Short Stories

Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits

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  • Create Date：2024-03-31 07:20:32
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Harlan Ellison
  • ISBN：B0CM4KZ45P
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Summary

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。

Harlan Ellison’s work shaped the science-fiction， fantasy， and horror genres in the 20th century， and this 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
• “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs” - Edgar Allan Poe Award winner

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Reviews

arc ，

Harlan Ellison would sometimes show up at small， independent bookstores， sit behind a desk （conveniently and prominently placed in the display window）， place his typewriter on it and start hammering away。 He would complete entire stories there， sometimes with a premise offered up by the store's patrons。 He was showing off， yes: Showing off his ability， his need， to write。 It was a need fed by a well of energy that never dried。 His creativity was practically boundless。 These are just some of the Harlan Ellison would sometimes show up at small， independent bookstores， sit behind a desk （conveniently and prominently placed in the display window）， place his typewriter on it and start hammering away。 He would complete entire stories there， sometimes with a premise offered up by the store's patrons。 He was showing off， yes: Showing off his ability， his need， to write。 It was a need fed by a well of energy that never dried。 His creativity was practically boundless。 These are just some of the fruits plucked from that always-ripe tree。 Savor them。Savor the wit， the humor， the sly grin you can see in your mind's eye， as he leans in close to tell you a joke about the human condition。 And then， when he's got his arm around your shoulder， got you chuckling， off guard。。。he'll tear your heart out。 Not to be cruel。 But to make you hurt， just like he hurts。 Violence in an Ellison story isn't there to thrill you， or to sicken you - its there to make you feel。 To feel for the person getting hurt。 To maybe， just maybe， make you step outside yourself for just one moment， and know the cold terror of what we do to ourselves。There is a reason so many authors you most likely already know loved him。 Neil Gaiman wrote the foreword， for example。 Consider taking the time to find out why。 This book is a fine start。 。。。more

Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer ，

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 a 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。 ╌★★★★★ 。。。more

Diane Hernandez ，

Greatest Hits is a collection of award-winning short stories by the great twentieth century science fiction writer， Harlan Ellison。If you are jaded and think you have read every plot imaginable， read some Harlan Ellison。 The man was completely bonkers！ His stories are totally original。 They do take some getting used to。 These plots are not the space soap operas of Robert Heinlein or the science-based ideas of Isaac Asimov。 Nope， these stories were gonzo fantasies before that sub-genre was even i Greatest Hits is a collection of award-winning short stories by the great twentieth century science fiction writer， Harlan Ellison。If you are jaded and think you have read every plot imaginable， read some Harlan Ellison。 The man was completely bonkers！ His stories are totally original。 They do take some getting used to。 These plots are not the space soap operas of Robert Heinlein or the science-based ideas of Isaac Asimov。 Nope， these stories were gonzo fantasies before that sub-genre was even invented。 4 stars！Thanks to Union Square & Co。 and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book。 。。。more

Silver Screen Videos ，

Anytime a collection purports to contain an author’s “greatest hits，” most readers take the title with a grain of salt。 The contents of such a collection often depend more on what works an anthologist has access to than a qualitative assessment of the author’s output。 Editor J。 Michael Straczynski had no such problems in assembling “Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits。” As literary executor of Ellison’s estate， Straczynski controlled the rights to much of the author’s work。 In making his choices， Str Anytime a collection purports to contain an author’s “greatest hits，” most readers take the title with a grain of salt。 The contents of such a collection often depend more on what works an anthologist has access to than a qualitative assessment of the author’s output。 Editor J。 Michael Straczynski had no such problems in assembling “Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits。” As literary executor of Ellison’s estate， Straczynski controlled the rights to much of the author’s work。 In making his choices， Straczynski used external criteria as much as possible。 Almost every story in this collection won or was nominated for a Hugo， Nebula， Edgar， Bram Stoker， or similar award。 For readers， this means that Ellison’s best-known and most widely anthologized works are here。 This may diminish the book’s value to veteran sci-fi buffs。 But most will still find some great works that hold up well the first or the tenth time they are read。“Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits” begins with， perhaps， the author’s two best-known short stories。 “‘Repent， Harlequin，’ Said the Ticktockman” from 1966 sounds like a Batman title。 Actually， it’s a tale of a dystopian future where wasting time can be a capital crime。 An even better introduction to Ellison’s work is the second story， “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream，” written in 1967。 In it， the last five living humans are held captive by an artificial intelligence known as AM that ran amok and became self-sustaining。 AM is a precursor to Skynet in the Terminator movies and is also amazingly predictive of today’s disputes about artificial intelligence。My favorite story in the collection is “Mefisto in Onyx，” written in 1993。 The story reflects Ellison’s commitment to social issues。 （It also contains several racial slurs that probably wouldn’t appear in a story written today。） The protagonist is Rudy Pairis， a black man with the remarkable ability to get inside people’s minds and read their thoughts。 A close friend is a District Attorney who got a conviction of perhaps the most prolific mass murderer in Alabama history。 But as the execution date approaches， she becomes convinced of the alleged killer’s innocence and asks Rudy to find out for sure by reading his mind。 I won’t reveal more except that I was utterly stunned by the ending， and I doubt any readers will guess it in advance。Another great story is “Jeffty is Five。” It’s the tale of a five-year-old in the 1940s who never grows up while his best friend， the narrator， becomes an adult。 The narrator later discovers that not only does Jeffty stay five， but the time around him also seems to remain in the 1940s。 “Paladin of the Lost Hour” from 1986 may be familiar to TV viewers since it was made into one of the best episodes of the 1980s version of “The Twilight Zone。” A troubled Vietnam war veteran befriends an old man who is the keeper of an earth-shaking secret。 The story’s ending packs the greatest emotional punch of any tale in the collection。Some of Ellison’s works are more whimsical in nature。 “Djinn， No Chaser” from 1983 is a variant of the genie-in-a-lamp story。 In this version， however， the genie is terrible-tempered towards the couple who buys the magical lamp。 “I’m Looking for Kadak” from 1974 is Ellison’s critique of organized religion。 It features a Jewish 11-armed blue creature on a distant planet who is looking for a fellow member of his tribe who left years ago in search of a better religion。 This story will be much more understandable for people familiar with Judaism， but the author’s point， although cloaked in humor， is quite clear。Throughout these stories， Ellison’s views on subjects like organized religion， social justice， race relations， and the Vietnam War come through repeatedly。 None of the stories are overly preachy， however。 Instead， Ellison makes his points within the context of an entertaining story。 In reading these works， I was also impressed by the depth of knowledge Ellison had on many subjects。 I don’t know if he researched these stories or relied on his own knowledge， but these stories have more factual detail than many full-length novels。Most of these stories range from very good to excellent。 A couple are just okay， and there is only one I really didn’t like。 “The Deathbird” contains a lot of gimmickry， including a multiple-choice “quiz” in the middle of the story。 It took me two readings to figure out the story， and I still didn’t like it。 But the story won a Hugo， so I’m obviously in the minority here。 I suspect many readers may have the same reaction as I did when reading this collection， except for different stories。 Harlan Ellison’s work was unique， so some stories won’t appeal to various readers。 But for casual sci-fi fans or those somewhat familiar with Ellison’s work， this “Greatest Hits” collection offers a great introduction to the author and his writings。 NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley。 However， the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own。 。。。more

Chris ，

3。5 rounded up。I've heard of， but never read Harlan Ellison before， so I figured a collection called Greatest Hits would be a great place to start。 The book is broken up into four sections each containing stories with that theme。 I liked this， as it gave me a chance to read a few stories that showed different ways in which he wrote books under that theme。 As with all short story collections， some of these were hits， some were misses， and some were just ok。 I don't believe anyone is going to like 3。5 rounded up。I've heard of， but never read Harlan Ellison before， so I figured a collection called Greatest Hits would be a great place to start。 The book is broken up into four sections each containing stories with that theme。 I liked this， as it gave me a chance to read a few stories that showed different ways in which he wrote books under that theme。 As with all short story collections， some of these were hits， some were misses， and some were just ok。 I don't believe anyone is going to like every story in a collection like this。 For me， it took a little bit to get used to Ellison's writing style， and when I did， I liked many of the stories better。 There were a few I didn't like and a couple I lived， but overall， many of these were just ok。 It's not that they were poorly written， because they aren't， I just didn't connect with them， or I wanted more。 The few I didn't like， I felt were all over the place and I wasn't sure what was happening and I had to look them up to see what exactly I just read。 My favorites were Mefisto in Onyx and Paladin of the Lost Hour。 I also enjoyed the Introduction and Foreward that paid tribute to Mr。 Ellison。My thanks to Union Square & Co。 and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book。 My opinions are my own。 。。。more

Alex Sarll ，

The preface， by Ellison's executor J。 Michael Straczynski， is aimed at the reader unfamiliar with his work; the foreword， by Neil Gaiman， a little less so。 Both are still worth reading - they have anecdotes I didn't know about someone who seems to be the star of a limitless fund of them。 But I am not that curious newcomer， meaning I didn't read everything here this time around。 I got to I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream and "Repent， Harlequin，" Said The Ticktockman early enough that I don't need The preface， by Ellison's executor J。 Michael Straczynski， is aimed at the reader unfamiliar with his work; the foreword， by Neil Gaiman， a little less so。 Both are still worth reading - they have anecdotes I didn't know about someone who seems to be the star of a limitless fund of them。 But I am not that curious newcomer， meaning I didn't read everything here this time around。 I got to I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream and "Repent， Harlequin，" Said The Ticktockman early enough that I don't need to inhale them again， though I'm sure they'd still fizz if I did; I made it through Deathbird Stories a year or two back， so with those it was more that I couldn't bear to revisit。 As such， I can't tell you what it would be like to read Greatest Hits right through - and isn't that at once an ingenious and a slightly outdated name for a book？ - let alone to do so as its intended audience。 But from the stories I did read， some of them not for the first time， what struck me as much as anything were the times Ellison wasn't being Ellison， the spiky bastard Star Trek immortalised as the deranged McCoy when it mangled his script and still made its one great episode， the poet-incendiary whose language splinters on impact for maximum penetration。 Because that was a thing he could do， brilliantly， but he wasn't just that thing。 Jeffty Is Five， say， with its childhood friend who stays a child while the narrator is weighed down by all the disillusions of adulthood， feels like something Ray Bradbury might have dreamed， and its resentful awareness of how fiercely the Present begrudges the Past even carries a whisper or Dunsany。 Not that these chameleon moments always come off， admittedly - On The Downhill Side is one of the more puzzling inclusions， feeling like a story Peter Beagle could have pulled off but which really doesn't play to Ellison's strengths。 Elsewhere， though， there's plenty of core Ellison。 The Beast That Shouted Love At The Heart Of The World is one I did reread， with the difference this time that Omelas has a much bigger cultural footprint now than whenever the last time was， which feels unfair when this did the central dilemma four years earlier， and with a much closer parallel to real world injustice， but also - silly Harlan！ - much more pyrotechnically， and gleefully， and without that desperate earnestness which always improves SF's odds of crossing over。 How’s the Night Life on Cissalda？ can't claim prescience in the same way， coming five years after Tiptree's And I Awoke And Found Me Here On The Cold Hill's Side， and playing a similar concept for laughs。 But its opening sentence is impressive: "When they unscrewed the time capsule， preparatory to helping temponaut Enoch Mirren to disembark， they found him doing a disgusting thing with a disgusting thing。" So is the fact that it hasn't been suppressed either then or now for its enthusiastic catalogue of hypothetical libels， at least one of whose subjects is a byword for vigorous reputation management attempts。 At the other extreme， How Interesting: A Tiny Man reminds us that Ellison made it closer to now than one necessarily recalls， not just through its mention of "handheld repugnancies" and fable of resurgent mob mentality， but by referencing Kanye West （though bracketing him with Black Sabbath， now quite rightly suing the arsehole， reminds us that it has been a few years still）。 So is this really the greatest？ Don't ask me; sure， I've read Ellison before， but nothing like everything， and in particular I have no grasp at all of the more recent work so couldn't begin to tell you whether better choices were available there。 But as a survey and introduction， containing a decent quantity of the unimpeachable classics， at the very least it's sound。 Although I do think the attempt at organisation by theme was a fool's errand; the categories Angry Gods， Lost Souls and The Passage Of Time inevitably overlap， and what kind of illustration of The Lighter Side is a story where a toymaker has captured everyone who ever died in vain on every battlefield in history？ But one choice which comes off perfectly is ending with The Last Word， which contains only one tale， the longest here， All The Lies That Are My Life。 A farewell to a remarkable， infuriating writer， it couldn't be a more apt conclusion， and somehow brought home to me both that Ellison's gone， and that he'll be hanging around for a good while yet。（Netgalley ARC） 。。。more

Stefanie ，

I have never read anything by Harlan Ellison before， but I want to read more sci-fi and short stories so I figured this would be good to try。 I'm happy I did！ While I didn't love every story， there are definitely some hits that I'm so glad I read。If you like sci-fi， you're going to find something to enjoy in this collection。 Rated 4 stars。 Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC ebook。 I have never read anything by Harlan Ellison before， but I want to read more sci-fi and short stories so I figured this would be good to try。 I'm happy I did！ While I didn't love every story， there are definitely some hits that I'm so glad I read。If you like sci-fi， you're going to find something to enjoy in this collection。 Rated 4 stars。 Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC ebook。 。。。more

Vignesh S ，

Just like the title of the book says the book consists of some of the greatest hits of Harlan Ellison。 This book also works as one of the best books to start reading Harlan Ellison。 As usual with every collections this book has some hits and some ok books for me。 There are some other of his works i think as his hits are not included in this book too。 Totally a good book to read if you want to try Harlan Ellison or if you want to read short story collections。

Ralph Blackburn ，

Greatest Hits by Harlan Ellison- This is it！ If you never read Harlan Ellison， this is the book to introduce you to the finest speculative fiction writer ever。 If you are familiar with his work， this is a celebration revisiting a cultural icon at his best。 Among the stories here are award winners， amazing flights of fancy， and somber tales of burning vision。 Don’t pass this one up！ Thanks NetGalley for this amazing ARC！

Ingrid Stephens ，

If you love science fiction and stellar reading then you need to know Harlan Ellison。I had to read this when I came upon it because I remember Ellison from my youth， and recalling not caring for all of his work。 Well， I'm a tad bit older now and my views and experiences have changed。 I can now see the genius in which this man crafted his tales。I'll admit he can be a little hard to get in the beginning， but keep going。。。you'll be glad you did。Highly recommended Thanks to @@netgalley for the oppor If you love science fiction and stellar reading then you need to know Harlan Ellison。I had to read this when I came upon it because I remember Ellison from my youth， and recalling not caring for all of his work。 Well， I'm a tad bit older now and my views and experiences have changed。 I can now see the genius in which this man crafted his tales。I'll admit he can be a little hard to get in the beginning， but keep going。。。you'll be glad you did。Highly recommended Thanks to @@netgalley for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion。 。。。more

Books_the_Magical_Fruit （Kerry） ，

Harlan Ellison was a genius。 I first heard of him through Star Trek， which I love to this day。 Just now， I read trivia on him on IMDB and found out yet more hilarious stories about him。 He was quite an unusual man， and it shows in his stories。 This stuff is OUT THERE。 I’d love to be able to get outside his mind and find out what made him tick。 You can’t ever accuse Ellison of being boring。 I guarantee you will come away from this book smarter and more introspective。 It’s well-worth a read。 I do Harlan Ellison was a genius。 I first heard of him through Star Trek， which I love to this day。 Just now， I read trivia on him on IMDB and found out yet more hilarious stories about him。 He was quite an unusual man， and it shows in his stories。 This stuff is OUT THERE。 I’d love to be able to get outside his mind and find out what made him tick。 You can’t ever accuse Ellison of being boring。 I guarantee you will come away from this book smarter and more introspective。 It’s well-worth a read。 I do want to mention that I immensely disliked the story based on Kitty Genovese。 Growing up， my mom encouraged us to say we “disliked [something] immensely” because “hate” was a strong word。 Mom， I intensely and immensely disliked that short story。 En gran manera， even。However， my worldviews have been expanded， and my mind is flooded with ideas after reading this collection。 It’s phenomenal。 I would say that I wish I had met the man， the myth， the legend himself， but after reading about him， I think I’ll avoid the vitriol I would have received had I visited or called him。 😉😂My thanks to NetGalley and Union Square & Co。 for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion。 。。。more

Ink ，

AS sson as I saw that the foreword was by Neil Gaiman， I knew I needed to read this book and I am so glad I did。 I had not heard of Harlan Ellison before， and I am so glad to have been introduced to such a profilific figure in the world of speculative fiction and screenwriting。 Not only does the book begin with a foreword from Gaiman， but praise from a litany of the greatest writers of our timeFavourite short stories in this anthology are "Djinn， No Chaser" and "How Interesting: A Tiny Man"。 It AS sson as I saw that the foreword was by Neil Gaiman， I knew I needed to read this book and I am so glad I did。 I had not heard of Harlan Ellison before， and I am so glad to have been introduced to such a profilific figure in the world of speculative fiction and screenwriting。 Not only does the book begin with a foreword from Gaiman， but praise from a litany of the greatest writers of our timeFavourite short stories in this anthology are "Djinn， No Chaser" and "How Interesting: A Tiny Man"。 It did take a while to get into Ellisons writing style， which is very much screenplay style， but once you do， the stories are absolutely unputdownableI am inspired to get more of Ellisons work as this compendium was fantasticThank you to NetGalley for the fantastic eARC。 The review is left voluntarily 。。。more

Dan ，

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Union Square & Co。 for an advanced copy of this collection of works by a man that meant much to many， had the best enemies， lived like he wrote， and wrote like every word would， could and should be his last。 A man whose compilations still stun， whose writing will live far longer than humans will， and whose criticisms still reflect the world we have allowed to be created。 I probably read my first Harlan Ellison story in one of the numerous Best of col My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Union Square & Co。 for an advanced copy of this collection of works by a man that meant much to many， had the best enemies， lived like he wrote， and wrote like every word would， could and should be his last。 A man whose compilations still stun， whose writing will live far longer than humans will， and whose criticisms still reflect the world we have allowed to be created。 I probably read my first Harlan Ellison story in one of the numerous Best of collections I would Hoover up at tag and and library bag sales。 When I first started reading science fiction， I felt I had a lot of catching up to do， and and went for quantity without paying attention to the quantity。 Later I began to slow down， and look at names， and stories。 Why did I like this， why didn't this hold me。 I also began to collect sci-fi （a term the author of this book hated but fits my narrative） magazines， and began to see a lot of a Harlan Ellison。 Stories， criticism on books movies， and television。 And one day I hit the motherlode。 A whole bunch of Pan and Sphere （ I know because I still have them） paperbacks with Dangerous Visions 1， 2， 3 （not the real three just a split of volume 2） and the Deathbird Stories。 Oh and Glass Teat， which confused me being about television。 I was enamoured。 Especially Deathbird which blew my little pre-teen mind。 And still does。 Harlan Ellison was a complicated man but a writer of rare and raw vision。 Greatest Hits is a good place for the neophyte to start， with some of Ellison's best works ready for discovery。The book is edited by friend and fellow artist J。 Michael Straczynski， creator of the show Babylon 5， and probably only editor to create a role on his own television show for an author he would later edit。 Neil Gaiman provides the foreward， and Cassandra Khaw the Introduction。 All three detail their relationships with Ellison， his writing and more， and give a good overview to what is expected。 And what is expected are stories that still surprise in many ways， even the ones that should seem dated。 And explain why Ellison won so many awards。 I Have No Mouth， and I Must Scream looks so far forward from when it was written it seems even more prophetic today， with our dealings with technology。 Whimper of Whipped Dogs， with a little tweaking of adding cellphone camera to those watching at the end， could again be a study of where we are as a culture。 I'm not going to go into the stories， I prefer if one is unaware to let the person find out for themselves。 There are not bad stories here， just stories well worth reading。 Harlan Ellison to me wrote as if every word was coming out of his flesh， leaving him depleted and lying next to his typewriter wondering why he continued to do this， and yet proud that he still could。 That might explain some of the procrastination the projects that never will be done， only appearing in Neil Gaiman's character of Morpheus's library， where every book imagined exists。 Ellison never wasted words， and the afterimage of many of his stories remain for years with the reader。 My favorite Batman story is one that took him years to write and they just made a fill-in issue out of it。 And yet I still can see it。 A great collection for people just starting to get into Ellison。 One to give to friends who talk about how much they love to read， but stories seem so boring now。 They will either thank you， or disown you。 Win-win in my book。 。。。more

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Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Greatest Hits

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Greatest Hits&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Greatest Hits&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0