Harlan Ellison, 1934 - 2018

I suspect most have heard about this by now.

My immediate reaction was to think of a paraphrase of the ending of the old Fredric Brown short-short story:

"Is there a God?"

And Harlan said, "There is NOW!"

Cory Doctorow has written a very personal reminiscence:

https://boingboing.net/2018/06/28/rip-harlan-ellison.html

And many of the comments are quite pertinent, too.

>1 RobertDay: I confess I hadn't heard. The death of a Science Fiction legend barely makes the news. Harlan has been in my thoughts though, as I've been reading his original Dangerous Visions anthology.

I remember watching videos of Harlan interviews where he insists on "writers getting paid" and admonishes authors who allow ideas to be stolen. His life story is interesting also - didn't he drive trucks full of explosives in South Carolina {USA}?

I've met him on several occasions at conventions over the years - had a drink with him and a few other authors at one point back in the 80's - I always found him charming in person but he did have a rather scathing personality (he was quite the showman) and was quite opinionated about many topics. I consider him one the the great characters of Science Fiction and will miss him.

I am heartbroken. I've been reading Harlan since, well, a very long time. I have been to a few of his readings, including one at Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. When I had him sign my copy of Shatterday, I said something about his tie that made him laugh. I knew at that moment that I could die happy - I made HE laugh.

RIP. One of the great short story writers.

The news really sucked the wind from the proverbial sails yesterday. Not feeling a lot better about it this morning. Like johnnyapollo, I had the great good fortune to encounter the man at a few conventions during the '80s. Never had anything like a real conversation, but found myself in groups gathered around him. Those discussions were often - spirited. If you had a thick skin, it was wonderful experience. I saw no few people retreat with tails firmly tucked between legs. Glad to say I was never one of them, but that would be because I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut most of the time.

Last night I pulled my copy of Strange Wine of the shelf and started rereading it...

I still tell the story of how I went to my one and only Star Trek Convention (I was in college) because he was introducing a screening of the film A Boy and His Dog and reading a short story. After the reading, I saw him walking through the crowds in conversation with someone. I discreetly followed them at what I thought was a safe distance. We wandered outside, and after a few minutes I looked around and realized we were all alone in a large open area - the two of them and me. No-one else in sight. I immediately turned around and hurried back inside as fast as I could, glad I hadn't been seen!

>9 owlie13: I was also at a pre-release screening of A Boy and His Dog. There was only one projector, necessitating pauses during reel changes. Harlan commented during the breaks and took questions, but the answers were along the lines of, "that's the stupidest question I've ever heard", etc. Just what the audience expected from SF's leading curmudgeon. I also saw him at lunch, flanked by two attractive young women carying a beautiful drawing of Hawkman by Joe Kubert.

Wow, I loved A Boy and his Dog but did not know H.E. Was associated with it. Don Johnson was great, the flick played frequently at “midnight {stoner} movies” on Saturday nights in town.

>11 DugsBooks: If you enjoyed the movie, you should really read the story it was based on. There's also an expanded new version Blood's a Rover.

I had "A Boy and his Dog" on VHS. I have just re-ordered it on DVD. Ellison was a strong presence in my early reading of SF (althought I am not that younger than him, 1947)
Arrogant, but powerful!

ETA. I really thought he was GOOD.

A Boy and His Dog was one of the first science fiction works I remember reading as a kid. Later when I saw the short film, I had the usual reaction. The specific images necessary for film interfered those I had generated in my head. But no doubt that tale kindled my appreciation for post apocalyptic stories.