Spider Kiss

Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: Ellison's novel of a 50's-era rockabilly star (the book was originally titled "Rockabilly") is energetically written and a page-turner, but it's marred by Ellison's own outlook. Ellison's contempt not only for the character but also for rock`n'roll in general drips off every page. It spoiled the book for me, one that I genuinely tried to enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Before your time, kids
Review: I suspect that some of the reviewers here were not born yet when this book was written (1961). It is very much a piece of its time and era, back when Ellison really *was* an Angry Young Man (and not a Cranky Old Fart). It wasn't his best book, by any means, but it gives a cynical view of an industry that even then, used people. Yes, the rockabilly star might remind you of Elvis, but what happens might also remind you of the much older tale of Fatty Arbuckle. I read the book in the early 70s, and some of the imagery is still with me. I can still remember the off-hand comment about the visual effect of one-piece girdles, and I remember having to ask someone what it meant to have the cylinders in one's Mercedes re-bored. If you've read The Web of the City, you should read this too.

Rating:
Summary: Sci Fi writer tries to Rock and Roll.
Review: Pre Fab Four novel of the ups and downs of being an up and coming "Rock" star. Not for the Sci Fi fan, more of a Stephen King novel in some ways.