Mark V. Ziesing Books
Shingletown, CA -- ©1993 -- 91pp
ISBN: 0-929480-31-7
Introduction and cover by Frank Miller
A man who has the power to read minds is asked by a friend to prove the innocence of a convicted mass murderer.
Only Harlan Ellison can get away with writing a short story (not even a novelette) and have it published as its own book. And... only Ellison can add a "thank you" to three people for "their rudeness, ineptitude, short-sightedness, cowardice, ignorant arrogance, and boneheaded behavior" for not printing the story in "one of their forgettable anthologies." I'm sorry, but the days when I thought it was fun to read Ellison's arrogance, rants, and full-frontal assaults are long gone. They were good when he backed them up with powerful new works, but he's too long lived on the glory days gone by and re-issues of old works.
And then there's this "book." It's ... eh... okay. What I heard was Ellison's voice, in all three main characters. There was little, if any individuality, which made the story feel more like a personal commentary, rather than a uniquely crafted tale to disturb or awaken, or whatever Ellison wanted us to feel.
Yeah, his prose style still "rocks," but maybe I'd like to see him stretch himself a bit and give us something new.
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