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Worlds Without End Blog

The Dark Prince of American Letters Posted at 3:52 AM by Dave Post

Dave Post

Harlan EllisonA couple weeks back I posted 20 Harlan Ellison books to WWEnd but I never got around to mentioning them in the blog.  Real life can be such a hassle.  Anyway, they’re here now so we’ve fixed that gaping hole in our coverage at last.  Mr. Ellison is famous for his short fiction (and his short temper ; ) and we’re starting to get into shorts via collections and anthologies aroud here so Ellison was a great place to start.

I’m a relative novice when it comes to Ellison but what I’ve read so far in his collections have me wanting to read more.  His stories leave me just a tad creeped out and that feeling stays with me for days.  That’s not a complaint, mind you.  Ellison makes you think.  The titular short, I Have No Mouth & I must Scream, is a prime example of his disturbing genius as is A Boy and His Dog found in Vic and Blood.   In case you missed it, Paul wrote a fun review of the film version that you should check out.

All 20 books are part of a complete set from publisher e-reads.com using the same cover art but with variations on the title colors.  They look better in person but they tend to run a little bland after a dozen or so.  Jynnantonnyx has added a bunch of the more colorful older cover art to some of the pages that fit the weird nature of the contents better than the cookie cutter covers in the new series.  Check out the arternate images for Ellison Wonderland for some examples.  Trippy.

Harlan Ellison seriesOne thing that I really like about Ellison is his flair for story titles.  I Have No Mouth & I must Scream, The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World, “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman, The City on the Edge of Forever and The Whimper of Whipped Dogs are just a few examples.

Of course, not all 20 of the new books are Ellison’s story collections.  We’ve also got two short story anthologies that he edited:  Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions.  From all accounts these are two of the best anthologies ever produced.  Says, James Blish: “There has never been a collection like this before… it will entertain, infuriate, and reward you for years.”  Take a look at the list of contributors and tell me you don’t want to read these.

If you’ve not tried Ellison before, now is a good time to start.  Ask Pete Hamil: “Harlan Ellison is the dark prince of American letters, cutting through our corrupted midnight fog with a switchblade prose. He simply must be read.”

Happy reading.

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