Harlan Ellison, Paingod and Other Delusions

Ellison, Harlan. Paingod and Other Delusions. Pyramid Books, December 1965.

_____, Paingod and Other Delusions. Pyramid Books, March 1975.

Overall Rating:     6/10

Pyramid, 1975 re-issue

In 1975, a decade after its initial publication, Paingod and Other Delusions received a new edition by Pyramid Books, with a new introduction by Ellison. This new introduction, titled "New Introduction: Your Basic Crown of Thorns," is one of the strongest pieces of writing in the book. In fact, the power in the introduction comes mostly from a letter written not by Ellison, but to Ellison by a healthcare worker. Great letter, as long as you can look away from all the unabashed self-aggrandizing by Ellison that accompanies it.

In fact, there is much self-aggrandizing in this book, tucked into some of the mini intros he provides for each story. This is unfortunate as it makes it difficult to take the writing--and the author--seriously. This self-referencing style does not, however, come across as arrogant, not in the way that Ellison often comes across as arrogant, but more as though he were unsure of himself, insecure. It is an early collection, and it is possible that revisiting these earlier stories, many of which are embarrassingly weak, struck a cord in the now older, more experienced (and Hollywood-experienced at that) writer. Perhaps there is some self-consciousness blooming beneath the arrogance, and Ellison was hesitant in re-sending these earlier stories back into the world that knows him better than it did a decade before.

The first introduction, "Spero Meliora: From the Vicinity of Alienation," is somewhat bland, as are the individual story intros. But the letter included in the 1975 intro is solid.

The stories themselves are mixed, with some truly weak pieces, many of them unsurprisingly never reprinted outside this collection. Those worth reading are "The Departed," "Repent, Harlequin," and, to a lesser extent, "Paingod." The rest are forgettable.

Paingod     6/10

Fantastic Stories of Imagination, June 1964

The Ethos, rulers of the universe, had appointed Trente to be their Paingod--the one who dispenses pain and sorrow throughout the universe. Following centuries of meting out pain, Trente finds himself caring, and is aware that this will likely lead to his downfall and replacement, as he had centuries ago replaced another.

This fantasy is pretty good, with some nice ideas and some very average prose.

"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman     7/10

Galaxy Magazine, December 1965

Among his most read stories, "Repent, Harlequin!" features a less-than-average dude who takes on a society that takes punctuality to extremes, decreasing the lifespan of those who are perpetually late. The Harlequin in this tale wreaks public chaos in order to slow down the daily routine of citizens, and consequentially affects the economic system.

A simple story in many respects, with a clear message. As a teen I really liked this one but it's effect has lessened considerably with age. (My age certainly, though maybe the story's as well.) I do still like the story but much of the humour, particularly in the early stages, is a little grating.

Pyramid, 1965 edition

The Crackpots     4/10

If, June 1956

Given their superior reasoning and organization skills, the Kyben were given rights to rule the Galaxy. Yet the Kyben have a secret: a planet where they keep their eccentric population under close watch. A planet of "Crackpots."

As a bureaucratic race, the Kyben have a special corps of watchers whose job it is to monitor these crackpots and record their behaviour. Watcher Themus is new to the field, and is being trained by senior watcher Furth. While Themus understands that he is lucky to hold such a prized position, that he can look forward to a comfortable life and early retirement, he is inexplicably unhappy. As expected, Themis stumbles into the lives of the Crackpots, and soon begins to see the world in a different light.

While I enjoyed the story's beginning, I did not like the shift in tone when Themus finds himself among the Crackpots. The humour is grating and that overlong sequence when he must prove his abilities to be zany is painful to the point that this is scene is what must be providing the collection with its title. (Particularly that embarrassing and needless scene of Themus undressing the girl. He gets her at the end, so I suppose Ellison thinks the undressing is justified.) There's a and later with Boolbak that is also overly long, and given the pain I was in, I skimmed some of it. These tedious scenes were followed by even more tedious explanations and exposition.

Sleeping Dogs     4/10

Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, October 1974

Commander Drabix has ordered a mass attack on twin cities Globar and Schall, as the planet is believed to hold a large quantity of a rare mineral. He is opposed by Amicus Lynn Ferraro, who is on board to observe the commander, and who is critical at the cold handling of the attack. The planets have been overrun by various races, and an unsympathetic Drabix interprets the original natives to be spineless. When he begins to attack the planet's ancient relics, however, the expected occurs (expected for the readers, who are more enlightened than cartoonish evel Drabix).

Not a good story, but at least it's short. Drabix is the Hollywood crazed military commandant wanting to destroy, destroy, destroy, while the amicus is the sympathetic voice. Ellison, in his intro, prides himself on making the good-guy a woman, pointedly highlighting this obvious detail, wanting the reader the note how progressing a writer he is. He also brings up the fact that the story was ranked last in a reader's poll in the issue of Analog in which it was originally printed, making various excuses why it placed last, pretty much stereotyping the magazine's readership.

Bright Eyes     3/10

Fantastic Stories of Imagination, April 1965

Some dude named Bright Eyes, along with his giant rat companion, must make a long journey to the land of his ancestors. The journey finds himself in cavern tunnels, attacked by wild dogs, and worst of all, entangled by bad prose of the "long before places were named" variety. Abstract are the words of Ellison. And where these words eventually lead, is not that interesting, despite my skimming the last couple of pages.

Inspired by fan art of a rider atop a giant rat, a sack of skulls in his hand, according to Heinlein's intro. He also mentions he was offered a full two cents per word to write this thing, half a cent above standard rates at the time, which is likely why this short piece is stretched thin with lines in the vein of "[t]he countryside was a murmuring silence," "an instant of time that may have been forever and may have been never," and a sky so black the stars ran away, or some such nonsense.

The Discarded     8/10

Fantastic, April 1959

Unwanted mutants are exiled onto a ship in space, where they are orbiting the Earth as even the outer colonies want nothing to do with them and the "Sickness" that led to their mutation. Led by mutant Bedzick, the ramshackle group lives in a depressed state, where suicide is a common occurrence. Unexpectedly, a ship from Earth appears, and an Earther has come with hope of deliverance from exile. It appears the Sickness has mutated and all humans on Earth and on the colonies are affected, and they need the help of the mutants, those who carry the original strain, to find a cure.

A very good story. In this one, Ellison employs a straightforward dramatic tone, as the story is ultimately a tragedy, and the therefore the flatter prose does not distract from what is going on. Indeed, something actually is going on in this story.

A pretty decent adaptation was made for the pretty awful short-lived TV series Masters of Science Fiction.

Wanted in Surgery     4/10

If, August 1957

Pyramid, 1969 printing

Machines known as psymechs have taken over nearly every profession, and the latest is that of surgery. Trained surgeons are relegated to assistants, and Dr. Stuart Bergman is struggling with self-worth as he can no longer practice serious surgery. "He was helpless in the spider’s mesh of a situation," Ellison writes. Yet he may be describing his own entanglement in a plot that tries to figure out what it wants to accomplish. This story is messy, made up largely of internal monolog, and its intentions unclear as its focus shifts continuously.

If Bergman is a serious surgeon, then we would assume, as he reminds a colleague and friend, that he entered the profession because he wished to care for others. So if psymechs are doing a better a job than humans, he should be pleased that patients will be better taken care of, but is instead unhappy that he can no longer perform surgery.

The story begins as a rant against technology, where surgery is just the latest profession to be challenged by robots and other improvements over humans. The narrative then transforms into an existential rant, that the psymech situation is merely aggravating Bergman's self worth and making him question his place in society. This leads to Bergman wondering from where his anxiety stems, and deciding it stems from fear. But why is he afraid, he wonders? Because of psymechs, he decides. Because technology is taking over.

We are then given a scene in which a patient awakens while in midst of having both legs amputated, and the shock of the reality and spectacle makes the man want to die, or so the narrator believes. The psymech could not save the man since it has no empathy, whereas Bergman believes a human could have soothed the man. Yet an important aspect of the incident is skipped. It is Bergman himself who caused the shock since he was administering the anesthetic and was distracted by the psymech's excellent operating technique, hence did not properly anesthetize the patient during surgery! Had a psymech been administering the anesthetic rather than a human, the patient would never have woken up. Bergman argues that the human psychology is ignored by the machine, and therefore humans should be performing operations. Yet the psychology of Bergman, overwhelmed by his inner turmoil, results in the patient's awakening, and the shock that kills him. All Bergman (or Ellison) ends up proving is that humans should not only not perform surgery, but should also not perform the attending tasks, and should be removed from the operating room entirely.

I can go on, but won't. I agree that machines lack the empathy sometimes necessary in the operating room, but his argument is messy and the story is a mishmash of intertwining thoughts. This is the only reason it is so needlessly long. Needlessly long, as this review.

Deeper Than the Darkness     6/10

If, June 1956

Alf Gunnderson is a galactic hobo, travelling across planets, wanting to be left alone. On Earth he is caught setting a forest on fire, and the government is interested in his special ability to start fires with his mind. In this future, humans are capable of developing psychic powers, such as mindreading, yet Gunnderson is unique in his ability to make the molecules of objects speed up to the point of combustion. Yet, while he is able to set fires, he is unable to control them.

It is a time of war, for there is always war somewhere, and the Earth government wants to use Gunnderson as a weapon. Should he give in, destroy millions of alien lives, and live in comfort, or should he flee? Decisions, decisions.

Passable.