I'm a huge fan of Harlan Ellison, and I'd recommend virtually anything he's written. This one, unfortunately, didn't add up the way so many of his other compilations have. It's entirely possible that it's merely a matter of my tastes changing over time, but I found this compilation more disheartening than engaging. Ellison is always a lot to chew, and there's a lot of pain and despair to go through in a large portion of his stories, but there's such brilliance in the reward of a fantastic and original story that it's entirely worth it. His writing is as good as ever, and I'd still mention it to anyone really interested in Ellison, but it's not the best cross-section of or introduction to his work. ((For that, try Deathbird Stories, Alone Against Tomorrow, or Slippage. 5 stars one and all.))

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