Stalking the Nightmare

I bought this book for my uncle and hope he is enjoying it as much as I do. It's one of Harlan Ellison's best collections and I recommend it anyone who appreciates a master wordsmith and storyteller. The foreword by Stephen King is hilarious, and the introduction by Harlan is worth the price of the book alone. A great potpourri of stories and essays -- Harlan at his best.

Ellison captures the fleeting emotions of life and shares them with us all. Whether it is the absurdity of just getting by (The three most important things in life) sharing the wonder of discovery (Saturn November 3) or showing us that it is still possible to live your life by your own rules and still succeed. Harlan's view of the world is honest, savage, vicious at times but never intentionally mean for mean's sake. He shares a wonderful truth about what the real meaning of marriage is in "Djinn, no chaser" that plucks away the romantic crap and common perceptions and leaves us with "..You are strong when I can't be and I am strong when you can't be. Nobody gets it right all the time" He also tells a heartrending and chilling tale about the nature of love in "Grail" I won't ruin the end of it, but it tells of the strength of the human spirit even when the love story does not have a happy ending. All in all, this runs the full gambit of emotions, smartly written and guaranteed to make you think