Strange Wine: Fifteen New Stories from the Nightside of the World

Harlan Ellison may be the only contemporary American writer I know of whose work contains the well-crafted irrelevance of Mark Twain's best, the brooding, foreboding tones of Edgar Poe's best, and the lyrical, often youthful optimism of Ray Bradbury's finest. He may be, along with Bradbury, our best writer of short fiction in any genre, but especially, in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. "Strange Wine" is the long overdue reprinting of a short story collection comprised of terse, and quite peculiar, tales published originally back in 1978, but reprinted finally only a few years ago. It remains memorable because of Ellison's hilarious, extensive introduction that's nearly twice as long as many of the short stories included in this collection, and, of course, for the stories too. These often intriguing tales range from very good to great, and do demonstrate Ellison's extensive range from horror to tragedy and comedy (and sometimes all three). My personal favorites include "Mom" (His science fictional Mother's Day "valentine"), "Killing Bernstein" (An odd, hilarious take on cloning and psychotic behavior which only Ellison could write,) and "The Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (On a congested Manhattan street, the protagonist witnesses the ghosts of Nazis he had executed, years after the end of World War II.). Anyone interested in Ellison's work will certainly wish to add "Strange Wine" to his or hers own private library; without question, it will be a most welcomed addition too.

It is good news that this book is soon to be republished. It's about time. I've been a fan of Ellison for a quarter of a century and this, by far, is my favourite book of his. If you have never come across Ellison before, you're in for a treat. A master story-teller, he breaks new ground with practically every story, whether it is in the style of the telling - such as "From A to Z, The Chocolate Alphabet"-, or in the subject matter - "Croatoan." Whatever the style or the subject matter, the voice of Ellison is unmistakable, -uncompromising, vivid, funny, and perceptive- so that even if an Ellison story did not have his name above it, you would quickly guess whom it was. The stories range from the humorous "Mom" to the serious "In Fear of K." Whatever he writes, he is thoroughly entertaining. What makes this collection of stories different from his others is that this collection has an introduction for every story. With any other writer, this would be an intrusion; but with Ellison, it works, because the man is funny, wise, and entertaining. They are basically a miscellany of anything that Ellison wants to talk about: How he came to write this or that story; where he wrote it; the ideas behind it- and sometimes the connection to the story is tenuous." The New York Review of Bird" for instance. You won't care. It is all good stuff. I usually find at least one story in any collection that I don't like, and this book is no exception. "Seeing" I found unreadable. This is a mere quibble. Everything else in here is just dandy. It even has a wonderful cover by Leo and Dianne Dillon. What more can a person want?

Every story in this collection is truly strange, ranging from the humorous (Mom), to the outright terrifying (Croatoan). This book is a good sampling of the whole of Harlan's work. Strange Wine has stories of caustic satire, like Hitler Painted Roses, and The New York Review of Bird. At times Harlan slips into outright moralizing like in Emissary From Hamelin and The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, but when one reads these stories, one realizes that the moralizing may be very necessary. But never does it get boring. In one of his most unusually written stories, From A-Z In the Chocolate Alphabet, you get the full effect of Harlan's strange brand of storytelling. A great treat in this book is the intro which gives us a stern talking on the dangers of . . . can you guess . . . TV, that's right, TV. For those of you new to Harlan's brand of fiction this book will give you an appreciation for this extremely underrated writer. For those of you already familiar with Harlan, you already know what treasures there are in his stories.

Harlan Ellison is definitely a genius! I've read "Strange Wine" several times, and the stories still astound me. This is what sci-fi/fantasy should be. The first time I read "Strange Wine" was about 15 years ago, when I was in grade school and it has had a profound effect on my reading tastes.

Undoubtedly some of the author's finest work, this is a book worth coveting but beware the hidden costs. The first casualty may be our televisions and not the least may be any smugness and/or complacency we have in our society and humanity. The stories are themselves superb, the author's notes excellent, the result is a book which once gotten is unlikely to ever leave your possession. Beyond getting the book, the next best piece of advice would be to skip ahead and read 'The New York Review of Bird' first