Paingod and Other Delusions

by Harlan Ellison

Book Overview

Featuring the Nebula and Hugo Award-winning story " 'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman." Robert Heinlein says, "This book is raw corn liquor--you should serve a whiskbroom with each shot so the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0515036463
• ISBN13: 9780515036466
• Release Date: January 1975
• Publisher: Jove Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A book with a pulse!

Ellison writes with humanity that you can feel in your gut and an imagination that makes Star Wars look like C-SPAN. On top of all of that there is often alot of humor and cutting wit weaved into his stories aswell. Think Paul Auster + HP Lovecraft + Philip K Dick and you might get some idea of what you're in for. It's science fiction as poetry. Ellison never insults the intellect of his readers (in fact he challenges it) but he also isn't afraid of dealing with science fiction pulp standards like mutants, aliens and spaceships. I'll give you one quick sample line: "The dead were everywhere, sighing soundlessly with milk-white eyes at a tomorrow that had never come." (that line is from a story where the main character is an alien riding a giant rat named Thomas carrying a bag of skulls. Yeah...) Also the short story "Repent Harlequin!", Said the Ticktockman is included in this book, which is one of my personal favorites! The introductions before each story are also great and give you an insight into Ellison's personality, as do the stories themselves. If youre unfamiliar with Ellison this is a good starter or check out The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World.

entertaining

i thought "paingod and other delusions" was interesting to say the least, Ellison has a way of writing that makes it hard to put the book down, i enjoyed it very much and would recomend this book to anyone who likes science fiction, or just reading for that matter.

It can truly be said that Ellison is a writer like no other!

Ellison, for the most part, has been out of print for the past twenty years, and that, in my opinion, is a bad thing. A very bad thing! During the 60s and 70s, he was not only the best writer of the New Wave of science-fiction, he was also the most original short story writer around. It can be said that he wrote like no one else. His style is vigorous, compelling and lucid. No one else can hold a candle to him. A prolific writer, he wrote something like 700 stories, starting from the 50s and continuing through to the early 80s. The stories in this collection are from the 60s, and what a wonderful collection it is too. '"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.

A selection of great SF tales

The stories in this collection were originally published in magazines between 1956 and 1965. Unlike much SF of that era, they have not lost their edge.In part, this is down to Ellison's literary style which was head and shoulders above the majority of SF at that time. Thus today, when editors demand better writing, these stories can still satisfy. The other reason is that Ellison has an uncanny vision of the future which does not easily get outdated by the events of a few decades.The stories contain lots of new ideas and the author uses the flexibility of the SF format to good effect.This highlight must of course be "Repent, Harlequin!" said the Ticktockman which tells of a world rigidly controlled with everyone forced to conduct their affairs to maximise the efficiency of society. I think that this is one of the finest SF shorts ever written and it is certainly the best known of all the stories here.Having praised that story, I should say that, with the exception of the final tale, "Deeper than the Darkness", I really liked everything here. They range from the sorrowful "Bright Eyes" to the wryly funny story "The Crackpots".

excellent collection of stories

My first Ellison book, and it was great! Contains the classic "Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman", and several others that aren't as well-known, but just as good. The story "Paingod" is very impressive. His stories come off with the elegance of Bradbury, but with a harder edge