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A review by bigenk
Alone Against Tomorrow: Stories of Alienation in Speculative Fiction by Harlan Ellison
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.