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anagraham's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
kb_208's review
4.0
Another solid collection of Ellison short stories. For the most part they are quite good and engaging and as the title suggests they are indeed stories about alienation. A few of the standout stories here are "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream", "Repent Harlequin, Says the Ticktockman", and "The Silver Corridor". Some of these are very sci-fi types and actually set in space or the future. Some are more of a trip into the deep consciousness of the troubled individuals. It's a good mix.
gsroney's review
3.0
Honestly, the quality of stories here is a real roller coaster. “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream,” and “‘Repent, Harlequinn,’ Said The Tiktokman” were stand outs.
“Jelly beans! Millions and billions of purples and yellows and greens and licorice and grape and raspberry and mint and round and smooth and crunchy outside and soft-mealy inside and sugary and bouncing jouncing tumbling clittering clattering skittering fell on the heads and shoulders and hardhats and carapaces of the Timkin works, tinkling on the slidewalk and bouncing away and rolling about underfoot and filling the sky on their way down with all the colors of joy and childhood and holidays, coming down in a steady rain, a solid wash, a torrent of color and sweetness out of the sky from above, and entering a universe of sanity and metronomic order with quite-mad coocoo newness. Jelly beans!”
“Jelly beans! Millions and billions of purples and yellows and greens and licorice and grape and raspberry and mint and round and smooth and crunchy outside and soft-mealy inside and sugary and bouncing jouncing tumbling clittering clattering skittering fell on the heads and shoulders and hardhats and carapaces of the Timkin works, tinkling on the slidewalk and bouncing away and rolling about underfoot and filling the sky on their way down with all the colors of joy and childhood and holidays, coming down in a steady rain, a solid wash, a torrent of color and sweetness out of the sky from above, and entering a universe of sanity and metronomic order with quite-mad coocoo newness. Jelly beans!”
bigenk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have become convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ellison can write extremely well. His prose style can vary from story to story, but it is always rich, detailed, and lavish. His stories always seem to have a sharp and engaging hook that rips you away from your other concerns, and focuses your attention inward on the world he creates. It was, for the most part, a joy to leapfrog from scene to scene in this anthology and wrap myself the horrors of alienation.
This is not to say that all the stories were equal in quality. Twenty stories is quite a few, and as it seems that about half of them were from the beginning of his career, it makes sense that some were unpolished, occasionally even mediocre or obviously dated/offensive. There were also times that I sensed a formulaic style to these stories, a lot of the middle-tier ones falling into the same structure and beats, with slightly difference male protagonists. Conclusions were sometimes rushed, in a way that made me feel like Ellison forgot that he had a word limit for whatever SF magazine he was writing for at the time, and suddenly had to wrap things up quickly. That being said, the floor in terms of quality in this anthology was higher than I expected, and the ceiling was tremendous.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is one of the best pieces of evocative, gripping, and horrific fiction I've read, certainly in the past year, but perhaps ever. Ellison is able to do so much with such a slim page count, which is really where he shines best. He creates a vivid and textured world, with characters that are just as believable, emotions that practically drip off the page. I see this same ability in "Repent Harlequin!" Said the Ticktock Man, The Discarded, Nothing For My Noon Meal, & Try a Dull Knife, among others.
What I especially appreciated was the strong theme of alienation and loneliness that was perhaps the one uniting factor that tied these tales together. Ellison explores one of the most relatable human emotions from so many different perspectives and styles. While most of the stories are science fiction/horror in nature, some are practically literary fiction, some pure fantasy.
As far as anthology collections go, I think this one is rather strong across the board, and contains some really excellent work that is unmarred by tons of dead weight. Very stoked to get into more of Ellison's work in the future.
This is not to say that all the stories were equal in quality. Twenty stories is quite a few, and as it seems that about half of them were from the beginning of his career, it makes sense that some were unpolished, occasionally even mediocre or obviously dated/offensive. There were also times that I sensed a formulaic style to these stories, a lot of the middle-tier ones falling into the same structure and beats, with slightly difference male protagonists. Conclusions were sometimes rushed, in a way that made me feel like Ellison forgot that he had a word limit for whatever SF magazine he was writing for at the time, and suddenly had to wrap things up quickly. That being said, the floor in terms of quality in this anthology was higher than I expected, and the ceiling was tremendous.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is one of the best pieces of evocative, gripping, and horrific fiction I've read, certainly in the past year, but perhaps ever. Ellison is able to do so much with such a slim page count, which is really where he shines best. He creates a vivid and textured world, with characters that are just as believable, emotions that practically drip off the page. I see this same ability in "Repent Harlequin!" Said the Ticktock Man, The Discarded, Nothing For My Noon Meal, & Try a Dull Knife, among others.
What I especially appreciated was the strong theme of alienation and loneliness that was perhaps the one uniting factor that tied these tales together. Ellison explores one of the most relatable human emotions from so many different perspectives and styles. While most of the stories are science fiction/horror in nature, some are practically literary fiction, some pure fantasy.
As far as anthology collections go, I think this one is rather strong across the board, and contains some really excellent work that is unmarred by tons of dead weight. Very stoked to get into more of Ellison's work in the future.
nymphicinae's review
4.0
Really interesting and disturbing set of short (and I mean really short!) stories. I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream remains brilliant, but I was pleasantly surprising by the selection of other stories. The only thing I've never liked about Harlan Ellison's writing is his uncomfortable portrayal of the women in his stories. Still a great writer, but much like with Stephen King, I just can't get behind the objectifying language used.
bev_reads_mysteries's review
3.0
Harlan Ellison is a fantastic story-teller--even when every story in a collection is not up to his usual standard (as here), his less-than-best is miles ahead of others. So, let me just qualify my star rating on this collection upfront: the three stars represent a rating on the Ellison scale, not an Ellison versus others scale. I simply could not rate this collection as highly as Shatterday or Slippage because the overall quality on the Ellison scale is not equivalent.
These twenty stories focus on man's alienation--alienation from his time, from his fellow-man, and even from himself. He is numbed by future-shock; propelled by his noblest dreams but often prevented from fulfilling them by his inadequacies and the challenges of a universe determined to hold on to its secrets. Ellison takes us into the unknown, to a place full of conflict and awe to show us the grandeur and terror of men and women facing their deepest fears--alone and unaided.
Among the most powerful stories found here are the classic "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream," the haunting "All the Sounds of Fear," and the disturbing "The Discarded" and "Eyes of Dust," as well as two versions of Ellison's take on Orwell's 1984: "Repent Harlequin Said the TicktockMan" and "Are You Listening?" Nearly as good are "Blind Lightning" and "The Time of the Eye," but unfortunately the remainder (12 stories) are all just good Ellison stories or even not-so-good. But don't forget "just good" Ellison, is pretty darn good. ★★★
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
These twenty stories focus on man's alienation--alienation from his time, from his fellow-man, and even from himself. He is numbed by future-shock; propelled by his noblest dreams but often prevented from fulfilling them by his inadequacies and the challenges of a universe determined to hold on to its secrets. Ellison takes us into the unknown, to a place full of conflict and awe to show us the grandeur and terror of men and women facing their deepest fears--alone and unaided.
Among the most powerful stories found here are the classic "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream," the haunting "All the Sounds of Fear," and the disturbing "The Discarded" and "Eyes of Dust," as well as two versions of Ellison's take on Orwell's 1984: "Repent Harlequin Said the TicktockMan" and "Are You Listening?" Nearly as good are "Blind Lightning" and "The Time of the Eye," but unfortunately the remainder (12 stories) are all just good Ellison stories or even not-so-good. But don't forget "just good" Ellison, is pretty darn good. ★★★
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
kellem's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
matthewn's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
3.5
Includes some of Ellison's best stories, but also several less impressive ones.
icameheretoread's review
4.0
I somehow found out about Harlan Ellison while looking up Margaret Atwood, don't ask. Long story short, I became obsessed with the idea of reading this man whose work so many love and hunted down this story collection which seems to feature many of his most well known stories. I won't review the stories one by one, but will agree that "Repent Harlequin" and "I Have No Mouth" are amazing pieces of work that stick with you long after the reading. Ellison's stories are less stories and more like windows into a strange world (most that you would never want to visit). He drops you in, unprepared, and you must muddle through with the character in sorting out what is happening, why, and how it will end. Sometimes the stories don't end, they just finish telling you about the bit they wanted to examine. What happens next is up to the reader (Life Hutch). I had particular love for "The Silver Corridor" and "Are You Listening?". Some were meh. I didn't feel the stories were dated, despite when they were written and the mostly futuristic settings. The ones that didn't work for me were the ones in modern settings. The longest story is only about 20-some pages, but they have a great many ideas in them, so I read about one a day. I couldn't imagine trying to plow through this in one sitting, there are too many ideas here. Overall, a great writer with great stories. Hideous cover ;)