| ||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Paingod and Other Delusions for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
'"Repent, Harlequin" said the Tick Tock Man' is a story every bit as good as it's title - and I think that the title is a real peach. In about 3000 words he describes a dystopia where society is ruthlessly regimented by the clock. If you are five minutes late for an appointment, you lose five minutes off your life. The Tick Tock Man (or the Master Timekeeper, to call him by his official title) rules with a ruthless efficiency, and relentlessly tracks down the Harlequin, the ultimate non-conformist who refuses to be on time and who ingeniously disrupts the smooth running of this soulless society. If you have read 1984, you will know what happens- but there is a lovely twist at the end, which I won't spoil by giving away. The story may sound daft but it works and works beautifully. His imagination is unique. His aim is true. In Paingod, another classic, he tries to explain why there is so much pain in the world and why it is so necessary. There are other glories here: 'The Discarded', 'The Crackpots' and 'Deeper Than Darkness.' All worth your perusal. Each story is preceded by a short introduction that is as readable, entertaining and lively as the stories.
Ellison is a wonderful writer who doesn't deserve the neglect that has befallen him. Buy this book and maybe -yes, just maybe! - it will encourage some enterprising publisher to reprint such essential collections as Strange Wine, Deathbird Stories, Alone Against Tomorrow, and Approaching Oblivion. Why Ellison isn't one of the most popular men of American letters utterly baffles me. He is as good as the best and better than most.
This 1965 collection contains eight short stories, each with their own introduction by the author. In addition there are two introductions to the collection, the original introduction plus a newer one written in 1974. In 150 odd pages Ellison conjoures a number of worlds and characters, and takes the reader on journeys and adventures that will stick in your mind like splinters giving you cause to think more carefully about events and situations you may have idly brushed off before.
Despite Repent, Harlequin, Said the Ticktockman being generally considered as one of his finest works, my personal favourite in this collection was The Crackpots, a story that looks at the line between sanity and madness and asks "So which side am I on really?"
Later stories in this book, such as "Bright Eyes" (1964) and "Repent, Harlequin!..." (1965) are more accomplished and controlled in this regard. I can still read them with considerable pleasure. "Deeper Than the Darkness" has a lot that can be said for it, too, but one must look past some of the pulp-sf crudities that I alluded to above.
The title story, "Paingod," is an interesting attempt that I don't think comes off entirely. A pretty good read, nevertheless.
So you get the picture: the book is a mixed bag, but an interesting one. The stories are often moving, because Ellison felt strongly about the issues embodied, and communicated it effectively. And the book is historically interesting, because it points the way to his later fiction.
Is the book up to the level of quality to be found in his later books, such as _Shatterday_ or _Angry Candy_? No, but that doesn't make it bad. If memory serves, Ellison was 31 when _Paingod_ appeared. The late Theodore Sturgeon wrote an appreciative review at the time where he recognized Ellison's promise on the basis of this book. Neither Sturgeon's probity nor his perspicacity are in doubt because of it. :-)
All in all, the book is worth reading if you're an aficionado of speculative fiction. Ten years ago, I might have said that some of these stories had become dated in a bad way. The cycle of world events seems to have swung back around, and the stories seem (to use a very '60s word) _relevant_ again. :-]
'"Repent, Harlequin" said the Tick Tock Man' is a story every bit as good as it's title - and I think that the title is a real peach. In about 3000 words he describes a dystopia where society is ruthlessly regimented by the clock. If you are five minutes late for an appointment, you lose five minutes off your life. The Tick Tock Man (or the Master Timekeeper, to call him by his official title) rules with a ruthless efficiency, and relentlessly tracks down the Harlequin, the ultimate non-conformist who refuses to be on time and who ingeniously disrupts the smooth running of this soulless society. If you have read 1984, you will know what happens- but there is a lovely twist at the end, which I won't spoil by giving away. The story may sound daft but it works and works beautifully. His imagination is unique. His aim is true. In Paingod, another classic, he tries to explain why there is so much pain in the world and why it is so necessary. There are other glories here: 'The Discarded', 'The Crackpots' and 'Deeper Than Darkness.' All worth your perusal. Each story is preceded by a short introduction that is as readable, entertaining and lively as the stories.
Ellison is a wonderful writer who doesn't deserve the neglect that has befallen him. Buy this book and maybe -yes, just maybe! - it will encourage some enterprising publisher to reprint such essential collections as Strange Wine, Deathbird Stories, Alone Against Tomorrow, and Approaching Oblivion. Why Ellison isn't one of the most popular men of American letters utterly baffles me. He is as good as the best and better than most.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
