[Review] — Harlan Ellison's "GREATEST HITS"

Available to buy on *Paperback and *Kindle.
Find it on Goodreads and Books2Read. 
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I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the GREATEST HITS by Harlan Ellison Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book

A collection of award-winning short stories by Harlan Ellison, an eight-time Hugo Award winner, five-time Bram Stoker Award winner, and four-time Nebula Award winner.

As one of the great writers of speculative fiction of the twentieth century, Harlan Ellison shaped the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres.  This inventive and provocative collection of his best-known and most-acclaimed stories is a perfect treasury for old Ellison fans as well as readers discovering this zany, polyphonic writer for the first time. 

Featuring these stories and many more: 

• “‘Repent, Harlequin,’ Said the Ticktockman” — Hugo Award winner
• “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” — Bram Stoker Award winner
• “Mefisto in Onyx” — Bram Stoker Award winner
• “Jeffty Is Five” — British Fantasy Award winner
• “Shatterday” — Twilight Zone episode
• “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs” — Edgar Allan Poe Award winner
• “Paladin of the Lost Hour” — Hugo Award winner, Twilight Zone episode

 
A must-read for sci-fi book lovers and fans of Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Isaac Asimov, this career-spanning compilation of classic short stories is also perfect for readers who enjoyed Dangerous Visions, A Boy and His Dog, or other Harlan Ellison books.

 

Billy's Review

I'm a big Star Trek and Twilight Zone fan, so I was beyond excited when I heard about the GREATEST HITS, a short collection by the late great science fiction writer Harlan Ellison, who also wrote the classic Star Trek episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever." (Note: There's the Ellison-Robbenberry feud that's too long and complicated to go into here; look it up yourself; I'm not explaining it.)

The collection is a beginner's introduction to Harlan Ellison's writings. The stories are "Repent, Harlequin," Said the Ticktockman (1966), I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1967), The Deathbird (1974), Chatting with Anubis (1995), The Whimper of Whipped Dogs (1973), Jeffty Is Five (1977), Pretty Maggie Mooney (1967), Shatterday (1980), Mefisto in Onyx (1993), On the Downhill Side (1972), Paladin of the Lost Hour (1986), The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (1969), I'm Looking for Kadak (1974), How Interesting: A Tiny Man (2010), Djinn, No Chaser (1983), How's the Night Life on Cissalda? (1977), From A to Z, in the Chocolate Alphabet (1976), and Eidolons (1989).

Wait a minute. There's one more story. Technically, it is a novella with no science fiction elements, titled "All the Lies that Are My Life." Ellison is writing less about himself with the character Jimmy Crowstairs.

The creator of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski, edited the book and penned a short preface. Neil Gaiman (author of DC's Sandman, American Gods, and Coraline) wrote the forward, and Cassandra Khaw (author of Nothing but Blackened Teeth) penned the introduction.

At nearly 500 pages, GREATEST HITS is not easy to finish in one sitting; it took me a few days to read. Each story is written in a comprehensible manner; I took time to consider the implicit meanings concealed in each one as I read it. Paladin of the Lost Hour and Shatterday, both of which were turned into Twilight Zone episodes in the 1980s, are my two favorites in the collection. The remaining stories are all tied for third place. Yes, the tales are that good. Sure, some of them are a little antiquated, but they are still enjoyable to read. ╌★★★★★

 

About Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison (1934–2018) is a legend of the SFF, horror, and speculative fiction genres. His published works include more than 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, comic book scripts, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. Ellison won numerous awards, including multiple Hugos, Nebulas, and Edgars. Many of Ellison’s short stories have been adapted into a variety of formats, including television episodes of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. 

 

About J. Michael Straczynski

J. Michael Straczynski is an American writer and television producer who works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist, and author of The Complete Book of Scriptwriting. He was the creator and showrunner for the science fiction TV series Babylon 5 and, from 2001 to 2007, the writer for the long-running Marvel comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man.

 

Giveaway Details

1 winner will receive a finished copy of GREATEST HITS, US Only.

Ends April 9th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

Week One:

3/25/2024	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
3/25/2024	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt
3/26/2024	The Momma Spot	Excerpt
3/26/2024	Comic Book Yeti	Excerpt/IG Post
3/27/2024	jlreadstoperpetuity	IG Post
3/27/2024	@darkfantasyreviews	Excerpt
3/28/2024	Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer	Review/IG Post
3/28/2024	@dana.loves.books	IG Review/TikTok Post
3/29/2024	@shangread_la	IG Review
3/29/2024	Lifestyle of Me	Review

 Week Two:

4/1/2024	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
4/1/2024	nerdophiles	Review
4/2/2024	@stargirls.magical.tale	IG Review
4/2/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
4/3/2024	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post
4/3/2024	@sparks_books	IG Review
4/4/2024	spoonie.reads	IG Review
4/4/2024	@enthuse_reader	IG Review/TikTok Post
4/5/2024	Books and Zebras	IG Review
4/5/2024	Two Points of Interest	Review/IG Post