A review by librarymouse
Greatest Hits by Harlan Ellison

adventurous challenging dark funny
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is an interesting thing to review. I appreciate the warning from the introduction about Ellison's use of racial stereotypes and slurs. They were relatively normalized in the decades in which Ellison was writing, but they would have been jarring for me as at 2020s reader, had I not been prepared. Some stories I found well-written, but disliked the content. Other stories I loved - particularly "The Deathbird," "Jeffty is Five," and "From A to Z, in Chocolate Alphabet." I love a good horror comedy, and Ellison is the master of that genre. The use of racial stereotypes and slurs, as well as the mutilation of women in a lot of his stories is the reason this collection did not get a 5.

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