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Harlan Ellison
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Paingod And Other Delusions Paperback – 1 Mar. 1975

by Harlan Ellison (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 140 ratings
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Jove Books
  3. Publication date
    1 Mar. 1975
  4. ISBN-10
    0515036463
  5. ISBN-13
    978-0515036466
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Jove Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 Mar. 1975
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0515036463
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0515036466
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 454 g
  • Best Sellers Rank: 135,262 in Science Fiction (Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 140 ratings

About the author

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Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison

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Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.

His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, comic book scripts, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. He was editor and anthologist for two science fiction anthologies, Dangerous Visions (1967) and Again, Dangerous Visions (1972). Ellison has won numerous awards including multiple Hugos, Nebulas and Edgars.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Pip R. Lagenta from San Mateo, San Mateo [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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4.3 out of 5 stars
140 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Toby King
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, Strange, and Spectacular
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2008
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    Harlan Ellison, born in America 1934, was a prolific sci-fi creator. His work includes a number of short stories, essays, novellas, and writing credits on the television shows The Outer Limits and Star Trek. The short stories found in his collection Paingod and Other Delusions present a good example of the variety of his work; ranging from the fantastic and surreal titular Paingod, which follows the adventure of the deity of pain as it comes to question it's purpose in the universe, to the meticulously scheduled society of Repent, Harlequin, Said the Ticktockman where any tardiness is punished by having the lost time docked from the end your life. Ellison mixes surrealism, science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction together with the skills of a gifted artist, and paints his worlds with a brush of social commentary.
    This 1965 collection contains eight short stories, each with their own introduction by the author. In addition there are two introductions to the collection, the original introduction plus a newer one written in 1974. In 150 odd pages Ellison conjoures a number of worlds and characters, and takes the reader on journeys and adventures that will stick in your mind like splinters giving you cause to think more carefully about events and situations you may have idly brushed off before.
    Despite Repent, Harlequin, Said the Ticktockman being generally considered as one of his finest works, my personal favourite in this collection was The Crackpots, a story that looks at the line between sanity and madness and asks "So which side am I on really?"
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Og Oggilby
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Science Fantasy Read, if a little dated in places
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2014
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    I'm not sure where Harlan Ellison stands in the pantheon of Sci Fi / Fantasy writers these days, but this book of short stories is an absorbing read. His writing style is perhaps a little dated, or at least of its time, but some tales, such as the famous 'Repent Harlequin! Said The Tick Tock Man' still stand to contemporary scrutiny. I think I'll have to get more!
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  • M. J. Dudley
    5.0 out of 5 stars You Will be Moved
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 August 2018
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    Surely a review of this collection is unnecessary. If you’re even looking at an Ellison collection, you know what to expect.
    Buy it.
    Savour it.
    Ponder it.
    You will be moved.
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  • Penguin Egg
    5.0 out of 5 stars Unique, challenging and compelling
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 December 2002
    Ellison, for the most part, has been out of print for the past twenty years, and that, in my opinion, is a bad thing. A very bad thing! During the 60s and 70s, he was not only the best writer of the New Wave of science-fiction, he was also the most original short story writer around. It can be said that he wrote like no one else. His style is vigorous, compelling and lucid. He grabs you by the scruff of your neck and makes you see what he wants you to see. No one else can hold a candle to him. A prolific writer, he wrote something like 700 stories, starting from the 50s and continuing through to the early 80s. The stories in this collection are from the 60s, and what a wonderful collection it is too.
    '"Repent, Harlequin" said the Tick Tock Man' is a story every bit as good as it's title - and I think that the title is a real peach. In about 3000 words he describes a dystopia where society is ruthlessly regimented by the clock. If you are five minutes late for an appointment, you lose five minutes off your life. The Tick Tock Man (or the Master Timekeeper, to call him by his official title) rules with a ruthless efficiency, and relentlessly tracks down the Harlequin, the ultimate non-conformist who refuses to be on time and who ingeniously disrupts the smooth running of this soulless society. If you have read 1984, you will know what happens- but there is a lovely twist at the end, which I won't spoil by giving away. The story may sound daft but it works and works beautifully. His imagination is unique. His aim is true. In Paingod, another classic, he tries to explain why there is so much pain in the world and why it is so necessary. There are other glories here: 'The Discarded', 'The Crackpots' and 'Deeper Than Darkness.' All worth your perusal. Each story is preceded by a short introduction that is as readable, entertaining and lively as the stories.
    Ellison is a wonderful writer who doesn't deserve the neglect that has befallen him. Buy this book and maybe -yes, just maybe! - it will encourage some enterprising publisher to reprint such essential collections as Strange Wine, Deathbird Stories, Alone Against Tomorrow, and Approaching Oblivion. Why Ellison isn't one of the most popular men of American letters utterly baffles me. He is as good as the best and better than most.
    18 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Mr Ed
    4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly bizarre and certainly thought provoking. Enjoyable
    Reviewed in Australia on 19 March 2021
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    This is the first collection of stories I have read from Harlan Ellison. I seem to recall seeing some of the stories individually in paperback ‘best of’ science fiction collections years ago.
    The stories are A grade science fiction, causing the reader to question reality and what is perceived as being normal. Whilst I found all of them interesting and enjoyable, in some cases the story took a back seat to the concept, and maybe they would have been better if expanded into a novel to give the characters more scope.
    They are certainly worth a read if you already enjoy science fiction - interesting in their own right and a benchmark of how a good science fiction story can expand your view of the universe
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  • A. Baponba
    5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent collection of short stories
    Reviewed in the United States on 16 May 2018
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    One of the characteristics of excellent science fiction is that it is timeless. Ellison' s stories have that trait. They could all have been written yesterday. But they weren't. Some of the stories included in this collection were written over 50 years ago... but you would never know it.
    The themes explored in these stories address the human condition in its many variants. You will enjoy sitting down and digesting these stories one at a time, which is how I recommend you read this book.
    Some of the stories might make you think more than others. But ALL the stories will make you think you got more than your money's worth.
    Get this book. Read it. Enjoy it. You won't regret it.

    And, for the record, this is an uncompensated review from a satisfied reader who bought the book and is not even remotely related to the author. :)
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  • Jason S. Mckane
    4.0 out of 5 stars One of classic sci-fi's giants
    Reviewed in the United States on 26 August 2018
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    Harlan had a nasty reputation for, well...a lot of different things, honestly. But his writing was genius. You really can't go wrong with any of his short story collections. And his essays and intros in this and other of the modern collections are priceless; almost as enjoyable as the stories themselves.
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  • Japan 1968
    5.0 out of 5 stars Such beauty in pain
    Reviewed in the United States on 27 July 2020
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    Harlan Ellison/ Terry Pratchett could there be more than two bards to the human condition who sing so beautifully?
    These short stories tell a singular tale of the ultimate loneliness and heartache of being human. Each story resonates slightly differently and yet...
    something, an invisible thread, a feeling, a sense that the person who writes so wonderfully seems to know and understand you on a level anecdote deeply than you understand yourself. That's Harlan for me, and I hope for you too.
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  • Douglas Silver
    3.0 out of 5 stars Great writing style for hip speculative fiction
    Reviewed in the United States on 2 December 2020
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    Harlan Ellison was always known as the hip bad boy of scifi. The writing skill and style is what got me through these stories but was the effort worth it?
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