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.
Rating: 
Summary: Why are you reading this? Buy it!
Review: One of the, if not, the best collection of shorts I've ever read
Rating:
Summary: The must-read book of the decade
Review: The Los AngelesTimes labeled him "the 20th Century Lewis Carroll." The Washington Post considers him "one of the greatest living American short story writers." He's written over 40 books and in excess of 1100 short stories, essays, reviews, articles and newspaper columns. He's received more awards for imaginative literature than any other living author. He is Harlan Ellison, and he is one of a kind. This massive (over 1000 pages) retrospective brings you the best of Harlan Ellison, encompassing fiction, essays, reviews and more. Providing the reader with "a portrait of one artist as sublime Rebel" (from the introduction), The Essential Ellison is a work of pure genius which will remain a cherished part of your collection for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: The must-read book of the decade
Review: The Los AngelesTimes labeled him "the 20th Century Lewis Carroll." The Washington Post considers him "one of the greatest living American short story writers." He's written over 40 books and in excess of 1100 short stories, essays, reviews, articles and newspaper columns. He's received more awards for imaginative literature than any other living author. He is Harlan Ellison, and he is one of a kind.
This massive (over 1000 pages) retrospective brings you the best of Harlan Ellison, encompassing fiction, essays, reviews and more. Providing the reader with "a portrait of one artist as sublime Rebel" (from the introduction), The Essential Ellison is a work of pure genius which will remain a cherished part of your collection for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Never a book better named.
Review: This book should be one of the cornerstones of a balanced science fiction library. While non-Ellison readers may be put off by Ellison's early juvenilia the book covers all the classics and provides a new perspective on one of America's most talented writers.
Well known tales, like "I have no mouth and I must scream" lie side by side with the intensely personal but totally involving "Valerie". Non-fiction and film scripts complete the picture, all complemented by supplemental text. Given the difficulty in reading the complete works of such a prolific writer the editors have done themselves proud. Pick it up and lose yourself for a day or two in the worlds of Ellison's wonderland
Rating: 
Summary: Good stuff mixed with fluff
Review: This contains some great stories, but I would hardly call the collection "essential". Some of the material is apparently included to serve some self-indulgent purpose. My conclusion from reading this book, plus some research, is that his greatest fan is himself. The real shame is that this was my introduction to his work, and I had to spend $20 on a trade paperback to decide that I'm fairly neutral on the subject of Harlan.
**Isn't there some way that this book (and all the other hardbacks/trades flooding the shelves) could be released in mass-market paperback format so that readers could sample authors in an affordable way?
Rating:
Summary: Great Stuff
Review: This is one of the best collections of a single authors work in all of SF. Ellison is one of the best writers of science fiction writing today. (I know he does not like the term science fiction. I'm writing this review though, and I like it.) Ellison has written over 1700 stories, essays, other works in his career. He has thoughts of all kinds on lots of differing topics. And there is one thing to say, he is never boring. You might disagree with Harlan Ellison, but you will be entertained and you will think after reading his thoughts. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it to one and all.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Dangerous Visions
Review: When Harlan Ellison published Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions way back in the mists of the previous century, the speculative fiction community was turned on its ear, not just once but several times. Awards and accolades were heaped upon the participants -- none more so than Harlan himself, who brought the whole thing together. When the promised final volume, The Last Dangerous Visions, failed to materialize for thirty years, accolades turned to puzzlement, accusation, invective, and anger -- almost all of it directed at Harlan, who may or may not be the proper target. I won't enter into that debate (much of it is pointless and silly, not to mention frequently absurd and childish). The only reason I bring up the whole DV mess at all is because, in rereading Essential Ellison, I find that while other writers may have produced stories worthy of inclusion in those volumes, it is Harlan himself who, for all these years, had had the truly dangerous visions. Consider the following stories, all included in this eye-opening retrospective: * "Lonelyache" -- a dark, mysterious tale of a man at the end of his emotional rope, which wallops you like a chunk of slate; * Punky and the Yale Men" -- wherein a man tries to relive the violent days of his youth; one of Harlan's most underrated stories; * "A Prayer For No One's Enemy" -- one of Harlan's most controversial tales, which puts not just anti-Semitism but all racism in its proper perspective; * "Neither Your Jenny Nor Mine" -- a harrowing story of the days of illegal abortions, absolutely riveting; * "The Resurgence of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie" -- Harlan's best-ever parable about the cannibalistic world of Hollywood; * "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" -- Harlan's delightful, delicious ode to nonconformity; * "Jeffty Is Five" -- wistful, haunting, and scary all at once, this story (like Bradbury's "The Playground") shows that eternal youth is not all it's cracked up to be; * "Mom" --Harlan could've talked Oedipus into leaving home; * "Alive and Well On a Friendless Voyage" -- existential despair as only Harlan can render it; * "A Boy and His Dog" -- I usually hate the post-apocalypse genre, but Harlan gets it right on this one; * "The Deathbird" -- my all-time favorite Ellison story, bar none, a beautifully-constructed parable about God, the Devil, and Man's true place in the universe... ...and this list just barely scratches the surface! I haven't touched upon half of the great work in this retrospective -- such as Harlan's heartfelt, sometimes touching, oftimes scathing nonfiction and essays, or the samples of his wicked sense of humor, his brilliant screenwriting, and his absolute fearlessness and honesty in the face of every sort of mendacity and double-dealing one could imagine. That said, there are some things missing from this book as well; my short list would include such gems as the brilliant "The Beast Who Shouted Love At the Heart of the World," the chilling "Croatoan," the hysterical "From A to Z, In the Chocolate Alphabet" and "How's the Night Life On Cissalda?" (my nominee for Harlan's funniest-ever story), the thought-provoking "Hitler Painted Roses" and "Lonely Women Are the Vessels of Time", and one of my favorites, the haunting "Demon With a Glass Hand". I understand an updated version of Essential Ellison s coming out soon (soon being relative when talking about Harlan and anthologies, natch), and that it will include some new things, like the stunning "Mefisto In Onyx". I can only hope some of the above stories are included as well -- and while they're at it, here's hoping Harlan and Terry Dowling decide to drop "The Man Who Was Heavily Into Revenge," which is my least-favorite of Harlan's works. It's full of the purple overwriting (some of it bordering on self-parody) which has marred so much of Ray Bradbury's latter-day stories. (Sorry, fellow Harlan fans, but I call 'em like I see 'em!) Harlan has said of Stephen King that King needs a good editor; reading "Revenge" makes me wonder if Unca Harlan shouldn't attend the mote in his own eye first. That, however, is another subject for another time. (And it's a good thing Harlan eschews computers and the Internet, or I'd be getting one hell of an e-mail from him right about now!) The Essential Ellison is what I'm talking about here, and not only is it a great introduction to Harlan's immense body of classic work, it is also one of the finest collections of writing that any American author, living or dead, has ever produced. Only Mark Twain has written as well, as volubly, and on as many topics as Harlan, and only Twain was better...and I have a feeling that only Harlan will be missed as much, and celebrated as much, over the course of the next century as Twain was over the last. Enjoy him while you can, folks -- because writers like Harlan Ellison come along about once every hundred years, and their dangerous visions are not to be taken lightly.
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