Sad news. Harlan Ellison, the enfant terrible of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, a man who managed to get into arguments with virtually every major science fiction writer of his day, has passed away at age 84. Ellison tended to be a major pain in the rump to almost everyone who encountered him for more than a few minutes, but he was on Bradbury’s level of ability as a writer. Great artists can be fairly sketchy individuals and I think Ellison fit firmly into that category, although, to be fair, I suspect due to his rep more than a few of his colleagues gained some amusement in baiting him. I have read most of what he wrote, and although I was not a fan of his I recognized both the depth of his imagination and his skill at portraying beings in crisis. Well, whether he lands in Heaven, Hell or Purgatory, I would recommend enlarging the complaint department.
I think “A Boy and His Dog” has to a masterpiece of the dystopian genre, pessimism at its best (is that an oxymoron?).
He wrote two of my favorite short stories. “Jeffy is Five” and “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman”. True classics.
Although he was 180 degrees from politcally, I have read most of his work. He was a hell of a writer and was able to take you places you couldn’t have imagined. Read a story called “Croatoan” which I believe is inadvertently Pro-Life.
He wrote episodes for both Star trek and Babylon 5.
He also wrote two episodes for the original “The Outer Limits” TV show in the early 1960’s. They were “Soldier” and “Demon with a Glass Hand.” Both of them involved time travel.