction, to his much honored work in science fiction and television (including Star Trek, The Outer Limits, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), to his later mature fantasies and narrative experiments. The authors also examine Ellison's relationship to the science fiction genre, which both gave him his widest fame and entrapped him in many ways as both a writer and a public figure. Gary K. Wolfe is professor of Humanities and English and director of the Bachelor of General Studies at Roosevelt University, Chicago. Prior to becoming a successful consultant specializing in the development of corporate retiree volunteer programs, Ellen Weil taught humanities and Holocaust Studies courses at Roosevelt University and the Newberry Library in Chicago.

Genres: Science Fiction, Criticism

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jim Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harlan Ellison taught me a lot things about writing. No, I wasn't a student of his I first read Dangerous Visions was I was 19 and his introductions to the stories really turned me on to how the writing process works and how writers come up with ideas. I read as many and as much of Ellison as I could. I watched interviews with him and even the documentary Dreams with Sharp Teeth. So, I thought I knew a lot about Ellison and his work. That is until I read Harlan Ellison: The Edge of Forever. The authors bring up lesser-known works and periods in Ellison's career such as his work on men's magazines in the early 60's.

The Edge of Forever is a critical work, and it confirmed some ideas I already had about Ellison as well as bringing forth other idea that I either hadn't considered or hadn't even conjectured on.

Even if you think you know Harlan Ellison this is a book for you to read, you will see things you hadn't seen before in his work.

[David Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 30-page biography at the start is useful, and the authors flesh it out from there with chapters on his writing for SF, men's magazines and TV and with an exploration of themes in some of his better stories. His copious nonfiction is barely mentioned. A nice try at producing an overview and at taking him seriously, but the approach is a bit dry and academic for a figure as outrageous as Ellison.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If you haven't read Harlan Ellison, you haven't read." ~ Richard Halasz

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always been a fan of his and this didn't disappoint.