Comments | nwhyte: Repent Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman, by Harlan Ellison

nwhyte

Repent Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman, by Harlan Ellison

Jan 11, 2017 19:27

Second paragraph of third section:Somewhere nearby, he could hear the metronomic left-right-left of the 2: 47 P.M. shift, entering the Timkin roller-bearing plant in their sneakers. A minute later, precisely, he heard the softer right-left-right of the 5: 00 A.M. formation, going home.
Since I can't comment on any potential Hugo nominees this year, ( Read more... )

writer: harlan ellison, bookblog 2017

Comments 7

kalimac January 11 2017, 23:26:28 UTC

Small correction: "And Call Me Conrad" is the story that was published in book form as This Immortal, not Lord of Light which is entirely different.

a_cubed January 12 2017, 00:38:34 UTC

Ha, beat me to it.
Lord of Light is my favourite book - I've given away tens of copies of it to people who haven7t read it, including at least three copies of the Japanese translation.

johnny9fingers January 12 2017, 10:19:45 UTC

"Lord of Light" is an all-time great, "This Immortal" less so.

We do want the next essay, please. johnny9fingers January 12 2017, 22:20:02 UTC

I too found this early Ellison unsatisfying.

In general I agree with your précis and analysis.

It always pissed me off right royally that Ursula K LeGuin didn't win either Hugo or Nebula for "Lathe of Heaven" but did for "Left Hand of Darkness" which IMHO is inferior in imagination and execution. And most definitely humour.

Tackling Dune is halfway to taking on LOTR in terms of cultural significance. Moorcock's "Epic Pooh" took on LOTR but fell a bit short of the mark, being too addicted to his Edwardian nursery thesis and missing the real mythopoeic aspect of the work. It has been said that in English LOTR only falls behind the Arthurian cycle and the Book of the Dun Cow in the list of great British myths - and it was the work of one man; I have to grudgingly agree.

(It may be time to revisit Mcpherson and Ossian, his retelling of the stories of the Fianna and Finn. As literature it worked for Napoleon, Beethoven, etc.)

My pleasure, sir. [Tips hat.]

Re: We do want the next essay, please. johnny9fingers January 12 2017, 22:27:34 UTC

BTW we also assume that the Arthurian cycle is essentially French, of course, but never mind; these islands at the end of the old world will claim the stuff set here, as well as originating here. (I may just give Donizetti Anna Bolena though; and as a precedent, if you catch my meaning.)

Re: We do want the next essay, please. johnny9fingers January 12 2017, 23:14:15 UTC

Also, the Ulster cycle is Goidelic obvs.

sun__king January 16 2017, 07:34:03 UTC

I read everything I could get my hands on by Harlan when i was at university (in the 1980s). Back then i loved his stuff, I wonder know what I would think about it now.

Thanks to your post I've just pulled 'All the Sounds of Fear', a 70s Harlan collection, from the shelf to go into my reading pile. Cheers for the reminder of Mr Ellison...