I've always been struck by the impression that a lot of the dislike for him stems from the fact that he tends to come across like a rampaging dick with a Napoleon Complex in real life. Even Asimov, who was a good friend of his and wrote a "sympathetic parody" version of him as a character in a few different stories usually made him come across like an ass.

Which has no bearing on his work, which is definitely both innovative (for its time) and enjoyable. Though I'd probably agree with the sentiment that his best work is long behind him. But realistically, the same can be said of many famous authors as they get older.

>>> Years later, I had trouble reconciling the great guy I met with the dick I was hearing about. I suspect Ellison just doesn’t put up with stupid shit, and has very little patience for assholes and time-wasters.

One of the generally accepted ideas about him is that he can be incredibly charming and likeable when he wants to be - the problem being that he's far more likely to be a grumpy curmudgeon who intimidates his way through social situations through sheer force of will.

>>> I’ve never liked Harlan Ellison’s work. Much like Piers Anthony and David Eddings, he strikes me as someone deeply in love with the sound of his own voice, both verbally and on paper.

Interesting. I've heard any number of criticisms about Eddings, but never that one before.

Piers Anthony, on the other hand, probably fits that description to a T.

>>> Hey, he should sue those Matrix guys! That scene in the interrogation room! He has no mouth!

He'd have to get in line - there are a LOT of people who should be suing the Wachowskis over the Matrix. Like Philip K. Dick, for starters. If he hadn't gone and died in the 80's, that is.

>>> On another note: to Anthony Strand, did you know that Peter Davidson’s daughter did voice work for a Big Finish Dr Who episode? She’s a guest star in “Red Dawn.”

While it may be general knowledge at this point, she also appeared in an episode of the fourth season of the new Doctor Who series, playing - appropriately enough - The Doctor's Daughter.

No relation.

That said, he DOES tend to go overboard on what he considers foolish behavior-for example, yelling at someone for getting an autograph for a relative, yet not having read any of Harlan's work himself.

I can't complain though, he was very nice and quite accomodating when I met him in the same line as the abovementioned unfortunate. I asked him to help me with a running video gag, fully expecting to be verbally eviscerated, and instead his take on it was "Hey, it's just wierd enough-I'll do it, but I get to set the whole scene MY WAY." I didn't argue, and got my video clip, got my books signed, and recieved a polite handshake on my way from the table.

As to his work, I'm not his biggest fan, but neither am I a detractor. I like it ok, but would rather read Niven or Jordan before Ellison. I WOULD sit through one of Harlan's panel discussions again, tho, as he tells some damn funny stories of his escapades in the military.

“Zero Man, Wein explains, comes from an alternate 25th century future in which a group called the Final Order has taken over the government and turned the country into a complete totalitarian dictatorship. There is an underground group fighting this dictatorship…[the Zero-Men]

…The Zero-Men have invented a time machine. They plan to send one of their number, a volunteer, back to 1984…he’s outfitted with a special uniform…tied to his bio-system; once [it is] put on, [it] can’t come off…

…Finitus shows up in 1984 just a couple of minutes too late to stop him…

…Thus begins a war between the two men, each trying to set history on the path he wants it.”

Sounds a bit like Terminator.

Off topic, but was this a comic? I can't find anything on a comic called Zero-Man?

I think that, for someone like Ellison who is often in the genre's public eye, once an opinion is formed, it is hard to shake. If you happen to read Ellison works you don't like before ones you might, you'll have already coloured your opinion, and instead of enjoy the work, nit pick it.

On another note: to Anthony Strand, did you know that Peter Davidson's daughter did voice work for a Big Finish Dr Who episode? She's a guest star in "Red Dawn."

Theno

However, I won't claim he's a hack. It may well be that I'm simply not smart enough to understand his o'erwhelming cleverness. That seems to be the general consensus whenever I claim to not understand what's so great about people like Brian Wood, James Kochalka, David Foster Wallace, and Dave Eggers.

Of course, now I'm waiting for the inevitable backlash as someone's head explodes because I mentioned Ellison in the same sentence as Anthony and Eddings ... who I'm sure will be quickly labeled as talentless hacks.

Peronally, I like Asimov, Tolkein, Orson Scott Card, and G. R. R. Martin, but that's just me.

Yeah, but only a bit.

"Zero Man, Wein explains, comes from an alternate 25th century future in which a group called the Final Order has taken over the government and turned the country into a complete totalitarian dictatorship. There is an underground group fighting this dictatorship...[the Zero-Men]

...The Zero-Men have invented a time machine. They plan to send one of their number, a volunteer, back to 1984...he's outfitted with a special uniform...tied to his bio-system; once [it is] put on, [it] can't come off...

...Finitus shows up in 1984 just a couple of minutes too late to stop him...

...Thus begins a war between the two men, each trying to set history on the path he wants it."

Sounds a bit like Terminator.

So, even though I barely knew who he was, was familiar with almost none of his work, and was there to see someone else, he was very cordial, friendly and interesting.

Years later, I had trouble reconciling the great guy I met with the dick I was hearing about. I suspect Ellison just doesn't put up with stupid shit, and has very little patience for assholes and time-wasters.

I'm glad you noticed.

From page 113 of _Comics Creators on X-Men_:

Byrne: "So anyway, we did that story and 4 or 5 years later I was living in Chicago. Doctor Who was running on a local PBS and on came this episode called 'Day of the Daleks', which I had seen when I was living in London, Ontario, around 1975."

But when you try to also claim that he hasn't merited his fame as a writer, that's when your enthusiasm for the rant has taken you a long way down a dark alley to Crazy-Person-Town. Trying to claim he's a lousy writer undermines your other claims, because people just write off what you say as the rantings of someone with no taste or discernment. Because Harlan Ellison isn't famous for being a jerk, he's famous despite it.

Otherwise, yes, Harlan's one of the better short story writers the field has ever produced (The Mutt's comments are, I'm afraid, pretty much prima facie absurd), though he turned into a caricature of himself ... jesus ... probably 30 years ago if not more. Too bad. (Not to mention the punch line that The Last Dangerous Visions had become by the time Jimmy Carter was elected president, & Harlan's occasional boasts about the novel[s] he was gonna write any ... day ... now. Yeah, Harlan -- you're no more a novelist than Albert Pujols is a pitcher.)

As for what he's written worthwhile in the last 20 years, for some bizarre reason my computer isn't taking to recently installed Netscape 7.0 all that well & I can't do *any* searches (not via Google, nor Yahoo, nor MSN ... hell, I can't even use Wikipedia), so I can't double-check the publication dates of the stories Mr Lappin lists, but the vast majority do strike me as rather recent-ish. Not "Jeffty is Five," though -- I'd bet money I read it in F&SF when I was in college, & that's a lot closer to (*sigh*) 30 years ago.

Peter Noone is a gifted comics artist as well as the former lead singer of Herman's Hermits? You learn something new every day ...