Five recommended books by Ohio native Harlan Ellison

Author Harlan EllisonSANDUSKY — There was a time when northern Ohio native Harlan Ellison completely dominated the science fiction and fantasy field, racking up an amazing eight Hugo Awards, four Nebula Awards, and many other literary awards.He remains a must-read for people who enjoy stories of the fantastic and prose bursting with energy.For most of my life — most of it spent in Oklahoma — I've been a fan of three giants of science fiction and fantasy who are natives of the Cleveland area: Ellison, George Alec Effinger and Roger Zelazny.But by the time I finally moved to northern Ohio in 2003, all three had left. And Effinger and Zelazny, two giants of science fiction and fantasy, died at relatively young ages.But Ellison, the author of classic stories such as "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," is now 83 and lives in Los Angeles. He dislikes being typecast as a "science fiction writer," so to avoid his wrath, I'll note he writes in many other genres, including essays and screenwriting. He wrote the script for a popular episode of the original "Star Trek" TV series, "The City on the Edge of Forever."I still love his writing. I still read his books all the time.There's a new biography of the author, "A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison," just out in trade paperback and available at Amazon, by author Nat Segaloff. The book features a forward by author David Gerrold.Although Ellison cooperated with the writing of the book, Segaloff had editorial independence. The book includes an amazing collection of Ellison photographs, many with legends of science fiction, including one of George R.R. Martin before Martin became famous.I don't know that I can pick a "five best" of Ellison's books — I've probably missed some really good ones — but here are five book recommendations for readers who want to explore his writing. Many of these books sit on the shelves of local libraries or are available on Hoopla Digital, the digital library service available from all local libraries.1. "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream."Ellison is a very prolific short story writer and most of his books are story collections. For my money, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" is his most consistent collection, filled with great stories such as the title tale and "Delusion for a Dragon Slayer" that I am happy to read over and over again.2. "Deathbird Stories."This is another above-average collection of Ellison stories that includes many of his best, including "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs," "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" and "The Deathbird."3. "Dangerous Visions."This is not a collection of Ellison stories, but an anthology of never-before-published science fiction stories Ellison edited and put out back in 1967. It remains the gold standard for such books and features unforgettable tales from Larry Niven, Philip Jose Farmer, Fritz Leiber and many others. There's also a very good sequel, "Again, Dangerous Visions."4. "The Voice From the Edge, Vol. 3."Ellison is a very good storyteller and does wonderful job of reading his stories, as I discovered when I listened to him at a science fiction convention many years ago. Mr. Ellison is unfortunately not available to appear in your living room, but you can do the next best thing and listen to this audio recording, in which he reads stories and tells anecdotes about them. It is available on Hoopla Digital from all of our local public libraries.5. "The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World."Many of Ellison's books have been made available as ebooks as part of a series called the "Harlan Ellison Collection," and if you keep an eye on the titles, you can often find them on sale. I bought this collection a few days ago when I noticed it was on sale for $2. The title story won the Hugo Award. For the price of a cup of coffee, I now the carry the book around on my phone.