Rating: 
Summary: Ellison- challenging, puzzling, dynamic
Review: Harlan Ellison is one the world's great short story writers. Forget about labels, SF, fantasy, etc. He is just one of the better practitioners of this art form. He also can be one of the most infuriating, writing experimental stories that take many pages to say nothing. ANGRY CANDY is bit of both with the good outweighing the incomprehensible.
"Paladin of the Lost Hour," "Prince Myshkin," "Laugh Track," and especially "Soft Monkey" ( an incredible tale of survival in the heartless city) are all fine examples of Ellison's ability to create a variety of stories that can grip you with suspense or put a mile on your face ( a rare talent in any writer). It is the few occasions where Ellison drifts off into the bizarre; with stories like "The Region Between" or "Eidolons" where the point is...well I'm not sure where the point is; this being the problem. It is these types of stories that keep me from giving this collection the highest rating, but one thing about Ellison's writing it is never boring and it will always challenge the reader's emotions and intellect. ANGRY CANDY is another example of Ellison's ability to do both of these things magnificently.
Rating: 
Summary: INCREDIBLE!
Review: I bought this book after hearing "'Repent Harlequin', Said the Tick-Tock Man" on tape. I was NOT dissapointed! It is so good! The collection is a great example of Ellison's writing. In short, READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent... couldn't put it down.
Review: I picked up this book after reading an interview with Harlan Ellison on theonion.com. I intended to read a short story before bed every night. What a terrible idea! I was never able to stop at just one. Ususally I was disturbed enough by what I had read that I couldn't get to sleep anyway. It lead to many late nights and red-eyed mornings. Recently I picked up a copy of "Slippage" in hopes of duplicating the experience. With any luck I have many more sleepless nights to look forward to.
Rating:
Summary: A handbook for grief recovery
Review: I ready Angry Candy soon after my Father's death, and I'm sure the strength of my reaction to it was heavily influenced by that. But this book meant a tremendous amount to me in dealing with my grief. My Dad died well, he had time to make sure that there was nothing left unsaid. Perhaps that is why Angry Candy was such a great outlet for my rage that had no outlet and no real cause. Rage will turn to despair and finally to peace; only the love of friends (and I consider Angry Candy a very close friend indeed) will speed and ease the process. I strongly recommend Lou Reed's "Magic and Loss" as background music for Angry Candy. The medium is different but the emotion is the same.
Rating:
Summary: A handbook for grief recovery
Review: I ready Angry Candy soon after my Father's death, and I'm sure the strength of my reaction to it was heavily influenced by that. But this book meant a tremendous amount to me in dealing with my grief. My Dad died well, he had time to make sure that there was nothing left unsaid. Perhaps that is why Angry Candy was such a great outlet for my rage that had no outlet and no real cause. Rage will turn to despair and finally to peace; only the love of friends (and I consider Angry Candy a very close friend indeed) will speed and ease the process. I strongly recommend Lou Reed's "Magic and Loss" as background music for Angry Candy. The medium is different but the emotion is the same.
Rating: 
Summary: overrated hack
Review: i saw harlan ellison on the tom snyder show one night and listened to him rant and rave about the state of modern science fiction, that idiots and hacks were pumping out utter crap to a largely accepting and undiscerning audience. i wholeheartedly agreed with everything he had to say and thus, when, later that week, i saw this short story collection in the local used bookstore, i grabbed it, took it home and immediately began to read it. the introduction to this collection (longer than many of the stories that came later) gave me high hopes. a rant against the grim realities of life and loss, it is more insightful and meditative than any of the tales within this book, for harlan, with this collection, revealed himself to be just what he criticized on the snyder show: a hack. the stories are a mishmash of other author's styles and ideas even when harlan is at his best (Footsteps, Broken Glass, Soft Monkey, Stuffing, Quicktime, The Avenger of Death), unfunny when he tries to do one-offs (Prince Myshkin And Hold The Relish, Escapegoat) and pretentious as hell when he's at his high and mighty worst (The Region Between). before this book, my only exposure to ellison's work was City on the Edge of Forever and the book he wrote about that teleplay. Angry Candy was to be my introduction to ellison's hefty body of short and long fiction, but instead, it will be my last foray into his work.
Rating: 
Summary: Not great by any means.
Review: I'll grudgingly give this book 2 stars. This whole "on-the-edge", "experimental" story format has GOT to go. It may have been cool when he was doing it way back when, but now it just seems like he's aping himself. Come back Harlan, I know you're in there somewhere.
Rating:
Summary: GUMP'S MA NEVER TOLD 'EM 'BOUT THIS BOX OF CHOCOLATES
Review: I'm very high on Harlan. Own quite a few of his books. I wouldn't say this is my favorite collection of his--hence the four stars--but he sure can write. This time around, Harlan is going to talk to us about death. My favorite stories are--in order: Quicktime (a story about time travel and dinosaurs, very good ending, if you like dark humor.), Soft Monkey (about a female bum who witnesses a murder. Some very visual parts in there, but I never understood the title.), and With Virgul Oddum at the East Pole (whew! it's been a while since I've read that one, but it was really good at the time I read it.) I'm not saying that the other 13 stories are bad, either, just that I don't remember them too well. There was one about Death driving around town killing people or something. Then there's the weird story, The Region Between, with its black and white graphics to compliment Harlan's just as weird format for that story. Sure it's experimental, but we'd still be reading things along the lines of Bronte and Maugham if it weren't for guys like Hemingway and Ellison. By the way, the introduction to this book is very good--this is where Harlan introduced me to another great short story writer--Jorge Luis Borges. Anyway, this is a good book and well worth the green.
Rating:
Summary: One of Harlan's top 5 books in my opinion.
Review: I've always been an avid reader of Mr. Ellison's work and I would have to say this ranks as one of his top 5 book of short stories (as compared to his essays, bu thats another can of worms). From the award winning Twilight Zone episode "Paladin of the Lost Hour", Harlans compassion shines with a light that out wieghs his brass public tone. Follow that with the very funny "Prince Myshkin, and Hold the Relish" a story that just about covers the true pitfalls of time travel. And one must not forget the two true gems of this book, "Eidolons" and "The Avenger of Death". This book is a must read for anyone who thinks that there is no art to writing a short story.
Rating:
Summary: Ellison, as usual, sucker-punches us with the truth.
Review: I've known Harlan Ellison very briefly for a number of years. I first called him as a stupid young English graduate assistant, then as an angry young businessman, then met him when I was the President of a large company. Every time I talked with him, he was polite, relevant, witty, and passionate. This man cares about his books, people, the world, poverty, good writing, crime, what we do to our kids, bad government, good government, and the environment. He projects this passion in this book. He never was mean, angry, curt, or rude to me when I called him and when I met him he made it a point to sit with me at a dinner when he could have pointed himself toward more prominent people. This man loves us so much he kicks us, screams at us, and grabs our heads and puts them in the direct center of a 10,000 watt amplifier to wail that we've got to actually look at the world, care about it, fight over it, and somehow fix things. If you haven't read Harlan Ellison, you can't call yourself educated.
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