Rating: 
Summary: There HAS to be something in here that you'll like....
Review: Harlan Ellison is a commanding force of the short story, and the Essential Ellison is the book to read. There are so many stories in here, that even if you dislike one you can simply skip and find one you do. Also, there are some very amusing personal happenings which Ellison reports, and the book is worth reading just for those tidbits. Overall, there is probably a story in this collection for whatever mood you find yourself in.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure, Concentrated Genius!!!!!
Review: Harlan Ellison is arguably one of, if not THE, best science fiction/fantasy authors in the world.
Even his detractors must agree that he is brilliant at story construction, and his characterization is beautiful; in short, he's damn good at what he does.
This book is only a small (yes, small--probably the only case in which 1,000 pages could be called that) example of his work, but it does an excellent job of showing that brilliance.
Tracing Ellison's developement from his earliest attempts at writing (age 15) to his latest and most powerfull works, including several articles and essays by the author, The Essential Ellison is an excellent guide to a stellar career.
It also has some nice stories in it. :)
How else can i say it? READ THIS BOOK!
Buy it, check it out, borrow it but READ it.
Thank you
Rating:
Summary: an excellent collection fo stories from a great author
Review: Harlan Ellison is in many ways the quintessential author of our time. This book proves it. Paranoia, sex, megalomania, torture--all described graphically in a way few authors can manage. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is clearly the greatest short story ever written. If it doesn't scare the Hell out of you, you're not breathing. This collection is a fitting tribute to a modern literary master.
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Summary: Ellison is to our times as Dickens and Poe were to theirs.
Review: I do not regularly read ANY fiction. Ellison is the exception. There doesn't exist a work under his name that has failed to fascinate me, including the items Harlan himself declares sub-par. He is, quite simply, the greatest author America has produced in the 20th Century.
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Summary: Why are you reading this? Buy it!
Review: I was introduced to Harlan Ellison by a high school English/Literature teacher almost 25 years ago and have thanked her in my mind many times. There is no author who has challenged me, entertained me, and frightened me as much and as often as Mr. Ellison. This collection should be owned by anyone who is interested in science fiction, imaginative fiction (Ellison's term), or contemporary literature. Ellison is to the modern short story what Vincent Van Gogh was to Impressionist visual art (disturbing, yet real). Buy this volume and help make this man the star he should have been years ago when he published "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" or "Deathbird".
Rating:
Summary: There's none better
Review: I was introduced to Harlan Ellison by a high school English/Literature teacher almost 25 years ago and have thanked her in my mind many times. There is no author who has challenged me, entertained me, and frightened me as much and as often as Mr. Ellison. This collection should be owned by anyone who is interested in science fiction, imaginative fiction (Ellison's term), or contemporary literature. Ellison is to the modern short story what Vincent Van Gogh was to Impressionist visual art (disturbing, yet real). Buy this volume and help make this man the star he should have been years ago when he published "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" or "Deathbird".
Rating:
Summary: Never Far Away
Review: I've had this book for going on ten years, and rarely is there a month that goes by without me picking it up. Ellison's full range is well represented, from the earliest days up through the classics like 'the Deathbird'. Some of the best Ellison non-fiction and opinion pieces are well represented also. If you've never read Ellison, be prepared to shift your outlook on pretty much everything.
This book and the "Angry Candy" collection would tide me over on a desert island pretty well.
Rating:
Summary: This is essentail...
Review: If you've ever wondered what was missing from your science fiction writing, or any science fiction writing in general, this book holds those ideas. Ellison's works in this book, regardless if you like sci-fi or not, give the reader a little better view of everything.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Like anyone interested in science-fiction I had heard of Harlan Ellison but could never find any sort of book that would fairly summerize his talents and save me the trouble of tracking down his best stories among the many volumes available. Unfortunately this is not that book, a lot of his best stuff is in here but a lot more is still left out, notably (for me) "The Beast That Shouted Love At the Heart of the World", however if you want one volume to serve as a sort of introduction to as many sides of the author as they could cram in, this is probably your best bet. A thousand pages and not a wasted page among them, sure you get some early stuff that is just amateurish or just plain normal genre fiction, but then it's a "retrospective" and not a greatest hits package (though that would be nice too), most of the stories are good and some, like "Deathbird" or "Repent Harlequin, Said the Ticktockman" are simply mindblowing and well worth any effort made to get a hold of them. And I'm leaving out a lot more, this guy has more "awesome" stories that most people should be allowed. Even the essays and other articles are revelatory, showing the passion and fire that courses behind all his stories without the fictional settings hiding them. He's at his best when speaking plainly but he can weave a darn good yarn at the same time. Get this if you have any passing interest in the man and while it shouldn't be your only Ellison purchase, it's a good a place to start as any
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: My first introduction to Harlan Ellison was in a college course called "Alternative Political Futures" where the professor used science fiction to illustrate the concepts that underlie political science. As part of that course, we read many of the great works of science ficition, including Dune, The Left Hand of Darkness, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Ender's Game, and Childhood's End. By far, however, the most fascinating writer in the course was Harlan Ellison, and we read two of his stories, A Boy and His Dog and Repent Harlenquin Said the Ticktockman. In just a few pages of each of his stories, Ellison creates a believeable world through the use of nimble wordplay and intriguing characters. Essential Ellison demonstrates Ellison's development over the course of his career and provides a wealth of entertaining stories. Even more than the fiction, however, I enjoyed the autobiographical essays that are interspersed throughout the book. Ellison opens the window to his own personality, and he is character as vivid as any of his fictional creations. The only reason that I gave four stars instead of the unabashed five star rating is because there are several stories in this 1000+ page tome that did not catch my fancy. That's to be expected, but I struggled through about 200 pages of the overall book. Don't let that deter you - find the stories that resonate with you.
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